Someone asked this very question on Twitter a couple of weeks ago. I can't find it now, such is Twitter's search mechanism, but it was along the lines of 'Your Espresso Imperial Stout is all very well, but how's that pale ale coming along'.

EDIT: the splendid Boak and Bailey set me right within seconds of publishing:

Oh you're aging a 25% fractionally frozen sour Kopi Luwak ale on Montrachet barrels AWESOME... but how is that pale ale coming along?

—Joe Stange (@Thirsty_Pilgrim) March 1, 2013

This obviously isn't meant to be a criticism of anyone's attempt at that (and a taste of both Brass Castle Brewery's Bad Kitty and Magic Rock's Dark Arts at the Leeds CAMRA Beer Festival last week proved to me that that sort of thing is a perfectly valid, and pretty spectacular, style) but it makes perfect sense: get the fundamentals right and the rest will be a whole lot easier. This has always been the way that I have done things: learn what works and then work out how to, well, let's not say make it better, make it do what you want.

AG#11 was indeed another go at the elusive pale. More correctly it's actually a blonde, one that Yorkshire breweries do quite well - I'm thinking Ilkley Mary Jane, Saltaire Blonde or Leeds Yorkshire Gold among many others: light refreshing session ales. The grain bill was simplified to two, maris otter and pilsner, and there was a little bit of tinkering with the hops. I had a slightly out of date (by days) vial of White Labs WLP007 Dry English Ale yeast in the fridge so I activated and used it for the first time. The wort went into fermentation at an OG of 1038. Fermentation was slow and the beer came out at 1009, which came to around 3.6% ABV after ten days. Not too bad when I was aiming for 3.8, but I'd factored that into the design, which should have had an OG of around 1040 which according to Beersmith should have had an ABV of around 4.1%.

This month I've been reading Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation  to try and get a better understanding  of yeast and fermentation. My wife thinks I'm mad but it's been excellent in helping my understanding of the brewing process, and at the moment, as a kitchen brewer with a handy space in the study for a fermentation bucket being a little hit and miss is fine, and the miss is getting smaller with every brew. So that pale ale is getting there pretty well thanks, but it certainly feels to me like it's lot harder to be consistent with a lower alcohol beer than it is with an 8% black Russian monster.

Having said that, I'm having a go at something bigger now. For AG#12 I'm revisiting Miracle on 8th Street American (style) IPA again after reading Mitch Steele's IPA: Brewing Techniques, Recipes & the Evolution of India Pale Ale and of course trying a few of the style to understand where they come from, and it's fermenting at a healthy 1065, which should finish at around 6%. There'll be more on it when it's ready in a months' time or so.