Alpha Pale Ale
After adding bittering hops into the kettle at the start of the boil, the alpha acids are boiled out of the hops and infused into the brew to develop the bitterness. The Cascade hops (which come from Washington State USA and are not to be confused with the Cascade Brewery in Tasmania) are added to the kettle late in the boil to develop aroma, giving the Alpha Pale Ale its intense and complex hop characters.
Working with these hops you could quite easily fall into the trap of brewing a beer that is totally dominated by a hop character.
However an important element of Matilda Bay's brewing philosophy is about brewing beers that are well balanced and full of flavour, whilst having high drink ability. To achieve the right balance in the highly hopped Alpha Pale Ale we needed to round it off with a fuller malt character. To do this, we used pale malt with the addition of a small amount of dark crystal to add character and palate weight.
Alpha is fermented with specially selected ale yeast that complements the style, whilst adding another dimension to this big complex beer.
Alpha Pale Ale is our idea of Beer Heaven. This is a beer that we just love to brew. In fact the only thing that's better than brewing it is drinking it!
Beer Ratings and Reviews:
[1] Review by vanderla from Sydney, Australia who has tried this beer a couple times. (10/1/2006 1:41:12 AM)
"Tasted this ale at Australian Beer Festival, from the Matilda Bay stall.
Good stuff. Big, citrusy hop-driven aromas & flavours. The appropriately-named Alpha has got excellent bitterness, great malt balance, and a good mouthfeel.
Hard to find, but if you do, give it a nudge."
Aroma:
9/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.1)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 100ml @ $0.73 Unit Cost: $3.45 per Pint
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(4.1)
