British Golden Ale Miraculix Best - Classic English Ale

[kmarkstevens]

I ended up going with 6# Chavallier, 1# invert, first gold/BX hops, Pub yeast and clarity ferm. Fermenting away nicely. Hydrometer sample is nice and seeing how the flavors develop

 

[DBhomebrew]

The secret for good head lies in the step mash (also for attenuation). Best is 62/72/77c for 30/30/15 minutes. Still good

Well, today I gave it a go. My very first multi-step mash.

I do BIAB in a simple pot so I attempted to hit each new step with infusions of a calculated volume of boiling water. My realized temps were 62/70/74. Not too bad for a first attempt.

I did notice an increase in efficiency. 82-->89%, putting my OG at 1.044 instead of 1.040.

The real assessment will be when I pour that first glass. Hopefully a nice layer of foam will assure me a more complicated brew day is worth it.

 

[Miraculix]

Well, today I gave it a go. My very first multi-step mash.

I do BIAB in a simple pot so I attempted to hit each new step with infusions of a calculated volume of boiling water. My realized temps were 62/70/74. Not too bad for a first attempt.

I did notice an increase in efficiency. 82-->89%, putting my OG at 1.044 instead of 1.040.

The real assessment will be when I pour that first glass. Hopefully a nice layer of foam will assure me a more complicated brew day is worth it.

It takes a few times to really dial it in, yours should be good!

 

[Miraculix]

Soooooo, next iteration of Miraculix' best is about to happen tonight.

I have a pack of pub in the fridge that got stuck in transit for over 1.5 months and all the rest is there as well. I might try using chevallier as the base malt while upping the mash temp to create less alcohol in the final beer while maintaining the taste.

Anyway, there's a chance that the yeast is dead. I will do a vitality starter over night, to see if I get activity. I do no chill anyway, so no additional time required for this.

If the yeast is not showing activity, I might get freaky and throw in lallemand abbaye instead. I have only kind of boring yeast alternatives flying around, so the choice is made based on the fact that this beer needs an expressive yeast. The obvious dry alternative would be verdant IPA, but I do not have any of it left.

So let's see what we will get here! Belgian Patersbeer or English bitter.

 

[corcis]

Nice!

The yeast is acually THE key ingredient in this recipe. So if you change the yeast, you'll get a completely different beer. Of course, your beer might also end up being a nice one. As long as the yeast produces loads of aromas it should be fine, just different obviously.


Let me know how it turns out please!

This was my return to homebrewing after a couple years, for the AHA Big Brew Day, and it was a fabulous one! I managed to pull off most of the brewing stuff without too many issues, except being without a hop spider or hop bags.

Wellllllllll... I should've gotten a packet of A09, dangit. A coworker offered up some A01, which was an easy decision, but I could've used a sachet of A09.

14lb Crisp Marris Otter
2lb Crisp C45L
1lb Torrified Wheat
1.25lb (two Squeezy bottles) Lyles Golden Syrup

Single-infusion mash. Thermometer was probably problematic, but it ranged from 145-149 in different zones, for 60 minutes.

@30 1oz Magnums with 12.5%AA
@30 1.5oz Goldings (region unspecified) with 5.6%AA
@10 1oz Goldings (region unspecified) with 5.6%AA
@0 1.5oz Goldings (region unspecified) with 5.6%AA

Grind was on the LHBS mill, single pass, so I figured it would be low-efficiency and was kinda wrong? I think I came out with 75% or 86% efficiency from my mash. I need to invest in software at some point, if I have that big a spread in numbers... that or a scale.

Diluted from 1.047 (including the invert) to 1.040 pre-boil and it wound up at 1.043 post-boil. I'm pretty happy I killed it with a by-eye dilution.

Produced around 11-12gal. Should probably throw the fermenters on the scale to get an idea. I'll probably rack it off, keg it up, carb it, and can it in the next Friday.

 

[Miraculix]

Soooooo, next iteration of Miraculix' best is about to happen tonight.

I have a pack of pub in the fridge that got stuck in transit for over 1.5 months and all the rest is there as well. I might try using chevallier as the base malt while upping the mash temp to create less alcohol in the final beer while maintaining the taste.

Anyway, there's a chance that the yeast is dead. I will do a vitality starter over night, to see if I get activity. I do no chill anyway, so no additional time required for this.

If the yeast is not showing activity, I might get freaky and throw in lallemand abbaye instead. I have only kind of boring yeast alternatives flying around, so the choice is made based on the fact that this beer needs an expressive yeast. The obvious dry alternative would be verdant IPA, but I do not have any of it left.

So let's see what we will get here! Belgian Patersbeer or English bitter.

It is in the fermenter. The pub woke up in the vitality starter after two hours and I didn't change the recipe much.

I just used bittering hops and one five minute Golding's addition. I also mashed higher with only two steps, first one around 68-69c, second one around 77c for mashout.

Og was a bit lower, 1.038. The wort tasted as expected. I used Simpsons heritage crystal with 180ebc, so the beer got a bit darker then the previous versions. Hopefully it will finish a bit higher, I try to limit the alcohol a bit.

Let's see!

 

[Miraculix]

I am drinking it now, two weeks after bottling. I now realised, I actually forgot to throw in the wheat... and I am not impressed. Head retention could be better and there is something missing regarding mouthfeel&creaminess. Otherwise, spot on!

It is the second time I am brewing it without the wheat, and each time I regreted it. Folks, do not leave the wheat out when brewing this!!

Edit: according to my notes, I used 7 % Spelt malt. Looks like that does not do the trick. Simple Spelt/Wheat flour is better.... I have to check the package, if I actually opened it or not. I cannot remember throwing it in. If I did, it did not do the job it was supposed to do..... I'll have a look.

Double edit: The Spelt bag is open, so I used it. Ok, spelt malt is officially not the thing for this beer! Use spelt flour instead!

 

[DBhomebrew]

You're a few hours ahead of me. I'll be opening the first bottle of my most recent best bitter bottled two weeks ago.

This one is the batch on which I attempted a multi-step mash for the first time. To isolate the major process change, I went back to my typical bitter grist. 85/5/10 MO/C65/invert.

Loving the Pub. I've got a 1845ish strong ale finishing up on a 3rd generation pitch. 7days into fermentation it's already delicious. Getting ready to brew an Optic/EKG/Pub AK next. Thanks for turning me on to this yeast.

 

[Miraculix]

You're a few hours ahead of me. I'll be opening the first bottle of my most recent best bitter bottled two weeks ago.

This one is the batch on which I attempted a multi-step mash for the first time. To isolate the major process change, I went back to my typical bitter grist. 85/5/10 MO/C65/invert.

Loving the Pub. I've got a 1845ish strong ale finishing up on a 3rd generation pitch. 7days into fermentation it's already delicious. Getting ready to brew an Optic/EKG/Pub AK next. Thanks for turning me on to this yeast.

That sounds like a solid base recipe! Basically identical to mine, except for the adittional 5% unmalted wheat or spelt (spelt flour would do). Try it, it adds something to the creaminess and head.

If you like pub, try also Verdant IPA, that dry yeast is the bomb. First dry yeast that actually tastes like a good British strain. Stays cloudy a bit longer, but once settled, it sits at the bottom of the bottle like a rock. Next time I am brewing this recipe here, I am going to try it with Verdant IPA instead of Pub.

 

[Miraculix]

Update 2:

My previous bottle must have been infected. This one is totally different, tastes much better and the head stays. So spelt malt is ok at last . Not perfect, but ok. Next time I'll be using good old spelt or wheat flour again.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

I didn't read back thru all the posts, so please forgive me if the following has been answered. The golden syrup is common in many British ale as, from what I've read, the golden syrup, often Lyle Golden Syrup, was readily available. It's my understanding regular table sugar will do as a substitute. Is this valid? If not, then a valid substitute readily available in the good ole USA.

 

[balrog]

I can get Lyles in the grocery store.
I can also make invert with Turbinado or Sugar in the Raw depending on how much time I'm willing to spend.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Only place around here I can find Lyle Golden Syrup is Walmart online.

 

[DBhomebrew]

I don't know about Golden, but I got Lyle's treacle on Amazon.

Table sugar is really no substitute. It'll make beer, but the different inverts bring a ton of flavor.

For diy invert, it really is very easy. I've got a batch going right now.

1 pint water
1lb sugar (more natural the better)
1/4tsp citric acid

Boil water.
Heat off, mix in sugar and acid.
Heat on, let go until it hits 240.

You could call it quits here for #1 or transfer to a 250° oven and let it go until the color's right for #2 or #3.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

The golden syrup is common in many British ale

To be more precise, it's common in many British homebrew recipes, particularly those trying to clone commercial beers.

Commercial breweries never use it, as they have access to proper brewing sugars. But golden syrup is available in every supermarket and pretty much anywhere that sells regular sugar, so it's a convenient hack for UK homebrewers to approximate brewer's invert #1.

AIUI the best place to get it is the places that cater to British expats, they have far less markup than places selling it as a fancy brewing ingredient. But as has been said, I wouldn't go out of your way to get it, the whole point of it is that it's a convenient approximation to making your own invert, and if it's not convenient for you then you might as well just take the time to make your invert.

 

[ba-brewer]

You can get the Lyles's golden syrup on amazon.

As there is not much color in the golden it seems corn sugar would be good substitute.

 

[DBhomebrew]

When I taste my homemade invert #1 it tastes like delicious candy. Corn sugar tastes like corn sugar. Even with the low color #1 there's some malliard stuff going on.

 

[kmarkstevens]

Krogers chain supermarkets should carry it - at least my local QFC has it on shelf. I think in the syrup section? I don't remember but I was in a not very obvious spot. Sugars, near the kosher foods????

World Market also carries Lyle's Golden Syrup. Lyle's Golden Syrup | World Market

Might be in a plastic squeeze bottle instead of the standard can.

I did a web search on "lyle's golden syrup near me" and found it in the World Market

 

[Miraculix]

Sugar is no appropriate substitute, corn syrup also not. A quick and dirty way of doing it is to take some raw sugar cane sugar (the very lightly coloured one, but still not completely white, that's important) throw it into a pot, add a dash of lemon juice and water and simmer till the colour is dark enough. Try it from time to time and your will start tasting the difference once the maillard reactions start to happen. Your can make it quite dark actually, tastes nice! But be very careful, this stuff is hooooot!!!

As I'm in Germany again, I have no easy access to Lyle's golden syrup, I always use the above method. Small side pot during the boil, not much of a hustle

 

[ba-brewer]

Inverting cane sugar turns it into glucose which the same as corn sugar, from that point it is a reasonable substitute. As glucose enhances ester production that seems to be the most important part of including golden invert sugar in a recipe.

Sure there is some caramelization in the lyle's golden syrup but even at 10% of the grain bill the flavor added should be subtle when diluted into 4.0gal of water especially with the addition of crystal malt.

 

[Miraculix]

Inverting cane sugar turns it into glucose which the same as corn sugar, from that point it is a reasonable substitute. As glucose enhances ester production that seems to be the most important part of including golden invert sugar in a recipe.

Sure there is some caramelization in the lyle's golden syrup but even at 10% of the grain bill the flavor added should be subtle when diluted into 4.0gal of water especially with the addition of crystal malt.

No it is not. Flavour is different and glucose syrup is not an apropriate substitute. All tested and done before, there is a reason why British breweries do use the propper stuff.

Btw. inverting cane sugar turns it into glucose and fructose. 50/50. But it is not about the inversion, it is what happens to the inverted sugar when heated with all the other stuff in raw cane sugar, that is what brings the flavour.

 

[z-bob]

Inverting cane sugar turns it into glucose which the same as corn sugar, from that point it is a reasonable substitute. As glucose enhances ester production that seems to be the most important part of including golden invert sugar in a recipe.

Sure there is some caramelization in the lyle's golden syrup but even at 10% of the grain bill the flavor added should be subtle when diluted into 4.0gal of water especially with the addition of crystal malt.

Inverting cane sugar gives you a mixture of glucose and fructose; should be 50% each. One of them (I think it's the fructose) begins caramelization at a relatively low temperature. That's a different reaction than the browning reaction, although that is going on too. Browning is inhibited by low pH but not stopped. I don't know if caramelization is pH sensitive or not.

Corn sugar might be a reasonable substitute for white invert syrup if any recipes actually call for that. Just adding cane sugar to the wort at the beginning of the boil is probably a better substitute. Light and dark invert syrups actually have some taste to them besides sweet. I haven't brewed much with them (and when I have, it was a pretty dark invert that I made) so I can't say how significant that is to the brew, but I think it might be important.

 

[ba-brewer]

Thanks for the information regarding fructose in invert sugar @Miraculix and @z-bob.

My comments were mostly with respect to the lyle's golden syrup, to me the flavor from the tin does not translate to anything significant in the final product. Homemade invert made with raw sugars have more flavor and color even with minimal cook times.

Different people have different threshold to flavors so maybe others can taste the difference. I know I can pickup the the burnt roast flavors from the small additions of black malt from the Wheeler recipes for color corrections so maybe others can pickup something from Lyles syrup.

 

[Miraculix]

Thanks for the information regarding fructose in invert sugar @Miraculix and @z-bob.

My comments were mostly with respect to the lyle's golden syrup, to me the flavor from the tin does not translate to anything significant in the final product. Homemade invert made with raw sugars have more flavor and color even with minimal cook times.

Different people have different threshold to flavors so maybe others can taste the difference. I know I can pickup the the burnt roast flavors from the small additions of black malt from the Wheeler recipes for color corrections so maybe others can pickup something from Lyles syrup.

To be fair, I never made a side by side comparison, and as there is already a lot of different flavour contribution from the crystal and the yeast, it is very hard to pinpoint the contribution from Lyle's. It would be itneresting to see how pure glucose would compare against the same amount of Lyle's.

However, I read a lot on the shutupaboutbakleyperkins blog, and the guy really knows his english ales and the propper ingredients and he really emphasizes that even the lightest invert sirup (kind of like Lyle's, I think Lyle's is even a bit darker) adds something to the ale that no "normal" sugar would add. So I am flying a bit blind here, but I tend to trust this guy as he is quite the one to ask when it comes to (historic) British ales.

 

[DBhomebrew]

^^Masterclass in forum discourse.^^

 

[ba-brewer]

As I had a tin of Lyle's I decided to double my past experience. First I put 5gm in 8oz of water(10% with 60%BHE) to see what it would look and taste like at a scaled down volume. I was surprised at how much color it added but there was very little flavor once diluted.

A side by side of Lyle's golden syrup vs corn sugar, 6oz of either in approximately 2.5gal.

Fawcett golden promise and white wheat, british crystal 50/60 full volume no sparge mash, it is being fermented with verdant yeast. The jars and fermentors are opposite.

 

[Miraculix]

As I had a tin of Lyle's I decided to double my past experience. First I put 5gm in 8oz of water(10% with 60%BHE) to see what it would look and taste like at a scaled down volume. I was surprised at how much color it added but there was very little flavor once diluted.

A side by side of Lyle's golden syrup vs corn sugar, 6oz of either in approximately 2.5gal.
View attachment 731967View attachment 731968
Fawcett golden promise and white wheat, british crystal 50/60 full volume no sparge mash, it is being fermented with verdant yeast. The jars and fermentors are opposite.

Uhhhh niiice, let us know about the outcome! I love experiments like this one!

 

[ba-brewer]

I will report back on the flavor is a month or two. The plan is to naturally carb then chill for a month or so.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Great experiment and info. Yes, please keep us posted on the outcome.

 

[kmarkstevens]

I've got the Voss yeast Golden Ale spunding even as I write this. Should be able to tap the keg this coming weekend. FG tasting was just fine.

BTW, I pitched this the day that Seattle hit 110F, so finally had a chance to use a Kviek at it's natural temperature