You’ve bought a can of DDH Pale and even scanned the QR code – thanks!
We can only assume that you are 1) enjoying the beer and 2) keen to learn more about it. Fantastic news, we hoped you would.
If you’re new to Castle Rock Brewery, Hi!
We are an independent brewery and pub group based in Nottingham. Since 1977 we’ve been running welcoming pubs that we would want to and drink in (and regularly do). Our passion for pubs was realised when we were named National Pub Group of the Year at the 2024 Pub & Bar Awards, in a real dream-come-true moment. We’ve also been brewing our own beers since 1997, even winning CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Britain in 2010 with one of our most-loved beers, Harvest Pale.
We were over the moon when Sainsburys decided to list DDH Pale, showcasing one of our beers among some of the nation’s best known craft beer brands. We’re extremely proud to brew #indiebeer and DDH Pale is a firm favourite among our pub customers and pub teams alike! Read on to find out more about the recipe and brewing process.
DDH PALE: DOUBLE DRY HOP PALE WITH HEAPS OF CITRA HOPS
ABV: 5%
IBU: 39
Dry Hop Rate: 14 grams per litre
Malt: Extra Pale Ale malt/Oats/Torrefied Wheat
Hops: Citra leaf and T90 pellets
Yeast: London Ale iii
Sulfate:Chloride Ratio: 1:2
Vegan: Yes
Gluten Free: No
Awards: Gold in the Keg Pale Ale category at the 2025 SIBA Midlands Independent Beer Awards and Bronze in the same category at the 2025 SIBA National Independent Beer Awards.
We wanted to brew a strong but quaffable beer packed with fresh and juicy Citra goodness, full of smooth oaty mouthfeel, and finished by a classic, present bitterness that leaves you wanting to go back for more.
Why?
We love Citra. Citra is like chips. Everybody loves chips, and they go with everything. But what’s better than a few chips? LOADS OF CHIPS. Double chips. This beer is like that, but it’s not full of chips, it’s full of Citra. It doesn’t taste like fried potato, it tastes like grapefruits, oranges, mangoes and lychees.
And our good friends at Attic say it’s probably the best beer we’ve brewed together (so far!).
As we may have mentioned, this beer is all about Citra, which brings so much in terms of flavour and aroma to a beer. It’s really versatile. It can be used as a pairing hop with almost any other variety, yet still stands up on its own in a single hopped beer. Full of citrus (think orange, lime, grapefruit) and tropical (think mango and lychee) notes. We doubled the amount hops we would usually add to the FV post-fermentation to maximise these aromas and flavours, while a good chunk had already been added as a post-boil/late-kettle addition pre-fermentation. We really wanted to layer the different flavours and get more ‘three-dimensionality’ out of the hop.
We used extra pale ale malt as the base malt for this beer. Then we added a large ratio of oats (almost a third of the grist) and wheat to help increase body in the beer. It gives it a smooth and silky mouthfeel.
Again, a mash bed temperature of 68degrees Celsius leaves plenty of residual sugar in the beer after fermentation. This mash bed temperature leaves more complex sugar molecules called dextrins and less of the simple, more-easily fermentable sugars such as glucose and maltose.
We used a London Ale iii yeast strain in this beer, letting the yeast ferment to a top temperature of 22oC, which provides a great base layer of stone fruit esters to the aroma. This yeast has low flocculation properties, which means the beer will have a nice, consistent haze. It has low attenuation characteristics, meaning a lot of sugars will remain in the beer, unfermented in the beer after fermentation has ended. This, combined with the mash bed temperature, oats, and water chemistry provides a really full mouthfeel and makes for a satisfying and rounded flavour profile.
The brewing liquor was treated with a 1:2 sulfate:chloride ratio, which softens the perception of bitterness and helps to create a fuller mouthfeel. We are really happy with the water profile we have been using for our recent pales, and this year’s can and keg beers have been brewed consistently with it.
