Thomas Hardy clone

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From Clone Brews

5 gallons
O.G. = 1.123 - 1.125
F.G. = 1.028 - 1.031
IBU = 70
SRM = 24
12% abv


Extract
16.5 lbs Light LME
.33 lb Wheat DME
12 oz. Crystal 55°L
.5 lb Amber Malt
2 oz. Peat Smoked Malt

1 oz. Northern Brewer (60 min.)
3 oz. East Kent Goldings (60 min.)
1 oz. Fuggles (15 min.)
1 oz. East Kent Golding (2 min.)
.5 oz. Fuggles (Dry Hop)
.5 oz. East Kent Goldings (Dry Hop)

Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale

All Grain
21.25 lbs Maris Otter 2 row
12 oz. Crystal 55°L
12 oz. Amber Malt
2 oz. Peat Smoked Malt

add 18 HBU less bittering hops than called for in the extract recipe above (25%)

Mash at 150° for 90 minutes.

I haven't brewed this recipe but I've been happy with the results of other clones that I've brewed from this book.
 
Brewtopia said:
From Clone Brews

5 gallons
O.G. = 1.123 - 1.125
F.G. = 1.028 - 1.031
IBU = 70
SRM = 24
12% abv


Extract
16.5 lbs Light LME
.33 lb Wheat DME
12 oz. Crystal 55°L
.5 lb Amber Malt
2 oz. Peat Smoked Malt

1 oz. Northern Brewer (60 min.)
3 oz. East Kent Goldings (60 min.)
1 oz. Fuggles (15 min.)
1 oz. East Kent Golding (2 min.)
.5 oz. Fuggles (Dry Hop)
.5 oz. East Kent Goldings (Dry Hop)

Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale

All Grain
21.25 lbs Maris Otter 2 row
12 oz. Crystal 55°L
12 oz. Amber Malt
2 oz. Peat Smoked Malt

add 18 HBU less bittering hops than called for in the extract recipe above (25%)

Mash at 150° for 90 minutes.

I haven't brewed this recipe but I've been happy with the results of other clones that I've brewed from this book.
Thanks for the recipe and reply.
 
Sounds nice. I may have to find some.

Thomas Hardy's Ale
A unique achievement with a special place in English brewing history. Strong in alcohol and powerfully hopped, it doesn't spoil with time and careful storage, but can be kept for at least 25 years, growing in character as the flavours blend and develop into mature masterpieces in miniature.

A superb after-dinner drink, it can be enjoyed immediately or cellared in accordance with the instructions on the back label. O'Hanlon's produce annual 'Editions' of individually numbered and tagged 25cl bottles that make beautiful gifts and treasured possessions for the beer lover.

11.7% ABV

tom_hardy_portrait.jpg

 
I misunderstood this post, exhumed the author's body, found some viable genetic material, and implanted the Thomas Hardy embryo in my roommate while she wasn't paying attention. On the one hand, she's really mad at me, but on the other, now she'll never be very far from the Madding crowd.
 
rofl Kai.

I've also found this recipe awhile ago when I was seaching for a clone awhile ago:

---------------------------
For a 3 gallon batch:

15 lbs pale-ale malt (M&F from England)
2 lbs lt brown sugar
Hops: Chinook for boil ca 25HBU
Fuggles for finish ca 1 oz 2 mins
Chinook 1/8 Dry hop
Fuggles 1/4 Dry hop

The hopping is from memory as I don't have my notebook with me.

Mash:
15 qts water
mash in 130 raise to 158 F.
Hold for 1.5 h
Sparge with 30 qts at 170 F.

Add gypsum 1 tsp.

Boil FOREVER (about 6 hours)
add bittering hops 60 min before end of boil
(you have to figure out when that is based on your boiling rate,
I had a cloud of fog in my house for 3 days after this boil off)

Wort should be 3.5-4 gallons gravity approx 1.130-1.145

Yeast: 1028 wyeast
After 7 days,
rack into 5 gallon carbouy and pitch champagne yeast
let ferment 4-6 days, then rack into 3 gallon carbouy (if you
dont have one, flush a 5 gallon with dry ice to remove oxygen
Dry hop with hop bag for 2 weeks.
remove hop bag, let sit additional month.
 
Brewtopia said:
From Clone Brews

5 gallons
O.G. = 1.123 - 1.125
F.G. = 1.028 - 1.031
IBU = 70
SRM = 24
12% abv


Extract
16.5 lbs Light LME
.33 lb Wheat DME
12 oz. Crystal 55°L
.5 lb Amber Malt
2 oz. Peat Smoked Malt

1 oz. Northern Brewer (60 min.)
3 oz. East Kent Goldings (60 min.)
1 oz. Fuggles (15 min.)
1 oz. East Kent Golding (2 min.)
.5 oz. Fuggles (Dry Hop)
.5 oz. East Kent Goldings (Dry Hop)

Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale

All Grain
21.25 lbs Maris Otter 2 row
12 oz. Crystal 55°L
12 oz. Amber Malt
2 oz. Peat Smoked Malt

add 18 HBU less bittering hops than called for in the extract recipe above (25%)

Mash at 150° for 90 minutes.

I haven't brewed this recipe but I've been happy with the results of other clones that I've brewed from this book.
I was glancing at the Barley Wine series book from the AHA. I couldn't beleive what I read. Ray Daniels stated that the Dorchester brewery was actually using the bavarian Lager yeast strain to make Thomas Hardy's. I wonder if that might be where the pineapple type flavor comes from? Maybe the Lager yeast is producing that flavor from an elevated fermenting temp with the lager yeast?
 
Any thoughts on where the pineapple type flavor might come from in a Thomas Hardy's?
 
Old thread but it is 100% pale malt and, yes, WLP099.

I did not notice pineapple in the last two I drank (both within the last year, an 89 and one much more recent, maybe an 06) but my guess would be brett?
 
This is the full recipe that artfl posted. It explains a bit about the pineapple esters.

Thomas Harding

Date: Wed, 16 Mar 94 9:08:45 EST
From: Stephen P Klump <sklump at magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Subject: Thomas Hardy Clone (all-grain)

Howdy all,

In response to Troy Downing`s request for Thomas Hardy's ale,
I will give my recipie.
The distinction of TH`s is that "pineapple-ester" flavour
that is found nowhere else. My recipie does give that aroma...

For a 3 gallon batch:

15 lbs pale-ale malt (M&F from England)
2 lbs lt brown sugar
Hops: Chinook for boil ca 25HBU
Fuggles for finish ca 1 oz 2 mins
Chinook 1/8 Dry hop
Fuggles 1/4 Dry hop

The hopping is from memeory as I dont have my notebook with me.
(not that it would help either :)

Mash:
15 qts water
mashin 130 raise to 158 F.
Hold for 1.5 h
Sparge with 30 qts at 170 F.

Add gypsum 1 tsp.

Boil FOREVER (about 6 hours)
add bittering hops 60 min before end of boil
(you have to figure out when that is based on your boiling rate,
I had a cloud of fog in my house for 3 days after this boil off)

Wort should be 3.5-4 gallons gravity approx 1.130-1.145

Yeast: 1028 wyeast
After 7 days,
rack into 5 gallon carbouy and pitch champagne yeast
let ferment 4-6 days, then rack into 3 gallon carbouy (if you
dont have one, flush a 5 gallon with dry ice to remove oxygen
Dry hop with hop bag for 2 weeks.
remove hop bag, let sit additional month.

Bottle: I had very little carbonation - add some champagne yeast
when bottling. Use cornsugar to prime 1/3 cup.

NOTE: this recipie won 1st prize in the barley wine category at a local
competion (scored a 42) and would have won best of show if it had
been carbonated (judges' comments)

Also, I repeated this recipie using crystal malt instead of br sugar,
and it did not have the pineapple flavour :(
Howver, I was able to take a SG 1.149 (first batch was without hydrometer)

My first batch came out the color of a pale ale, the second was dark brown
could have been the crystal...i`ll let you know when I make it a third
time...

Cheers!
Stephen

Chemist for Hire | Decadence requires application!
Will Recrystalize for Food! | -R J Green
****************************| The average dog is nicer than
Klump.2 at osu.edu | the average person. -A Rooney
http://hbd.org/hbd/archive/1374.html#1374-3
 
I just finished a batch of this from the recipe listed above, from the book Clone Brews. I like to brew a holiday beer to cork in belgian bottles and send out as gifts for the following year. This fit the bill. I mashed in at 7am and didn't finish till 11pm. Lol. I had to collect more wort than I had planned and my local propane supplier sees fit to not pressure up the cylinders adequately so my boil was long and tedious. I had to boil down 14 gallons of wort but in the end, hit my target gravity of 1.125. In the future, I think I'll split the grain bill in half between grain and dry malt extract. It should save a lot on the boil time. I used Irish ale yeast Wyeast 1084 and plan to bottle with champagne yeast to take it up another notch or two if necessary. 1084 is rated to 12% ABV.
I have found that this works quite well with my belgian holiday beers and gives them the carbonation I like. The Scaldis Noel clone I made last year is perfect for this christmas. It has carbonated up nicely and dried out just the right amount.
 
This is the full recipe that artfl posted. It explains a bit about the pineapple esters.

Thomas Harding

Date: Wed, 16 Mar 94 9:08:45 EST
From: Stephen P Klump <sklump at magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Subject: Thomas Hardy Clone (all-grain)

Howdy all,

In response to Troy Downing`s request for Thomas Hardy's ale,
I will give my recipie.
The distinction of TH`s is that "pineapple-ester" flavour
that is found nowhere else. My recipie does give that aroma...

For a 3 gallon batch:

15 lbs pale-ale malt (M&F from England)
2 lbs lt brown sugar
Hops: Chinook for boil ca 25HBU
Fuggles for finish ca 1 oz 2 mins
Chinook 1/8 Dry hop
Fuggles 1/4 Dry hop

The hopping is from memeory as I dont have my notebook with me.
(not that it would help either :)

Mash:
15 qts water
mashin 130 raise to 158 F.
Hold for 1.5 h
Sparge with 30 qts at 170 F.

Add gypsum 1 tsp.

Boil FOREVER (about 6 hours)
add bittering hops 60 min before end of boil
(you have to figure out when that is based on your boiling rate,
I had a cloud of fog in my house for 3 days after this boil off)

Wort should be 3.5-4 gallons gravity approx 1.130-1.145

Yeast: 1028 wyeast
After 7 days,
rack into 5 gallon carbouy and pitch champagne yeast
let ferment 4-6 days, then rack into 3 gallon carbouy (if you
dont have one, flush a 5 gallon with dry ice to remove oxygen
Dry hop with hop bag for 2 weeks.
remove hop bag, let sit additional month.

Bottle: I had very little carbonation - add some champagne yeast
when bottling. Use cornsugar to prime 1/3 cup.

NOTE: this recipie won 1st prize in the barley wine category at a local
competion (scored a 42) and would have won best of show if it had
been carbonated (judges' comments)

Also, I repeated this recipie using crystal malt instead of br sugar,
and it did not have the pineapple flavour :(
Howver, I was able to take a SG 1.149 (first batch was without hydrometer)

My first batch came out the color of a pale ale, the second was dark brown
could have been the crystal...i`ll let you know when I make it a third
time...

Cheers!
Stephen

Chemist for Hire | Decadence requires application!
Will Recrystalize for Food! | -R J Green
****************************| The average dog is nicer than
Klump.2 at osu.edu | the average person. -A Rooney
http://hbd.org/hbd/archive/1374.html#1374-3

Just brewed the all grain version of this. It took about 5.5 hours to boil to 4 gallons. I followed it exactly, see how it comes out.
 
Bottling tomorrow. Very excited.

I would be bottling it today, but I had to drive my carboy from where I was aging it, back to my apartment for bottling.

Did anyone here prime theirs w/ priming sugar? Or did you just bottle as-is?
 
Hi Folks.

I have the Clone Brews 2nd Edition and I am a little confused about the "Prime" step. It says (in the left column):

After 3 weeks add champagne yeast to the
secondary fermenter. Three days before
bottling, prime the beer in the 2nd stage
with a dose of:

Then in the right column it says:
Danstar Windsor Ale yeast or White Labs
WLP099 Super High Gravity Ale yeast.



SO am I supposed to add yeast TWO more times (champagne and more ale yeast) or just the champagne yeast? It's a little confusing. Champagne yeast isn't even listed as one of the ingredients, it's only referred to in the instructions. To me, "prime with" means "add sugar", not yeast, but I'm still learning. :)

Assuming I have to get more ale yeast, how much is a "dose"?

Thanks, Max

EDIT : I spoke to the guy in my LHBS when buying the ingredients and he suggested adding the champagne yeast after 7 days, when racking from primary to secondary. He didn't mention anything about the ale yeast, nor did he try to sell me any so I don't know if I need it or not.
 
Did you add THREE yeasts?

No. I did the version that was in post #2, except I added in Nelson Sauvin hops at 15 min, and also put in 2lbs of brown sugar. Another change is that I went with the Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale yeast (50ml starter) to accentuate the malt profile.

It turned out really well.

I'll probably brew it again next december - except I need to get through the case I have of it now, bottle conditioning.
 
No. I did the version that was in post #2, except I added in Nelson Sauvin hops at 15 min, and also put in 2lbs of brown sugar. Another change is that I went with the Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale yeast (50ml starter) to accentuate the malt profile.

It turned out really well.

I'll probably brew it again next december - except I need to get through the case I have of it now, bottle conditioning.

From everything I've read, this stuff will last forever. :) I'm planning on brewing this at least once a year and cellaring it. Then at some point I will do taste tests to compare how the flavour profile changes.
 
One caveate on using champagne yeast to prime: Its important that you use a higher mash temp to retain body in the beer if you plan to use champagne yeast to bottle condition the beer. I have been using it for not only barley wines but also big belgian ales. The champagne yeast is tenatious and will over time dry out the beers somewhat. So if you plan to lay them down for a long time you might consider paying close attention to your starting gravity, final gravity, and amount of priming sugar and estimated final alcohol percent in order to choose an appropriate yeast. I made a La Fin Du Monde clone 5 years ago for my wedding. I primed with champagne yeast and over the last five years, the ale went from spot on, to something more akin to champagne, very thin and over bubbly with no head retention.

On the other end of the spectrum, about three years or so ago, I made a belgian dubbel and my local home brew shop sold me what was supposed to be corn sugar, but was mis-labeled and it was maltose dextrine. I primed two batchs with it and needless to say they never carbonated properly. I reopened some bottles and reprimed with corn sugar. Still nothing, so I kept the batch for cooking. I opened a bottle the other day, some 3-4 years after I made them, and there was carbonation! Not a lot, but enough for a big beer. I guess the yeast had continued to work, albeit slowly and had carbonated it up nicely.

So the lessons are always taste white powdery stuff to make sure its what you think it is. And pay close attention to yeast alcohol tolerance, and beer changes alot over long term storage, not always to the good and not always to the bad.
 
One caveate on using champagne yeast to prime: Its important that you use a higher mash temp to retain body in the beer if you plan to use champagne yeast to bottle condition the beer. I have been using it for not only barley wines but also big belgian ales. The champagne yeast is tenatious and will over time dry out the beers somewhat. So if you plan to lay them down for a long time you might consider paying close attention to your starting gravity, final gravity, and amount of priming sugar and estimated final alcohol percent in order to choose an appropriate yeast. I made a La Fin Du Monde clone 5 years ago for my wedding. I primed with champagne yeast and over the last five years, the ale went from spot on, to something more akin to champagne, very thin and over bubbly with no head retention.

I suspect something else may have been going on. The sugar left over after a beer yeast is done fermenting tends to be more complex sugars. Wine yeasts usually will only really ferment simple sugars. I suppose your La Fin Du Monde could have still had some simple sugars, though.
 
From everything I've read, this stuff will last forever. :) I'm planning on brewing this at least once a year and cellaring it. Then at some point I will do taste tests to compare how the flavour profile changes.

It probably will... the thing is, I live in a relatively small apartment. Between the case of 1L bottles I'm cellaring from this, the 4 boxes of 22oz commercial bottles, the 16 or so 6-packs of 12 oz bottles, and the keggerator - I'm running out of space.

Hell, I even have a full keg of an American-style barleywine I did, sitting in the walk-in cooler at my friend's restaurant because I'm out of storage space.

I need to start trading homebrews.
 
I wrote to the book's publisher about the recipe and here is what they said (I'm paraphrasing).

1. the first yeast is used for the original fermentation and to impart a nice yeast flavour.
2. after 3 weeks, pitch the champagne yeast to help finish up the fermentation.
3. 3 days before bottling, pitch the Windsor Ale yeast to ensure fermentation is complete and to help with carbonation.

I guess there are still two pieces of information missing.
1. how much time is there between steps 2 and 3?
2. how much of the Windsor Ale yeast do I need to pinch. The recipe says "a dose", but that isn't an official measurement that I have heard of so far.
 
Thomas Hardy Ale is 11.90% ABV.

The Wyeast Scottish Ale yeast I used gets up to around 12% (and I'd probably use it again)

White Labs 099 can supposedly ferment up to 25% (a.k.a. the Thomas Hardy strain)
http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/strains_wlp099.html

I'm really not sure what the point is going through three different yeasts - at least not on a homebrewing scale.

Perhaps if you're trying to do this with a 60bbl fermentation tank - sure. I could see something maybe getting stuck somewhere.

But if you started with the right yeast, the right starter, and are brewing around 5gal, I can't see you needing to go through all of the sugar clean-up with the Champange yeast.
 
I'm not claiming to be an authority here - feel free to use as many yeasts as you want.
I'm just personally not seeing the point.
 
Nice to see this thread still going! Just got back on homebrewtalk recently. I think I have 1 more beer left from the one I brewed years ago. In reguards to yeast, I got the alcohol content to where it should be only using the Bavarian Lager idea I got from reading the book on Barleywines. Going to try this brew again sometime this year but as a 12 gallon batch on the new brew system. Should be able to do that much using the 20 gallon mashtun. Probably will not brew it again till later this year.

Warrior
 
Oh hell yeah - I'm happy it's here as well.
I've got about 12 TH left from years 1994, 1997, 2003, 2004, and 2008, and I'm going to need something to drink when they're all done.

I think my first attempt at this recipe was pretty good and I plan to do it again this coming winter.
 
Oh hell yeah - I'm happy it's here as well.
I've got about 12 TH left from years 1994, 1997, 2003, 2004, and 2008, and I'm going to need something to drink when they're all done.

I think my first attempt at this recipe was pretty good and I plan to do it again this coming winter.

I'm jealous! But that's my plan as well, brew a new batch every year and cellar it for as long as possible so I can select which vintage I want. :)

I'll see how this batch goes and tweak the recipe from that point on, based on my experiences.

Thanks for the input!
 
I brewed a 3 gallon batch of this today. Brew day was long but the end result is hopeful so far. I made a 2 gallon starter earlier this week, siphoned off the starter beer (which has made a nice English bitter), then pitched right on top of the yeast slurry. I whipped a ton of air into the wort so I had a few inches of foam on top, and it was bubbling fast in the fermenter almost straight away. I also used a sieve when pouring the beer into the fermenter to get rid of most of the trub.

I plan to whip more air in tonight, hopefully before krausen really gets going, so the yeast has plenty of oxygen to work on...
 
I still have not rebrewed this yet. Need to put it on my schedule for a 15 gallon batch. Will carb in a keg and then bottle all of it.
 
So I ended up not re-aerating this one. It was bubbling continuously from very early on and after I returned from work on Monday (about 28 hours later) all bubbling had stopped. I checked gravity and it was down to 1.040! So I very very gently stirred yeast back into suspension and closed it up again.

I just checked gravity again (six days in) and it was bang on target at 1.030. Tasting it right this minute gives a strong almost bourbon flavor with a very hoppy aftertaste. I'm sure that will mellow with enough conditioning. I have the sample in a glass in the fridge now to floc all the suspended yeast before giving it a proper taste.

I plan to leave this two more weeks in primary and then go straight to bottles (after cold crashing). Then it'll be down in a dark corner (or the basement fridge) for many months. Maybe I'll open one over the holidays (3 months from now) just to see what a "young" one of these will taste like.
 
I still have not rebrewed this yet. Need to put it on my schedule for a 15 gallon batch. Will carb in a keg and then bottle all of it.

I noticed your comment from ages ago about the yeast. I also read somewhere else that Thomas Hardy was fermented with lager yeast. Do you think maybe that'll be something for the next brew of it you do?
 
I did brew it with the german Lager yeast. I beleive it gave me the proper flavor profile. I think it might be that elusive flavor profile from the Lager fermented at warm temps.
 
Thanks! I'll definitely try that next time.

One other thing I noticed with this brew is the incredible amount of yeast cake it generates. Next time I brew I will definitely do a larger batch than three gallons as I'm sure I lost more percentage of the end product due to wastage and dry hopping.

Anyway looking forward to trying this in a few months!
 
Thanks! I'll definitely try that next time.

One other thing I noticed with this brew is the incredible amount of yeast cake it generates. Next time I brew I will definitely do a larger batch than three gallons as I'm sure I lost more percentage of the end product due to wastage and dry hopping.

Anyway looking forward to trying this in a few months!
 
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