English Ales - What's your favorite recipe?

[Miraculix]

And screw them tight like your life depends on it, those washer and screws are what stops the crushing disc from moving about and keep an even gap.

I tried that without the washers in between but being on top. This obviously made the whole thing way too tight so my drill has actually started to smoke .

IKEA quality ftw!

I'm sure that this will be alright once I've placed one of the washers in the gap between instead of on top.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

Makita or Milwaukee.
This is the way.

 

[Miraculix]

Makita or Milwaukee.
This is the way.

We got some additional choices here in Germany but initially I bought one for drilling one or two small holes into concrete walls, not to drive a grain mill. For that purpose, the cheap IKEA one is actually surprisingly well done.

But as soon as you try to do more than this..... well, maybe it will work better once the washers sit in between. That should reduce the friction significantly.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

If you think about bosch and black&decker etc they are rubbish aswell.
For making holes in concrete you want a hammer drill or rotary hammer.
Source: trust me bro, I'm a proffesional.

 

[Miraculix]

If you think about bosch and black&decker etc they are rubbish aswell.
For making holes in concrete you want a hammer drill or rotary hammer.
Source: trust me bro, I'm a proffesional.

The Ikea one is actually a hammer drill. So for the ocassional lamp hanging, it is ok. Serves the purpose.

I have no idea about brands... I just remember vaguely one of them which was recommended by a lot of my professional friends... just can't remember which one. Was expensive, but apparently, you get what you pay for.

 

[DBhomebrew]

Well, according to Beersmith's refractometer tool, that 8.8 Brix combined with my 1.080 OG translates to an estimated 1.007 actual SG.
So it is not unlikely that it's finished, especially since Brett C as I get it is considerably less agressive than the Belgian variants.
@DBhomebrew
@eshea3

Mine's at 1.018 down from 1.095, slightly effervescent. I'm out of bottles with a sacc-only wheatwine and a strong ale on deck for packaging, so no rush.

 

[InspectorJon]

If you think about bosch and black&decker etc they are rubbish aswell.

I was a professional carpenter for a few decades. I have not bought any tools in a long time but Bosch used to be considered one of the better brands, on par with Milwaukee and Makita.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

Their jigsaw is the GOAT, but their other stuff IMO is trash.
YMMW.

 

[balrog]

Not to stir the pot on the apple cart of mixed metaphors too much, but just like digital camera manufacturers, there are good and bad examples for any line.

 

[Miraculix]

I have bottled my smash english golden ale (MO and Goldings) today, which was brewed entirely with grain I crushed myself directly prior to mashing.

Call me heavily biased but this beer tastes better directly out of the fermenter than 95% of the other beers i have brewed so far. Obviously turbid, including a yeast bite, but if you ignore that one the beer is really good. Green of course, still very promising. None of the dreaded almond detactable..... Let's see what comes after carbonation and a bit maturation but I have high expectations.

If it turns out that the dreaded almond comes from oxidised crushed grains... that would be quite something. Next test will include 7% crystal malt in the grist with the same hopping rate. The crystal is pre-crushed and stayed here in a closed bag at room temperature for a few months probably.

On another note, due to opened yeast packs in the freezer, I happened to use 5g Windsor, 5g Nottingham and 1g T-58. This beer tastes complex in its own way yeast-wise, something I usually only got from liquid yeasts or commercial ales from cask in the pub. It is not that english-fruity-stereotype-ish thing I am talking about in regards tocomplexity, it is more something in the background I cannot really narrow down. Like maybe a hint of pepper and something else from that direction. Just enough to spice things up (literally) but not so much that it goes upfront. Could also come from a 2.5g/l Goldings whirlpool for 20 minutes at 65C, but I do not think so.

Also this beer seems to have much better foam than my usual suspects, already at bottling. Is there a connection between oxidised malt and loss of foam that I do not know about? Or just coincidence maybe?

Anyway, great beer incoming!

Cheers!

M

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I have bottled my smash english golden ale (MO and Goldings) today, which was brewed entirely with grain I crushed myself directly prior to mashing.

Call me heavily biased but this beer tastes better directly out of the fermenter than 95% of the other beers i have brewed so far. Obviously turbid, including a yeast bite, but if you ignore that one the beer is really good. Green of course, still very promising. None of the dreaded almond detactable..... Let's see what comes after carbonation and a bit maturation but I have high expectations.

If it turns out that the dreaded almond comes from oxidised crushed grains... that would be quite something. Next test will include 7% crystal malt in the grist with the same hopping rate. The crystal is pre-crushed and stayed here in a closed bag at room temperature for a few months probably.

On another note, due to opened yeast packs in the freezer, I happened to use 5g Windsor, 5g Nottingham and 1g T-58. This beer tastes complex in its own way yeast-wise, something I usually only got from liquid yeasts or commercial ales from cask in the pub. It is not that english-fruity-stereotype-ish thing I am talking about in regards tocomplexity, it is more something in the background I cannot really narrow down. Like maybe a hint of pepper and something else from that direction. Just enough to spice things up (literally) but not so much that it goes upfront. Could also come from a 2.5g/l Goldings whirlpool for 20 minutes at 65C, but I do not think so.

Also this beer seems to have much better foam than my usual suspects, already at bottling. Is there a connection between oxidised malt and loss of foam that I do not know about? Or just coincidence maybe?

Anyway, great beer incoming!

Cheers!

M

That beer is a Summer Lightning clone.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

I've been doing an experiment with growing up and freezing yeast, a few 100ml glass lab-jars filled with a 50/50 mix of slurry and glycerine mixed water.

Plan is to thaw one of those up and do a 0.5L SNS starter when I start the brewday and then pitch the whole actively fermenting starter.

 

[Miraculix]

That beer is a Summer Lightning clone.

I didn't know that this beer exists but apparently, you are correct! Although mine has less alcohol. 82% attenuation leaves us with 4.3% with an og of 1.04.

 

[Broothru]

I have bottled my smash english golden ale (MO and Goldings) today, which was brewed entirely with grain I crushed myself directly prior to mashing.

Call me heavily biased but this beer tastes better directly out of the fermenter than 95% of the other beers i have brewed so far. Obviously turbid, including a yeast bite, but if you ignore that one the beer is really good. Green of course, still very promising. None of the dreaded almond detactable..... Let's see what comes after carbonation and a bit maturation but I have high expectations.

If it turns out that the dreaded almond comes from oxidised crushed grains... that would be quite something. Next test will include 7% crystal malt in the grist with the same hopping rate. The crystal is pre-crushed and stayed here in a closed bag at room temperature for a few months probably.

On another note, due to opened yeast packs in the freezer, I happened to use 5g Windsor, 5g Nottingham and 1g T-58. This beer tastes complex in its own way yeast-wise, something I usually only got from liquid yeasts or commercial ales from cask in the pub. It is not that english-fruity-stereotype-ish thing I am talking about in regards tocomplexity, it is more something in the background I cannot really narrow down. Like maybe a hint of pepper and something else from that direction. Just enough to spice things up (literally) but not so much that it goes upfront. Could also come from a 2.5g/l Goldings whirlpool for 20 minutes at 65C, but I do not think so.

Also this beer seems to have much better foam than my usual suspects, already at bottling. Is there a connection between oxidised malt and loss of foam that I do not know about? Or just coincidence maybe?

Anyway, great beer incoming!

Cheers!

I must thank you for posting your recipe for the British Golden Ale several months ago. I brewed it and entered it as one of six entries in a recent competition. Of my six entries, five placed in the judging: 4 won Blue (1st Place) and one captured Red (2nd. Place) in category.

The British Golden was the Second Place winner, which may sound disappointing. but it scored a respectable 36 points from the BJCP judges. Overall it was considered to be a very solid example of the style, but was nicked for having a slight metallic taste, which I now also pick up in a spare bottle I had saved. The judges commented that the taste is likely due to my cold side packaging equipment or possibly water preparation.

In either case, it was up against stiff competition. The overall Best of Show winner was the entry that placed First in the British Golden Ale category (12A). I'll gladly accept Runner Up status in category if First Place ends up as BOS.

The highlight for me was finally getting some respect for my German beer entries. I won 1st Place for both my Altbier as well as Kolsch, so there's consolation in that. Not all categories had entries submitted, though all were eligible. Total entires were 150~200 I believe, so I'm pretty happy. The most entries were (predictably) IPAs, and mine didn't place. No big surprise there, but my American APA did win the Blue.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Yes Summer Lightning is 5.0% and a wonderful drink. Some versions have Challenger as the 60 minute hop and EKG for 15 minute and whirlpool.

 

[Miraculix]

I must thank you for posting your recipe for the British Golden Ale several months ago. I brewed it and entered it as one of six entries in a recent competition. Of my six entries, five placed in the judging: 4 won Blue (1st Place) and one captured Red (2nd. Place) in category.

The British Golden was the Second Place winner, which may sound disappointing. but it scored a respectable 36 points from the BJCP judges. Overall it was considered to be a very solid example of the style, but was nicked for having a slight metallic taste, which I now also pick up in a spare bottle I had saved. The judges commented that the taste is likely due to my cold side packaging equipment or possibly water preparation.

In either case, it was up against stiff competition. The overall Best of Show winner was the entry that placed First in the British Golden Ale category (12A). I'll gladly accept Runner Up status in category if First Place ends up as BOS.

The highlight for me was finally getting some respect for my German beer entries. I won 1st Place for both my Altbier as well as Kolsch, so there's consolation in that. Not all categories had entries submitted, though all were eligible. Total entires were 150~200 I believe, so I'm pretty happy. The most entries were (predictably) IPAs, and mine didn't place. No big surprise there, but my American APA did win the Blue.

Congratulations! You're referring to Miraculix best?

Glad to hear that someone scored with that recipe!

 

[Broothru]

Congratulations! You're referring to Miraculix best?

Glad to hear that someone scored with that recipe!

Yes, the Miraculix Best Golden Ale (12A). I used Chevalier, M.O., Crisp 77L, torrified wheat; bittered with Hallertau Magnum and First Gold; A-09 "Pub" yeast.

My final 1st Place winner was in Best Bitter (11B). It used the same Chevalier, M.O., and Crisp 77L backbone but added a pinch of Chocolate malt and a tin of Lyle's Syrup; hops were Target, Northdown, EKG and Challenger. It only scored 32, but still took first in category (tough judges). I used A-09 for that one also. I was shooting for a Fuller's L.P. type beer and, while respectable, came up a bit short.

My closest shot at Best of Show was my Kolsch which scored 41 and got rave reviews from both judges in that category but didn't do well against the winning BOS British Golden ale. My American IPA scored 39 and didn't even place in that category. I'd like to sample those entries as well as the BOS Golden Ale. They must be pretty darned good!

 

[HM-2]

Threw together a prize ale style beer yesterday around work.

90% MO
5% Crystal T50
3% DRC
2% Wheat
Small handful of chocolate malt

'bout 1.054 OG, 25 EBC. The original recipe was only supposed to be about 1.048, dunno what's gone on with my mash efficiency but I'd rather be over than under.

25 IBU of UK Challenger at 30 minutes
10 IBU of UK First Gold at 10 minutes
70g First Gold in a 75°C whirlpool

Lallemand Windsor at 20°C


Looking and smelling great already.

 

[Miraculix]

It wasn't more advanced than that.
I seem to recall you had to put all but one between the bracket and the body, and one before the screw to secure it properly and get a good gap.

I cannot thank you enough for that easy fix. I actually had those washers already on the screws but my sometimes idiotic self have placed them not between the two connecting parts but underneath the wingy thing which is securing the screws. Now that I have followed your advice my drill is not smoking anymore and I got this:

... Which I would personally call a pretty decent crush.

Cheers!

 

[DuncB]

@Miraculix
Could show it in the hows my crush thread.

Do you condition your grain?

 

[Miraculix]

@Miraculix
Could show it in the hows my crush thread.

Do you condition your grain?

No conditioning. I just reached about 83% efficiency, that is the same level that I had with the double crush from maltmiller.co.uk, I am pleased. I shall have a drink or three.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

I'm gonna brew a Bitter with my homegrown hops tomorrow and try if my experiment with freezing yeast was a success.

 

[balrog]

I cannot thank you enough for that easy fix. I actually had those washers already on the screws but my sometimes idiotic self have placed them not between the two connecting parts but underneath the wingy thing which is securing the screws. Now that I have followed your advice my drill is not smoking anymore and I got this:
View attachment 830366

... Which I would personally call a pretty decent crush.

Cheers!

Allow me to be the first BIAB-er to say both "congrats" as well as "it could be ground finer".
(yeah, we always say that)

 

[Miraculix]

Allow me to be the first BIAB-er to say both "congrats" as well as "it could be ground finer".
(yeah, we always say that)

I know I know... there's definitely room for reFINEment (ho ho ho), but compared to what the German shops were delivering and what I got out of my mill the first time, this is a massive improvement!

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

Guess what we're doing?
@Miraculix

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

Mmmh, Skoh'lend.

 

[Miraculix]

Guess what we're doing?
@Miraculix

Niiiiiice!

 

[DuncB]

Can't decide if it's fish being covered in seasoned flour or making french toast.

 

[HM-2]

I think it's Schnitzel?

 

[balrog]

Can't decide if it's fish being covered in seasoned flour or making french toast.

You pound your fish in NZ?!

(and no, that is *NOT* a euphemism for anything)