I think this beer fits fairly closely to the category of Belgian Pale Ale. It definitely has a strong aroma. It’s a very lovely fruity/citrusy aroma. Its a light amber color with a clarity that is quite impressive for a non-filtered beer. It’s a light-medium bodied beer. Made up mostly of pilsner malt it is moderately malty and easily drinkable. There is very little bitterness from hops, but has an abundance of lovely aromas. Carbonation levels are moderate. The head is somewhat creamy, but fades faster than most Belgian beers. That being said, this is not really a Belgian beer. It has many characteristics of a Belgian Pale ale, but lacks some of the biscuitiness of a good Belgian pale. It was also fermented with American and English ale yeast. The beer is on the dry side, accentuating the esters and phenols produced by the yeast as well as the hoppy aromas. The yeast being fairly clean yeast also contributes to the focus on the aromas.
All in all, this beer shines in area of aroma. Most everything about this beer helps the hoppy aromas and yeasty esters shine through and fill your palette with fruit and citrus flavors.
Cristal Variant
OG: 1.5
FG: 1.012
ABV: 5%
IBU: 16
SRM: 8˚L
2.5 lb. Pilsen Malt
4 oz. Marris Otter
4.5 lb. Pilsen LME
.75 oz. Tettnanger (5.3% aa) @ 60 minutes
.5 oz. Tettnanger (5.3% aa) @ 15 minutes
.25 oz. Tettnanger (5.3% aa)@ 5 minutes
1 tsp. Irish Moss @ 15 minutes
Safale US-05 American Ale yeast
Safale S-04 English Ale yeast
