English Ales - What's your favorite recipe?

[kmarkstevens]

This weekend, I got inspired for the first time all year. Knocked out the Machine House Mild clone, an American Blonde, and then partigyled the grain from both for a 1030 vaguely English session ale with Notty. My eldest kid has really gotten into foraging, so have a jar full of spruce tips tincturing away in vodka to "spruce" up the session ale next week.

Oh, and I finally bottled a white wine from a kit that has been sitting in the fermenter for months on oak, and bottled half the sake that has been lagering for a while in the fridge. Going to add in bentonite to clear the second half.

 

[DuncB]

This weekend, I got inspired for the first time all year. Knocked out the Machine House Mild clone, an American Blonde, and then partigyled the grain from both for a 1030 vaguely English session ale with Notty. My eldest kid has really gotten into foraging, so have a jar full of spruce tips tincturing away in vodka to "spruce" up the session ale next week.

Oh, and I finally bottled a white wine from a kit that has been sitting in the fermenter for months on oak, and bottled half the sake that has been lagering for a while in the fridge. Going to add in bentonite to clear the second half.

You are making me thirsty.

Can you point me to the machine house mild clone please?

 

[Derp]

Can you point me to the machine house mild clone please?

Sorry to butt in, but it's here: Recipe: Machine House Dark Mild – Machine House Brewery

Very, very tasty. Can't wait for my next visit to Seattle; I assume they'll be in their new location by then.

 

[InspectorJon]

Oh, these are just the first five! Many more beers will follow.

Said “that” guy at 12:30 in the afternoon one Saturday.

 

[bellhp]

Brewed 5 gals of my " Dobby the house Bitter" last night ... first brewday with my son helping
This is a recipe I've been working on a gallon at a time for a while now . Hope it comes out as expected . Of all the recipes I've worked up over the last year this is my sons favorite . I'll post it once I am confident in it's repeatability . after all this thread is a "favorite recipe" thread ... don't see to many lately ... maybe it's time for ya'll to post up those favorites you've been tweaking to perfection ?

 

[schmurf]

Brewed 5 gals of my " Dobby the house Bitter" last night ... first brewday with my son helping
This is a recipe I've been working on a gallon at a time for a while now . Hope it comes out as expected . Of all the recipes I've worked up over the last year this is my sons favorite . I'll post it once I am confident in it's repeatability . after all this thread is a "favorite recipe" thread ... don't see to many lately ... maybe it's time for ya'll to post up those favorites you've been tweaking to perfection ?

Agreed, too much of brew log type of posts and too little favourite recipes!

 

[balrog]

Oh-kayyyyy, then.

 

[kmarkstevens]

Can you point me to the machine house mild clone please?

Here you go with both the recipe from the brewer plus highlights from a couple of conversations. It is a crackin' fine brewski. Since it is on cask, the taste can very from pretty dang good to superlative. The homebrew version is pretty much equivalent. I think the trick is to actually use the Bairds specialty malts, which are available in the US from More Beer.

Machine House is waiting on some permits. IIRC, they have to move out by June 15, and the new place should be ready by then.

Again, standing invitation to anyone visiting Seattle, if schedules align, I am happy to pour a few pints down your neck.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

I've got a favourite I brewed recently:
GP as base
3.5% Simpson Dark Crystal
5% Simpson Wheat Malt
10% invert 2
I used 7ml of Brouwlands ~10000ebc caramel colour, next time I will likely go with about 1% of the total grist weight in black malt in the sparge for a deeper copper/amber hue.
Mash 67/60 min
Boil 90 min
Challenger for bittering
Ekg/ Bramling X @20 min 15g each
Dry hop EKG/ Bramling X 10/5g
20L batch 83% efficiency.

OG 1.040 FG 1.007 35 IBU
I am moving away from actually inverting the sugar and just used a mix of 50% white refined cane sugar and the other half split 50/50 Billingtons demerara and light muscovado.
I use a house mix of Brewly English and MJ m42. Ferment this with a characterfull English yeast, preferably a mix with one for attenuation and one for character.
No airlock and lid loosely fitted for the first days until fermentation slows down.
Aim for high attenuation.

This is a good base recipe for a Northern bitter I've done a few times but with different hops between the brews.

 

[balrog]

Here you go with both the recipe from the brewer plus highlights from a couple of conversations. It is a crackin' fine brewski. Since it is on cask, the taste can very from pretty dang good to superlative. The homebrew version is pretty much equivalent. I think the trick is to actually use the Bairds specialty malts, which are available in the US from More Beer.

Machine House is waiting on some permits. IIRC, they have to move out by June 15, and the new place should be ready by then.

Again, standing invitation to anyone visiting Seattle, if schedules align, I am happy to pour a few pints down your neck.

Coming to Portland in June, 2.5+ hr away, prolly won't have the time to make the trip.

 

[DuncB]

@Derp and @kmarkstevens
Thank you both for the MMild recipe link.

 

[kmarkstevens]

Coming to Portland in June, 2.5+ hr away, prolly won't have the time to make the trip.

That's 2.5 hours without traffic, and you're pretty much guaranteed to have traffic.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

Look what I got in the mail today

 

[storunner13]

Look what I got in the mail today

Specs look better than the stuff in the US (2020 crop). Color, nitrogen, and yield are back in line.

Diastatic power is really poor though. WK converts to only 42 Lintner.

https://coa.bsgcraft.com/Resources/...allier Malt PO160-042644 SS26550 59018-2 .pdf
I used the last of my sack yesterday and realized that all my brews with my old stock had pH values that were WAY too low. Calculated at ~5.5-5.6 had me at 5.05-5.15 for all 4 batches I used with my sack. Has anyone had issues with pH before? Not sure if it was the batch I had, or if it's an issue with all Chevallier malt.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

Specs look better than the stuff in the US (2020 crop). Color, nitrogen, and yield are back in line.

Diastatic power is really poor though. WK converts to only 42 Lintner.

https://coa.bsgcraft.com/Resources/...allier Malt PO160-042644 SS26550 59018-2 .pdf
I used the last of my sack yesterday and realized that all my brews with my old stock had pH values that were WAY too low. Calculated at ~5.5-5.6 had me at 5.05-5.15 for all 4 batches I used with my sack. Has anyone had issues with pH before? Not sure if it was the batch I had, or if it's an issue with all Chevallier malt.

I'll likely do a a 50c/15 min protein rest followed by a 90 min mash anyways, and plan to use it in primarily turn of the last century -+10y inspired milds and AK.
Next vintage of old ale will probably be Chevalier aswell...

 

[deere322]

I'll be brewing this beer for the 3rd time - Let's Brew Wednesday - 1914 Courage Imperial

I have a pound of invert #3 which I was thinking on using for this recipe. I ordered it by mistake instead of #1 for another beer I brewed recently.

I figured I'd ask folks here if this is a bad idea and if it would impart any "off flavors".

My first thought is that it would only increase the gravity since there is a ton of brown and black and it wouldn't hurt to add the #3.

Thoughts?

 

[DBhomebrew]

I'll be brewing this beer for the 3rd time - Let's Brew Wednesday - 1914 Courage Imperial

I have a pound of invert #3 which I was thinking on using for this recipe. I ordered it by mistake instead of #1 for another beer I brewed recently.

I figured I'd ask folks here if this is a bad idea and if it would impart any "off flavors".

My first thought is that it would only increase the gravity since there is a ton of brown and black and it wouldn't hurt to add the #3.

Thoughts?

Go for it. I brewed that beer with a super dark DIY invert. Delicious.

Have you noticed there are two Let's Brew recipes for it? The earlier was written by Kristen England. The later by Ron.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/1914-courage-imperial-stout-which-one.693027/

 

[deere322]

Go for it. I brewed that beer with a super dark DIY invert. Delicious.

Have you noticed there are two Let's Brew recipes for it? The earlier was written by Kristen England. The later by Ron.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/1914-courage-imperial-stout-which-one.693027/

Well, alrighty then!!

I've always brewed the Kristen version so it looks like it'll be a combo of both per se.

I missed that later recipe by Ron and I read SUABP daily for the last 8 years.

Great thread, btw. I'll read through it.

Thanks!

 

[Miraculix]

You guys just inspired me to use up my stock of malts in an imperial something old.

I don't remember what I got, but I got too much of it. I want to brew something which can be stored for years as I want to get out of this "I have to drink it because it goes bad in a few weeks" cycle plus I want to get rid of all my current malt.

Perfect time for an imperial old something ale! A pack of notty, a pack of s04, a pack of Windsor, rye malt, wheat malt, dark malts, pale malts, invert, hops for 60-70 ibus, og above 1.1, sounds nice, doesn't it?

 

[DBhomebrew]

Coming up on 2yrs with that brew. Almost time for another tasting report. Almost time to brew it again. It'll likely be next winter's brett'd cellar beer. Two stock ales in a row, time for another roasty.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

Coming up on 2yrs with that brew. Almost time for another tasting report. Almost time to brew it again. It'll likely be next winter's brett'd cellar beer. Two stock ales in a row, time for another roasty.

Why not both? I plan to get a rotation going on a vintaged stock/old ale and an Imperial Stout each winter.

 

[DuncB]

I'm just building the starter for my second go at the Thomas Hardy original clone from Ron site design by Kristen. Recently bottled the first batch after 7 months in second vessel with some oak blocks and a repitch with wyeast 1007. Some suggestions this might have been the yeast used by Eldridge pope.
Gravity was 1.107 down to 1.034 with wlp099 then finally at bottling was 1.016.
Tasted pretty good flat, I'll crack a bottle at the brew day anniversary in August.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

And from having two pints yesterday of my latest bitter I can now conclude I am not a big fan of Bramling X.
A part of the blackcurrant-ish hoppy flavour leaves a sort of "raspy" aftertaste I do not enjoy.
I am confident enough in my ability to tell it apart from grain astringency and feel pretty certain it is part of the hop flavour.
Anyone else who gets this?

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

I might give Bramling another go, but only use it in the late boil.
It might be a flavour that comes through when used in dry-hopping I didn't like.

 

[kmarkstevens]

Machine House in Seattle will close at the current location on June 11.

Waiting on permits for the new place and fingers crossed there will be no downtime and be open soon

 

[Colindo]

Anyone else who gets this?

Never used it for dry-hop, but in the other additions it was a smooth behaviour. Last 10 mins gives a subtle but noticeable flavour, while the WP addition gives strong aroma. I like to combine these two additions with more hops in the 10 mins than in the WP. I made great Schwarzbiers using this hopping scheme.

 

[DuncB]

My second go at the Thomas Hardy ale was a trial but managed 23 litres into fermenter at 1.126.
WLP099 is going great guns as picture below.
Also partigyle 1.044 19.5 litres which is fermenting a bit cooler with the same yeast.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

Are you gonna secondary ferment it with brett?

 

[DuncB]

Are you gonna secondary ferment it with brett?

Assuming you are asking me. Not planning on it.
The first one of these I had a go at initially fermented down to 1.034 from 1.107 and then after several months in secondary with some sterilised oak blocks it didn't change gravity. I then added the wyeast 1007 ( dusseldorf alt) and it was 1.020 when I bottled it.
That's quite alcoholic enough and the original wasn't bretted.
My recent research suggests that Eldridge Pope had several additions of Carlsberg lager yeast to the oak barrels over the 6 months they were vatted. I'll be able to taste the first batch at a year before deciding on the secondary yeasting of this batch.

A gravity check last night and it was down to 1.062 in four days, fermenting at 22 celsius now after slow rise.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

I just started the mash on a pale, or "Pennine" mild inspired by recipes in Ron's book Mild!
Relatively heavy on crystal, UK vienna as base, invert 3 and no roast at all.
Can post full recipe if anyones interested.