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Recipe: Cellarmaker Mt. Nelson Pale Ale
Mt. Nelson, says Cellarmaker cofounder and head brewer Tim Sciascia, is “one of our most popular pale ales and a perfect representation of the hazy West Coast style. We love showcasing Nelson Sauvin in this aromatic, off-dry, and crushable 5.7 percent ABV package.”
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Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Cellarmaker is a small brewery that makes a range of styles, from lagers to barrel-aged heavyweights. It’s also well-known among its peers for its refined approach to “hazy West Coast” pale ales and IPAs.
For a much deeper dive into Cellarmaker’s approach to these beers, check out Tim Sciascia’s video course, Brewing Modern Pale Ales with Cellarmaker— available to All Access subscribers—and cofounder Connor Casey’s Brewer’s Perspective on West Coast Haze.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 80%
OG: 1.057
FG: 1.013
IBUs: 35
ABV: 5.7%
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Cellarmaker is a small brewery that makes a range of styles, from lagers to barrel-aged heavyweights. It’s also well-known among its peers for its refined approach to “hazy West Coast” pale ales and IPAs.
For a much deeper dive into Cellarmaker’s approach to these beers, check out Tim Sciascia’s video course, Brewing Modern Pale Ales with Cellarmaker— available to All Access subscribers—and cofounder Connor Casey’s Brewer’s Perspective on West Coast Haze.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 80%
OG: 1.057
FG: 1.013
IBUs: 35
ABV: 5.7%
[PAYWALL]
MALT/GRAIN BILL
9.5 lb (4.3 kg) two-row pale
14 oz (397 g) malted oats
3.5 oz (99 g) caramel 15L
HOPS & ADDITIONS SCHEDULE
0.33 oz (9 g) Simcoe at 30 minutes [11 IBUs]
½ tablet Whirlfloc at 15 minutes
2.3 oz (65 g) Nelson Sauvin at whirlpool [24 IBUs]
6 oz (170 g) Nelson Sauvin at dry hop
YEAST
Berkeley Yeast NorCal DF, or other Chico strain in conjunction with ALDC enzymes (see below)
DIRECTIONS
Mill grains and mash at 157°F (69°C) for 45 minutes. Recirculate until the runnings are clear of larger particles, then run off into the kettle. Sparge and top up as necessary to get about 6 gallons (23 liters) of wort, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 75 minutes, adding hops and finings according to the schedule. After the boil, cool wort to 185°F (85°C) (for example, by adding filtered room-temperature water), add whirlpool hops, spin for 7 minutes, then allow to settle and rest for 25 minutes. Chill to 63°F (17°C), aerate wort, and pitch yeast. Ferment at 66°F (19°C) until the gravity has dropped to about 1.023, then allow free rise up to 72°F (22°C) for diacetyl rest.
When fermentation is complete, drop yeast over 2 days or rack to secondary. Add dry hops and ALDC enzyme, rousing gently with CO2. After 1 or 2 days, when the aroma is appealing and the beer smells clean of acetaldehyde and diacetyl, chill to 32°F (0°C), package and carbonate to 2.5 volumes, and condition for at least 2 days.
BREWER’S NOTES
Water: We have very soft water, so we add about 150ppm chloride (to the mash) as well as sulfate (to the kettle) for an even profile that adds some body but also finishes clean.
Acidification: Use phosphoric acid to adjust your sparge water to 3.0 pH. At wort transfer, use lactic acid to acidify your wort to 5.15 pH.
Fighting Diacetyl: Alpha acetolactate decarboxylase, or ALDC, is an enzyme that prevents the formation of diacetyl by breaking down its precursors. Berkeley’s NorCal DF strain is based on the Chico strain but genetically engineered to produce ALDC. While Berkeley sells commercial-scale pitches, on the homebrew level it’s possible to use another Chico strain (such as Fermentis SafAle US-05) and add exogenous ALDC. This can provide insurance, since the dry hopping comes with a risk of diacetyl-producing hop creep (see Brewing with Hops, Don’t Be Creeped Out). Whether or not you use ALDC, it’s always a good idea to perform a forced diacetyl test before packaging (see Hunting for Diacetyl).
