British Brewer

On Tap (Mar 8th 2010)

Apologies for the lite post week, it was a busy busy week at work with some long days and late nights. I was also working on a long post for Inly School where I am a sometime middle school guest speaker on a class I taught recently. I will post the link when its up.  It has been a lite brewing week to as all the fermenters are full with fermenting and conditioning ale with none ready to be transferred.  This is the problem when brewing heavier ales like Olds and Imperials, they take longer to condition. Take a look at my cellar inventory below and everything is in a 3-4 weeek rest (or more).

So we will have to wait a week for the Speckled Hen clone to get started.  My kids are off school this week and next and the wife and kids will be off west to LA to visit Grandpa, so poor old me is left alone with my brewing, I just wish I had timed this event better. I could have used the time to brew every night! I will miss them all very much, its a big empty house without the sound of two little boys running around, laughing, joking.. I digress, its time for the On Tap update

Primary

• Nothing new I am afraid, Old Speckled Hen clone is on deck
• 115th Dream Imperial IPA ( 1 wk  1 day (p) ) – A rather extreme IPA, high in ABV and a whopping 120 IBUs with over a 1 lb of hops using a technique called Hop Bursting I covered in a post last week.

Secondary

• Olde Luddite English Strong Ale (1 wk(p) 1 wk 1 day (s) ) – A new Old Ale kit from Northern Brewer, thought I would add some Old Ale kits to my current Old’s and Browns series.  The FG came in at a whopping 1017, almost 6% over its max attenuation, the Fullers yeast was very active.  The sample was already very clear and I could have drunk the whole thing.  This is going to be a very smooth, Old Ale. Second week of its 3 week rest.
• Theakston Old Peculier Clone (1 wk(p) 2 wks, 2 days (s) ) – My first pass at this classic old ale, FG came out in range along with the colour, that is all we can ask. It would appear the Trappist yeast is still working as a thin layer of yeast cake has formed on top of the conditioning ale. I am intrigued to find out what if anything has happened to the FG.  Now for 1 more week in the secondary

Bottle/Keg Conditioning

• Twelfth Night Stout (2 wk (p), 2 wks (s), 1 wk 2 days (k) ) – A new extract clone recipe of Rogues Shakespeare Stout from Northern Brewer featuring the PacMan Ale yeast strain from Rogue.  This one is an ass-kicking 70 IBU stout sitting in the keg and in its second week of rest. I will probably give this at least 4 weeks before tapping
  
• Fullers London Pride clone (1 wk (p), 1 wk (s), 3 wk, 3 days (b) ) – came out crystal clear from the primary with the FG exactly on target. Looking forward to seeing how this brew finishes off.  In its final week of conditioning so look for a review on this next week, I am quietly confident.
  
• Lord Fatbottom Ale (1 mth (p), 3 mths 1 wk (s)) –beginning the second half of its 6 months rest.

Drinking

• Spitfire Premium Ale clone (1 wk (p), 2wks (s), 4 wks, 3 days (b)) – my 2nd pass at Spitfire Ale, the Shepherd Neame classic from Kent UK.  Completely cleared but with a lot of sediment in the bottle.  Took 2 weeks to finish off the first case, a little too quick given this ale is pretty strong. It just goes down like a session brew
  
• Grateful Dead Guy Ale (1wk (p), 2wks (s), 4 wks 3 days (b)) – a new special edition kit from Northern Brewer featuring the newly released PacMan Ale yeast strain from Wyeast/Rogue Breweries, this one is a Rogue Dead Guy Ale clone. I did a side by side taste test with an actual Rogue Dead Guy Ale, colour and flavour are so close its hard to tell which one was which. Good job NB.
• Flowers Original Ale clone (1 wk (p), 1 wk (s), 6 wks (b)) – my first brew of 2010 and first attempt at the classic Flowers recipe. See review from earlier, its a winner and has been promoted to the recipe page. Only one bottle left, this will be finished this week. Only made 3/4 of a case and look forward to brewing a full 5 gallons later in the year. This ale appears to peak in flavour after ~5 weeks in the bottle
  
• Dogfish Head 90 min IPA clone (1 wk (p), 3 wks (s), 3 mnth 3 wks (b) ) – Continues to mature with age, been holding back on these to see how they pan out.

On Tap (Feb 28th 2010)

Been more in the groove this week, head not spinning so fast and managed to get some posts done.  Getting used to the commute, the work and occassional travel and the wife drinking my ales without me home. I am happy about this fact I think. It was fun to brew this weekend, tried “hop-bursting” for the first time using over 1 lb of hops in a brew (12 oz in the last 15 mins). I also found some time to research another classic Old Ale, Old Speckled Hen, so its off with this weeks On Tap Update.

Primary

• 115th Dream Imperial IPA ( 2 days (p) ) -  A rather extreme IPA, high in ABV and a whopping 120 IBUs with over a 1 lb of hops.  Thought I would try out hop-bursting.  I love the comment on the NB site “If you serve this beer to a Michelob Ultra drinker, he or she will cry. If life were a 1950s horror flick, this I2PA would climb out of the fermenter and turn on its master. Your dentist does not want you to brew or drink this beer. Sorry in advance about your tooth enamel“. OG came in perfect and the yeast is raging, was worried about a blow-out with this one.

Secondary

• Olde Luddite English Strong Ale (1 wk(p) 1 day (s) ) – A new Old Ale kit from Northern Brewer, thought I would add some Old Ale kits to my current Old’s and Browns series.  The FG came in at a whopping 1017, almost 6% over its max attenuation, the Fullers yeast was very active.  The sample was already very clear and I could have drunk the whole thing.  This is going to be a very smooth, Old Ale. First week of its 3 week rest.
• Theakston Old Peculier Clone (1 wk(p) 1 wk, 2 days (s) ) – My first pass at this classic old ale, FG came out in range along with the colour, that is all we can ask. Now for 1 more week in the secondary
  

Bottle/Keg Conditioning

• Twelfth Night Stout (2 wk (p), 2 wks (s), 2 day (k) ) – A new extract clone recipe of Rogues Shakespeare Stout from Northern Brewer featuring the PacMan Ale yeast strain from Rogue.  This one is an ass-kicking 70 IBU stout destined as is sitting in the keg. Will give this one 2-3 weeks to settle down before tapping
  
• Fullers London Pride clone (1 wk (p), 1 wk (s), 2 wk, 3 days (b) ) – came out crystal clear from the primary with the FG exactly on target. Looking forward to seeing how this brew finishes off.  Week 3 of its 4 week conditioning period.
  
• Lord Fatbottom Ale (1 mth (p), 3 mths (s)) – exactly half way through its 6 month rest.

Drinking

• Spitfire Premium Ale clone (1 wk (p), 2wks (s), 3 wks, 3 days (b)) – my 2nd pass at Spitfire Ale, the Shepherd Neame classic from Kent UK.  Completely cleared but with a lot of sediment in the bottle.  We started drinking these this week and its good, as good as the first time I brewed it, rich amber colour, butterscotch notes, really yummy.
  
• Grateful Dead Guy Ale (1wk (p), 2wks (s), 3 wks 3 days (b)) – a new special edition kit from Northern Brewer featuring the newly released PacMan Ale yeast strain from Wyeast/Rogue Breweries, this one is a Rogue Dead Guy Ale clone. I did a side by side taste test with an actual Rogue Dead Guy Ale, colour and flavour are so close its hard to tell which one was which. Good job NB.
  
• Flowers Original Ale clone (1 wk (p), 1 wk (s), 5 wks (b)) – my first brew of 2010 and first attempt at the classic Flowers recipe. See review from earlier, its a winner and has been promoted to the recipe page.
  
• Dogfish Head 90 min IPA clone (1 wk (p), 3 wks (s), 3 mnth 2 wks (b) ) – Continues to mature with age, been holding back on these to see how they pan out.
  

Recipe: Old Speckled Hen (version 1)

Online version with calculator can be found here.

Next up in the series on Old Ales and Browns is another classic Old Ale available in both the UK and US, Old Speckled Hen, brewed by Greene King after its acquisition of the Morland Brewery in 2000.  We have already covered the history of Greene King with the Abbot Ale recipe last year but Morland also has an interesting past.

Prior to its acquisition by Greene King, the Morland Brewery was located in Abingdon, now part of Oxfordshire, in the UK and has a history dating back to 1711.  The original brewery was located in the town of West Ilsley started by a local farmer John Morland to brew stouts and porters, the popular ales of the time.  Over the next 150 years the brewery slowly grew, remaining a family business, eventually acquiring 2 small breweries in nearby Abingdon in 1860.  By 1880 Morland had moved its operations from West Ilsley to Abingdon and by 1885 they incorporated as a limited company registered as United Breweries.  From this point on the company grew rapidly, buying out a number of local breweries.  The company went public in 1994 and was acquired by Greene King in 2000.  Throughout its history the company had a reputation for respecting the breweries they acquired, maintaining the original brewery names and brews.  Post Greene King acquisition though only the Morland name survived, the Abingdon brewery did not and all production is now in the Greene King brewery based in Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, UK.

The history of Old Speckled is not so old but is definitely one worth noting.  I found this description on wikipedia:

Old Speckled Hen was first brewed by Morlands of Abingdon in 1979. MG cars celebrated the 50th anniversary of their move to Abingdon, from Edmund Road in Cowley. They asked Morland to brew a special commemorative beer for the occasion, for which they would suggest the name and they would design the bottle label. The name chosen was Old Speckled Hen which took its name from a car which was brought to Abingdon, when the factory moved.

The car was called the MG Featherweight Fabric Saloon made from cellulosed fabric stretched over a wooden frame and was black speckled with gold. It became the factory’s demonstration model and general runabout and as it chugged about the factory people would say “There guz the Owd Speckl’d un”.

The original beer label bore the MG colours of cream and brown. The bottle dressing was finished with a green foil capsule, which matched the background colour of the Borough of Abingdon Arms. The beer was an amber colour and was brewed at a gravity of 1050 to denote 50 years (i.e. 1929 – 1979) of production of MG cars in Abingdon.

According the company website the ale is described as:

“Old Speckled Hen” has a full, smooth flavour and is very easy to drink. Its rich amber colour and superb fruity aromas are complemented by a delicious blend of malty tastes.

Toffee and malt combine with bitterness on the back of the tongue to give a balanced sweetness. This is followed by a refreshingly dry finish.

I can attest to the validity of the above notes for the pre-1999 version. In my experience the current export version is not as balanced or as rich and comes across a little dialed down in the flavour department.  Not to worry though as is what this blog is about, trying to recreate the original and sample the ale fresh  as John Morland intended.

The company website gives nothing away around ingredients, colour, or bitterness. It states the ale comes in 2 varieties, a cask version at 4.5% ABV and a bottled version at 5.2%. We will focus on the bottled.  I consulted with the The Real Ale Almanac (5th edition, last published in 1999, so prior to the Greene King acquisition. Important to note considering many experts on this beer claim the recipe was changed) and it confirms the bottle strength is 5.2% ABV, with an OG of 1050 (a given considering the history of the ale), uses Pipkin Pale Malt as a base, Crystal Malt, brewers sugar, Challenger hops for bitterness, Goldings and Challenger for aroma with a range of 30-35 IBUs of bitterness.

Here are the tasting notes from the Almanac:

Nose: Superb Goldings hop aroma (considering using Goldings for a flavour addition at the end of the boil)
Palate: Full hops and fruit in mouth, long dry finish with hops and delicate fruit notes
Comments: Rich coloured and fruit flavoured strong ale with generous hop support.

(my italics) The only hint we have for colour is it is “Rich” and “Amber” (from the company website). My own experience put the colour as a light amber almost a dark golden colour.  Given we have the OG and final ABV, bitterness and fermentables I believe the colour is a variable that will resolve itself. For yeast I will go with Wyeast #1275 Thames Valley Ale, its high attenuation will give the dry finish and both yeast and ale hail from the same location. So lets get busy and input the ingredients into the beer calculus system on hopville.com and balance the quantities in order to create a workable recipe conforming as best we can to the constraints above.

Morland Old Speckled Hen (BJCP Beer Style: Strong Ale, category: Old Ale)

• 2.5 Gallon, 60 min boil
• OG 1050, FG 1011
• 5.2% ABV
• 35 IBU
• 10° SRM (Gold to Copper)
• Ready to drink in 2+ Months

Base Malt and Fermentables:

• 2 lb 4 oz Light Dry Malt Extract (60 mins)
• 4 oz Cane Sugar (0 mins)

Specialty Grains:

• 6 oz Caramel Crystal 60L

Hops

• Bittering Hops – 0.5 oz Challenger (60 mins)
• Flavour Hop – 0.125 oz Challenger, 0.125 oz Goldings, East Kent (15 mins)
• Aroma Hop – 0.5 oz Goldings, East Kent (0 mins)

Yeast

• Wyeast Thames Valley Ale (1275)

Other Additions

• 1 tsp Irish Moss (15 mins)
• 1/4 tsp Yeast Nutrient (10 mins)

Process

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

Recipe Update – Flowers Original Ale 9/10

Finally the time has arrived to review the Flower Original Ale clone recipe, the penultimate brew in our English Pale Ale series.  Well the title says it all, its a winner and the first recipe to be promoted to my permanent recipes page.  It really is a pleasure to drink.  It has a light mouthfeel, going down easy as a good session beer should. The flavour is packed with fruit, its fresh with a balanced malt/hop flavour profile with the Target and Goldings hop really coming in on the front and a sweetness from the Crystal coming in the back.  The tasting notes call from a “hop edge and a dry finish”, this recipe delivers.

The brew process went well.  The OG came in at 1042, exactly on the money with the recipe, the colour came out exactly as planned though to be honest I am comparing with memory (unreliable given the amount of this stuff I drank in my youth) and some pictures I found on Google images.  The fermentation process went well with the recipe calculator calling for a 1009 FG which is exactly the measurement on the hydrometer out of the primary.  Aroma seemed close to.  I was indeed hopeful but I have been hopeful before and walked away disappointed.  I bottled the beer after 1 week in the secondary using Cooper Carb drops for priming.  Following my own tip to leave ales primed with Coopers for 4 weeks I waited one whole month before sampling the final brew.  So here we are, our first beer to get promoted to the permanent recipe page, and the first of the BJCP English Pale Ale series.

So my record in the English Pale Ale recipe section has picked up a bit in recent weeks.  Here is the current roundup with 1 recipe to go:

• My example generic best bitter modelled after the BJCP style using only kent hops, Kentish Best Ale, was a solid 7/10
• I have upgraded my Fullers ESB also to a 7/10 after my lessons learned on aging ales
  
• Green King Abbot Ale – 6/10
• Wadworth 6X – 4/10
• Flowers Original Ale – 9/10
  

I have the Fullers London Pride clone conditioning and showing promise. So maybe I can get 2 of my English Pale Ale classification recipes to reach my self imposed 8/10 grade required to be promoted to my permanent recipes page.  Getting to this page ensures its a recipe I have faith in and something I would recommend to other people to brew. I will continue to refine the other recipes that did not make the grade with the goal of getting all of them over 8/10 and therefore enjoyable by all.

I welcome everyone to go ahead and brew this recipe and enjoy a near reproduction of a British classic. Send along your comments, brew notes and suggestions, we still have one 1 point to gain for a 10/10 after all.  Give one to a Bud Lite drinker, it will make them cry, InBev can go……… nite nite

On Tap (Feb 22nd 2010)

Sorry for the light post week, its been my first week at work and my head is spinning, not from the work but more just being back in the corporate world.  So far so good and I actually found myself enjoying wearing a suit, weird.  I have been brewing though (and finishing a couple of the older batches), managed a new brew on Saturday and moved some beer around.  Guess its time for the On Tap Update

Primary

• Olde Luddite English Strong Ale (2 days (p) ) – A new Old Ale kit from Northern Brewer, thought I would add some Old Ale kits to my current Old’s and Browns series.  OG came in perfect and the ESB yeast is doing its thing.

Secondary

• Theakston Old Peculier Clone (1 wk(p) 2 days (s) ) – My first pass at this classic old ale, FG came out in range along with the colour, that is all we can ask. Now for 2 weeks in the secondary
  
• Twelfth Night Stout (2 wk (p), 1 day (s) ) – A new extract clone recipe of Rogues Shakespeare Stout from Northern Brewer featuring the PacMan ale yeast strain from Rogue.  This one is an ass-kicking 70 IBU stout destined for the keg. Week 2 in the secondary.
  

Bottle/Keg Conditioning

• Fullers London Pride clone (1 wk (p), 1 wk (s), 1 wk, 3 days (b) ) – came out crystal clear from the primary with the FG exactly on target. Looking forward to seeing how this brew finishes off.  Week 2 of its 4 week conditioning period.
  
• Spitfire Premium Ale clone (1 wk (p), 2wks (s), 2 wks, 3 days (b)) – my 2nd pass at Spitfire Ale, the Shepherd Neame classic from Kent UK.  Completely cleared but with a lot of sediment in the bottle.  This has another 1 week to go before opening
  
• Grateful Dead Guy Ale (1wk (p), 2wks (s), 2 wks 3 days (b)) – a new special edition kit from Northern Brewer featuring the newly released PacMan ale yeast strain from Wyeast/Rogue Breweries, this one is a Rogue Dead Guy Ale clone. Still got one week to go, cannot wait.
  
• Lord Fatbottom Ale (1 mth (p), 3 mths (s)) – exactly half way through its 6 month rest.

Drinking

• Flowers Original Ale clone (1 wk (p), 1 wk (s), 4 wks (b)) – my first brew of 2010 and first attempt at the classic Flowers recipe.  Opened and drunk a couple, look for the review later this week. Its a good one
  
• Dogfish Head 90 min IPA clone (1 wk (p), 3 wks (s), 3 mnth 1 wk (b) ) – Really liking this brew a lot.  I learnt the technique Dog Fish Head uses is called Hop Bursting. I ordered a kit with a similar recipe in its honor.
  

On Tap (Feb 15th 2010)

Tomorrow I will be starting my new job, exactly one year to the day that I officially parted ways with Fidelity after an almost 9 year career there.  This past year has been amazing, I have been a full-time father, got to spend the 1:1 time with the wife we never had before our first child was born (and loved every minute), built a very large blue stone patio, watched our house addition get built, have some great trips, become school treasurer and board member and last but by no means least re-connected with my hobby of old, home brew. Its been a great time, a time of reflection, growing and learning the true value of people and things.  So going back to the office will be bitter sweet.  I am not saying goodbye, the kids, wife, house, school and beer will all still be there but the relationship will change as I add a work life to the mix. But I have changed to, priorities have been reset this past year and I hope I have grown enough to not let work get in the way of my real life back home, one that has On Tap Updates like this one.

Primary

• Theakston Old Peculier Clone (1 day (p) ) – My first pass at this classic old ale.  Realized too late I put in only half the Lyles Golden Syrup I wanted but I think everything will work out.  Yeast is still getting going so too early to tell how this one will turn out

Secondary

• Twelfth Night Stout (1 wk (p), 1 day (s) ) – A new extract clone recipe of Rogues Shakespeare Stout from Northern Brewer featuring the PacMan ale yeast strain from Rogue.  This one is an ass-kicking 70 IBU stout destined for the keg. The FG was on the low end of the attenuation scale but still within range.
  

Bottle/Keg Conditioning

• Fullers London Pride clone (1 wk (p), 1 wk (s), 3 days (b) ) – came out crystal clear from the primary with the FG exactly on target. Looking forward to seeing how this brew finishes off. Will give it 4 weeks in the bottle before sampling
  
• Spitfire Premium Ale clone (1 wk (p), 2wks (s), 1 wk 3 days (b)) – my 2nd pass at Spitfire Ale, the Shepherd Neame classic from Kent UK.  Completely cleared but with a lot of sediment in the bottle.  This has another 2 weeks to go before opening
  
• Grateful Dead Guy Ale (1wk (p), 2wks (s), 1 wk 3 days (b)) – a new special edition kit from Northern Brewer featuring the newly released PacMan ale yeast strain from Wyeast/Rogue Breweries, this one is a Rogue Dead Guy Ale clone. Still got 2 weeks to go, cannot wait.
  
• Lord Fatbottom Ale (1 mth (p), 11 1/2 wks (s)) – sitting peacefully as part of its 6 month rest.
• Flowers Original Ale clone (1 wk (p), 1 wk (s), 3 weeks (b)) – my first brew of 2010 and first attempt at the classic Flowers recipe.  Still cooking, one more week before its ready to sample and review
  

Drinking

• Swampswill 6X (1 wk (p), 1 wk (s), 5 wks, 3 days (b) ) – my first attempt at a true Wadworth 6X clone.  Not as I had hoped due to the use of oak chips. See review.
• Chiswick ESB (1 wk (p), 2 wks (s), 7 wks (b)) – version 1.0 of my Fullers ESB clone. Improved beyond all recognition, only 1 bottle remaining
  
• Draught Irish Ale (1 wk (p), 1 wk (s), 5 wks (k)) - my first attempt at Northern Brewers Irish Ale. Solid keg brew, does well with the BeerGas. Been taken offline whilst my keg system is out on loan to a friend. Will transfer whats left to a Growler.
  
• Dogfish Head 90 min IPA clone (1 wk (p), 3 wks (s), 3 mnth (b) ) – Finally ready to drink after 3 months bottle conditioning. It tastes great in a snifter, the hops are potent and peppery with the caramel malt notes coming in the back.  Will definitely continue to improve with age but I am considering upping the amber malt load for the next brew and using brown sugar over white cane.

Hops

Thought it was time for the next installment in our ingredients deep dive. So far we have covered water and the mighty yeast so I thought it was time to take a deeper dive into one of the more complex and underrated of all the ingredients in ale, hops.  I say underrated because hops do more than just provide the bitter flavour to balance out the sweet malt. Hops also contribute to the aroma and arguably more important have anti-bacterial properties that favor brewers yeast over bacterias keeping beers fresh and allowing a hopped ale to age without spoiling.

I have often wondered how hops came to be used in beer. I have to admit they are not an obvious choice.  Fermentation of fruit and grains has been an activity well documented in history going back into ancient times and I am sure much experimentation was done to improve flavour and longevity, especially given the quality of water and food was not a guarantee.  We take for granted today our near universal access to clean drinking water in the modern western world, something that was not a given for brewers of old.

So I went online and through my history of brewing books and found all kinds of explanations as to how hops came to be used.  In the end I came back to an old faithful (though I don’t think the author, Martyn Cornell, would not appreciate the old bit), my favorite beer history blog, Zythophile.  In a post dated Nov 20th 2009 titled “A short history on hops” Mr Cornell provides a well researched and thorough piece on the hop and its rich history.  I will not try to re-write the piece, I could never do it justice and I would probably make a mistake, something Mr Cornell would get very upset with. He is not only a famous beer historian but a beer myth buster also and not afraid to speak out against inaccurate and lazy research. The one paragraph that leapt out of the page (or browser) was the following”

Book I, Chapter 61, “De Hoppho”, or “Concerning the hop”, says of the plant: “It is warm and dry, and has a moderate moisture, and is not very useful in benefiting man, because it makes melancholy grow in man and makes the soul of man sad, and weighs down his inner organs. But yet as a result of its own bitterness it keeps some putrefactions from drinks, to which it may be added, so that they may last so much longer.” (Abbess Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), mystical philosopher and healer, published a book called Physica Sacra, which translates best as “The Natural World” (circa 1150).

The author then goes on to note:

What probably kept the usefulness of hops from being discovered for so long is that the bittering, preserving resins in hop cones are not very soluble, and the hops need boiling for a long time, around 90 minutes, for what is called isomerisation

Please read the rest but the above brings us to the most important discussion around hops and brewing, how they work.  Male and female flowers form on separate hop plants. The hops used for brewing are the female flower cluster, which contains many small flowers.  Female hop flowers, also called cones, are harvested in August-September and dried.  The female cones are important because they contain lupulin glands that contain alpha and beta resins and other essential oils used to impart specific aroma and flavour characteristics.  Alpha and beta resins are measured as the % weight of the hop cone and displayed on the packaging as alpha acids and beta acids.

ALPHA ACIDS – contain the chemical agents Humulone, Cohumulone and Adhumulone and are used to impart bitterness, the higher the alpha % the more bitter the hop.  Alpha resins are not very soluble and require at least 60 mins boiling to extract the bitterness.

BETA ACIDS – Beta resins and hop oils are used to impart flavour and aroma.  Unlike the alpha acids these oils are water soluble and will quickly boil off in the kettle so cannot be in the pot for too long.  A hop will impart flavour if boiled between 5-15 mins and aroma if boiled for 1-3 mins.

An important note to brew calculator users.  The hop alpha and beta % used by these applications are averages for a particular variety.  The actual resin % does vary year to year and even crop to crop from the same region.  It is important to note the published %’s on a package prior to use and recalculate your recipe hop levels to ensure you maintain the appropriate bitterness and flavour characteristics.

A well designed and useful bitterness and flavour hop reference chart can be found here with another great reference on creating flavours found here. This chart and others like it can assist us when it comes to decide the type of hops we should use and the quantities and timing during the boil to attain the flavour and aroma characteristics for our final brew.  Experimenting with flavour is an art and something every homebrewer should have fun with. For example if I were to use the above chart to brew a great spicy, citrus American IPA consider the Williamette as your flavour and aroma hop.

While flavour and aroma are part of the art of homebrew, bitterness is more the science.  Bitterness is measured in most calculators and modern recipes in International Bittering Units (IBU’s).  There is debate as to the most accurate IBU formula for small batch homebrews but it appears that most books and online resources use the Tinseth formula created by hop head Glen Tinseth. Measured in parts per million (ppm), if you do not have access to a brewing calculator or just enjoy doing the brew math by hand here is the Tinseth formula for estimating a brews IBU:

IBU = Utilization * ( oz of hops * ( Alpha Acid% / 100 ) * 7490 ) / Gallons of Wort

Utilization refers to how much of the alpha acid is actually used and is dependent primarily on the boil time, but is also affected by specific gravity of the wort and whether the hops used are pellets or whole hops.  I will not use this post to get into a discussion on the use of pellets over whole leaf except to say I use pellets.  In my experience they are easier to store and stay fresh longer.  Typical utilization %’s are in the range of 15 to 25% depending on the length of the boil. Pelletized hops have about 10% more bittering potential than whole hops because the soft resins have been upset and made more available during the pelletizing process.   To calculate utilization using the Tinseth formula use the following (for pellet hops add 10% to the final value).

Utilization = ( 1.65 * 0.000125^( OG of the wort – 1 ) ) * ( ( 1 – 2.72^( -0.04 * Hop Boil Time ) ) / 4.14 )

Taking the Theakston Old Peculier brew I researched last week as an example with an IBU target of 29 and the research indicating the use of Fuggle hops. The Fuggle pellets I have in stock have a stated alpha of 4.5% so using the formula above, the alpha %, the batch size and target OG for the brew of 1.060 I would calculate the following:

Step 1 – calculate utilization for both the 60 mins and 15 min additi0ns (adding an additional 10% for pellets)

60 min: ( 1.65 * 0.000125^( 1.060 – 1 ) ) * ( ( 1 – 2.72^( -0.04 * 60 ) ) / 4.14 ) = 21.14% (whole hops) or 23.25% (pellet hops)

15 min: ( 1.65 * 0.000125^( 1.060 – 1 ) ) * ( ( 1 – 2.72^( -0.04 * 15 ) ) / 4.14 ) = 10.5% (whole hops) or 11.5% (pellet hops)

Step 2 – calculate the IBU for the final brew, you may need to

play around with the hop quantities to get the final IBU right. Remember that higher quantities of later addition hops lead to a more intense the flavour and aroma without adding to the bitterness.

60 min: 23.25 * ( 0.67 * ( 4.5 / 100 ) * 7490 ) / 2.5 = 21

15 min: 11.5 * ( 0.53 * ( 4.5 / 100 ) * 7490 ) / 2.5 = 8.25

IBU = 29.25 (21 + 8.25)

Hope this has helped. I have included a basic excel spreadsheet with the above example.  Have fun, remember to always check the alpha % and adjust your recipe accordingly, research recipes from your favorite brews to see the types of hops used and investigate the websites of your favorite commercial brews as they often post the hops they use and associated tasting notes. Next up the Malt and yes there will be more math.

On Tap (Feb 8th 2010)

Been a fun week wrapping up projects and getting ready to start the new job.  My new role will involve wearing a suite again, something I have not done since 1998. Just ordered 3 new ones and some shirts, got to say its nice to wear them again, kind of a work uniform.

It was fun researching Theakston Old Peculier and finally publish the recipe. I expect to begin the brew later this week.  Here are the rest of my brewing updates in this weeks On Tap update.

Primary

• Twelfth Night Stout (2 days (p) ) – A new extract recipe from Northern Brewer featuring the PacMan ale yeast strain from Rogue.  This one is an ass-kicking 70 IBU stout. This is destined for the keg. The OG came in close to the recipe and all is well in the primary so far.

Secondary

• Fullers London Pride clone (1 wk (p), 3 days (s) ) – came out crystal clear from the primary with the FG exactly on target. Colour and aroma were promising. Could this be another winner?

Bottle/Keg Conditioning

• Spitfire Premium Ale clone (1 wk (p), 2wks (s), 3 days (b)) – my 2nd pass at Spitfire Ale, the Shepherd Neame classic from Kent UK.  Came out a little cloudy from the secondary, little surprised as I used finings. Must have been the dry hopping and some yeast activity.  It is clearing in the bottle and the flavour was great.
• Grateful Dead Guy Ale (1wk (p), 2wks (s), 3 days (b)) – a new special edition kit from Northern Brewer using the newly released PacMan ale yeast strain from Wyeast/Rogue Breweries. Came out of the secondary crystal clear and tasting yummy, I had 2 sample glasses even though it was flat. I cannot wait for this one to be ready
• Lord Fatbottom Ale (1 mth (p), 10 1/2 wks (s)) – sitting peacefully as part of its 6 month rest.
• Flowers Original Ale clone (1 wk (p), 1 wk (s), 2 weeks (b)) – my first brew of 2010 and first attempt at the classic Flowers recipe.  Still cooking, will not touch for at least another week, maybe 2.
• Dogfish Head 90 min IPA clone (1 wk (p), 3 wks (s), 11 wks (b) ) – Only ONE MORE WEEK remaining of its 3 month rest, can we resist. I know I will try

Drinking

• Swampswill 6X (1 wk (p), 1 wk (s), 4 wks, 3 days (b)) – my first attempt at a true Wadworth 6X clone.  Not as I had hoped due to the use of oak chips. See review.
• Chiswick ESB (1 wk (p), 2 wks (s), 6 wks (b)) – version 1.0 of my Fullers ESB clone. Still improving with age, with 6 weeks in the bottle, only 4 22 oz bottles left
• Draught Irish Ale (1 wk (p), 1 wk (s), 4 wks (k)) - my first attempt at Northern Brewers Irish Ale. Solid keg brew, does well with the BeerGas. Been taken offline whilst my keg system is out on loan to a friend (see below)
• Dry Irish Stout (1 wk (p), 1 wk (s), 4 wks (k)) - my second batch of Northern Brewers Guinness clone. Finally picked up by my friend for his poker night. Went over and installed my keg system for him to use.  Tasted great. Hope they all enjoy.

Youngs Special (by request)

I got a request via email today regarding a recipe for Youngs Ram Rod and Youngs Special.  Its always great to receive email, it provides encouragement and support.  It just so happens that I have a recipe for Youngs Special researched and ready to go but never got to post it given my desire to get going with the Old Ales.

I just made the recipe public on hopville.

The target for Youngs Special is:

OG 1046
FG 1011
4.7% ABV
32 IBU
13 SRM.

This recipe is really close, especially using the London Ale #1028 from Wyeast.  Unfortunately Wyeast no longer supplies their Special London Ale strain which was sourced at the Youngs brewery.  London Ale #1028 is sourced from Worthington and a great substitute.

The recipe (5 gallons, 3 gallon boil, 20 mins steeping specialty grains) will get the following:

OG 1046
FG 1011
4.7% ABV
32 IBU
11 SRM.

Just a little off on colour. As I replied in my email, this recipe is posted with a disclaimer that I have not personally tested it, something I do with every recipe I have posted so far. Have fun and a great Superbowl. I will be watching the England vs Wales 6 Nations Rugby on Setana (sorry)

Recipe: Theakston Old Peculier (version 1)

Full recipe and process can be found online here.

So begins our journey looking into some classic British Browns and Olds.  First up, probably my favorite commercial Old Ale, Theakston Old Peculier from Masham in Yorkshire, England.

There is something really satisfying for the homebrewer when brewing an Old Ale recipe.  Unlike the English Pale Ales we have just finished, which tend to more delicate and one mistake in any ingredient is heavily punished, it is really hard to mess up an Old Ale.  What with the copious amounts of dark Jamaican sugar, Golden Syrup, Chocolate Malt and Molasses to compliment the mainstay Pale Malts and English Crystal. You end up with a rich, smooth almost rum like dark ale that will last forever in the cellar if we ever gave it a chance.  So I must say I had a ton of fun with the Theakston recipe and have taken more than a few risks in the quest to faithfully recreate this quintessential Yorkshire Old Ale.

The family owned Theakston Brewery is located in the North of England in Masham, North Yorkshire. A town steeped in brewing history dating back to before William the Conqueror.  The village of Theakston, and the namesake of the family was referenced in the Doomsday Book, created in 1089, and the Theakston coat of arms created in 1587 for Sir Richard Theakston whose descendent, Robert, in 1827 went on to create the first Theakston brewery in a pub called the Black Bull.  In 1875 Roberts son Thomas takes over the brewery building a new one in the process, which is still used today.  The company proceeded to grow buying many local breweries to meet growing demand.  In 1984 the Theakston family joins the wave of independents selling to larger firms and finally decided to sell and the brewing of its flagship products moves away from historical Masham to larger capacity breweries of the acquirer. Now proceeds a story we have become familiar with, bigger company x sells to even bigger company y (in this case Matthew Brown PLC is bought by then North East England brewing giant Scottish and Newcastle, maker of Newcastle Brown, who in turn is taken over by Heineken in 2008).  In 2004, as some previously Theakston owned breweries are closed and brewing operations moved as far north as Newcastle, four Theakston brothers buy back the company, making it an independent family owned brewery and in 2009 announced that brewing would again return to Masham after 35 years, bringing the story full circle.

On to the ale itself.  According the The Real Ale Almanac this is the flavour profile we are trying to recreate:

Dark and vinous old ale bursting with complex fruit flavours. Massive winey bouquet of rich fruit with peppery hop notes.  Toffee and roast malt in the mouth, deep bitter-sweet finish with delicate hops

On to the ingredients.  The brewery website was actually very unforthcoming with ingredients.  All they have posted is the use of Fuggles hops and a ABV of 5.6%. Its a start. The Real Ale Almanac was a little more helpful listing pale malt, crystal, unmalted cereal (torrified wheat) and sugars.  Fuggles and “other” hops, with an IBU of 29, 48 SRM colour, and an OG of 1058.

This has to be the toughest challenge we have had yet. Typically by this point we have a complete list of hops and malts  and enough variables in colour, gravity and bitterness to fire up the calculator and get to work.  Instead we have incomplete hop information and no FG.  What is most concerning is the vagueness around “sugars”. In English Pale classification ales sugar is used to bolster ABV with no flavour so its safe to assume cane sugar.  With Old Ales all types of sryups and dark sugars are used, imparting dark rum like richness to the finished brew.  This is going to be tough (but fun).

So time to consult the BJCP classification to see if we can gain any insights into the types of Crystal Malt and sugars used.  Old Ales are listed under the classification of Strong Ales.  Here we see Caramel Crystal Malts, and a sparing use of both Chocolate and Black Malts which is to be expected given the rich dark colour but not too much or risk imparting too much of the roasted smokey flavour. This ale is all richness and fruit.  It is the following sentence in the BJCP guidelines that could help answer our question:

Adjuncts (such as molasses, treacle, invert sugar or dark sugar) are often used, as are starchy adjuncts (maize, flaked barley, wheat) and malt extracts

This helps greatly.  So I then took to the internets and enquired into the sugar mix employed by other homebrewers attempting to recreate this historic ale.  To my surprise I found consistency, the use of Golden Syrup, Molasses and Dark Sugar.  The quantities varied but this should be enough to get us started.

The big question for me remains the yeast. We know we need fruit but at the same time we need a yeast that attenuates fairly well to get from a OG of 1058 to a final ABV of 5.6% (implied FG of approc 75%). It cannot be a dry finishing yeast because of the strong fruit flavours in the tasting notes.  I scoured the yeast strains available to homebrewers and scratched my head.  There are limited Yorkshire yeasts and I could find little to provide the level of fruit and attenuation implied by the data.  Finally I got some inspiration from the Pretty Things Old Ale, inspired by Theakston Old Pecuilier among others, and their use of German and Belgian strains.  So I started digging and hit pay dirt with various Belgian strains. You can have your cake and eat it to providing high attenuation and fruit flavour characteristics.

This just leaves the hops. Not so worried here, as the BJCP guidelines for Old Ale state:

Hop variety is not as important, as the relative balance and aging process negate much of the varietal character

So I am going to stick with Fuggles which will definitely provide the peppery hop notes, and we know the target IBU is 29. The calculator can do the rest.

Next stop is to input the ingredients into the beer calculus system on hopville.com and balance the quantities in order to create a workable recipe conforming as best we can to the constraints above.

Theakston Old Peculier (BJCP Beer Style: Strong Ale, category: Old Ale)

• 2.5 Gallon, 60 min boil
• OG 1060, FG 1011
• 6.3% ABV (slightly stronger but this is the mid-point range for the yeast with the 5.6% on the lower)
• 29 IBU
• 48° SRM (Dark Brown to Black)
• Ready to drink in 2+ Months

Base Malt and Fermentables:

• 1 lb 8 oz Dark Dry Malt Extract (60 mins)
• 9 oz Light Dry Malt Extract (60 mins)
• 4 oz Lyles Golden Syrup (15 mins)
• 2 oz Black Molasses (15 mins)
• 8 oz Dark Candi Sugar (0 mins)

Specialty Grains:

• 2 oz Torrified Wheat
• 8 oz Caramel Crystal 60L
• 3 oz Chocolate Malt
• 3 oz Black Malt

Hops

• Bittering Hops – 0.67 oz Fuggles (60 mins)
• Flavour Hop – 0.53 oz Fuggles (15 mins)

Yeast

• White Labs Trappist Ale (WLP500)

Other Additions

• 1 tsp Irish Moss (15 mins)

Process

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