English Ales - What's your favorite recipe?

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Not sure who's coming to NHC but I'll have my house Ordinary Bitter, a wheat variant of the Mild that made finals (basically the same beer I already posted, replace the flaked oats with flaked wheat, the MO with wheat malt, scale back the chocolate malt and use #4 invert instead of #3), and an English IPA pouring at some point between social club and club night.
 
Lol, Strong ESB is like saying Pale IPA. What's the AK like? Not seen any in the UK but they seemed to be light, cheap bitters.
 
JKaranka said:
Lol, Strong ESB is like saying Pale IPA. What's the AK like? Not seen any in the UK but they seemed to be light, cheap bitters.
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No opinion as I didn't try it. I had a 2 hour drive south so I didn't try everything (shame) and stuck to the low octane cask stuff.

As far as the AK, that's more or less it. Lightly malty, a little caramel, lightly fruity but pretty clean, decidedly bitter, and an earthy marmalade sort of hop. Somewhere between Kent Goldings and a UK Cascade. Hell, maybe both. I got a growler of the porter because that was on keg as well, but the AK and the Cook Lane were the best of the lot, but handpull only so no growlers. But they were all bloody good.
 
Also I would expect the Strong ESB to be along the Adnams Broadside vein from how he described it. Their head brewer is English. These all tasted more authentic than almost any other US brewery I've tried. Only one to compete also has an Englishman head brewer and is equally authentic, but uses Ringwood for everything which is not my yeast of choice.
 
I also had the Denver's Pride Best Bitter which was more in the Golden Bitter vein (with Americanish hopping, but subtle), and the Lake Lightening was pretty typical UK Export Pale Ale.
 
I made some invert #3 this morning for my afternoon brew session.
Let it cool while I ran to the brew shop came back and it cooled down but was pretty hard.
What consistency should I expect from making invert at home?
 
deere322 said:
I made some invert #3 this morning for my afternoon brew session.
Let it cool while I ran to the brew shop came back and it cooled down but was pretty hard.
What consistency should I expect from making invert at home?
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When I've made it is a very thick syrup. If it turns hard you probably let it get too hot
 
Shouldn't be a problem if it tastes good.

Consistency similar to honey or LME normally. Maybe a bit thicker.

Like LME I heat it up before adding so it thins out first.
 
You can add some water to it once it's at the colour you want, say 15% of the weight of sugar you used. That will mean you can pour it when you want to use it
 
This is my favorite what I call an English pale ale, I keep going back to it so I guess it must be good

Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: Pale Ale
Boil Time: 90 min
Batch Size: 12 gallons
Boil Size: 14.5 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.041
Efficiency: 80% (brew house)


STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.049
Final Gravity: 1.010
ABV (standard): 5.12%
IBU (tinseth): 34.4
SRM (morey): 11.63

FERMENTABLES:
17 lb - American - Pale 2-Row (84%)
1.5 lb - American - Caramel / Crystal 60L (7.4%)
0.75 lb - American - Carapils (Dextrine Malt) (3.7%)
0.5 lb - Belgian - Special B (2.5%)
0.5 lb - American - Caramel / Crystal 120L (2.5%)

HOPS:
1 oz - Crystal, Type: Pellet, AA: 4.3, Use: First Wort, IBU: 4.48
1.5 oz - Perle, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.2, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 21.17
2 oz - Hallertau Mittelfruh, Type: Pellet, AA: 3.75, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 6.41
2 oz - Hallertau Mittelfruh, Type: Pellet, AA: 3.75, Use: Whirlpool for 30 min at 170 °F, IBU: 2.34

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 150 F, Time: 120 min, Amount: 8 gal
2) Fly Sparge, Temp: 170 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 10 gal
Starting Mash Thickness: 1.5 qt/lb

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
1.5 tsp - Gypsum, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
1.4 tsp - Calcium chloride, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
1 tbsp - yeast nutrient, Time: 10 min, Type: Other, Use: Boil
1 each - Campden tablet, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash

YEAST:
Danstar - Nottingham Ale Yeast
Additional Yeast: US-04
yes mix both together

TARGET WATER PROFILE:
Profile Name: Pale ale
Ca2: 50
Mg2: 7
Na: 12
Cl: 50
SO4: 50
HCO3: 139
Water Notes:

ferment at 60 and let age 30 days, very good
 
Those have interested me but I'm a bit wary of using so much corn . I've done a few of his Ushers recipes and they were good but no corn in them. Also want to do the Youngers 70/- from 1957, it has 16% corn. Might try that first :)

here's the recipe if anyone wants that
w28JuQ3.jpg
 
I don't know about that, most would be "all malt" etc surely :)

I imagine it would go down swimmingly though
 
FlyDoctor said:
Hanglow - how are you subbing the caramel coloring? Carafa special?
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He's in the UK. UK suppliers sell Brewer's Caramel. I haven't found one that will export to the US in homebrew quantities. You can buy it in the US in industrial quantities.

Stateside, I use Sinamar, which is made from Carafa.
 
Thanks for all the info, I've been following this thread for years. Regarding invert syrup, can I use Belgian syrup for invert #2 or #3 or are there striking differences in invert sugars?
 
secondbase said:
Thanks for all the info, I've been following this thread for years. Regarding invert syrup, can I use Belgian syrup for invert #2 or #3 or are there striking differences in invert sugars?
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They should be different as in Belgian candi sugar syrup is made out of refined sugar while the cane sugar used for making invert sugar syrup should contain impurities. That said, if I'm using just 4-6oz of invert sugar syrup in a recipe I'd feel fairly comfortable substituting it for equivalent candi sugar syrup.
 
rhys333 said:
What do you guys think about my ESB recipe? My dad went in for knee replacement surgery yesterday and I'd like to do this one for him. I intended to use Challenger hops, but I have Chinook on had and I think they'll work equally well, if not strictly traditional.

BUSTED KNEE ESB 5.5 gal / 1.055 / 45 IBU
82% MO
10% Wheat
5% C70-90
3% Aromatic
0.25 oz Warrior @ 60
1 oz Chinook @ 10
2 oz Chinook @ 0 (+ 20 min hop stand)
WY 1469
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Well my ESB turned out okay. Not great, but okay. Interesting colour anyway. Unfortunately the Chinook hops I used lacked any perceivable flavor and aroma (never using that online supplier again) but the grain bill worked out fine. Surprisingly, the 3% aromatic isn't all that noticeable, and I would increase this to 5% if attempting again. The WY 1469 dropped just about clear as expected. This is the first time I haven't top-cropped the strain though, and curiously its a lot cleaner than normal (usually get prominent stonefruit). Anyway, not bad despite the hops.

View attachment 1470880021956.jpg
 
OK - not English - but ? Related? I was listening to the recent interview of Ron Pattinson on The Breer Smith podcast, and I then re-read the section of Scottish ales in his great book. I was thinking of making the Younger's No. 3 recipe from ? 1879? It's all pale malt, hopped with cluster and fuggles to 115 IBU. My question - Ron mentions that several of these Scottish ales are "Mild" - meaning not aged. Do we all think that's also true of the Younger's beer? The high IBU made me think this one was for aging.
 
Youngers numbered ales back then were for keeping and the shilling ales were the ones that were served mild. If you look up his recipes for the younger 120 shilling and 140 shilling from about a decade before you will see they have much less hops in them, although still a fair amount and they were big beers too.

So yeah I'd age that one for a good few months before trying it


edit - at least that is what ron has said in the past on his blog/elsewhere I think at least!
 
I tend to group the Scottish and Irish Ales in with "English" for the record (as a simplicity and disregarding whatever sociopolitics involved). I need to brew another Shilling Ale. And I need to brew another Mild. And some Bitter. I haven't brewed at home since the spring.
 
Qhrumphf said:
I tend to group the Scottish and Irish Ales in with "English" for the record (as a simplicity and disregarding whatever sociopolitics involved). I need to brew another Shilling Ale. And I need to brew another Mild. And some Bitter. I haven't brewed at home since the spring.
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Britain is the island which has England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland and Britain form the United Kingdom. So English, Scottish and Welsh brewing traditions are most effectively described as British.
 
Marris otter and EKG smash barley wine would be my favorite. I aim for 1.100og and 60ibu. Wyeast London ale. Amazing beer for such a simple recipe.
 
ayrlee said:
I'm with you on the style preferences. Browns, stouts, porters for me. Occasional wheat or belgian. Still haven't tried a bitter, or esb.
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You can't imagine how weird that sounds to me. It's a bit as if you said you had had platinum coated urine but not any commercial lager.
 
Saw this again recently, thought the thread might like it. I really liked Gales and while Fullers have done a reasonable job with a couple of their beers they still have yet to capture Gales at their best. Such a shame the Horndean Brewery was shut down, but that is the way of british brewing and pub estates. Incidentally, Marble in Manchester have brewed Gales Prize Old Ale again with Fullers blessing, using cultures from the last brew at Gales. Here's hoping it is good, although we have quite a wait for it.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Zw4bqeyKLc[/ame]

Here is a recipe for Gales HSB. Apparently the key for the fruity flavour of HSB was to ferment for the first day at 23.5C. A good example of how key a decent english ale yeast is

MO 76.6%
Invert no2 12.8%
Torrified wheat 6.4%
Crystal 3.2%
Black Malt 1%

Hops - 2/3 challenger, 1/3 Fuggles for about 35IBUs . No late hops or dry hops at all.

OG 1.052
FG 1.012

Gales yeast, possibly use Hales yeast from Wyeast or it was supposedly from Whitbread B originally, so use s04 or other whitbread yeasts
 
Been playing with this recipe, did a batch with 2 row and now one with Golden Promise that I will taste test later this week. Mor eor less fals under the English Ale category... I think...

Echo Ale #2
Method: All Grain
Style: Strong Bitter
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 11 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 13 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.042 (recipe based estimate)
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)

Original Gravity:
1.050
Final Gravity:
1.011
ABV (standard):
5.05%
IBU (tinseth):
33.42
SRM (morey):
14.14
Fermentables
Amount Fermentable PPG °L Bill %
16 lb United Kingdom - Golden Promise 37 3 80%
3 lb American - Victory 34 28 15%
1 lb United Kingdom - Extra Dark Crystal 160L 33 160 5%
20 lb Total
Hops
Amount Variety Type AA Use Time IBU
2 oz Perle Pellet 8.2 Boil 60 min 30.46
2 oz Hallertau Hersbrucker Pellet 4 Aroma 5 min 2.96
Hops Summary
Amount Variety Type AA
2 oz Hallertau Hersbrucker Pellet 4
2 oz Perle Pellet 8.2
Mash Guidelines
Amount Description Type Temp Time
30 qt Infusion 153 F 90 min
Starting Mash Thickness: 1.5 qt/lb
Yeast
Danstar - Nottingham Ale Yeast
 
MaryB said:
Been playing with this recipe, did a batch with 2 row and now one with Golden Promise that I will taste test later this week. Mor eor less fals under the English Ale category... I think...

Echo Ale #2
Method: All Grain
Style: Strong Bitter
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 11 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 13 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.042 (recipe based estimate)
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)

Original Gravity:
1.050
Final Gravity:
1.011
ABV (standard):
5.05%
IBU (tinseth):
33.42
SRM (morey):
14.14
Fermentables
Amount Fermentable PPG °L Bill %
16 lbUnited Kingdom - Golden Promise37380%
3 lbAmerican - Victory342815%
1 lbUnited Kingdom - Extra Dark Crystal 160L331605%
20 lb Total
Hops
Amount Variety Type AA Use Time IBU
2 ozPerlePellet8.2Boil60 min30.46
2 ozHallertau HersbruckerPellet4Aroma5 min2.96
Hops Summary
Amount Variety Type AA
2 ozHallertau HersbruckerPellet4
2 ozPerlePellet8.2
Mash Guidelines
Amount Description Type Temp Time
30 qtInfusion153 F90 min
Starting Mash Thickness: 1.5 qt/lb
Yeast
Danstar - Nottingham Ale Yeast
Click to expand...

I enjoy a bit of Victory or Biscuit in English ales, especially in the darker maltier ones. But that's a LOT of it. I'd be surprised if it weren't the dominant character of the beer.
 

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