This brew day was the first time I brewed Old Timber Pale Ale. It’s a recipe I’ve had planned for a while and finally got into the kettle.
This post goes along with the Old Timber Pale Ale brew-day video and covers how the brew day actually went, what I paid attention to, and a few small reminders I’d keep in mind if I brewed it again.
This is not the recipe itself. This is the brew-day companion post.
The Style and Why I Wanted to Brew It
Old Timber is designed to be a clean, balanced pale ale. Nothing flashy, nothing trendy. Just a solid beer that should be easy to drink and easy to brew.
The goal with this recipe was simple:
– Straightforward malt character
– Controlled bitterness
– Clean fermentation
– No unnecessary complexity
This first batch was about seeing how it behaves on brew day and whether it’s the kind of beer that earns a regular spot in the rotation.
Full Recipe (Not Repeated Here)
I’m not restating the recipe in this post.
You can find the full Old Timber Pale Ale recipe here:
👉 Old Timber Pale Ale Recipe
That page includes all ingredients, volumes, targets, and specs. This post is strictly about how the first brew day went.
Brew Day Video
If you want to see the full brew day from start to finish, including the small adjustments and real-world decisions, the video is embedded below.
👉
Even if you haven’t brewed this recipe yet, watching a first-time brew can be helpful for seeing how things actually play out.
Brew Day Notes
Because this was the first time brewing Old Timber, I paid closer attention to the process and how the system behaved.
Mash temperature control was one of the main things I watched. With systems like the Brewzilla, it’s easy to overshoot mash temperature if you leave too much power on as you approach your target. I backed off power as I got closer so I wasn’t chasing corrections later.
I also made sure to use recirculation during the mash. The temperature probe sits near the heating element, so recirculating helps make sure the mash temperature is consistent throughout the grain bed, not just accurate at the bottom.
Sparging was kept simple. I heated a bit more sparge water than I thought I’d need and kept it around 170°F. The main focus was hitting my pre-boil volume, not stressing over perfect numbers. If adjustments were needed, I made them and moved on.
I did come up slightly short on pre-boil volume after using all of my sparge water. That’s not a problem. Adding water before the boil is perfectly fine and an easy way to correct volume. The key is making that adjustment before the boil starts, not after.
Once the boil was underway, it was mostly about keeping a steady rolling boil without getting too aggressive. I adjusted power levels as needed to avoid boiling off more volume than I wanted. Every system behaves a little differently, and this was a good reminder that boil control is more about observation than fixed settings.
For hop additions, I used a simple hop sock tied off to the side of the kettle. It’s not the only way to do it, but it keeps things tidy and works well for me, especially on a first run of a recipe where I want fewer variables.
Fermentation Expectations
As this batch ferments, I’ll be watching for:
– Healthy fermentation activity
– Stable fermentation temperatures
– Clean, predictable behavior
Since this is the first batch, fermentation and final flavor will tell me a lot about whether Old Timber becomes a regular brew moving forward.
Final Thoughts
This first brew of Old Timber Pale Ale was intentionally straightforward.
The goal wasn’t to chase perfection. It was to run a clean brew day, make small adjustments when needed, and see how the recipe behaves from mash through fermentation.
If it drinks the way it’s designed to, this is exactly the kind of pale ale that could earn a permanent spot in the lineup.
Next Steps
If you haven’t already:
– 👉 Subscribe to the newsletter for homebrewing notes, updates, and behind-the-scenes content (sign up side of blog)
– 👉 Watch the recipe video if you haven’t seen it yet
– 👉 Grab the full Old Timber Pale Ale recipe here.