English Ales - What's your favorite recipe?

[Hanglow]

I had Adnams Extra Ale last month and really liked it

"This is a 4.3% abv copper-coloured ale with gloriously hoppy, floral and herbal aromas which follow through on the palate, where it’s balanced by the biscuity fullness of the malts and a dry tart bitterness. It is brewed with Pale Ale and Crystal malts and Fuggle hops which are added at several different stages of the brewing process "

Just been to the pub and had a Robbinsons Unicorn - definitely lacking in flavour, especially compared to the Bluebird earlier, despite being 0.6% stronger

 

[JKaranka]

I used to think I disliked Fuggles till I had more Adnams. I still don't like Broadside which is the only one of their beers that makes it to Wales.

 

[Qhrumphf]

I was in Conniston today and sampled some of the local modern classic bitter Bluebird

Makes me want to brew an all challenger bitter again! The Old Man Ale was excellent too. I preferred them to the HAwkshead beers I had yesterday, although they were very good too, just a bit more modern.


Here are some crappy pics.
Round the back, it's in a nice picturesque place

Front

brewing area

bar

bluebird

oldman ale

Looks a bit of a squeeze in the brewing shed, you can see why they have to contract out the bottled ales

I f***ing love Coniston (as many are already aware). I'd love to get Bluebird on cask. And unfortunately even the bottled version is on a dry spell around here. Need to rebrew my clone. But need to find a bottle for the yeast.

Funny part is, half my mother's family is from the Lake District. I believe I have a great aunt something times removed or however it is that literally live(d?) the next town over from Coniston. Of course last I was there I was 6 or 7 years old.

I've only seen Bluebird, Bluebird XB, and Old Man available here. I wish we got more English exports. Half the stuff we used to be able to get (Cains, Adnams, Cotleigh, Coniston, etc) aren't around any more.

Also I enjoy The Trooper if I get a fresher can (it's a coin toss). Not perfect, but better than some of the other options available here.

 

[JKaranka]

Trooper is not half bad if you approach it with low expectations. Pretty solid typical British hop character with a malty background. Nothing special but not bad if it's all you get.

 

[Snubnoze707]

My two recent Bitters:

Premium Bitter

9lb TF Marris Otter (95%)
.5lb TF Crystal 45 (5%)

Mash at 150

1oz First Gold at FWH
.5oz EKG at 15 min
.5oz First Gold at 15 min
.5oz EKG at Hop Stand (15min)
1oz First Gold at Hop Stand (15min)

London Ale III (WY1318)


Strong Bitter

5lb TF Marris Otter (45%)
5lb TF Golden Promise (45%)
.5lb TF Crystal 45 (5%)
.5lb Torrified Wheat (5%)

Mash at 152

1oz First Gold at FWH
.5oz Styrian Goldings at 15 min
.5oz First Gold at 15 min
1oz Styrian Goldings at Hop Stand (15min)
1oz First Gold at Hop Stand (15min)

London ESB (WY1968)

Both turned out very tasty. I do prefer the yeast character of the 1318 however. That beer was a bit too light in body, hence the increase in mash temp and torrified wheat. The torrified wheat caused a chill haze however that lasted almost 2 weeks before dropping out. Both final beers came out brilliantly clear.

 

[Hanglow]

I f***ing love Coniston (as many are already aware). I'd love to get Bluebird on cask. And unfortunately even the bottled version is on a dry spell around here. Need to rebrew my clone. But need to find a bottle for the yeast.

Funny part is, half my mother's family is from the Lake District. I believe I have a great aunt something times removed or however it is that literally live(d?) the next town over from Coniston. Of course last I was there I was 6 or 7 years old.

I've only seen Bluebird, Bluebird XB, and Old Man available here. I wish we got more English exports. Half the stuff we used to be able to get (Cains, Adnams, Cotleigh, Coniston, etc) aren't around any more.

Also I enjoy The Trooper if I get a fresher can (it's a coin toss). Not perfect, but better than some of the other options available here.

I never see cask Coniston beers up in Glasgow, or if they make it up I always seem to miss them. The bottles I'd have to order online too as scottish supermarkets don't stock them.

Hawkshead sell to wetherspoons quite a lot so I can their beers on draught fairly easily, they are almost always very good

 

[lowtones84]

I like Trooper, partially because I'm an Iron Maiden fan, but mostly because I have a hell of a time finding any English beers other than Boddington's, Fullers, or Newcastle. Sure, it won't floor you but I think it's solid.

 

[JKaranka]

Nice article and recipe for 1850s stout:

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/1850-truman-double-stout.html

If that's their double I can't wait to try their triple!

 

[Hanglow]

I like Trooper, partially because I'm an Iron Maiden fan, but mostly because I have a hell of a time finding any English beers other than Boddington's, Fullers, or Newcastle. Sure, it won't floor you but I think it's solid.

Fair enough. I've only tried it twice to be honest, once from cask and once in the bottle. It was the cask one that clouded my judgement as I asked how old it was and it was only a couple of weeks out of the brewery and I had the third pint or so from the cask. I've not tried the canned variety or the stronger one they have just produced

I'm a massive maiden fan too and really wanted the beer to be good but it just didn't do it for me. The lower strength Robbies beers I have tried are all a bit lacking compared to their contemporaries (IMO of course ) A bit less malt, a bit less hop, no real yeast flavours etc . And the bottled/canned ones are worse as they are all pasteurised too which don't help lower strength british beers at all. This is a common problem though, mainly due to the general contempt the off trade has for the way they sell beer in the uk - not temperature controlled, must have really long Best Before dates etc. I could rant for a long time about british supermarkets/ major retailers and beer but I won't bore you

I'm just back from mid-west wales and didn't drink any draught beer due to circumstances but did drink a good few bottled beers - Tomos Watkins, Conwy Brewery and some canned Rev James plus a bunch of Fullers as they were on offer and really fresh.

 

[Qhrumphf]

4 pounds of #4 on the way. Tasting occasionally, the evolution of flavor is incredible. It's in between #1 and #2 at the moment so I still have a while to go.

View attachment 1451409157792.jpg

 

[JKaranka]

Fair enough. I've only tried it twice to be honest, once from cask and once in the bottle. It was the cask one that clouded my judgement as I asked how old it was and it was only a couple of weeks out of the brewery and I had the third pint or so from the cask. I've not tried the canned variety or the stronger one they have just produced

I'm a massive maiden fan too and really wanted the beer to be good but it just didn't do it for me. The lower strength Robbies beers I have tried are all a bit lacking compared to their contemporaries (IMO of course ) A bit less malt, a bit less hop, no real yeast flavours etc . And the bottled/canned ones are worse as they are all pasteurised too which don't help lower strength british beers at all. This is a common problem though, mainly due to the general contempt the off trade has for the way they sell beer in the uk - not temperature controlled, must have really long Best Before dates etc. I could rant for a long time about british supermarkets/ major retailers and beer but I won't bore you

I'm just back from mid-west wales and didn't drink any draught beer due to circumstances but did drink a good few bottled beers - Tomos Watkins, Conwy Brewery and some canned Rev James plus a bunch of Fullers as they were on offer and really fresh.

lots of good breweries around: Tiny Rebel , Otley, Handmade, etc. Rev James is cheap and solid. Would be a good one for Americans to procure 😆

 

[lowtones84]

4 pounds of #4 on the way. Tasting occasionally, the evolution of flavor is incredible. It's in between #1 and #2 at the moment so I still have a while to go.

#4? Wow, that's brave! I burned #2 on my first attempt, haha. You really have to watch it the whole time.

 

[Qhrumphf]

#4? Wow, that's brave! I burned #2 on my first attempt, haha. You really have to watch it the whole time.

Yep. The whole time. Literally had a chair and a book next to the stove.

Making another 4 lbs of #1 now.

 

[Tactical-Brewer]

I will drink many a pint at a place like this in my life! Definitely enough to at least remember the first portion of the evening!

I was in Conniston today and sampled some of the local modern classic bitter Bluebird

Makes me want to brew an all challenger bitter again! The Old Man Ale was excellent too. I preferred them to the HAwkshead beers I had yesterday, although they were very good too, just a bit more modern.


Here are some crappy pics.
Round the back, it's in a nice picturesque place

Front

brewing area

bar

bluebird

oldman ale

Looks a bit of a squeeze in the brewing shed, you can see why they have to contract out the bottled ales

 

[JKaranka]

For those who need inspiration for a house bitter:

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/lets-brew-wednesday-1950-lees-bitter.html

 

[Qhrumphf]

For those who need inspiration for a house bitter:

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/lets-brew-wednesday-1950-lees-bitter.html

I have to wonder if that tiniest touch of black malt is even worth it. Maybe add a hint of color, certainly not enough to taste it. Might as well just use caramel/sinamar.

 

[lowtones84]

Not all that far from my house bitter really. I'm sure the black malt is just for color adjustment, that was a pretty common technique. But enzymatic malt huh? Says you can't get it anymore...maybe some 6 row instead?

 

[Qhrumphf]

Not all that far from my house bitter really. I'm sure the black malt is just for color adjustment, that was a pretty common technique. But enzymatic malt huh? Says you can't get it anymore...maybe some 6 row instead?

Even then, that's not going to add a whole lot of color at that amount.

I'm assuming "enzymatic malt" was a solution for what were likely at the time still fairly poorly modified malts by modern standards. He suggests just using more pale malt, which is what I would do.

Pale malt, invert, and Goldings. Sounds like a tasty Bitter to me

 

[Hanglow]

Some of the old BP recipes had them putting micronized black patent in the copper for more colour, although I have no idea if JW Lees did the same. Even so you are right, that's about a teaspoon worth for a standard homebrew batch size, hardly seems worth it

As for the enzymic/enzymatic, some brewers still use it like Adnams (in their winter ale) and Hook Norton (in most of their beers). It's an acidified malt, used to lower ph so you could either use it if you need to do that for your mash or leave it out

 

[JKaranka]

Yeah, the black malt is a very tiny amount. I often just under 1oz for colour but I wouldn't add less. 1oz makes a difference in a beer that's all pale malt, but yeah, you'd get the main colour contribution on that one from the proprietary sugars.

I've read about roast malts contributing to stability in storage and such, maybe something to do with that? I must admit I never understood much about it.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Yeah, the black malt is a very tiny amount. I often just under 1oz for colour but I wouldn't add less. 1oz makes a difference in a beer that's all pale malt, but yeah, you'd get the main colour contribution on that one from the proprietary sugars.

I've read about roast malts contributing to stability in storage and such, maybe something to do with that? I must admit I never understood much about it.

Hmmm....roasted malts do add an antioxidant property, and it doesn't take much. Perhaps that's it. Good thinking.

 

[Hanglow]

Do you know how much would be needed to benefit a beer? It would be a great fact if it was effective at very low %

 

[Qhrumphf]

Do you know how much would be needed to benefit a beer? It would be a great fact if it was effective at very low %

No idea, but I'd be curious to find out

 

[lowtones84]

Some of the old BP recipes had them putting micronized black patent in the copper for more colour, although I have no idea if JW Lees did the same. Even so you are right, that's about a teaspoon worth for a standard homebrew batch size, hardly seems worth it

As for the enzymic/enzymatic, some brewers still use it like Adnams (in their winter ale) and Hook Norton (in most of their beers). It's an acidified malt, used to lower ph so you could either use it if you need to do that for your mash or leave it out

I still think it's for color, even though it's about 1/8 oz. in that recipe. This micronized part is why. Folks often grind black malt very very fine (I use a coffee grinder sometimes) until it's almost a powder. I've never used that small of an amount, but I don't doubt that it would darken 5 gallons a bit. I'm sure you could lose it, too.

That's strange that they would call acidified malt enzymatic malt. If that's what it is, why not call it acid malt or acidulated malt, which is fairly common?

This black malt for storage thing has me interested though. Great how such a simple recipe can trigger so much conversation!

 

[JKaranka]

I was again playing around with numbers to make a KK type old ale. 12-13lb MO, 1/2lb Amber malt, 2oz Black malt. 2lb invert added at end of boil. 2oz Challenger at 90m and 2 or 3oz of EKG at 20m. After fermenting with Sacc adding Brett and after a couple of months adding an oz of EKG before bottling.

Dry, bitter, strong and aromatic sounds good to me.

 

[JKaranka]

I was again playing around with numbers to make a KK type old ale. 12-13lb MO, 1/2lb Amber malt, 2oz Black malt. 2lb invert added at end of boil. 2oz Challenger at 90m and 2 or 3oz of EKG at 20m. After fermenting with Sacc adding Brett and after a couple of months adding an oz of EKG before bottling.

Dry, bitter, strong and aromatic sounds good to me.

Scaled from metric. Expecting 90% attenuation with the sacc followed y brett combo. 9% ABV, ~70IBU, 12SRM.

10.5lb Maris Otter
1/2lb Amber Malt
1.5oz Black Malt
1.5lb Invert Sugar Syrup

1.5oz Challenger @ 60m
2.5oz EKG @ 20m

If the OG doesn't hit the region of 1.075 I can always top up with some more invert but I'd be happy enough with hitting 1.070 and leaving it around the 8.5% mark.

 

[lowtones84]

Nice, sounds good to me! Keep us updated for sure.

 

[JKaranka]

I forgot I had a packet of S33. I'll pitch that and M07 for primary fermentation. M07 has a long lag and S33 craps out early so they should complement each other nicely.

 

[Hanglow]

Do you like s-33? I know a lot of people don't, I've never used it

 

[JKaranka]

I've never used it based on what I've read. I think I bought it by mistake in a shop (I don't have any close by). Main problems I've read are flocculation and attenuation being poor which might play well into the hands of Brett c. Anyway, M07 should floc. After five or six months it shouldn't matter an awful lot.