How to make a great EPA?

[chase]

I love English pale ales. The thing I love the most is that sweet caramel and subtle raisin flavor that many of them have.

I have tried over and over to make a beer with that flavor and have never gotten it. I've read that these beers normally have very simple grain bills, so I try to keep my recipes that way; maris otter plus 2-8% english medium crystal.

So I ask you, brewing wizards of homebrewtalk, what special ingredients give these beers their magical flavors?

 

[EricCSU]

You are on the right track.

Marris Otter has to be the base malt.

As far as crystal malts go, using an English Crystal might help (Northern Brewer sells it).

Crystal 120 (in moderation) will give you that raisin flavor.

Use english hops. Some flavor/aroma, but mostly a firm bittering.

Here is a variation of the recipe from Brewing Classic Styles for Best Bitter. I subbed UK Fuggles for EKG because I have a half pound of it in my freezer. This recipe uses aromatic and special roast, which is a little different. I have it on tap right now and love it.


Batch Size: 6.00 gal
Boil Size: 8.19 gal
Estimated OG: 1.050 SG
Estimated Color: 11.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 31.6 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 74.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
9 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 88.37 %
8.0 oz Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 4.65 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 4.65 %
4.0 oz Special Roast (50.0 SRM) Grain 2.33 %
44.00 gm Fuggles [4.50 %] (60 min) Hops 26.1 IBU
21.00 gm Fuggles [4.50 %] (20 min) Hops 4.2 IBU
14.00 gm Fuggles [4.50 %] (1 min) Hops 1.4 IBU
1.20 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1.20 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs English Ale (White Labs #WLP002) [Starter Yeast-Ale


Eric

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

Just a thought, maybe try a little Honey malt. You'd use it instead of the Aromatic above (similar amount). Either will be tasty, Honey malt a little sweeter/nuttier (not that you need more 'nutty' with Maris Otter but w/e).

 

[chase]

Crystal 120 (in moderation) will give you that raisin flavor.

Use english hops. Some flavor/aroma, but mostly a firm bittering.

Here is a variation of the recipe from Brewing Classic Styles for Best Bitter. I subbed UK Fuggles for EKG because I have a half pound of it in my freezer. This recipe uses aromatic and special roast, which is a little different. I have it on tap right now and love it.


Eric

That's an interesting recipe. I think I'll try something like it in my next batch. Thanks.

 

[rockfish42]

You could also try some of the other varietal malts from the UK: optic, golden promise, halcyon, pearl. Also make sure your crystal malt is from the UK, Simpson's extra dark is awesome.
Hops should be kept to the British varietals, I like a fuggles bittering 60 min, EKG flavor 45-30 min and a Styrian goldings aroma 0 min addition.

 

[permo]

Maybe pair the marris otter with a blend of three different english crystal malts to get the depth of caramel flavor you desire. I do this in my brown ales and it works fantastically.


10# MO
8 oz C50
8 oz C75
4 oz C150

This being said, Summit EPA, has a very nice crystal malt depth, and they use C80 as their only dark crystal malt in their beer.....

 

[mjohnson]

What about adding a little special b to your basic grain bill? I've never used it, but its supposed to give you hints of raisin/dried fruit.

 

[permo]

What about adding a little special b to your basic grain bill? I've never used it, but its supposed to give you hints of raisin/dried fruit.

C150, Special B and C120 will all give you a little bit of the dried fruit/raisin edge that you may be seeking. Special B is just great stuff.

 

[prosper]

I've struggled with that, too. I've found a few key things:

-you *need* authentic ingredients:
-Source your maris otter and crystal malt from an english maltster like Hugh Baird, simpsons, etc. American or German crystal malts from Briess, Weyerman, etc - have a different character.
-Same goes for hops - you absolutely must use UK-grown hops, the American-grown versions of those same cultivars are just different. Good - but not for an authentic-tasting EPA.
-Ditto on the yeast. My favourites are Windsor, 1968, 1028 or 1275. I dislike Nottingham because I feel it's just too clean, and too attenuative for this style.
-keep it simple. Looking through the recipes published by CAMRA (http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=byo), most recipes don't use more than 2 or 3 fermentables total.
-Hop more conservatively than you think you should - especially with the late hops. For a 1.045 OG, look for about 35 IBU's, and 1/2 to 1 oz of hops at 10 minutes, and perhaps 1/2 oz of dry hops.
-water treatment is generally overrated, but depends on your local water quality. A small amount of Gypsum and chalk (1 tsp each) in the mash is probably plenty sufficient.
-age and oxidation - by the time they get here, most british beers are often quite oxidized. Also, cask beers frequently 'feature' oxidation - within hours (or days) of tapping a fresh cask, the effects of the fresh air in the barrel will have an effect on the beer. You might notice that your EPA's start to taste more 'authentic' after 8 to 12 months in the bottle.



95% Maris Otter
5% British Crystal, 70-80L

35 IBU Challenger (or any other British hop you like)
1/2 oz Kent Goldings @ 10 mins
1/2 oz Fuggles @ 10 mins
1/2oz Kent Goldings (dry)

Mash at 148F, ferment w/Windsor
1.045 OG, FG should be in the 1.008 range

It's based on my favourite EPA ever is here, just with a smaller OG and a slightly different hop schedule.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f64/first-gold-epa-187410/

 

[Freezeblade]

I disagree with the previously mentioned age. English beers, which are usually lower gravity, are much better young, I actually think that some of the authentic taste and character of English beer (when had in england) is how young it is. It is not uncommon for a cask of ordinary bitter to be drank the 3-5 day after it was brewed, sometimes still fermenting!

Agreed on the authentic ingrediants, I use Crystal 55 and 150 quite a bit for my english-style beers. and East Kent Goldings are really important, imho.

 

[prosper]

I suppose it depends what you mean by 'authenticity.'

If you mean that you expect your beer to taste like the bottled British beers that are available in stores here, then I stand by my oxidation statement. If you expect it to taste like fresh beer in a British pub, then you're absolutely right.