West Yorkshire Pale Ale

[specharka]

After finally snagging a smack pack of West Yorkshire Ale yeast (WY1469), I am determined to make a strong, full bodied example of an English pale ale. Slightly nutty, slightly toasty and with enough earthy hops to balance it all out, I am hopping this recipe hits the mark.

I've noticed that many examples of this style tend to err on the side of copious crystal malt and unnecessary complexity, so I tried to simplify the grainbill as much as possible without losing sight of the style guidelines. As I don't make too many English ales, I am happy to hear any advice on the subject!

Batch Size: 5.50 gal Style: Strong Bitter (11C)
Boil Size: 6.98 gal Style Guide: BJCP 2015
Color: 12.8 SRM Equipment: My Brewhouse (2016)
Bitterness: 39.3 IBUs Boil Time: 60 min
Est OG: 1.056 (13.8° P) Mash Profile: Single Infusion, Full Body (60 mins @ 156F)
Est FG: 1.017 SG (4.4° P) Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage (10 days @ 64F)
ABV: 5.1%

Ingredients
10 lbs Pale Ale Malt, Crisp (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM)
1 lbs Victory Malt (25.0 SRM)
8.00 oz Brown Malt (65.0 SRM)
2.00 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)
1.00 oz Northern Brewer [9.0%] - Boil 60 min
1.00 oz Fuggles [4.5%] - Boil 10 min
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.0%] - Steep 10 min
1 pkgs West Yorkshire Ale Yeast (Wyeast Labs #WY1469)

 

[catdaddy66]

That grain bill looks very close to an English brown ale that I made 3 weeks ago. Add 8 more Oz's of brown malt, then 1 more chocolate and 3 Oz's black patent malt.

I like what you've got there.

 

[OswaldvW]

For an English pale ale style, I don't think you really need the brown malt and chocolate malt. The 2-row and Victory should be enough to give you a pale ale.

 

[JKaranka]

Don't use brown malt. The chocolate malt is ok as colour correction. I would not use Victory malt either. 1/2lb Amber malt is good if you want to avoid crystal malt. For that OG you should up the IBU to at least 45. If you go for proper Yorkshire style bitter, drop the colour to 7-8, up the IBU to 50 and use a decent amount of sulphur for that metallic note.

 

[danlad]

Look up something like Timothy Taylor's Landlord as a guide. These things tend to be very simple brews, and none the worse for that!