Old Ale Recipe - Suggestions?

[BrewProcess]

Hello Everyone,

I plan on brewing a small-batch old ale and aging it about 6 months to be our "1-year brewing anniversary" ale. I have a small apartment, and haven't made the jump to all-grain, so I'm basically doing a mini-mash. (I'm a noob, though, so take everything I've said with a grain of salt). The recipe is based on our very first recipe (which turned out pretty good, really). Anyway, I've done some research and modified that original recipe to bring it more in line with BJCP guidelines for an Old Ale. Here is the recipe...I would love any comments/suggestions.

Old Esquire Old Ale

Batch Size: 2 gallons
Boil Size: 2 gallons

Steeping Grains:
8 oz. two-row pale
4 oz. caramel/crystal 60
4 oz. caramel/crystal 120
2 oz. Honey Malt
2 oz. carapils
2 oz. chocolate malt

Fermentables:
3 lbs Amber LME

Hops
0.2 oz Summit (25 mins)
0.5 oz Chinook (15 mins)
0.5 oz Cascade (5 mins)
0.5 oz Cascade (Dry Hop - 1 week)

Yeast
Wyeast British Ale II (With starter)

Water
Crystal Springs North Georgia Spring Water

Other
Whirlfloc Tablet (1)

Process: Steep the grains for 45 mins in 1/2 gallon water between 158-148 degrees f. Add remaining water (+1 cup for boiloff) and LME. Bring to boil, finish hot break, and begin hop additions. 30 min. total boil (shorter because of smaller batch size). Cool and sparge into fermenter. Add yeast. Ferment for 3-4 weeks, adding dry hop addition during last week of fermentation. Bottle. Note: consume copious amounts of homebrew throughout.

OG should be about 1074; FG should be around 1019. Hopville.com says the SRM will be around 16 SRM, with 44.3 IBUs and a bu/gu ratio of .60.

There it is... Any suggestions? Anyone have any particular wisdom to share with regard to old ales?

This website is, and all of you who contribute your expertise to it are, amazing. Thanks in advance.

 

[KraphtBier]

Use half a whirlfloc, mebbe less. One tablet treats 10 gallons. Ditch the carapils, you won't need it. I havent done any short boil beers but I would think that, combined with the fact that your wort is going to be very high gravity will negatively impact the isomerization of alpha acids from your hops. Perhaps try adding the DME late in the boil, or at flameout. That would give the hops a chance to do there thing. Have fun!

 

[ploppythesausage]

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Old Ale

Lots of info on Old Ale (and October Beer) on this. If I remember correctly Old Ale is simply a Mild (a traditional mild - as in stronger than the current 3%ers we have) left for a long time. Brewed in October and tasted the following christmas, if not clear, left until the nxt christmas. Apparently they would pick up some Brett from aging in oak vessels, so you might want to throw some oak chips in, maybe some brett (but i've yet to try adding brett to anything - i'm thinking of pitching some orval dregs before bottling into a future batch though).

 

[BrewProcess]

Thanks for the suggestions, KraphtBier; how late would you add the LME? I know it needs at least 15 minutes to sanitize it.

Ploppy, that website is amazing; it gives me a lot to think about, but it appears from what I've read so far that I'm not too far off of a historic Old Ale. The only thing is the aging...15 months? And "if it's not clear yet, age ANOTHER year"? That's some patience... I'll check into the Brett, though; not sure if the LHBS has it.

 

[abdo soliman]

http://www.homebrewing.org/assets/i... Brew 2002 Hunters Moon Old Ale All Grain.pdf
I brewed this recipe more than 2 yrs. ago, and the brew got good approval from members of my beer club in Springfield, MO (Them Beer Knobbers). This simple recipe produces a complex brew because of long mash , I mashed in a bag for 2 hrs. and long boiling up to 6 hrs. I boiled for 3hrs but the hops addition were at 90 min ,30min and 0 min.. This recipe has a very large grain bill .

 

[Lefou]

Give this a read if you haven't. I have the site bookmarked, it's a good reference.
It's a good background on the style and you can always adapt it how you please.
https://learn.kegerator.com/old-ale/

 

[Lefou]

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Old Ale

Two thumbs up.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

If I remember correctly Old Ale is simply a Mild (a traditional mild - as in stronger than the current 3%ers we have) left for a long time. Brewed in October and tasted the following christmas, if not clear, left until the nxt christmas. Apparently they would pick up some Brett from aging in oak vessels

That's more 19th century keeping ales. In the 20th century through to the present day, old ales were/are typically brewed with the first runnings from a (modern) mild recipe or thereabouts, and don't generally get Bretted, certainly not heavy Brett; some get aged in oak for a bit but not all. The "old" is as much a reference to "old-fashioned" as actual beer age.

I'm not too far off of a historic Old Ale.

Hmm - I'd say you've a reasonable way to go, you're overcomplicating the speciality malts, honey malt is simply not found in the UK. Typically you'd be looking at pale malt (optionally with some replaced with mild malt), maybe 4% crystal if any, 8-10% invert #2, maybe a bit of maize, British hops, perhaps bittered with Cluster. Colour comes mostly from caramel not speciality malts - or use a bit of black malt as a rough equivalent.

I'd go for a yeast with a bit more character and less attenuation than 1335 as well. And be reasonably generous with the gypsum in the water if it doesn't have much already.