English Ales - What's your favorite recipe?

[unionrdr]

This thread needs a bump! Not good being trampled under foot by the minions of commerce on turkey day!...

 

[stormridersp]

OK, so it seems almost everyone is into the make-your-nose-run hop forward double, triple and quaduruple IPA's with IBU's over 100. That's fine if you like it. But personally, I enjoy traditional English beers. I get a lot of enjoyment from a very good common bitters, porter, SB or ESB. English beers provide a comfortable easy drinking beer that I can enjoy through an entire evening. Perhaps there are others here who feel the same way.

Would you care to share your favorite recipe? And why do you like this beer?

Thanks to all who care to contribute their views and their recipes.

Cheers!

We´re in the same boat!

I´m currently toying with Burton Ales (and Burton water!), trying to improve two similar recipes, a Strong Bitter and a Special Bitter.

I had good results using Sovereign Hops for the Strong Bitter and Fuggles for the Special, both single hops, both on the bitter side of the style.

For Malts, I still don´t have a final verdict on the base malt whether its Maris Otter PA or Maris Otter PA Blend. I liked the result I had on my last Bitter using about ~13% of Caramalt + 1% of Roasted Barley, tho I´m now inclined to try different less Caramel flavor secondary malts.

 

[z-bob]

I brewed what was supposed to be a British-style IPA a while back. Bottled it 2 weeks ago and we're drinking it now. My efficiency (both the sparge and the hops utilization) was way off, because this is more of a ESB than an IPA, but I really like it. I'll brew it again; might try using UK crystal and biscuit malts next time.

Brew Method: BIAB
Style Name: English IPA
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 4 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 4.5 gallons
Efficiency: 70% (no, it wasn't)

ABV (estimated): 6.37%
IBU (tinseth): 56.89
SRM (daniels): 11.91

FERMENTABLES:
9 lb - American - Pale Ale (91.7%)
8 oz - American - Caramel / Crystal 60L (5.1%)
5 oz - American - Victory (3.2%)

HOPS:
20 g - Nugget, Type: Pellet, AA: 13, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 41.25
1 oz - Willamette, Type: Pellet, AA: 5, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 11.16
1 oz - Willamette, Type: Pellet, AA: 5, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 4.48

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 151 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 4 gal

YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - English Ale Yeast S-04
Starter: No

 

[SixDemonBag]

z-bob. what kind of FG did you get with the s-04? I've never had much success with it.

 

[JKaranka]

Add some dry hop and a bit less speciality malt

 

[unionrdr]

S-04 rehydrated & pitched within 10 degrees of wort temp can be a beast for me. Finished & settles out clear in 10 days in another English bitter PM I do.

 

[z-bob]

z-bob. what kind of FG did you get with the s-04? I've never had much success with it.

I don't know. My hydrometer is old and it reads way off. I didn't even check it.

 

[JKaranka]

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/lets-brew-wednesday-1850-truman-kxxx.html?m=1

 

[unionrdr]

Saved the link just in case I don't have it already. I like Barclay Perkins pages! Some of the other old English beer lists can be hard to translate from old school measurments & the like. Besides, not listing the grains & hops used.

 

[jwalk4]

Anyone buy Pattinson's book on Mild? Would you recommend it?

http://www.lulu.com/shop/ronald-pattinson/mild/paperback/product-12460681.html

 

[JKaranka]

Anyone buy Pattinson's book on Mild? Would you recommend it?

http://www.lulu.com/shop/ronald-pattinson/mild/paperback/product-12460681.html

I have Mild, Porter and Bitter. Mild is the best one, but I'm very keen on the recipe section of Porter.

 

[JKaranka]

Planning on doing a WW2 air raid style porter. I've seen the recipe of a Whitbread porter from the early 1940s from the Porter! book. It had 5% Brown Malt, 5% Chocolate Malt and ~10% of a mix of sugars. I'm feeling I'm maybe over complicating the recipe but given my predilection for Brown Malt I've upped it a bit and added a tad of Patent Malt for colour.

For 5 US gallons
OG 1.037, 33IBU

5lb Maris Otter (74%)
1lb Brown Malt (15%)
6oz Chocolate Malt (5%)
4oz Dark Invert Sugar Syrup (4%)
2oz Black Patent Malt (2%)

45 minute boil
45 - 0.75oz Challenger (25IBU)
15 - 0.5oz Challenger (9IBU)

Brewers' Friend estimates the colour at 27SRM, and I'll up it to 32SRM using 1/2oz of Brewers' Caramel (3500L). I'll most likely use S04 as a yeast.

As an update, I just kegged half (ironic, it's the first beer I keg) and bottled half of this one. I sampled two sherry glasses worth of it. Pours a comforting very dark brown, dark enough for me to think it will be near black on standard pint glass. Typical dirty beige head from brown malt & brewers' caramel. Aroma is the same as my other porters: coffee, cocoa, dark fruits. Fairly low body, less than most milds, and dry finish. It actually tastes like a weak porter; all the flavours are in there with a noticeable roast from the chocolate malt. It seems a bit more hop forwards than stronger versions (maybe there isn't much for the hops to hide?). Some typical esters of S04 but no sourness.

I'll wait to see what it's like when carbonated, but if doesn't change much with conditioning I think in a re-brew I would either mash higher to keep some body or add ~1/3lb of lactose.

 

[JKaranka]

Has anybody used amylase enzyme in the fermenter? Thinking of making a fairly dry EIPA: 1.055, MO and EKG. Maybe chuck in some Cascade onto the dry hop too.

 

[Wolfdust]

Mash at 145, that will make more amylase and a dry beer. Maybe even mash 70 to 80 minutes.

 

[unionrdr]

^ I passed out during the boil & wound up doing this once. My hybrid lager actually came out a bit clearer, with more of a crisp finish.

 

[JKaranka]

I do already mash low and twice (e.g., 40m at 145 and 40m at 155). I want way drier: Brett type dry but without having to wait a year

 

[Qhrumphf]

Give the Dupont mash schedule a whirl? I'd have to pull out my Farmhouse Ales book to confirm the specifics, but I believe they dough in around 100F, and heat incredibly slowly (0.5 degree per minute or so) but continuously throughout the mash up to mashout temp.

 

[JKaranka]

Hah, that's cool. I do centigrade better. I used to do 15m at 55c and then two mashes at low and high 60s.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Hah, that's cool. I do centigrade better. I used to do 15m at 55c and then two mashes at low and high 60s.

I would assume that Dupont does C as well, but was listed in F in the book (or maybe it listed both, I'd have to look, which I'll probably do here in a few minutes once it's half time.

 

[JKaranka]

Some sport on?

 

[Qhrumphf]

Is it Saturday?

Dough in at 45C, raise 0.25C per minute up to 72C. 108 minute mash.

 

[lhommedieu]

I do already mash low and twice (e.g., 40m at 145 and 40m at 155). I want way drier: Brett type dry but without having to wait a year

Double your rest time at 145F (See "Starch Conversion" section in the following article). You may want to lower the pH to a value more amenable to Beta.

https://byo.com/mead/item/1497-the-science-of-step-mashing

 

[JKaranka]

Double your rest time at 145F (See "Starch Conversion" section in the following article). You may want to lower the pH to a value more amenable to Beta.

https://byo.com/mead/item/1497-the-science-of-step-mashing

What would be the disadvantage of doing a 60m mash and using amylase enzyme? Sounds easier and faster to achieve the same thing

 

[lhommedieu]

It's just another way to skin the cat.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Hey folks who make a lot of invert- suggestion on a good source of large mass of cane sugar at a reasonable price (I'm targeting minimum of 8 lbs, ideally 16 lbs, but will go as much as a full 25 lb sack)? So far the organic market up the street has it in bulk for the cheapest I've found ($2.19/lb) and will sell me a 25 lb sack at that rate. I'll hit the international markets this week, can probably do a bit better than that. Online and prepackaged prices seem to be higher.

8 oz ball jars should be sufficient for storing in 0.5 lb increments, no?

 

[z-bob]

Aldi has minimally processed sugar (turbinado? demerara?) and it's pretty cheap.

 

[coyote68]

@ Qhrumphf. i get my sugar at GFS (gorgon food service) really reasonable. they may have a store near you.

 

[Qhrumphf]

@ Qhrumphf. i get my sugar at GFS (gorgon food service) really reasonable. they may have a store near you.

Nope. PA is the closest. Best bet so far seems to be Coscto, which seems to sell raw cane sugar (doesn't explicitly say turbinado or demerara, but the description lines up) for ~$1.40/lb shipped.

 

[lowtones84]

I get turbinado from costco. It's not super cheap still, but not bad. I would also look to latin markets for piloncillo/panela, I believe it's called.

 

[Qhrumphf]

I get turbinado from costco. It's not super cheap still, but not bad. I would also look to latin markets for piloncillo/panela, I believe it's called.

There's a lot of mercados around here that I plan on checking. None of em have websites though, so I just have to check in person.