Insane Pale Ale

(Pete Keleher and Mike Marsh)

9 lbs. light DME
1.5 lbs. #40 crystal malt
0.5 lbs. biscuit/chocolate malt
3 oz. Chinook hops (boil)
1 oz. Chinook hops (finish)
1 oz. Kent Golding hops (finish)
Trappist ale yeast

The method is what you'd expect: Steep the crushed crystal and chocolate malts in 2 gallons of water for 30 minutes at a temperature between 150 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the dry malt extract and boiling hops and boil for an hour. Add the finishing hops for the final 5 minutes of the boil. Strain, sparge, fill to 5 gallons, and cool to pitching temperature. The Trappist ale yeast will tolerate the higher alcohol concentration produced by the 1211 lbs of malt and malt extract.

The color might not generally be described as "pale," but this was definitely inspired by the India pale ale style. Think of the darker color of this pale ale as just part of the "insanity" of Insane Pale Ale.

This one's still aging, so we can't really speak to the final result. From what was left over when bottling, which was of course flat, this is going to be a good batch. My attempt to measure the starting specific gravity was an obvious failure (1.042 measured, with a large concentration of fermentable sugars), so we really have no idea how strong this will be. I'm certain that it will get the job done, which along with a pleasant taste is all I personally ask of beer.

UPDATE 4/18: I mis-read the receipt from the store. The quantity of hops was incorrect. It has been fixed. Also added recipe attribution.