British Strong Ale 11-11-11 Gun Stock Ale (Old Ale) *Official Recipe*

[camiller]

very cool, thanks for all the info guys.

does this beer need a starter with an OG so high?

Probably wouldn't hurt if you are using the 9097 called for in the recipe. If you use something like the Roeselare blend then the time spent in the starter might throw off the ratio of the blend. There is some discussion of this in the https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/official-11-11-11-old-ale-thread-hbt-anniversary-series-200538/

 

[camiller]

jmo88, what is the color contribution of the Treacle?

 

[NoisufnoC]

Probably wouldn't hurt if you are using the 9097 called for in the recipe. If you use something like the Roeselare blend then the time spent in the starter might throw off the ratio of the blend. There is some discussion of this in the https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/official-11-11-11-old-ale-thread-hbt-anniversary-series-200538/

yeah, i'm planning on the 9097

 

[jmo88]

jmo88, what is the color contribution of the Treacle?

The recipe is for 100L treacle.

 

[camiller]

The recipe is for 100L treacle.

Thanks, I was mocking up a 12 gallon batch in BeerCalculus and it was coming out a bit lighter because they list it at 80L

 

[AmandaK]

I think I'm in for this one. Putting it on my next supply order.

Amanda

 

[smuth10]

I am lazy, does anyone have the beersmith file for this?

 

[eljefe]

I am pulling together what I am going to brew while SWMBO is out of town. I was looking for an Old Ale recipe so I was excited to see this. This will be my first XX-XX-XX brew.

I do have a quick question. I saw this is in the recipe:

"Sugar - Treacle 8.00 oz (3.0 %) Start Of Boil"

So that I am clear, is the Treacle added to the 2 gallon boil - reduced to 1 - 2 quarts which would add to the carmelized flavor. Or, is to be added to the full boil?

Sorry to ask if this was discussed in the other threads.

Thank you

 

[AnOldUR]

The quote below came from another thread. We're all unique in the way we perceive flavors, but ryane's opinion is something to consider. This isn’t the first release of the 9097 blend. Can anyone else share their experience with it?

9097 wont make the beer sour at all, Ive found that I actually dont like the profile it lends to a bigger beer, it does however make a great lower grav brett'd beer

In my experience with it, it was very phenolic in a higher grav wort, and gave off some rotting banana esters

 

[jmo88]

I am pulling together what I am going to brew while SWMBO is out of town. I was looking for an Old Ale recipe so I was excited to see this. This will be my first XX-XX-XX brew.

I do have a quick question. I saw this is in the recipe:

"Sugar - Treacle 8.00 oz (3.0 %) Start Of Boil"

So that I am clear, is the Treacle added to the 2 gallon boil - reduced to 1 - 2 quarts which would add to the carmelized flavor. Or, is to be added to the full boil?

Sorry to ask if this was discussed in the other threads.

Thank you

Add it to the full boil. It'll be easier to reduce the first 2gl without the treacle.

 

[MarsColonist]

I'm pricing it out at Austin Homebrew, but I can't find the Amber Malt on their site.

That is because they dont carry any; I asked on the sales floor. Northern Brewer has Crisp Amber.


Also, any thoughts on the Brett to use on this one?

 

[adamjab19]

That is because they dont carry any; I asked on the sales floor. Northern Brewer has Crisp Amber.


Also, any thoughts on the Brett to use on this one?

I think the Brett is coming from the 9097 platinum series blend.

Do we make a starter though?

 

[jmo88]

Yes. Make a starter as normal. The Brett is in the 9097 blend and there is no reason to add any more.

As for the amber malt. It is very hard to find and many places consider amber malt to be a type of crystal, equivalent to brown malt, or a biscuit malt. The amber malt in this recipe should be a toasted base malt paler than brown malt. The intent was to create a grist similar to what may have been used in a historic old ale, hence the kettle caramelization, oak, and brett. So, you may wish to toast your own base malt to create some amber malt.

 

[camiller]

I think the Brett is coming from the 9097 platinum series blend.

Do we make a starter though?

Just to clarify the nomenclature:

• Platinum Strains = White Labs special strains
• Private Collection = Wyeast Labs special strains

 

[shelly_belly]

Can I slant the Wyeast 9097-PC Old Ale Blend the same as Ale and Lager yeasts?

Thank you.

 

[smokinghole]

For those of us that have brewed already, what are you getting as a gravity reading after primary fermentation has stopped. When I checked even hitting my 158, as far as I could tell at least with my thermapen, my gravity came in under 1.020. So either my bret has already started chewing or somehow my temp wasn't really my temp.

 

[jmo88]

For those of us that have brewed already, what are you getting as a gravity reading after primary fermentation has stopped. When I checked even hitting my 158, as far as I could tell at least with my thermapen, my gravity came in under 1.020. So either my bret has already started chewing or somehow my temp wasn't really my temp.

I hit 1.018 when I checked after 3 weeks from pitching. I don't have a pellicle and I think it is too early for the brett to be making a significant dent in the gravity. I think the Brett will probably drop the gravity only a couple points a month. I wouldn't be surprised if it finished around 1.010 or lower. Despite the low gravity it will probably reach, I bet it will still have a good mouthfeel, especially with the oak and dextins, and won't seem too dry and thin.

 

[smokinghole]

Yeah I figured it was too early for the brett but I would have figured with hitting the temps I would have had a higher FG. Glad to see that we're pretty much both in the same boat. I did not have a pellicle when I peaked in the other day then again I think my fermentation after three weeks had ran all available O2 out of the keg.

On a side note did we ever figure out what the primary strain is in this blend?

 

[mojotele]

For those of us that have brewed already, what are you getting as a gravity reading after primary fermentation has stopped. When I checked even hitting my 158, as far as I could tell at least with my thermapen, my gravity came in under 1.020. So either my bret has already started chewing or somehow my temp wasn't really my temp.

The sacc finished after 3 days or so - really quick start and really quick ferment. Gravity was 1.023. Even a couple weeks later it was still 1.023. I let it sit in primary for a month and, when I went to rack to secondary, the pellicle had formed. I fermented in a plastic bucket, though, and opened it a couple times to grab a sample. The pellicle has yet to reform in my secondary. From what I've read, the brett is going to ferment the remaining sugars very, very slowly. So you probably won't see your gravity go down from the brett for a few months.

There are so many variables that can affect your final gravity other than the mash temperature - especially with this brew. The extent to which you carmelized the first runnings, the characteristics of the malt used, the amount of yeast pitched, the oxygen content of the wort, how quickly you heated up your runnings to stop conversion, etc.

 

[KingBrianI]

Mine was down to about 1.028 when the primary fermentation seemed to be over and I just checked the gravity today which is about a month later and it's down to 1.026. Flavor was very interesting. A bit sweet but not at all cloying, with lots of fruitiness on the palate. I was getting cherries and peaches with a bit of tartness coming through. Caramel and malt flavors made an appearance too and I detected just the faintest bit of "barnyard" funk on the nose. I'll be racking to secondary today on an oz of house toast french oak cubes. This beer is coming along great.

 

[KingBrianI]

Oh, and everyone likes photos right? Here's a color update.

 

[barrooze]

I've got my old ale in the primary still and will rack to secondary to add my oak cubes in the next week or so. I've read that I can soak my cubes in wine, bourbon, port, etc. To reduce the new oak flavor, changing out the liquor every 3 days or so.

I'm wondering if I should soak the cubes in liquor and if so, which? Thanks!

 

[frazier]

I know I'm late to the party, but I just brewed this tonight. In the spirit of individualizing a group recipe, I'll be aging with cherry wood instead of oak, because I live in the woods and have a gajillion scrub cherry trees available to me. I won't be bugging it though, WLP028 for me.

Cheers!

 

[AnOldUR]

Oh, and everyone likes photos right?

There's my Rogue glass. Haven't seen it since having a crowd here for Thanksgiving.
I'll PM my address.








Oh, and nice color on the Old Ale. Mine hit 4 weeks yesterday, but I haven't taken a sample. Too much krausen crud on the carboy walls to see if it's dropped or if the Brett is working. Plan to transfer sometime this week. Looking forward to seeing (tasting) how it's been doing.

 

[nootay]

I'm a little confused on what I should be putting in to beer smith. Should I be using a starting boil volume in beer smith of 8.5 gallons to compensate for the first runnings boil (is this a decoction?) so that it will compute by mash correctly?

 

[jmo88]

I'm a little confused on what I should be putting in to beer smith. Should I be using a starting boil volume in beer smith of 8.5 gallons to compensate for the first runnings boil (is this a decoction?) so that it will compute by mash correctly?

I just put the recipe in my software to make 7 gallons of wort. I still boiled off the first runnings to about a half gallon and my brew pot had 6.5 gallons of the remaining runnings in it. I knew that I would not lose any sugar from the caramelization, so there really wasn't any benefit in trying to put the preboil volumes in correctly. Basically, the way I look at it, the recipe will yield the same OG whether you go for 8.5 run-off with caramelization or whether you just run-off 7 gallons for a single boil. Either way, it's not a decoction. That's something different.

 

[jfr1111]

I'm planning two big beers to brew in the upcoming month or two to have ready for Christmas next year. One is an English Barleywine and I'm not sure what the other will be, but this sounds tempting. I don't want to mess with bugs just yet, so what yeast strain/recipe change would be recommended ? I have Thames Valley I and London Ale III on hand. Altough more "pedestrian", all the beers that were higher gravity that I've fermented with S-33 have come out very, very good and not Belgianesque in the slightest.

I'd be willing to give/swap bottles of the "virgin" stuff with Canadian homebrewers for comparison if I decide to roll with it.

 

[c0bra]

Brewed 5 gallons of this on Saturday. Couldn't find treacle locally so I went with organic unsulfered molasses, and swapped the Target out for equal IBUs of Horizon and Magnum (because it's what I had on hand).

Currently has a really nice krausen on it. Can't wait to see what it's like in a year!

 

[statseeker]

I'm going to be brewing this up over my vacation next week. Thinking about mixing 6oz unsulphured molasses and 2oz vanilla corn syrup to get the right blend in substitution for the treacle.

Also, kind of wondering how to do the reduction here. Do I take all the runnings from my grist and boil that down to 2 quarts and then fly sparge with 6.5 gallons of water?

 

[GuldTuborg]

I almost have everything ready to go for brew day next Wednesday. I'm stoked!