Citra Pale Ale Partial Mash Recipe - Approximate ABV 5.0%

Partial Mash involves making a smaller grain brew (wort) of around 5 litres and then boiling with hops before combining with malt extract to make up to a full 40 bottle brew.

You will need the following equipment: 

  • Large stock pot - 8-10 litres is ideal. 
  • Mashing/sparging bag
  • 2 x Muslin bags 
  • Thermometer (A digital probe thermometer is ideal)
  • Mash paddle or large spoon. 
  • Timer
  • Hydrometer and trial jar. 
  • Cleaner Steriliser.
  • 25 litre Fermenting Bucket (or larger) and airlock.

Ingredients:

  • 400g Munich Malt
  • 250g Crystal Malt
  • 3.5kg Balliihoo Light Liquid Malt Extract
  • 25g Magnum hops
  • 25g Citra hops
  • US-05 Beer Yeast sachet

Instructions:

The first stage of making your beer is to ‘mash’ the grains. This involves heating the grains to extract the sugars which would then be fermented. Most of the mashing would be done in a temperature range of 63C - 68C.

Start by heating 5 litres of water in the stock pot to 71C. Carefully place the mashing bag in the pan and secure the top over the rim of the pan so that the bottom of the bag is raised from the base of the pan. This will prevent the grain from scorching on the bottom of the pan. Add the grain into the bag gradually whilst stirring thoroughly with the mash paddle or large spoon. Once mixed in this should reduce the temperature to around 65C. If below that temperature, warm gently to bring it back to 65C. A temperature of 63-68C then needs to be maintained for an hour - keeping the pan covered will help to retain the heat so that it just needs to be checked from time to time and reheated where necessary. 

After an hour the bag of grain can be removed, allowing as much of the liquid to drain into the pan as possible. Bring the liquid to a boil and add 1 litre of boiling water. Once a rolling boil has been achieved, place the first addition of hops, the Magnum hops, into a muslin bag and add that to the pan. It is important at this stage to leave the pan uncovered. Set your timer for 30 minutes. 

Whilst the hops are boiling place the container of extract in a bowl of hot water to allow it to soften. Place the Citra hops into a muslin bag and place this in a sterilised fermenter, ready for the boiled wort to be added. These hops will remain in the fermenter during fermentation to add flavour and aroma. 

Once the timer has finished remove the pan from the heat. 

After boiling you should be left with around 5 litres of liquid as some water will have evaporated. Remove the bag of Magnum hops, allowing as much liquid to drain as possible. Pour this boiled liquid into the fermenter on top of the bag of Citra hops. You can then add the malt extract and use hot water to get the rest of the extract out of the bottle.  Add this to the fermenter too. Stir the mixture thoroughly with a sterilised paddle or spoon to make sure the extract is evenly distributed. Top the fermenter up to 23 litres with cold water. Check the final temperature is below 25C. If it is, you are ready to add the yeast. This can just be sprinkled on top of the liquid. 

Ferment at 20-25C for 7-10 days. Cooler temperatures may mean a longer fermentation. Once there are no further signs of fermentation, such as bubbles through the airlock or foam on the surface of the beer, take a sample in a sterilised trial jar and check the gravity with the hydrometer. If 1012 or lower the beer is ready to bottle. 

When bottling, add a level teaspoon of sugar to each bottle (for 500ml bottles) then leave in a warm, dark place (around 20-25C) for 4 days to allow secondary fermentation and carbonation of the beer. Then move the bottles to a cooler place for the beer to condition. 

After 2 weeks the beer should be ready to drink. A small amount of sediment in the bottles is normal. When chilling the beer, if the bottles are left upright and the sediment allowed to settle it’s usually possible to pour the beer leaving the sediment in the bottle.