Med Bag of Chips

Ham, cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes, and arugula.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Sliced turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mustard in a whole wheat wrap.

Fit Turkey Wrap

Heat approximately 3.5 gallons (13.2 L) of brewing water to about 165°F (74°C). This will yield a mash temperature around 152°F (67°C) when you dough in the grains. If using campden tablet, crush and dissolve it in the water beforehand and let sit 15 minutes.

Heat strike water

Add the crushed grains (Pale Ale, Pilsner, Carahell, flaked oats) to the strike water, stirring to avoid dough balls. Aim for a mash temperature of 150–154°F (65–68°C); target 152°F (67°C) for a balanced body appropriate to a session ale. Hold the mash for 60 minutes.

Mash in

Raise temperature to about 168°F (76°C) for 10 minutes to stop enzymatic activity (mash out).

Mash out

Sparge with enough 170°F (77°C) water to collect about 5.5–6.0 gallons (20.8–22.7 L) of wort in the kettle. Aim for pre-boil gravity roughly 1.044–1.048 (for a 4.5% ABV target in ~5 US gallons).

Sparge

Bring the collected wort to a vigorous boil. At the start of the 60-minute boil, add the Magnum bittering hops (0.25 oz). Boil for 60 minutes total.

Bring to boil & bittering addition

With 10 minutes left in the boil, add 0.5 tsp Irish moss or Whirlfloc if using. With 5 minutes left, add 0.5 oz Cascade. With flameout (end of boil), add the remaining 0.25 oz Cascade (if using total 0.75 oz) and steep for 10 minutes while wort cools slightly.

Late hop additions

After primary fermentation has slowed (commonly 3–5 days) or at high krausen, add 0.5 oz Citra or additional Cascade directly to the fermenter for 3–4 days to build fresh hop aroma. For a very bright, subtle session hop aroma, limit dry hop contact to 48–96 hours.

Dry hopping

Cool the wort quickly to around 68°F (20°C) using an immersion chiller or ice bath. Transfer (rack) cooled wort to a sanitized fermenter, leaving as much hop/trub behind as practical. Top up with water to reach 5.0 gallons total if needed and mix well to aerate (or oxygenate) the wort.

Cool wort & transfer

Rehydrate or sprinkle the US-05 dry yeast (or pitch a properly prepared liquid yeast starter of Wyeast/WLP strain) into the wort at 66–70°F (19–21°C). Ensure good aeration (shake, stir, or O2) to support a healthy fermentation.

Pitch yeast

Ferment at 66–68°F (19–20°C) for 5–7 days or until vigorous activity slows. Target a steady fermentation to preserve clean American ale character.

Primary fermentation

After primary slows, allow the beer to sit 2–3 days for flocculation. If dry hopping, add hops now and leave 2–4 days. Then cold-crash to near 35–40°F (2–4°C) for 24–48 hours to clarify before packaging.

Conditioning

For bottling ~5 gallons, dissolve 3 oz (85 g) corn sugar in 1 cup (240 ml) boiling water, cool to room temperature. This quantity yields about 2.2–2.5 volumes CO2 appropriate for a session ale. Adjust if your fermenter volume differs.

Prepare priming sugar

Rack the beer onto the priming solution and gently mix to evenly distribute without introducing oxygen. Bottle into sanitized bottles and cap, or transfer to a sanitized keg and carbonate to about 2.2–2.5 volumes CO2.

Bottle or keg

If bottling, condition at room temperature (65–72°F / 18–22°C) for 10–14 days to carbonate. If kegging and force-carbonating, allow at least 24–48 hours after reaching desired pressure.

Carbonation time

Chill bottles or keg to serving temperature 38–45°F (3–7°C). Pour gently to leave most yeast behind if desired. Serve a 473 ml (16 fl oz) portion chilled.

Serving

If using tap water with chlorine/chloramine, treat with a campden tablet (crushed) in the water and let sit 15 minutes prior to mashing. If your water is very soft, add a pinch (0.25 tsp) calcium chloride or gypsum to improve mash chemistry and hop perception. Adjustments should be small for a clean session ale.

Pale Ale malt (2-row)

Pilsner malt

Carahell / Carapils

Flaked oats

Table sugar (corn sugar/dextrose) for bottling

Magnum (bittering, 14%AA)

Cascade (aroma, ~6.0%AA)

Citra (dry hop, ~12%AA) OR additional Cascade

Safale US-05 dry yeast (or Wyeast 1056/White Labs WLP001)

Water (treated / low mineral / low to moderate sulfate)

Campden tablet (optional, for chlorine removal)

Irish moss or Whirlfloc (optional, kettle fining)

Calcium chloride or gypsum (optional, water adjustment)

Session Ale

Make Session Ale Recipe in just 2h . 473 ML 4.5% ALC./VOL. BEER / BIÈRE

Session Ale

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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