Not So Pale Ale

Classification: pale ale, all-grain

Source: Rob Bradley (bradley@adx.adelphi.edu), HBD Issue #1019, 11/24/92

Here's a question for you judges/style gurus. I just bottled a beer which I had intended to be a pale ale. I often add 1/2 to 1 pound of crystal to a pale. I attempted to get the same color by using 2 ounces of chocolate malt. I now know that <= 1 ounce is the correct amount. So I now have what I consider to be a very fine beer, true to pale ale style in every respect but that the colour is a dark amber (actually, it's kind of an orange colour!). Suppose I was entering it in a competition (I'm not); what category would achieve best results?

Ingredients:

8 lb Munton & Fison 2-row pale malt
2 oz U. S. Chocolate malt
1 oz Northern Brewer pellets (60 min. boil)
1/2 oz Willamette flowers (30 min. boil)
1/2 oz Herrsbrucker plug (15 min. boil)
1/2 tsp Irish Moss
1/2 oz Herrsbrucker plug (add at end of the boil; steep 15 min.)
WYeast 1098 (Whitbread)
Gelatine finings
1/2 oz Herrsbrucker plug (dry hops, last 5 days in secondary)

Procedure:

Infusion mash for 75 minutes at 150-155 F. 3 days in primary. 11 days in secondary. Finings and dry hops added after day 6.

Specifics:

O.G.: 1.045
F.G.: 1.012