English Ales - What's your favorite recipe?

[bellhp]

The rabbit hole is incredibly deep

Yes , this morning I was told , just make your own invert ... it's easy !
Keep going guy's I'm soaking it in.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

Well the process(es) itself is easy, the hard part is deciding wich one you wish to adhere to...

 

[Colindo]

I got them, except the guide to vintage beer.

I got the guide for Christmas. It is quite distinct from the other books since it's much more than just his blog posts. Also it has a great layout and you get lots of colours to guide you through the text. Highly recommended.

 

[Miraculix]

I got the guide for Christmas. It is quite distinct from the other books since it's much more than just his blog posts. Also it has a great layout and you get lots of colours to guide you through the text. Highly recommended.

noooo.... now I need to buy it. What you are describing is what I was missing in his other books... I already got 3 or 4 of them.

 

[mrveeno]

Packaging - just wanted to pass on a tip (possibly).

I’ve been brewing for a pretty long time and started bottle conditioning, went to kegging and even cask beer with an engine. I’m now back to bottle conditioning and will probably be staying there.

I brew 80% British style and 15% Belgian styles - and have always preferred bottle conditioned beers, but the time spent bottling got to be too much.

I’ve finally streamlined it with brewing 2.5 gallons at a time, 22oz bottles, carbonation drops, primary fermentor with spout (I use an SS Brewbucket)

So 2.5 gallons will give me an exact twelve 22oz bottles which is plenty.

Primary for 1.5-2 weeks, sanitize bottles + add 1 carb drop, hook up bottle wand direct to fermenter, bottle then cap. Let sit 2 weeks, right into fridge and drinking.

1 carb drop gives you a really nice low carbonation for British styles. I use 1 in 33cl bottles for my Belgian beers.

I can now bottle in maybe 30 mins and it’s not so much of a chore.

Hope someone might pick up a few tips.

I bottle my beer as well, and do it on the dishwasher door so there is no mess.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

The Imperial Stout is in secondary with about 9g of boiled oak cubes, 12g of Styrian Bobek and 1.5 shot glass of Brett'd stock ale. Guesstimated amount of beer in carboy is ~12L.
I sucked in a bit of air through the airlock when pouring some of the stock ale to inocculate the stout, but for the last 2 weeks it has been relatively lively producing co2 so I am not overly worried about it.
This bad boy is gonna be strong when finished.

 

[Miraculix]

The Imperial Stout is in secondary with about 9g of boiled oak cubes, 12g of Styrian Bobek and 1.5 shot glass of Brett'd stock ale. Guesstimated amount of beer in carboy is ~12L.
I sucked in a bit of air through the airlock when pouring some of the stock ale to inocculate the stout, but for the last 2 weeks it has been relatively lively producing co2 so I am not overly worried about it.
This bad boy is gonna be strong when finished.

Brett takes care of the little additional co2 anyway, all good!

Maybe boiling the oak before adding is a good idea. I have had a mead yeasterday which was on oak for a few weeks and aged 4 years and it still is a dumper. But the oak was not boiled.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

As per our previous discussion, I find it hard to believe even Memel oak would leave no flavour and/or mouthfeel trace at all behind if cask aged for 1year+, so I went low on the dose and boiled it to keep the contributions from it as subtle as possible.
And it kills any potential nasties...

 

[Colindo]

Ron just figured out today that apparently it was normal for wooden vats to be lined, not unlined as he thought before Being slow

 

[DBhomebrew]

Ron just figured out today that apparently it was normal for wooden vats to be lined, not unlined as he thought before Being slow

A historian has found a loose thread that needs exploring. He hasn't yet overturned his prior understanding.

In the last few days, he's also found evidence of Truman mixing gyle wort's before and after fermentation!

 

[Colindo]

A historian has found a loose thread that needs exploring. He hasn't yet overturned his prior understanding.

This is not different from what I said, but thanks for underlining that.

In the last few days, he's also found evidence of Truman mixing gyle wort's before and after fermentation!

This is not something he found in the last few days! He had the Truman records for years and had done rough sighting through them a long time ago. He only showed it to his readers recently.

 

[DBhomebrew]

@Colindo,

 

[Colindo]

By the way, the line that puzzled him because he read "is unlined [...] must," is something I read to "is inclined to must", so maybe it is all much ado about nothing. Including my post # 4,269

 

[DBhomebrew]

I had thought all these Truman docs were something he's had for years but never dug into. Maybe I read that wrong.

 

[DBhomebrew]

By the way, the line that puzzled him because he read "is unlined [...] must," is something I read to "is inclined to must", so maybe it is all much ado about nothing. Including my post # 4,269

I'm no expert in 19th century handwriting, but I'd agree.

 

[Colindo]

I had thought all these Truman docs were something he's had for years but never dug into. Maybe I read that wrong.

Reread today's post

I had been working my way through their records. My first sweep was every 10 years - 1820, 1830, 1840, etc. Then 1835, 1845, etc. The final sweep - which remains incomplete - was to fill in the remaining years. Starting with the 1880s. It's these years that I'd left untouched.

 

[DBhomebrew]

Reread today's post

I will do so. After this first cup of coffee!

 

[Colindo]

For me it's time for my first beer, since it is just about 4pm here

Might record a tasting video comparing my 1901 Whitbread KK with the 1886 Barclay Perkins Hogshead Porter. Have been waiting to do the tasting video after 5 months in the keg with dry-hop, but without Brett. Some bottles were bretted and will be tasted a few more months in.

 

[DBhomebrew]

By the way, the line that puzzled him because he read "is unlined [...] must," is something I read to "is inclined to must", so maybe it is all much ado about nothing. Including my post # 4,269

As you point out, it turns out the loose thread was just a bit of fluff.

 

[DuncB]

My proven anti-OCD method:

Add sugar to a pot, add water, dissolve, boil, add a dash of lemon juice, boil for 20 minutes to half an hour, add a dash of baking soda, taste. Sour and/or lemon taste? More baking soda! Tastes like baking soda? Too much, add a bit of lemon juice. Tastes just sweet and neutral caramell-ish? perfect, job done.

There is no need for prolonged heating after neutralisation of the acid.

Is it worth checking the pH and if so are we aiming for neutral?

 

[Brewskey]

Is it worth checking the pH and if so are we aiming for neutral?

I know you weren't asking me. But, I don't check the final pH, just taste it and make sure it's not tart tasting. I've been using 88% lactic and baking soda to neutralize at about 1:1. Working good so far. I think I got the baking soda thing here.

 

[Miraculix]

Is it worth checking the pH and if so are we aiming for neutral?

Check the taste, use your tongue .

Fishy? Too much baking soda, add lemon.

Sour? Not enough baking soda.

 

[Colindo]

I reread the paper I posted in #4,224 and they do neutralise the sugar after inversion. So that seems to have been the standard in 1896 as well.

What I find peculiar is that they go to great length to filter all impurities out of the sugar. They also say that any molasses matter is detrimental. Not sure if the description holds only for the palest invert #1, but they definitely would not have used molasses as an addition.

 

[eshea3]

I always enjoy these little back and forths between home brewers. I long ago came to terms with this basic truth - my ingredients are not identical to the ingredients used historically nor are they identical to ingredients used by brewers who have the leverage to specify custom malting processes and do hop selection.

So I content myself with the easy path to make "invert sugar" as specified by Ron and Kristen. After bringing the sugar to the 240 mark, I whack it into an oven to hold for the appropriate time. Don't worry too much if its the exact color spec. In the end it's only whether the beer I put it in tastes good to me.

 

[DBhomebrew]

And yet, the strive to uncover what our forbears did (and get as close as possible to recreating it) remains an ever-interesting pursuit.

 

[eshea3]

And yet, the strive to uncover what our forbears did (and get as close as possible to recreating it) remains an ever-interesting pursuit.

I have zero problems with people doing what suits them - merely expressing my philosophy

 

[DBhomebrew]

I have zero problems with people doing what suits them - merely expressing my philosophy

Indeed. I brew and make my invert just as you do, with the same philosophy. But, I also read Shut Up daily.

Fine tune the picture of the ideal, but don't worry too much whether I truly approach it. I brew historically-inspired beers, not historically.

 

[eshea3]

Indeed. I brew and make my invert just as you do, with the same philosophy. But, I also read Shut Up daily.

Fine tune the picture of the ideal, but don't worry too much whether I truly approach it. I brew historically-inspired beers, not historically.

Beauty of homebrewing is you get to do what you want to do.

 

[bwible]

And yet, the strive to uncover what our forbears did (and get as close as possible to recreating it) remains an ever-interesting pursuit.

Better than some of the “new” stuff thats been invented - cloudy ipas that look like a glass of orange juice, beers intentionally made sour, or “pastry stouts”. Things like that make me want to look back to the past instead of living in dread of what the next fad/obsession is going to be. I’ll take a well made pre-prohibition lager over the “best” NEIPA or any sour beer any day.

 

[tracer bullet]

I see them similarly... I wont' try to convince anyone else to do so, but it's that way for me. It's the "hmm, I have a goal, can I get there"? And I like to learn on the way. Duplicate a company's beer, fullest representation of cascade hops in a beer, most chocolate flavor in a stout without actual chocolate, fruitiest IPA, whatever! I also just think beer is yummy and am open to many types. I do however agree not all types. I enjoy a hazy IPA, and most sours, but the pastry stouts I will skip.

Sorry for continuing the off-topic.