Time to write to TT. They want their beer served correctly
English Ales - What's your favorite recipe?
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Colindo
Well-Known Member
Northern_Brewer
British - apparently some US company stole my name
Ah but "correctly" in this case is not as black and white as some people may think. The Peak District is pretty much in the cask heartland so the average standard of cellarmanship is pretty good and I would guess they know what they're doing.
And sometimes that may mean that if a low-IBU beer has lots of natural condition, the best way to present it is without a sparkler, regardless of where it's come from. I've certainly done it in the past with a particularly lively mild. Whereas Ghost Ship is not a typical southern bitter, it's more like an APA with 44 IBU, so it has the alpha to stand up to a sparkler, particularly if it's lost a bit of condition.
There's a bit of an art to this sparkler stuff.
Colindo
Well-Known Member
@Northern_Brewer In this case it was particularly peculiar since one beer that was the same as yesterday had a sparkler then but not now. I fear it was just the choice of the barman what he die with all Hand pumps at the same time...
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Northern_Brewer
British - apparently some US company stole my name
Could have been a fresh barrel on that was a lot livelier, or just the last drinker had specifically requested on/off and he just kept the same for you. Hard to tell without more detail.
Shenanigans
Well-Known Member
I was looking to brew a stronger British beer that's not quite as strong as a barley wine as I already have a home brew batch of Hardy's maturing in the bottle.
After a bit of digging I found British Strong Ale which I had heard of before but never really took much notice of.
I found this recipe https://beerandbrewing.com/recipe-wolf-and-workman-strong-ale and based my recipe below on it.
I just changed the bittering hop from EKG to Pilgrim and the yeast from LA3 to Ringwood.
Does it look OK and is it typical to put those Belgian malts in a British Strong Ale?
I know Special B is used a lot in American Barley Wines.
Thanks for your input!
After a bit of digging I found British Strong Ale which I had heard of before but never really took much notice of.
I found this recipe https://beerandbrewing.com/recipe-wolf-and-workman-strong-ale and based my recipe below on it.
I just changed the bittering hop from EKG to Pilgrim and the yeast from LA3 to Ringwood.
Does it look OK and is it typical to put those Belgian malts in a British Strong Ale?
I know Special B is used a lot in American Barley Wines.
Thanks for your input!
Way too many malts. Choose one British base malt, one good British crystal (I'd choose something medium) and that's it. Probably don't go past 5% Crystal, I'd do three %0 for a stronger beer personally. The beer will need to mature quite some time, mine were best past seven months, so the benefits of late hop additions are debatable.
Totally agree, Maris Otter and Medium Crystal at 5%. An ABV of 6% would be better.
Shenanigans
Well-Known Member
Thanks guys, it was one of the first recipies I found and had some success with other recipies from the same author.
I thought it would poke the crystal police into action alright
A lot of the other recipies I'm finding are also very complex.
I thought it would poke the crystal police into action alright
A lot of the other recipies I'm finding are also very complex.
If 6% abv is the abv of choice, the maturing time would be a bit reduced. I've brewed a strong ale around 7% and that one really needed more than half a year to pull itself together. 9 months and it was really good. Seven months is the minimum for a beer like that in my opinion. 6% could be ok after half a year.
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Are those recipes from traditional Brits or from Americans? Americans tend to overdo everything British big time.Thanks guys, it was one of the first recipies I found and had some success with other recipies from the same author.
I thought it would poke the crystal police into action alright
A lot of the other recipies I'm finding are also very complex.
Colindo
Well-Known Member
@Shenanigans The thing is that those large malt bills are best if nothing else contributes to the final beer. But if you have a good liquid yeast and some flavourful hops, such a malt bill can easily overpower the rest and make the beer one-dimensional.
I agree with @Miraculix that 6% ABV is the sweet spot. For higher ABVs I would always use some sugar to reduce the amount of maturation needed.
I agree with @Miraculix that 6% ABV is the sweet spot. For higher ABVs I would always use some sugar to reduce the amount of maturation needed.
So I finally got to brew my Dark Mild on a pro system! First time. It was at Kinsmen Brewing in CT, USA. They were extremely friendly and great to work with. Hoping to have it on tap there for St. Patrick's Day!
Shenanigans
Well-Known Member
You could be onto something there
Shenanigans
Well-Known Member
OK, back to the drawing board then.
I do have a load of beer on stock so something that takes some time to mature is no problem.
Shenanigans
Well-Known Member
So below is my second attempt based on the feedback.
I added some torrified wheat for head retention/body and a pinch of black malt for the colour.
60 min mash at 65oC as I don't want it to finish too sweet.
Went all pilgrim as I want to use them up, never tried them before, I could different ones at 30 and 10 mins instead.
Looks a lot better , that will be a good beer.
I agree with the cat above!
Just one little thing, I think 2.7% torrified wheat won't give you much extra head. I'd do at least 5% but usually I go with 10% of the grist.
But this won't make or break the beer. It will be a good one either way.
Yeah I'd also target 5% wheat, substituting 2% of the MO.
Shenanigans
Well-Known Member
Thanks all, I'll up the wheat to 5% then 
I plan to brew later this month so will report back in April.
I plan to brew later this month so will report back in April.
Sounds good!Thanks all, I'll up the wheat to 5% then
I plan to brew later this month so will report back in April.
I tend to use 10% when brewing a lower abv bitter. I think in case of a strong ale, I'd probably also choose five percent.
Makes me think, I might try 20% next time I brew something below 4%.
Derp
Well-Known Member
I brewed this a couple of weeks ago and I'm having my first pint(s). I came in 5 points low after the mash (either a crush or equipment profile issue), so I dumped in a pound of #2 invert. Very tasty!
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Shenanigans
Well-Known Member
I have 100g of 2022 German Brewer's Gold I would like to use up.
I could use them in a De Ranke Bitter XX clone but would rather brew something English.
I found a recipe for Brewer's Gold by Crouch Vale which apparently won the CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain 2 years in a row about 20 years ago.
It's basically a smash with 100% Extra Pale MO and loads of Brewer's Gold.
The suggested yeast is WLP022 Essex Ale Yeast which is probably not exactly what they use.
However I don't have this yeast and was wondering out of what I have, which would be the closest.
WLP007, WLP005, Ringwood 1187, Whitbread 1099, West Yorkshire 1469, Thames Valley 1275 or Nottingham.
I'm guessing Whitbread or West Yorkshire?
Thanks!
I could use them in a De Ranke Bitter XX clone but would rather brew something English.
I found a recipe for Brewer's Gold by Crouch Vale which apparently won the CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain 2 years in a row about 20 years ago.
It's basically a smash with 100% Extra Pale MO and loads of Brewer's Gold.
The suggested yeast is WLP022 Essex Ale Yeast which is probably not exactly what they use.
However I don't have this yeast and was wondering out of what I have, which would be the closest.
WLP007, WLP005, Ringwood 1187, Whitbread 1099, West Yorkshire 1469, Thames Valley 1275 or Nottingham.
I'm guessing Whitbread or West Yorkshire?
Thanks!
Whitbread was quite boring to me so I'd choose another one.
If you can deal with the iffy start and slow fermentation Ringwood could place nice.
Colindo
Well-Known Member
Ringwood or West Yorkshire
JohnA
Well-Known Member
hungupdown
Well-Known Member
My goto yeast for British pale ales nowadays, is Nottingham. Maybe gives a slight edge/twang, to flavour, but prefer that to flat and dull.
Generally better fermented toward lower end of its temperature range (I target room temp 15-17°C). But it's also good for high ABV brews, using higher temperatures (have a nice 17% Award imperial stout, that's been aging on oak cask staves, for 18months now).
For most pale ales, I find mashing on the low temperature side, by a degree C or two, preserves more of the base malt flavour. While if mash temperature is slightly high throughout, complex sugar flavours can end up dominating.
I've only realised this, since switching to using a Bluetooth probe sensor (within the grain bed) to control mash temperature. Depending on flow; heating power; and ambient temperature, there can be be a few degrees difference between temperature monitored near the AIO heater (higher), and that in the grain bed (lower).
Crouch Vale Brewer's Gold recipe would be a fairly pale ale.
.
Had a pint of bitter last night while cooking dinner.
Fr_Marc
The brewing Vicar
Nice one, Erik!
And now for something completely different.
I have been planning to brew a low alcohol light ale in the tradition of table ales, dinner ales or even family ales for some time now. My aim is to brew a tasty ale that I can enjoy with lunch at the vicarage while still being able to celebrate a funeral afterwards without falling into the grave.
I stumbled across the following recipe in Ron Pattinson's Home Brewer's Guide to Vintage Beer (p.95):
___________________________________________________________________
1965 Courage Light Ale
Batch Size 23 L
Losses 2 L
Boil Time 90 mins
Mash Efficiency 80%
Mash Volume 10.34 L
Sparge Volume 20.73 L
OG (SG) 1.032 FG (SG) 1.008
IBU 31.9
Colour (EBC) 15.8
ABV 3.17%
Fermentables
Pale Malt 1.40 kg (47%)
Mild Malt 0.79 kg (27%)
Invert Sugar 0.46 kg (15%)
Corn, Flaked 0.23 kg (8%)
Crystal – Light 0.11 kg (4%)
Mash Steps
Mash In 67 °C - 60 min
Mash Out 74 °C - 10 min
Hops
Northern Brewer (IBU: 17.6) 14.00 g (44%) - Boil 90 min
Bramling Cross (IBU: 14.3) 18.00 g (56%) - Boil 60 min
Yeast
British Ale Yeast (WY-1098)
Fermentation
18 °C 10 days
___________________________________________________________________
What do you guys think about this? Should I give it a go or do you have any suggestions on tweaking it. I was wondering if adding a late hop addition (even some dry hopping?) and switching the yeast for something more characterful would be a good idea. Looking forward to your comments.
Cheers! Marc
And now for something completely different.
I have been planning to brew a low alcohol light ale in the tradition of table ales, dinner ales or even family ales for some time now. My aim is to brew a tasty ale that I can enjoy with lunch at the vicarage while still being able to celebrate a funeral afterwards without falling into the grave.
I stumbled across the following recipe in Ron Pattinson's Home Brewer's Guide to Vintage Beer (p.95):
___________________________________________________________________
1965 Courage Light Ale
Batch Size 23 L
Losses 2 L
Boil Time 90 mins
Mash Efficiency 80%
Mash Volume 10.34 L
Sparge Volume 20.73 L
OG (SG) 1.032 FG (SG) 1.008
IBU 31.9
Colour (EBC) 15.8
ABV 3.17%
Fermentables
Pale Malt 1.40 kg (47%)
Mild Malt 0.79 kg (27%)
Invert Sugar 0.46 kg (15%)
Corn, Flaked 0.23 kg (8%)
Crystal – Light 0.11 kg (4%)
Mash Steps
Mash In 67 °C - 60 min
Mash Out 74 °C - 10 min
Hops
Northern Brewer (IBU: 17.6) 14.00 g (44%) - Boil 90 min
Bramling Cross (IBU: 14.3) 18.00 g (56%) - Boil 60 min
Yeast
British Ale Yeast (WY-1098)
Fermentation
18 °C 10 days
___________________________________________________________________
What do you guys think about this? Should I give it a go or do you have any suggestions on tweaking it. I was wondering if adding a late hop addition (even some dry hopping?) and switching the yeast for something more characterful would be a good idea. Looking forward to your comments.
Cheers! Marc
