Old Speckled Hen.

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Revvy said:
Well after several years and a couple tries I finally got my hands on an un-skunked bottle of it. This was going to be a "third Strike you're out" third, but a place that has mixed sixers had some in the fridge, so I grabbed one...from the back of the row.

I am so glad I did. I can now see what you and other Brits have raved about the beer. It was a perfect session beer, nicely balanced, and even though it was balanced, you still got a nice malty taste.

That bottle was enough to get me to re-visited this recipe. I am going to give it a try, I might even brew it on May first during the Big Brew Day.

Thanks!!!
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Revvy,

For work, i'm literally across the boarder in canada at the blue water bridge at the holiday inn, sarnia. There is one nice thing about canada, at their LCBO's they sell specialty beers per the can or bottle, of course a little pricey. I have gotten back across the boarder and been in port huron tho for a little. I'm lookin forward to make it to the 'quay street brewing co'.

I don't get much time off, but it'd be a pleasure to bring over a few speckled hen cans from canada. To me, it's a nutty, fruity drinking session brew in the can. I have no idea anymore what it tasted like drawn in the UK, but i know it was excellent.

I'll be able to come over and hang around the weekend of may 8th or later, let me know if you've got a great place in port huron to enjoy some brew and i'll bring ya a few speckled hens.

:mug:
-Steve
 
I did a 10 gallon batch of this and put it on tap for a party last weekend. This recipe is outstanding.

I tweaked it a little substituting chinooks and used yakama gold's. I Also used chico in one carboy and pacman in the other. The pacman batch was a bit more maltier.I forgot to use Irish moss. The chico batch I went 10days primary the kegged. The pacman 10 primary and 14 secondary both carbed at 12 psi for 4 weeks.

For some reason this has turned out to be the clearest beer I have ever brewed. This doesn't make any scene to me, I'm happy but a little confused.

I'm so impressed with this beer I need to get another one going soon before I run out.
 
If you throw them into the boil at the start, you'll lose some hop utilization. How much, not sure. Otherwise, throw it in with 15 minutes left in the boil treating it like a late extract (stir) and you're good to go.
 
well, since i tried this recipe for my first extract brew, i figured i'd give it a shot as my first all-grain brew, too.

pretty much followed the recipe with one exception - i made my own invert sugar a couple of weeks ago by boiling up some sugar with fresh-squeezed lime juice.
 
Checked gravity after three weeks in the fermentor today, and the sample tasted great. Threw in some Yakima Goldings for dry hop as part of my no-chill adjustments. I am looking forward to getting this in the keg.
 
This beer freakin' rocks! I did have some trouble getting it to clear, but I ran it through a water filter w/ a 5 micron filter and now it is near perfect. I did a 10 gal batch and have half of it aging on oak cubes for the next month or so. I'm guessing that half is going to be pretty damn good too. Thanks for the recipe!
 
Anybody brew this with Marris Otter? Would it be too bready? What about mixing half base malts as marris otter and US 2-row?
 
Trying this beer after 2 weeks in the keg. Nice beer. Like everything about it except the taste of the Lyle's syrup at the finish. Think I'll substitute some other sugar next go around.

Is all inverted sugar similar to lyle's?
 
Bugaboo, what is the taste like? A few months ago I made my own invert sugar (dark) and can't say I find it in the beer, except for the color contribution and thinning out the beer. Thanks!
 
To be honest with you it has kind of an earwax taste to it. Really didn't care for it when I sampled it before putting it in the beer. Should of left it out.

How did your invert sugar turn out?
 
I inverted a pound of dark brown sugar (~10% by weight of grist) with a tsp or two of lemon juice and diammonium phosphate, on a low simmer for about 2 hours. It was dark but not black in color and tasted wonderfully before I added it at the beginning of the boil (perhaps a mistake). The end result had more flavor when the beer was warm/getting flat but it had more of a tea character to it. Could have been the hops too as it was somewhat bitter / astringent for a low gravity beer. In short, I used so many new things in this beer that it was difficult to pinpoint the sugar's contribution on just a single batch. I would say that it did contribute most of the color (+5% crystal 75L) - gave it a nice red hue, ~SRM 13.
 
Hi all,

I brewed this last Saturday. I used demerrara which wasn't soft brown sugar, but a sort of granulated brown sugar. I bought it at a Spanish store. I also used some ancient Lyles which reminded me of sticky toffee pudding. I came in at 1.062 OSG. One week later today, I got about 1.016, so I'll probably keg this tomorrow. I could taste a little sugar in the SG sample, but I'm sure it will blend in once she ages. I've been wanting to brew a 'sugar' beer. My only other sugar beer that I recall was a Duvel. This should be good. My amounts may be off as I brew for a 5 gallon keg.

I had some OSH on draft 2 Sundays ago and liked it. I've had it in the can before and remember it having a tinny taste. (Yuck)
 
I kegged this from the primary yesterday after running a half marathon. Maybe I should have put it in secondary, but I don't like the extra step. Got some goo in the keg - I guess some yeast, but hopefully this will settle out. My Notty yeast went crazy with this beer. I think it liked the sugar! The yeast was so thick it went above the little baffle on my racking cane.

Well, I'm guessing this may end up a little on the Belgian side of an English beer due to the higher SG - which is OK with me! I could taste the sweet and the hops in the gravity sample. I cut down on the Northern Brewer from 1-1/2 ounces to 1 ounce as the Alpha on the package said 12% so was glad I did. I'm sure the flavors will come together with a little aging. Can't wait.
 
Brewed this for a friend at work who likes OSH(I like it too). I used the 165F mash temp and bottled with low carbonation -- it turned out fantastic. My friend said that the flavor of this recipe is better then OSH. I agree the flavor is very, very good. Thanks for the recipe!
 
I had my last pint or so last night. Then the dreaded whooshing sound from my keg. As mentioned above, I was a bit high on the OSG due to conversion confusion. I'm sure I didn't mash at 165F - probably 10 degrees lower as I like a dryer beer. This beer was nice a nice changeup from my typical hoppy APA. I had it on tap with EdWort's Hefeweizen - another non-hoppy beer. I would definitely brew this OSH again, thank you Orfy.

Tasting note: cherry flavor. I mentioned this to my brother and he agreed (power of suggestion?)
 
I hadn't had an OSH in quite some time, and after having a bottle I thought it tasted different than the draft I remembered, yet the taste was familiar. I went and grabbed an old bottle of my "No Sham Shamrock" (recipe from Charlie P's bible.) It looked and tasted very similar.

Then I remembered, I had subbed roasted malt for toasted malt in the Shamrock recipe.
In my opinion, the OSH tastes different in the bottle from the keg, and way different in the can, which is very watery and metallic twangy.

Anyway, if you want an easy approximation give it a try and let it age awhile.
 
rmchair said:
In my opinion, the OSH tastes different in the bottle from the keg, and way different in the can, which is very watery and metallic twangy.
Click to expand...
Based on the can taste I would have not brewed this. I tried the "Yank'ed up" version which was crazy good. Even my wife loved it and she is much more picky/discriminating than I. My version was a little strong and was reminscent of a weaker version of Doghead's Raison D'Etre.

My last beer was brewed based on a customer's recipe - probably a bad idea. It was a left handed milk stout which even his wife liked. I think it came out true to style and balanced - though I've never had one. I just don't think that is my favorite style. Anyway, I was anxious to get back to OSH and brewed one on Saturday. The OSG was 1.059 compared to the the previous 1.063. I think that I used Maris Otter before vs. US Pale malt this time. Also my sparge water may not been as hot as before. After this, I'll brew my favorite APA and should have 2 of my favorites on tap!

I had some ancient Lyle's that I used in the last batch. For this batch I had some ASDA Farm store syrup which I think I picked up in Ireland - probably also old. It said 78p on it! Not a bad price for 1-1/2 pounds.
 
Has anyone brewed this recipe and the recipe from the book Clone Brews? I just came across this thread, and am brewing the AG recipe from Clone Brews tomorrow. I'm curious which is closer to the real deal?
 
I'm doing this tomorrow.
8 lbs golden promise
1 lb crystal 60
11.5 oz lyles's golden syrup (1 jar)
5 oz turbinado sugar

1.3 oz northern brewer @ 60
.3 oz east kent golding @ 15
.2 oz ekg @ 5

Probably mash in high 150's
Targeting 1.050 - 1.052

Edit:
Wow. First time using NB and EKG hops. Wort was so good I almost didn't want to ferment it. Hit 84% efficiency dropping my mill to .035", and switching mash tuns. 6 g at 1.054. Mashed at 156, so it should be fairly malty. Third generation american ale II. Can't wait for 6 weeks to go by.
 
So I'm now drinking this and I've got to say the Clone Brews Recipe absolutely nails it. I brewed it primarily for a friend, having never had it myself. Prior to brewing, I went to the local Total Wine and grabbed a four-pack of cans. I wasn't a huge fan to be honest, not bad but I'll never pay for it again. At any rate, my AG Clone effort nailed it..I was very impressed, as is my friend.
 
Knocked this out last night. Due to crazy efficiency bump from my new Rebel Brewer mill, I overshot my OG to 1060. That might blow my balance, but I'm excited. I missed whether anyone had used 1028 London Ale. That's what I had in the Erlinmeyer, so that's what I used. I've never used Nottingham, so I don't know how I can compare the two.
 
Going again on this baby - 3rd time? Last time, this was a bit dry for me. I usually go for a dryer taste, so this time I'm trying to mash at a higher temp. I think the sugars dry this out a bit. I made my own golden syrup but must've boiled it too long to get a nice color. I'll drop the jar in the sparge water to loosen it up.

Thanks for a great beer!
 
I'm cold crashing this now. It tasted so good, I could barely resist drinking it out of the fermenter. The 1028 yeast was just perfect.

One more thank you to Orfy for sharing this recipe!
 
Well, jury is out. Brewed on 10-march. Bottled 6, kegged 5 gallons on 16-april. Popped one in the fridge for a couple days.
I'm getting an interesting floral medicinal thing going on. It's not bandaid medicinal, it's like a chip of cough drop got in the glass. Kind of that belgian earthy phenolic funk thing.
Used a strong yeast starter. Smelled good. Ferment temps were controlled. Fermentation was strong. No infection.
This is my first time using NB and EKG, as well as Lyle's syrup. I'm wondering if I'm just tasting something new.
All I can really say is it's not how I remember it coming out of the cask. I'll also give it a few more weeks of conditioning. It's improving after warming up and breathing in the glass.
 
I going on #4 batch. Hopefully I'll have time tomorrow. What I learned from the last time. I recycle my yeast and brewed this one 1st and then a Guiness next. I don't think the Guiness fermented out due to the yeast eating up the sugars from the 1st batch. So lesson learned is to brew the OSH as my second use of the yeast.

Anyway, this has been a real favorite. I'll be boiling up some more invert sugar soon.
 
I wish I would have found this recipe before brewing this weekend. I found another one and modified it slightly based on what I had.

7lbs 12oz MO 79.3%
14.7 oz crystal 60l 9.4%
4 oz special B 2.6%
4 oz wheat malt 2.6%
1.6oz carapils 1.0%

4 oz of home-made candi sugar 2.6% (used this in the starter)
4 oz beat sugar 2.6%

mashed in at 152F for 90min

90 min boil

.5 oz challenger during sparge

.5 oz challenger 15 min
1 oz EKG 15 min
irish moss 15 min

1 oz EKG at flameout

I added the special B because the color and flavor of Old Speckled hen has so much carmel to it. (At least in my unexperienced opinion) plus I had it and the color of the original recipe I found was coming up really light compared to the bottle.

I used Wyeast london ESB 1968 in my 1L starter.

Ended up with an O.G. of 1.056 and 5g into the fermentor.

I've Brewed Orfy's hobgoblin clone twice (ag and extract both). Everyone that tried them said that they were awesome. Those kegs didn't last long.
 
It's difficult to keep this one around. So I ordered 2 batches of this. I'll try one on CO2 and one on Nitrogen to see how they compare. It seems I always overshoot my volumes on this one, but we'll see. Unfortunately, I didn't condition the yeast and just sprinkled it over the foam and it took a while to ferment. I brewed on Sunday and didn't notice bubbling in the bucket until Wednesday. Again, we'll see how it turns out.
 
I brewed Orfy's version a while back. Good beer. Not great but good.
 
I used an online converter - this is what it gave me for Orfy's original recipe in the locked thread; NUTS!! the color didn't come thru in the copy/paste - I'll get it. I hope this helps, as I didn't want to use any of the different ideas, just the original - then I'll maybe come back and look at some of the changes others have made ;>)!
Old Speckled Hen
Quantities and temps converted to US.
Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: Danstar Nottingham
Yeast Starter: No
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter: No
Batch Size (Gallons): 6.5
Original Gravity: 1050
Final Gravity: 1013
IBU: 47
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 10
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 7
Additional Fermentation: 21
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14

Recipe: Old Speckled Hen
Brewer: Orfy
Style: English Old Ale

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 23.00 L 6.072 gal
Boil Size: 30.29 L 7.997 gal
Estimated OG: 1.052 SG
Estimated Color: 10.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 47.2 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
0.45 kg Lyle's Golden Syrup (0.0 SRM) Extract 8.3 % http://www.austinhomebrew.com/Lyles-Golden-Syrup_p_4513.html - $6.99/11 oz. (454g) 15.87 oz
4.35 kg Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 80.0 % 9.59 lb
0.54 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 9.9 % 19.05 oz
45.00 gm Northern Brewer [8.50%] (60 min) Hops 42.1 IBU 1.587 oz
15.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [5.00%] (15 min) Hops 4.1 IBU .529 oz
10.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [5.00%] (5 min) Hops 1.1 IBU .353 oz
0.10 kg Dememera Sugar (2.0 SRM) Sugar 1.8 % 3.527 oz


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 4.89 kg 10.78 lb
----------------------------
Mash In Add 12.76 L 13.49 qt of water at 76.9 C 170.42°F 68.0 C 154.4°F 90 min
 
From pelipen - "Well, jury is out. (snip) I'm getting an interesting floral medicinal thing going on. It's not bandaid medicinal, it's like a chip of cough drop got in the glass. Kind of that belgian earthy phenolic funk thing."

And this from Bugaboo, concerning the Lyles syrup - "To be honest with you it has kind of an earwax taste to it. Really didn't care for it when I sampled it before putting it in the beer. Should of left it out."

You guys made me laugh, Thank You! I needed that tonite!!

Note to Orfy: If Lyles has this medicinal/cough syrup/earwax taste to it when mine is finished, what do you think about using treacle instead the next time around? Just curious, since I like to use Panela/Piloncillo/Jaggery in my Stouts and Porters sometimes to beef up the ABV and give it a slight bit of a molasses flavor. (I grew up in the '40's' having molasses on my toast, cheerios, mush, peanut butter sands etc.)
 
Am resurrecting this thread - any recipe thread with both @Orfy and @BierMuncher in it is worth another look.

I've agreed to brew an English pub ale, something like an Old Speckled Hen, for a party in mid-August and condition/serve it in my pin cask. I'm going to do 10 gallons, though - and keg the other half for my own enjoyment.

I'm going with as many English ingredients here as I can, and just placed an order with Farmhouse Brewing Supply. Here's what I've got so far:

Batch Size: 10 gallons
Target OG: 1.055
Bitterness: 42 IBU
Color: 10 SRM

Fermentables
14 lbs Maris Otter (Muntons)
2 lbs Kiln Amber 22L (Franco-Belges)
1 lb British Crystal Malt II 62L (Fawcett)
1 lb British Pale Crystal Malt 20L (Fawcett)
1 lb Dememera Sugar 2 SRM
1 lb Invert Sugar

Mash at 158F for 45 minutes

Hops
2 oz Challenger (7% AA) 60 minutes
1 oz East Kent Goldings (5% AA) 20 minutes
1 oz Challenger 15 minutes
1 oz East Kent Goldings 10 minutes
1 oz Challenger 5 minutes

Yeast
Omega Labs British Ale VIII - high flocculation and I'll make two starters

Other
Clarity Ferm
Irish Moss
12 ml Lactic Acid (in the mash)

Let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions.
 

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