Old Ale Partial Attempt

My next brew I want to attempt an old/ strong ale.
I'd like it to be nice and big, witha lot of flavor.

So, let me know your thoughts, changes, etc...

5 gallon batch. Partial Mash. 3 gal boil.

7# Ex light dry extract
2.25# Pale 2 row
1.25# Crystal 40
.5# Chocolate Malt
2.5oz Target (11%) 60mins
1.5oz Target (11%) 20mins
British Ale (Wyeast #1098)

OG ~1.081
FG ~1.020
Color 21.9
IBU 60.6 (.752 IBU/SG)

thanks

traditionally old ales will have some treacle (which I've recently learned is almost the same thing as blackstrap molasses) and some darker crystal malts, like 80L and/or 120L. you might try incorporating those.

Yeah, it looks good...but not really an old ale. I'd say you definitely need some of the higher crystal malts in there to get those fruity, roasty notes.

Here are the BJCP guidelines: BJCP 2008 Style Guidelines - Category 19

I'd also try to use a good English pale malt as the base malt.

GT

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to go back and see what I can do with swithcing up my crystal to something higher.

Doing that, would you still add the chocolate? Or keep it simple w/ just 2-row and crystal? (and maybe some molasses in small amounts)

0.5 lbs chocolate may be a little high, but i would definitely add some. maybe 0.25 lbs.

Old ale should be rich and full-bodied, but roasted malt should be applied judiciously so as to not be dominant. Malty-sweet is really the name of the game here; Maris Otter as your base malt, high L crystal to get the dark fruit and a liberal application of treacle/blackstrap molasses.

Looking over your recipe, I'd trim the crystal to a single pound split evenly between 80L and 120L and limit the chocolate to between four and six ounces. I think a late addition of hops would probably be wasted against the richness of the malt. Keep it balanced.

Jason

Thanks again...

...and YIKES I need to get into all-grain.
I plugged the grain bill into a to be unnamed Internet homebrew site.
The total cost is $78...

(I'm used to around 1/2 that price!)
AG would be so much cheaper...

Can you use more grain in your partial mash? The 2-row should definitely be Marris Otter or Golden Promise. If you use more of it, you can use less extract and you'll get a better flavor. What company provides the light LME, anyway? You should get muntons if you can, or something else made from marris otter.

or you could throw a pound of munich in there