It is a fantastic beer. I drank a ton of it in the UK, both bottled and cask and never knew there was a difference.
Can You Brew It recipe for Wychwood Hobgoblin
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It is a fantastic beer. I drank a ton of it in the UK, both bottled and cask and never knew there was a difference.
Simpson's 70-80L dark crystal. That is the answer. This is the missing "british" taste in Hobgoblin and Fuller's (especially the London Porter). We just got it at the local stores a couple months ago and it is awesome. (although the Golden Promise didn't blow me away)
So far I've only used it a bjcp 70/- and a mild that is >20% crystal. Both have "the taste". I don't know if I like it better than the Bairds but its different and probably is the right crystal for hobgoblin or a fullers clone. My next brew planned is another attempt at London Porter - my other favourite english import.
Its in a lot better shape than most of the bottles I've had. It has a lot of malt but it isn't near as sweet and the hops are there. Its also the lighter 4.5% ABV version vs the 5.2% export version.
I have a 4 pack of unoxidized Hobgoblin - well now a 3 pack.
It has no sherry like taste to it. This is the first time in 7 years.
Amazingly, it tastes almost like what I brewed in march and almost threw away because it had little sweetness (too long in the primary).
So Jeff's CYBI recipe is really pretty close. I'm going to MKE soon and will bring some simpsons crystal to brew again and taste. Thx GBX for the tip.
I was reading the Mild Ale style book and it mentioned that british brewers get oxidation from whirlpooling their wort. Maybe this is where it comes from. But where did it go in this batch ? I even had a few bottles flowin from the UK and they had the oxidized taste. Strange.
It has no sherry like taste to it. This is the first time in 7 years.
Amazingly, it tastes almost like what I brewed in march and almost threw away because it had little sweetness (too long in the primary).
So Jeff's CYBI recipe is really pretty close. I'm going to MKE soon and will bring some simpsons crystal to brew again and taste. Thx GBX for the tip.
I was reading the Mild Ale style book and it mentioned that british brewers get oxidation from whirlpooling their wort. Maybe this is where it comes from. But where did it go in this batch ? I even had a few bottles flowin from the UK and they had the oxidized taste. Strange.
Hot side oxidation is not a thing - its just cold side oxidation and crappy brewers in denial of their bad process. Nobody who purges their transfers and keg conditions ever has a problem with "hot side aeration". Any oxidation in British beers comes from cask conditioning and (like ALL oxidation) from post fermentation/cold side handling.
Most of those old style books are complete nonsense and most brewing books that pre-date the internet are garbage too unless you are aware that 90% of the information contained is wrong or horribly out of date and are just reading them for fun. They are like reading a book about evolution from before dna sequencing - maybe the general concepts are sort of right but the details are all wrong.
cheesechoker
Member
Going by their spec sheets, you are talking about "Crystal medium dark", yeah?
- Crystal medium: 63.2 - 71.8 L
- Crystal medium dark: 70.0 - 83.0 L
- Crystal dark: 94.3 - 107.5 L
