How to make a traditional Welsh Ale

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npribyl

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Anyone have knowledge of how to homebrew a Welsh Ale? Specifically one with a low ABV...

I'm just getting started on my first batch of homebrew beer and I'm already thinking ahead to the next project.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Well it seems like there is not a lot of traffic for Welsh ales as far as Google is concerned!

This thread already rank #1

Try here. All About Beer Feature: Beer in Wales

If you supply a break down and general infor then I'm sure we can help formulate the recipe.

AND WELCOME

Are you From Wales?
Pop into introductions and say hello. Maybe update your profile to show your location.
 
reviving this old thread!

Orfy, I was wondering if you did get info and if you ever brewed your welsh ale?
 
the latest issue of BYO has a whole article with several recipes for welsh ales.
 
I was looking for something similar when i stumbled upon an encyclopedia from 1850 that had a historical recipe. (Here) Look on page 44 for the actual breakdown.

One thing that gets lost in translation per say is some of the old english measurements. From my research a quarter is one of two measurements, either 28 lbs weight or 64 gallons volume. The book says the average hopping is 6-10 lbs per quarter. So I would assume the ratio would be better as 64 gallons of malt per 6 lbs of hops. That being said, I don't know if they worked with fresh or dried hops in 1850.

The quoted text below as is, but those pages are a very interesting read to learn about historical brewing.

"
Take 3 quaters of the best pale malt and 25 lbs of hops, turn on the first liquor at 178*. Mash for one hour and a half, and stand two hours. Turn on second liquor at 190* and stand two hours. Boil and hour and a half; pitch the tun at 62*, and cleanse at 80* using salt and flour. After the second mash turn on for table beer at 150*. Mash 3 quarters of an hour and stand two hours.
"
As some background from other pages in the book:

-It appears as if the recipe uses batch sparging with 4 Barrels of water on first run, 3 barrels of water on second run and 2.5 barrels on the third run. You would combine the first and second runnings and then use the third to make a session or table beer.

-Hops used are Kent

-Yeast used is of course not specified but it does use 1 gallon of thick yeast


I plan on creating a home brew adaptation for 5 gallon batches soon and appreciate any incite on the meanings of phrases in this work. I will post on here for comments and suggestions as well.

Thanks!
 
Like Casey, I also stumbled upon that old encyclopedia link and am looking for more information about Welsh ales ...

Casey, have you brewed this yet? If so, how did this recipe turn out?
 
Being of Welsh descent I am a little curious with this topic. If someone has a good recipe or the like I would also be appreciative.
 
you could try drinking a Shropshire ale and then taking all of the taste away. That would leave you with an aproximation of the only Welsh beer I have ever had, and that's living next door to Wales for 2/3 of my life
 
I have not brewed this yet, but hope to soon. I did learn a few things about brewing a period beer reciently that should really help:

- Kent Goldings are pretty much the only hop that was used in this period, but the potency has doubled due to selection over time. Because of this the hops need to be halved in any period recipe.

- The quality of the malt has also improved drastically. I have no hard numbers yet, but the ABV of a beer brewed with the same malt to liquid ratio will be higher.

- Marris Otter and brown malts are likely the closest approximations to the flavor profile of malts of that time.

Source:
April 7, 2011 - Colonial Brewing
http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=basic-brewing-radio-2011
 
Hackwood:
Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher has a Welsh Ale Recipie predating the encyclopedia by 50 years. It includes molasses, pale malt, Kent goldings, and English Ale yeast. I don't know about copyright restrictions for posting that recipe, but it is on page 253 and the book has a bunch of great info. The book says prior to the 1800s Welsh Ale was a type of Bragot.

The book can be found on Amazon.
 
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I'm of Welsh decent myself so I'm a bit curious about this I recently got this book called Clone Brews. It has 200 commercial brewery clone recipes and one of them is Brains Brewery's Traditional Welsh Ale. This is pretty much the most popular beer in Wales and I first learned about it when I visited them this past summer.

The clone recipe uses cane sugar with Fuggles and East Kent Golding hops. The all grain version uses 7 lbs of 2 row and 8 oz of crystal malt. The recommended yeast is Wyeast 1028.

here is a link to the book:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/160342539X/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I'm not sure if there is a copyright issue involved so I won't post the link but it appears the book is available on Google Books as well and the Brains recipe is shown in the samples pages.
 
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Re-re-reviving this thread. Schlafly just posted on Instagram that they are doing a Welsh Ale. And I have done some looking into this myself and came up with nada. I mean, all other countries in the UK have a beer style... So can anyone say what a Welsh style beer would consist of? Based on what I can gather about the Schlafly beer, it sounds like it might be something like the following formula:

English pale ale minus some maltiness plus more hoppy-ness.

Thoughts anybody?
 
No
It would be a D-bomb,about 3.8%,under attenuated and under bittered. Devoid of hop flavour and aroma
 
Wow. I checked "Shut Up About Barclay Perkins" since Ron Pattinson seems to be a reliable source for obscure and/or historic beer (particularly when from the British Isles) and even HE has no information on it outside of what you folks have already shared. http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/search/label/Welsh Ale?m=0

Now I too am curious.
 
The Welsh were distillers. They taught the Irish and the Irish taught the Scots, then the Scots and Irish brought it here. Beer brewing was likely a homecentric endeavor.

Off the cuff, I'd brew a pale mild and call it whatever you want. :)
 
The Welsh were distillers. They taught the Irish and the Irish taught the Scots, then the Scots and Irish brought it here. Beer brewing was likely a homecentric endeavor.

Off the cuff, I'd brew a pale mild and call it whatever you want. :)

A pale mild. That sounds about right based on what I have seen. It's official then - Weish Ale is a pale version of a mild. CASE CLOSED :ban:
 
A pale mild. That sounds about right based on what I have seen. It's official then - Weish Ale is a pale version of a mild. CASE CLOSED :ban:

Or someone will revive this thread in 2016. :cross:

Seriously, with my wife being of Welsh descent, I might like to try brewing one if there is a distinct style. I've been to Wales and don't recall there being anything in the pubs other than the big British and Irish beers on tap.

OTOH, you can just brew a Guinness clone, as there is a claim that the brew originated in Wales.
 
Re-re-reviving this thread. Schlafly just posted on Instagram that they are doing a Welsh Ale. And I have done some looking into this myself and came up with nada. I mean, all other countries in the UK have a beer style... So can anyone say what a Welsh style beer would consist of? Based on what I can gather about the Schlafly beer, it sounds like it might be something like the following formula:

English pale ale minus some maltiness plus more hoppy-ness.

Thoughts anybody?

I'd really be interested in what they used.

I did my own recipe based on some clones I've seen and what I sampled on vacation. They are pretty similar to and English pale ale or ESB.

My recipe used some Bramling Cross and WGV hops with the wyeast Whitbread Ale yeast. It should be relatively similar to Felinfoel Brewery's Double Dragon that I was trying to replicate. Brains Brewery is pretty much a standard in Wales too.
 
I'd really be interested in what they used.

I did my own recipe based on some clones I've seen and what I sampled on vacation. They are pretty similar to and English pale ale or ESB.

My recipe used some Bramling Cross and WGV hops with the wyeast Whitbread Ale yeast. It should be relatively similar to Felinfoel Brewery's Double Dragon that I was trying to replicate. Brains Brewery is pretty much a standard in Wales too.

I was just thinking about this thread again the other day, because I'm thinking about doing an ordinary bitter for my next brew, and I found a kit for a Pale Mild on Norther Brewer's website. From everything that I have found on the subject of a Welsh Ale, I'm thinking that might be the closest thing. Basically it sounds like a mild with less roasty notes and a lighter color, or a English bitter with lower bittering hops and a sweeter flavor - whichever way one would want to describe it. Kinda thinking about getting that kit because it's so cheap for a 5 gal. kit.

Anywho, let me know how your Welsh Ale turns out! :mug:
 
I was just thinking about this thread again the other day, because I'm thinking about doing an ordinary bitter for my next brew, and I found a kit for a Pale Mild on Norther Brewer's website. From everything that I have found on the subject of a Welsh Ale, I'm thinking that might be the closest thing. Basically it sounds like a mild with less roasty notes and a lighter color, or a English bitter with lower bittering hops and a sweeter flavor - whichever way one would want to describe it. Kinda thinking about getting that kit because it's so cheap for a 5 gal. kit.

Anywho, let me know how your Welsh Ale turns out! :mug:

I've only been brewing for 2 years and all grain for the last year but I made my attempt at a Welsh Ale last spring and plan on making it again in a month or 2. It was a hit with the people who drink my stuff.

Essentially it was as follows:

7 lb 4 oz Maris Otter
8 oz Flaked Wheat
4.5 oz of Caramel/Crystal Malt ideally 80L or 120L

Boil for 90 minutes

.5 oz Challenger Hops (90 min)
.2 oz Bramling Cross (90 min)
.2 oz Whitbread Golding Variety (wvg) (90 min)
.4 oz Bramling Cross (15 min)
.4 oz WVG (15 min)
8 oz Cane Sugar (0 min)

The keys were the Whitbread Ale Yeast and the Bramling Cross and WVG hops to give it the dark fruit sweetness. Beersmith puts it close to 5% ABV at 33 IBU. I used the Wyeast Whitbread ale.

It was my first attempt at building my own recipe and I was happy with how it turned out. if you'd like to try it, let me know what your think!

:mug:
 
For a Pale Mild, I'd go with...

OG 1.045

85% Optic (or Golden Promise if you can't get Optic)
8% Bairds Carastan Light
4% Flaked Barley
3% DIY carmelized table sugar

25 IBUs worth of Goldings @ 45 min

your favorite British yeast

and let it sit in primary for a month to mellow & marry (if not lager)

mmmm...you're making me think here...
 
it seams this thread has been going a while but i hope this is still relevant.

this recipe is awesome
this is an allgrain beer
90min boil
24lt boil size
og 1.042

3.5kg marris otter
300g crystal 60
150g cane sugar

30g fuggles@60
14g fuggles@15
14g fuggles@2

mash steps
14l mash decoction 65.5c for 90mins
12lt batch sparge 76c 20min

yeast any british ale i used Wyeast - british ale 1098

hope this is of interest cheers
 
In Radical Brewing there is a Welsh Ale recipes as follow

For 5 gallons
13# pale ale malt
4oz Molasses at the end of the boil

1 oz EKG 90 min
.5 oz ekg 20 min
.5 oz ekg flameout
.25 oz crushed grains of paradise flameout
.25 oz grounded liquorice root flameout

Yeast English ale abv 7 to 8.3% gravity 1.072
 
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