British Brewer

Recreating the perfect British Pint

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15 January
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Beer Wars ctd

As we have been discussing over the last week in both the plight of the Flowers Ale and the Beer Wars movie post much appears to be getting lost in the race to become the biggest brewery in the world.

Well almost on cue Heineken, not wanting to be outdone by InBev and SABMiller, announced on Jan 11th the acquisition of Mexican brewery FEMSA Cerveza, owners of such brands as Dos Equis and Sol, in a transaction worth $7.6 billion assuming the closing price of Heineken stock and the value of the FEMSA’s outstanding debt.

This merger will create the second largest brewery in the world behind InBev, with over $24 billion in revenue, infront of SABMiller.  Wonder if the URL www.mexicanbrewer.com is free, hmmmm it is, what to do.

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09 January
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Beer Wars

Kevin, a good friend, professional brewer in a former life, and a former colleague of mine at Fidelity Ventures, writes posts at a great beer review blog Beer Observer. I was on the site earlier today and found a post by Kevin I had missed from early in 2009 about a documentary made by an independent film maker and beer nut, Anat Baron.  Anat is a former LA Producer who went on to work for Mike’s Hard Lemonade and knows a thing about making it in the beverage industry and making movies.

The movie is “Beer Wars” (trailer here), a documentary on the battle ranging between the mega-breweries and the small independents. The film focuses on the US market, but the theme is eerily similar to the one I covered in my recipe post on Flowers Original Bitter. The theme is closer than I thought as one of the major mega-brewers highlighted in the movie is Anheuser-Busch, makers of Bud and a whole host of other brands.  Anheuser-Busch was acquired by InBev in November 2008 by none other than the Belgium based InBev, owners of Flowers Original, making the largest brewery in the world with over 300 brands and 25% of all beer consumed in the world.

I have nothing against InBev or Bud, it is a matter of personal taste for me and I know cost for many other people.  I happen to like Real Ale and will support the breweries and home enthusiats that brew it.  This movie is important to me for one reason (minus the corporate bad, little guy good vibe which I could live without, its a free market), it does expose what people are really drinking, the fact that adjuncts are the base ingredient used in the bulk of mass produced beers on the market, not barley, so its not beer. Its important to know what you are drinking.

One way to really know what you are drinking is to brew it yourself. Its fresh, cheaper, and in almost every case, better than the mass produced stuff at the liquor store.  Go see the movie if you can or look for it when it comes to iTunes later this year. I’m off to bottle my Wadworth 6X clone, it smells good.

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08 January
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Recipe: Flowers Original (version 1.0)

Flowers Original AleI have decided not to give this brew my own BritishBrewer name, it is a special ale with a rich history, similar to many of the classic British Ales covered on this blog.  But the recent history around Flowers is becoming more and more common with the growth of mega-breweries, such as InBev, as many local cask brewers are acquired and then shut down to cut costs and reduce the number of brands. I don’t know what a “brand” of ale tastes like but I do know that Flowers is one of the the classic ales which unfortunalely has a very uncertain future under its new owners.

Flowers Brewery opened in 1831 as Flower & Sons on Brewery St in Stratford Upon Avon, home of the British Bard William Shakespeare. In 1954 the brewery was acquired by J.W. Green and changed its name to Flowers Breweries and then shortly after acquired again by the growing Whitbread empire in 1961.  As part of Whitbread’s cost cutting they closed the original brewery in Stratford and moved the operations 45 miles SW to Whitbread’s Cheltenham Brewery (previously known as West Country Brewery Ltd before also being acquired by Whitbread in 1963 and becoming the Flowers Brewery). I wonder the effects the move had on the quality of the original ale given the changes ground water, equipment, and possibly ingredients.

In 2000 Whitbread, along with the large Bass empire, sold all its brewery holdings to the Belgium brewing conglomerate, InterBrew, who consolidated all of its cask brewing operations into the home of Boddingtons Beer at the Strangeways Brewery in Manchester, some 130 miles to the North (founded in 1778 and eventually sold to Whitbread in 1989 by the Boddington family), becoming the only remaining cask brewery in the Interbrew empire.  In 2004 InterBrew merged with another global mega-brewer, the Brazilian AmBev, to become InBev, the largest brewer in the world by volume.  In Sept 2004 InBev announced it was closing Strangeways and brewing for the brands they retained moved to either Glasgow, Scotland or South Wales (except Boddingtons which moved to Hyde Brewery in Manchester).

So now Flowers is an orphaned ale with no home, its heritage a tale driven by corporate cost cutting and shareholder value rather than quality and taste. It is a very popular ale with a strong following, a point not lost on InBev, who recently revived the Flower lineup (Original and IPA) and commissioned Badger Brewery (owned and operated by Dorset independent brewers and pub owners, Hall and Woodhouse, makers of the exceptional Badger ales and Tanglefoot cask ale) to brew both IPA and Original for the UK market.  So for now the ale is safe, it is a classic and maybe its heritage is something we can retain by recreating the recipe for homebrewers for generations to come.

Researching the ale was hard as InBev does not post ingredients or even acknowledge the existence of the Flowers Original on any of its web properties.  I had to rely on a couple of dedicated all-grain homebrewer’s and Roger Protz “The Real Ale Almanac” to piece together the recipe. (ingredients and process can be found here)

The Almanac provides the following tasting notes:

A strong, fruity bitter with some acidity… Fat malt in the mouth with hop edge, dry finish with some hop character with raisin and sultana notes.

The almanac lists the hops as Stryian Goldings and Target, Pale Ale base malt with Crystal and cane sugar. OG 1044.  I found the ABV listed by online retailers as 4.3%. So we should be able to calculate the FG using a brewing calculator.  SRM is up in the air.  The homebrewer’s I found who had tried an all-grain version listed the SRM as 9. This seems a little light to me, the colour reminded me more of a Fullers London Pride, i.e. a burnt gold, giving more of a 13 SRM.  I have decided to use Wyeast Thames Valley yeast for this batch given its proximity to Cheltenham and high attenuation to provide the dry finish. I used the recommendations of 2 online homebrewers for IBU and will use the hops specified in the almanac.

So given this is the least we have ever had to go on here is the recipe. (We will be following the same logic used in the previous recipes tp calculate the specific quantities of DME, hops etc to save on the words)

Flowers Original Bitter (BJCP Beer StyleSpecial/Best/Premium Bitter, category: English Pale Ale)

  • 2.5 Gallon, 60 min boil
  • OG 1043, FG 1010
  • 4.4% ABV
  • 30 IBU
  • 13° SRM (Burnt Gold)
  • Ready to drink in 6-7 weeks

Base Malt and Fermentables:

  • 1 lb 12 oz Light Dry Malt Extract (60 mins)
  • 4 oz Cane Sugar (at the end of the boil)

Specialty Grains:

  • 6 oz Crystal Malt – 120L
  • 4 oz Torrified Wheat

Hops

  • Bittering Hops – 0.25 oz Target, 0.125 oz Styrian Goldings (60 mins)
  • Flavour Hop – 0.125 oz Styrian Goldings (15 mins)
  • Aroma Hops – 0.25 oz Target, 0.125 oz Styrian Goldings (1 min)

Yeast

  • Wyeast Thames Valley Ale (#1275) (Attenuation 77%, Flocculation: Medium Low)

Other Additions

  • 1 tsp Irish Moss (30 mins)
  • Packet of Isinglass Liquid (to help remove any lingering proteins given the low flocculation level of the yeast)

Process

  • Please follow the process guidelines outlined in my post here.  You will require all the equipment specified here.
  • Primary Fermentation: 5-7 days at 65-75°
  • Secondary Fermentation: 1 week in the same location as the primary
  • Prime and store in the bottle for at least 2 weeks before consuming
  • Peak flavour will be reached after 4 weeks in the bottle
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06 January
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Old Ale

Theakston Old PeculierI must say to have a liking for “Old Ales”, when I was a young man in England I was partial to Theakston’s Old Peculier. It was, and still is, a warm, malty ale with a big heart and fruity finish. Not a session brew by any stretch, but something to warm the bones on a chill winter night.

The Old Ale has a long history reflecting. not only the history of beer making in Britain, but a glimpse of the social history of the country also.  Back in the 1800’s, before the time of the industrial revolution, stock ales, matured in oak casks, were served as a complement to mild ales, often with the landlord serving the customer a blend of the sharper stock ale with the fruitier, sweeter mild ale to the customer’s taste.  The breweries caught on and began to produce their own stock ales, which became known as “Old Ales” due to the length of time they were conditioned in the cask. Old Ales were also considered the “top shelf” ale with the workers drinking the weaker common or mild ale during the week and then cracking the Old Ale on pay day.

To understand the process used to brew an historical Old Ale one has to understand a little of the All-Grain style of brewing, something I hope to get time for (and money for some neat equipment) later this year.  For our recipes created to date we have substituted the base malt with some form of Malt Extract, e.g. DME.  In the case of All-Grain brews the barley, typically Marris Otter or English 2-Row, are steeped in warm water for an hour or so to extract the sugars. Next the water, now called wort, is drained into the brew kettle (the first runnings) ready for the boil, a process known as “mashing“.  Imagine brewing a cup of tea but instead of using a tea bag in a tea pot you have 100 lbs of grain in a steel mash tun.  As the water is run off many of the sugars are left behind, attached to the grains, so more hot brew water (know as liquor) is used to rinse the grains and allowed to filter slowly into the kettle until enough wort has been collected to begin the boil, a process known as “sparging“. Think brewing a teabag for a 2nd time.

So back to the pre-industrial revolution brewery. To make Old Ale the brewery would take only the first runnings from the mash and brew a really strong, rich, high alcohol, brew (first teabag).  Due to the high alcohol content the ale was left to condition for long periods of time in oak casks gaining almost sour, lactic acid flavour from the continuing fermentation in the cask. The breweries would then sparge the grains with enough liquor to create a second batch of weaker ale, known at the time as “Common Ale”, a process known as “parti-gyle” brewing (the second teabag).  If the first runnings created a particularly strong brew a rinse was used to create a “Small Ale”.  This process is still used by the Belgiums today to brew the Tripel, Dubbel, and Blonde (old, common, small).

Old Ales are still brewed today but using more moden, efficient methods.  The strength and character vary widely with Old Ale filling the gap between brown ales, porters and barleywine including winter warmers, dark milds, and lower gravity barleywines. Some popular brews include Old Peculier, Fuller Vintage Ale, and J.W. Lees Moonraker.

I have brewed the New Old Ale recipe from Northern Brewer, voted my #1 brew of the year for 2009, and a VERY popular drink at my house and with friends.  I plan to investigate a couple more Old Ales over the year, starting I hope with my favorite, Old Peculier 🙂

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31 December
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Top 10 Brews of 2009

2009 Best Brew ListI am not much into lists but it seems to be the rage around this time of year.  I thought I would compile my list of favorite brews/recipes we brewed over the last 12 months as rated by myself, my family and friends.  Despite ranking I would recommend all of the following recipes, so lets get to it.

#10 Pale Ale Kit from OakBarrel.com – This was one of my families favorites, a full bodied, full flavored Pale Ale, uses American yeast and hops and produces a very smooth ale that improves with age. I have made 2 batches over the last 18 months.

#9 Nut Brown Ale from OakBarrel.com – This was a favorite of the wife, an American style Nut Brown, really smoothed out with age, full bodied with a great nutty malty taste.

#8 London ESB from NorthernBrewer.com – This would have been higher but I some issues with the ESB yeast during the summer, it is a little fussy when the heat spikes.  We had builders coming in and out of the cellar all summer which really messed with the climate.  Once I finally got the brew right it produced one of my favorite keg beers of the year.  Its a strong ale that drinks like a session brew, be careful with this one as it creeps up on you.

#7 Peat Smoked Porter from NorthernBrewer.com – A rich porter I brewed twice this year.  You can really taste the peat in the smoked barley, adding some single malt whisky notes to the finish.  A very smooth, incredibly rich drink with strong coffee and chocolate flavour, makes a great after dinner drink.  Could have been higher but it really is very rich and not something you may want on a regular basis.

#6 Kentish Best Bitter from BritishBrewer.com – This was the Christmas brew in the house and very popular gift with friends and family.  My parents liked the fresh medium-bodied, real ale like mouthfeel that left them wanting a second glass.  It is light, well balanced ale made from a single hop variety.  I personally loved the colour, its the brightness, clearest ale I have ever made.  Its a beautiful, crystal clear light copper/red.  I did not place it higher as the recipe still needs work.

#5 Dry Irish Stout from NorthernBrewer.com – I may never need to create a Guinness recipe clone while we have this Northern Brewer kit available.  It is a very refreshing stout, clean, dry and goes down really smooth with all the coffee flavours of the original. I serve this chilled with a stout tap and BeerGas in the keg.  One of my favorite stout recipes ever and one of the most popular brews I’m commissioned to make for parties and events.

#4 English IPA from NorthernBrewer.com – This is a big ale from Northern Brewer.  A full bodied IPA, not as spicy as its American cousins. Its a refreshing, fruit laden beverage with a hoppy aroma. The malt comes through with age leading to a full-bodied ale that pairs nicely with a spicy curry in the late night hour.

#3 Sinistral Warrior IPA from NorthernBrewer.com – I have my second batch of the year bottle conditioning as we speak and I hope to crack a bottle on my birthday.  This is an ale in the tradition of DogFish Head 60min IPA, a little overly hopped, peppery with a bright rich golden colour.  Its a potent brew that goes down a little too easily.

#2 Spitfire Ale from the Clone Brews book – I brewed this for my dad earlier this year and it quickly became a family favorite.  A clone of the classic from Shepherd Neame Brewery in Kent. Its hard to describe, both an explosion of fruit and roast malt mixed up with a caramel butterscotch aroma that is both refreshing and smooth.  You want more, a lot more. It did not last long but nothing does when the family is over visiting (Happy New Year Dad). I have this recipe waiting on deck early in 2010 and will provide a full write-up for the blog.

…and the number one brew of the year is!!!!

#1 New Old Ale from NorthernBrewer.com – It is very rare when everyone, and I mean everyone, loves the same ale.  This was my most popular seller this Christmas, consumed at many a Christmas party, the overall family favorite, and my own personal fav of the year.  It is a complex dark brown ale that needs to be aged and has an ABV nearing a barleywine. I had this one conditioning in the bottle for over 2 months before consuming.  The addition of Jamaican brown sugar leads to a rum flavour at the finish to complement the full-bodied, rich toffee-like malt, balanced out by the sweet Galena hops.  The colour is a beautiful deep brown red that looks glorious in a glass.  This is an ale equally as comfortable in a brandy snifter as a pint glass.  The history of Old Ale is also something quintessentially British, it seems even more appropriate to be the first winner of the British Brewer Brew of the Year (and will be the topic of a future post).

Happy New Year one and all.  I have many resolutions and dreams for the upcoming year. I want to get a job, mainly to fund dreams two and three namely produce my first all-grain brew and perfect a recipe for Fullers London Pride and serve it from an Oak Cask in my own house.

Thanks for reading this blog, I would welcome your own lists in the comments for favorite brews both homebrew and commercial. Raise a glass to the 2000’s and welcome the new decade.

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24 December
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Merry Christmas

Merry ChristmasI just got an email from an old family friend back in England providing some detail to the village Christmas Eve celebrations ahead which seemed to revolve heavily around time spent with friends in pubs drinking ale.  Another reminder of home and the differences between England and the USA.  This Christmas is looking to be a white Christmas for all of us in New England and England alike and as a toast to our old family friend I am going to crack into my Kentish Best Bitter this evening with friends at an annual tradition of our own, the Sheer family Christmas Eve party.  Merry Christmas one and all and drink responsibly.

‘Twas Christmas broach’d the mightiest ale; ’twas Christmas told the merriest tale; a Christmas gambol oft could cheer the poor man’s heart through half the year.Sir Walter Scott, Scottish Novelist and Poet

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20 December
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What the “flocculation” are you talking about?

Hopefully the title of this blog post grabbed your “attenuation”.  For those who don’t get the joke, this is a post about yeast.  We provided a 101 background in the “Getting Started Series” post but now its time to dig in a little deeper into this magical little fungus.

Top fermenting yeast in an open fermenter, smells yummy

Top fermenting yeast in an open fermenter, smells yummy

Yeast is truly a magical mould, there were times in our past, before purification systems, when water was unsafe to drink. Ale and wine were seen as staples and a safe form of nutrition (I would argue that with the quality of our food today homebrewed ale remains a safe form of nutrition). Yeast is still considered a powerful nutrient, rich in both B-complex vitamins and an anti-bacterial being the basis of penicillium notatum, the foundation of modern antibiotics. But to beer drinkers around the world yeast is know as the magical fungus responsible for converting sugar into alcohol and putting bubbles in our beer.

God made yeast, as well as dough, and loves fermentation just as dearly as he loves vegetation. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Types of Yeast

First it is important to differentiate between the two styles of yeast used to brew.  The first is saccharomyces uvarum, often called lager yeast, in which the yeast settles and ferments on the bottom of fermenter.  This type of yeast works at much lower temperatures and ferments more of the sugar leaving a drier, crisper beer.  This yeast is typically used to brew Pilsners and Lagers. It is believed there are very few strains of lager yeast with all lager yeast descending from only 2 primary strains.

The second type of yeast is saccharomyces cerevisiae, often called ale yeast, in which the yeast rises to the surface of the fermenter causing a thick layer of foam called krausen.  This is the type of yeast used to brew all British and most European beers.  There are numerous strains of this type of yeast, each providing very distinctive characteristics you should consider when planning a recipe of which I have highlighted 5 important ones below:

1) Flavour – Ale yeast strains work by synthesizing the sugars and other enzymes derived from the malt. The flavours most commonly associated with ale are esters, resulting in an “ale taste,” as well as more-easily-described flavours such as apple, banana, and pineapple. Combinations of yeast strain, malt, and temperature can be responsible for chemicals causing other flavours, such as a cidery taste or butterscotch.

2) Attenuation – Is a percentage that measures the amount of sugar converted into alcohol during the fermentation process. Lower attenuating yeasts will leave more sugars behind leading to a sweeter taste.  Higher levels lead to a drier taste with alcohol notes.  Most yeast manufactures provide an observed attenuation level for each yeast strain which a brewer can then use when considering the target ABV and taste of a recipe.  I find it helpful to keep your own chart of observed attenuation for the yeast strains you use.  The ranges provided by the suppliers are fairly accurate but will vary depending on your own brewing conditions.  No one wants a yeast to under-perform.

3) Flocculation – Refers to the clumping together of yeast cells once the sugar has been fermented into alcohol.  As the yeast cells clump they begin to fall pulling down other matter suspended in the beer. Larger clumps tend to pull down other particulates suspended in the beer and lead to brighter, clear ales without the need for filtration or additives, know as “high” flocculation. Lower levels or “low” flocculation yeast might need additions such as Isinglass during the secondary fermentation phase to help pull down some of the suspended yeast or proteins left behind.

4) Alcohol Tolerance – Most yeast suppliers supply an ABV tolerance level yeast can reproduce under.  Ales with a high ABV such as Imperial, Barleywine or Old Ales need to be fermented with yeast strains with a high ABV tolerance say 10%. Some varieties of Barleywine that are bottle conditioned will require the use of Champagne yeast to ensure carbonation is successful in the bottle.  Remember to check the tolerance of your chosen yeast is higher than the target ABV.

5) Fermentation Temperature – Refers to the recommended temperature the yeast will perform optimally.  Too warm can lead to off flavours in the ale, too cold and the yeast head on top of the fermenter can fall prematurely and cause a stalled fermentation.

The most important stage for yeast in the brewing process is being pitched into the primary fermenter to begin its work.  Make sure the temperature of the wort is optimal at around 75-80°F, the wort is well aerated to provide the yeast cells the oxygen they need.  Most important make sure the yeast is working.  This can be done by creating a yeast starter.  Bring a pint of water to boil, add some DME, and boil for 15 mins.  Place in a jug, cool, and pitch the yeast. Insert and airlock and watch the yeast go to work.  A healthy yeast will be fully active within 24 hours.

Remember you can replace a yeast but you cannot replace a brew gone bad.  Hope this information helps, I find it most useful when selecting the right yeast to use for a specific recipe. Next up in our deeper dive into ingredients will be the water.

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15 December
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Hypnotic

I must confess to sometimes just going down into the cellar and stare at the magical dance being performed inside the carboys during the peak of primary fermentation.  The sugars and yeasts seem to dance around the fermenter in synchronized motion or just explode like fireworks.

Today is a cloudy, cold, wet, New England day (sounds very British like) so I went  down to the cellar to check on the progress of my brews and found myself again just staring at the fermenters.  So I went upstairs, got my Flip Camcorder (love these things, so easy to use and a snap to publish, all the software is actually on the camera) and recorded some snippets. Enjoy –

Here is a poem about ale I have kept with me through the years, the 3rd verse seemed apt right now. Its by W. H. Davies, a Welsh poet who lived in the late 1800’s through the outbreak of the 2nd World War in 1940. More here.

Ale by William Henry Davies

Now do I hear thee weep and groan,
Who hath a comrade sunk at sea?
Then quaff thee of my good old ale,
And it will raise him up for the
Thoul’t think as little of him then
As when he moved with living men.

If thou hast hopes to move the world,
And every effort it doth fail,
Then to thy side call Jack and Jim,
And bid them drink with thee good ale;
So may the world, that would not hear,
Perish in hell with all your care.

One quart of good ale, and I
Feel then what life immortal is:
The brain is empty of all thought,
The heart is brimming o’er with bliss;
Time’s first child, Life, doth live; but Death,
The second, hath not yet his breath.

Give me a quart of good old ale,
Am I a homeless man on earth?
Nay, I want not your roof and quilt,
I’ll lie warm at the moon’s cold hearth;
No grumbling ghost to grudge my bed,
His grave, ha! ha! holds up my head.

==

More fermentation videos…

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14 December
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Ale vs Beer

Just a quick post this evening, had a busy evening at my kids school.  I am a Trustee and Treasurer at Inly School in Scituate, MA and we had a long board meeting tonight.

I have noticed from re-reading my posts I use the words beer and ale interchangeably. I think nothing of it, I have always believed ale to be a style of beer, where beer is an all encompassing term for all fermented malt based beverages.  But I appear to be wrong.  I read this great post on the Ale vs Beer by Zythophile on the long battle between ale and beer.  Its a long post covering over 5 centuries of history of the hopped and malted beverage but he is a great writer and I have come to enjoy his essays, taking my beer (or is that ale) geekery to new heights.

On a separate note for all beginners I wanted to highlight the completion of my getting started series.  I am busy working on another series of posts (and fixing some of the old, I made some mistakes that need work) really digging into the various ingredients starting with yeast and moving onto water, hops and malt.

You can find the complete series here.

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13 December
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On Tap (13th Dec 2009)

Been busy this week.  Lots of new equipment arrived. It appears that the creation of this blog has peaked the interest of a few friends who have taken a fancy to my brews leaving my cellar empty of bottles so I need to increase production so I get to drink some to.  Thanks to all my founding customers for giving real ale a chance and trusting this novice to deliver your christmas presents and party beverages.  I am truly honored and thank you as does my liver for emptying my cellar.  As I produce new brews and recipes I will be sure to tap you on the shoulder for some taste testing and feedback (no charge) 🙂

whatale

This week saw 2 new brews enter the kettle so time for an “On Tap” update.

Primary

  • Abbots Special Ale (8 days) – this is my first attempt at a Greene King Abbot Ale clone. Nearing the end of the Primary Fermentation stage
  • Lord Fatbottom Ale (16 days) – cannot believe the fermentation is still going strong
  • American Style IPA (2 days) – nice hoppy IPA, not quite an Imperial but its close. Will be the topic of a future recipe
  • Chiswick ESB (1 day) – version 1.0 of my Fullers ESB clone I covered in an earlier post. I live in hope.

Secondary

  • Nothing right now, waiting the for Abbot and Fatbottom to finish.

Bottle Conditioning

  • Dogfish Head 90 min IPA clone(3 weeks) 9 weeks to go
  • Kentish Best Bitter (3 days) – I put half in a cask to condition (for me) and the other half in a case.  The contents of the case has all been pre-ordered and some are destined for family gifts ( 😉 dad).

Drinking

  • Finished the ESB and sold the last Old Ale so I am dry, all out, ahhhh 🙁
  • Time to go down to Blanchards and get some Dogfish Head 90 Min IPA 🙂
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