British Brewer

Recipe Update: Old Speckled Hen (10/10)

We really are on a run here.  I have had numerous comments and emails on this blog and Hopville asking for feedback on my Old Speckled Hen clone.  Well I am happy to report we nailed it.  There is really nothing I would change.  It has become a very popular ale in my house and I really wish I had brewed the whole 5 gallons and not limited myself to a 2.5 gallon test batch.

First lets get a reminder of what we were shooting for, from the Almanac:

Nose: Superb Goldings hop aroma
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.

I did a side by side taste test with the wife and the malty flavours really come through all mixed up with the fruit and a tinge of bitterness. We drank the ales with a salty baguette with mustard and ham. The commercial version left a lingering aftertaste in the mouth which the clone did not and the mouthfeel of the clone was a little lighter than than the real-thing. My wife actually preferred the clone because there was no aftertaste. We used canned Speckled Hen Draught and I think the BeerGas insert in the can gave the brew a thicker mouthfeel than the bottled.  This clone would make a solid keg ale, especially with BeerGas. Next time 🙂

Here are the photo’s. We went into this exercise with SRM as a variable we did not have any definitive guidance outside of “Amber”.  As the photo’s demonstrate the colour appears to be a match, as is the brightness.

Speckled Hen Original (Canned Version)

Speckled Hen Clone

The recipe we crafted was shooting for an OG of 1050 (mandated by the ales history) and a final ABV of 5.2%. The recipe was perfect and came in at 1050. The Wyeast Thames Valley was very active. The stated max attenuation was 77% which would have given us a final ABV of the 5.2% we were shooting for but the yeast was a little overactive and had an observed attenuation of 82% making a final ABV of 5.6%. It did not detract from the flavour in any way.

So this brew is being promoted to the recipes page along with the Theakston OP.  With my Left Over Ale coming out of the primary tasting good and the soon to be brewed Nut Brown Ale wrapping up the series I am confident we will have at least one more winner out of this group.

On Tap Update (April 12th)

Another week and still nothing in the primary. I cannot remember a time since I started home brewing again that I have gone 2 weeks without brewing something new.  But with the Barleywine, IPA and Left Over Ale are all in a long secondary that just leaves the Saison, which was due to get bottled this weekend. But I go downstairs to find a secondary still active with the SG still dropping and a layer of yeast cake on top.  So my Brakespear Bitter clone will have to wait until next week.

In the meantime I will be getting a yeast starter going for some PacMan yeast I have in the fridge. It will go to a good cause, saving a stalled carbonation for a good friend.  This week will be another busy work week, I have some ideas for posts brewing (pardon the pun) and the Malt post series is still sitting incomplete in the Drafts section.  I should also be reviewing the Old Speckled Hen shortly, maybe even by next week.  So with a pending shortage of ale loomin, whats On Tap.

Primary

• Nothing this week, all the carboys are still in good use.  The Brakespears Ale is still on deck and will definitely get brewed next week. Very excited to get a chance to brew this clone with the now closed breweries original yeast, as is my father. Its his favorite beer.

Secondary

• Petite Saison d’Ete (1 wk (p) 1 wk (s) ) – This is a first for me. Thought I would try a Belgium classic with this Saison from Northern Brewer. So last week I reported the FG came out of the primary a little under what I was hoping and as reported above it would appear the secondary has re-invigorated the yeast and it is currently very active. Should be bottling this next week.
  
• Left Overs Old Ale (1 wk (p), 1 wk (s) ) – So my left over recipe (sort of modeled after a Fullers Vintage) appears to be going fine. I don’t know if I can wait a year to try one of these. It tasted really delicious out of the primary, hints of marmalade, with a really smooth mouth feel. I am going to lay a couple of these down for at least a year. Now in week 2 of a 2 week rest.
  
• 115th Dream Imperial IPA ( 2 wks (p) 1 mth (s) ) – 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 a few weeks back. It came out of the primary a whopping 1015 FG, almost 83% attenuation from the mighty American Ale yeast and checking in at over 10% ABV, now on week 5 of its 6 week rest.
• Lord Fatbottom Ale (1 mth (p), 4 mths 1 wk (s)) – Now a week into the final 1/3rd of its 6 months rest.

Bottle/Keg Conditioning

• Old Speckled Hen clone ( 1 wk (p) 1 wk  (s), 2 wks (b) ) – I have had a lot of interest in the outcome of this clone. I can tell you the sample from the secondary was very good indeed. It was bright, crystal clear and the taste seemed close.  We won’t know for sure until the ale is conditioned. Week 3 of its 4 week rest but will probably try some next weekend.
  

Drinking

• Olde Luddite English Strong Ale (1 wk(p) 3 wks (s), 3 wk (b) ) – A new Old Ale kit from Northern Brewer, thought I would add some Old Ale kits to my current Old’s and Browns series. This new ale from NB is a 5 star brew. Easily confused with a smooth session brew but don’t let it, it packs a massive ABV punch. This ale will age well and I will be laying a couple down.
• Theakston Old Peculier Clone (1 wk(p) 3 wks(s) 1 mth (b)) – My first pass at this classic old ale, FG came out in range along with the colour, that is all we can ask. Came out a 10/10 (see review) and promoted to the permanent recipes page.
  
• Grateful Dead Guy Ale (1 wk (p), 2wks (s), 2 mths 1 wk, 3 days (b)) – Another 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. Taste tested by my good friend Mike Chase who ranks Rogue Dead guy as his favorite ale. He loved it. Down to my last bottle 🙁
  
• Dogfish Head 90 min IPA clone (1 wk (p), 3 wks (s), 5 mths (b) ) – Looking forward to cracking the 5 month bottle open
  

Recipe Update – Theakston old Peculier (10/10)

With the sad passing of my DoA Shakespeare stout clone I decided to crack open an early sample of my Theakston Old Peculier clone, the first of the Old Ales series started back in the beginning of February. Well its been at least 2 months so it must be worth a try.  Old Peculier truly is a classic with its rich, almost porter like quality with heavy molasses and bitter sweet fruit.

What a way to begin a series. The English Pales series started late in 2009, got off to a slow start, finishing strong with a great Flowers Original clone and a Fullers London Pride to die for.  In the case of the Old Ales I seem to have struck gold early. I must admit to being a little worried about this brew. The recipe had a lot of ingredients, some of which I had never worked with before including black molasses and Lyles Golden Syrup. The speciality grains also packed a punch with Chocolate, Black, Crystal and Torrified Wheat all included.

The biggest concern was the use of Trappist Ale, a real leap for this recipe. We were looking for a high attenuating, high fruit yeast, a characteristic that is hard to find. With some inspiration from the Pretty Things Old Ale, inspired by Theakston Old Pecuilier amongst others, and their use of German and Belgian strains we were lead to the Belgian ale strains.  The Trappist Ale yeast worked, I am now convinced Old Peculier uses Belgian yeast as the final flavor characteristics in this clone are on the money with the original.

First the colour and head.  Head is thick, rich and a caramel colour similar to the original. Colour is as close a dark Old Ale can get.  It is almost indistinguishable from the original. The mouthfeel is that of a big Ale. Smooth at the front, hitting you hard at the back. Watch out cause this ale packs a punch.

So what about the taste, something a little difficult to demonstrate on a blog.  It is close, which is why I gave the brew a 9/10.  As a reminder the The Real Ale Almanac presents the following as 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

The taste definitely lives up to the billing. All of the above is in this clone, its hard to explain how complex this ale is. The hop load is lite considering the amount of malt and the final alcohol content but the peppery Fuggles come through perfectly.  The toffee and roasted malt hit the front of the palate but give way to heavy fruit at the end laced with the peppery hops. Quite delicious.

Despite my initial concerns around the ingredients the ale was easy to brew. The White Labs Trappist Ale yeast (#WLP500, Attenuation 75-80%, Flocculation: Medium-low) worked as advertised, the ale went into the primary with an OG of 1064, was in the secondary for 3 weeks and in the bottle for 4 weeks with the FG coming in at 1012 producing a whopping 7% ABV (the original 5.6% so a little upgrade here but not something I am complaining about).

This recipe is going to be posted on the permanent recipe page, the first of Old Ales to get there. 1-1 is not a bad start. In a week or so we will get to try the Speckled Hen, another popular brew. There are many eyes on the outcome of this batch and I hope it lives up to expectation. 🙂

On Tap (April 5th 2010)

So it has finally happened, I have gone a week without a post.  I can blame it all on work and significant time taken up by goings on at the kids school. So no free time until this weekend and what a weekend. Sunday the temps were 75ºF, so outside we all went cleaning patios, scrubbing the grill and having a cookout. A slow cooked 6 lb leg of pork on the grill (with a selection of fine ales to accompany to food of course).

I must also report a sad loss.  An ale that failed to accompany the delicious pig leg was the Rogue Shakespeare Stout clone. It was DOA. I attached the gas and stout came out the lid. So I guess it was not air tight and sure enough a quick taste test revealed a heavy oxidized ale. Very unhappy. I did however manage to get a few minutes to transfer the Saison (which I really could have drunk on the spot with a slice of lemon) and my Left Overs Old Ale which is surprisingly delicious, maybe I have stumbled up a unique recipe of my own. So what else is On Tap?

Primary

• Nothing this week, all the carboys are in good use.  Have a Brakespears Ale on deck though. Very excited, as is my father. Its his favorite beer.

Secondary

• Petite Saison d’Ete (1 wk (p) 1 day (s) ) – This is a first for me. Thought I would try a Belgium classic with this Saison from Northern Brewer. With all the Old Ales in progress with long conditioning times thought it was time for some variety plus something that would be ready to drink quickly or I risk running dry in a month or so. The FG came out of the primary a little under what I was hoping but tasted great. Only a week in the secondary then into the bottles for a couple of weeks.
  
• Left Overs Old Ale (1 wk (p), 1 day(s) ) – So my left over recipe (sort of modeled after a Fullers Vintage) appears to be going fine. The second hand yeast performed well, with 75% attenuation and a FG of 1022 (9.0% ABV). Tasted really delicious, hints of marmalade, with a really smooth mouth feel. I am going to lay a couple of these down for at least a year. Now in week 1 of a 2 week rest.
  
• 115th Dream Imperial IPA ( 2 wks (p) 3 week (s) ) – 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 a few weeks back. It came out of the primary a whopping 1015 FG, almost 83% attenuation from the mighty American Ale yeast and checking in at over 10% ABV, now on week 4 of its 6 week rest.
• Lord Fatbottom Ale (1 mth (p), 4 mths (s)) – 2/3rds of the way through the 6 months rest.

Bottle/Keg Conditioning

• Old Speckled Hen clone ( 1 wk (p) 1 wk  (s), 1 wk (b) ) – I have had a lot of interest in the outcome of this clone. I can tell you the sample from the secondary was very good indeed. It was bright, crystal clear and the taste seemed close.  We won’t know for sure until the ale is conditioned. Week 2 of its 4 week rest
  
• Olde Luddite English Strong Ale (1 wk(p) 3 wks (s), 2 wk (b) ) – A new Old Ale kit from Northern Brewer, thought I would add some Old Ale kits to my current Old’s and Browns series. Came out of the secondary a beautiful deep copper, crystal clear and tasting great. Now in its final weeks rest.
• Theakston Old Peculier Clone (1 wk(p) 3 wks(s) 3 wk (b)) – My first pass at this classic old ale, FG came out in range along with the colour, that is all we can ask. Week 4 of a 6 week rest before a sample to check on performance. Might be tempted to lay some of this case down for a while

Drinking

• Grateful Dead Guy Ale (1 wk (p), 2wks (s), 2 mths 3 days (b)) – Another special edition kit from Northern Brewer featuring the newly releasedPacMan 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. Taste tested by my good friend Mike Chase who ranks Rogue Dead guy as his favorite ale. He loved it. Good job NB.
• Dogfish Head 90 min IPA clone (1 wk (p), 3 wks (s), 4 mths 3 wks (b) ) – Another week before I crack another bottle to test what 5 months tastes like
  

On Tap (Mar 29th 2010)… plus a small recipe I made up

Another week another paycheck. Brews are created and consumed and for some reason our Spring, which appeared to be approaching with a vengeance last week, has retreated to the shadows. We have had snow, rain and freezing temperatures all week.  I did have some fun with the brewing though.

Every so often I get a mix of left over ingredients from my various recipes and throw them together to just see what happens.  In this case I had a bunch of Crystal 80L left that has been sitting around for months from my Greene King clone, some flaked Maize from my Fullers Pride and ESB clones, and a little Black Malt.  I also had various amounts of US Goldings, Northdown, Fuggles and Challenger hops in open bags, all drying out and crying out to be used.  In the fridge I had some old Fullers ESB yeast I had captured from the London Pride clone and definitely getting near the end of its usable life.  So I made up a small yeast starter and poured in the captured yeast to see if it had any life left. Sure enough next morning the yeast was a raging. Luck would have it I also had some liquid malt extract and a couple 1 lb bags of Light DME left over from a couple of recent brews.

Off to Hopville I went, put in the ingredients and viola I have a recipe I chose to call my Left Overs Old Ale.  I chose the BJCP Old Ale style as we are doing Olds right now and it seemed the nearest fit in both strength and bitterness. Check it out on Hopville.  It was fun to brew and most importantly it was free! I did not have to purchase a single ingredient.

I also found time to bottle the Speckled Hen and kick off the NB Petite Saison d’Ete. So despite being a crazy cold wet week and a really busy work week I have managed to wind down this weekend with my favorite of all hobbies, my brews.  So whats On Tap?

Primary

• Petite Saison d’Ete (1 day (p) ) – This is a first for me. Thought I would try a Belgium classic with this Saison from Northern Brewer. With all the Old Ales in progress with long conditioning times thought it was time for some variety plus something that would be ready to drink quickly or I risk running dry in a month or so.
• Left Overs Old Ale (2 days(p) ) – See write-up above, it was fun to brew and even caused a blow-out in the fermenter. The OG came in at 1088, just under the required 1090 limit for an Old Ale.

Secondary

• 115th Dream Imperial IPA ( 2 wks (p) 2 week (s) ) – 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 a few weeks back. It came out of the primary a whopping 1015 FG, almost 83% attenuation from the mighty American Ale yeast and checking in at over 10% ABV, now on week 3 of its 6 week rest.
• Lord Fatbottom Ale (1 mth (p), 3 mths 3 wks (s)) – well into the second half of its 6 months rest.

Bottle/Keg Conditioning

• Old Speckled Hen clone ( 1 wk (p) 1 wk  (s), 2 days (b) ) – I have had a lot of interest in the outcome of this clone. I can tell you the sample from the secondary was very good indeed. It was bright, crystal clear and the taste seemed close.  We won’t know for sure until the ale is conditioned. I am giving this one 4 weeks in the bottle for sampling.
• Olde Luddite English Strong Ale (1 wk(p) 3 wks (s), 1 wk (b) ) – A new Old Ale kit from Northern Brewer, thought I would add some Old Ale kits to my current Old’s and Browns series. Came out of the secondary a beautiful deep copper, crystal clear and tasting great. Now in week 2 of a 4 week rest.
• Theakston Old Peculier Clone (1 wk(p) 3 wks(s) 2 wk (b)) – My first pass at this classic old ale, FG came out in range along with the colour, that is all we can ask. Week 3 of a 6 week rest before a sample to check on performance. Might be tempted to lay this case down for a while

Drinking

• Twelfth Night Stout (2 wk (p), 2 wks (s), 4 wks (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 and is sitting in the keg for its 5th week.  Will be firing up with BeerGas this week and trying some out.
• Grateful Dead Guy Ale (1 wk (p), 2wks (s), 7 wks 3 days (b)) – Another 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.
• Dogfish Head 90 min IPA clone (1 wk (p), 3 wks (s), 4 mths 2 wks (b) ) – Letting them rest again to see what another month in the bottle will bring

On Tap (Mar 22nd 2010)

It has been a wonderful weekend and a great first day of spring. We had clear blue skies and temps in the 70s. Pretty lite beer weekend due to the great weather, I even had a Saison on deck ready to brew. But the weather came as such a surprise we just had to get outside and prep the garden and prepare the planting beds ready for the veggies. It was also a weekend to meet up with homebrew friends (and readers of this blog) to discuss and more importantly drink homebrew. Thanks to Kurt and Kristen for a wonderful afternoon and your IPA was really worth the wait. I love the burner setup outside and now I have to get myself a similar rig as the weather gets warmer. Who knew the uses for an old bilge pump would include bottle sanitation.

I did get some beer time in but only to move brews around. I also kicked off research into my next recipe, a Fullers Vintage Ale, a classic and probably my favorite Old Ale. Its taking a while to piece together as there is very little data out there. Any help on resources to figure out hop and malt mix greatly appreciated. On that note here is the On Tap Update.

Primary

• Nothing going right now but have a NB Petite Saison d’Ete (translate as little summer season) ready to go and am working on a Fullers Vintage Clone

Secondary

• Old Speckled Hen clone ( 1 week (p) 1 day (s) ) – The Thames Valley yeast went nuts, and came in a whopping 82% attenuation (expected 77%), the rough sample appears good and the colour seemed to work though maybe a little lighter than the burnt gold I was shooting for.
• 115th Dream Imperial IPA ( 2 wks (p) 1 week (s) ) – 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 a few weeks back. It came out of the primary a whopping 1015 FG, almost 83% attenuation from the mighty American Ale yeast and checking in at over 10% ABV, now on week 2 of its 6 week rest.

Bottle/Keg Conditioning

• Olde Luddite English Strong Ale (1 wk(p) 3 wks (s), 1 day (b) ) – A new Old Ale kit from Northern Brewer, thought I would add some Old Ale kits to my current Old’s and Browns series. Came out of the secondary a beautiful deep copper, crystal clear and tasting great. So begins week 1 of a 4 week rest before drinking.
• Theakston Old Peculier Clone (1 wk(p) 3 wks(s) 1 wk (b)) – My first pass at this classic old ale, FG came out in range along with the colour, that is all we can ask. Week 2 of a 6 week rest before drinking.
  
• Twelfth Night Stout (2 wk (p), 2 wks (s), 3 wks (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 4th and final weeks rest.
  
• Lord Fatbottom Ale (1 mth (p), 3 mths 2 wks (s)) –well into the second half of its 6 months rest.

Drinking

• Fullers London Pride clone (1 wk (p), 1 wk (s), 5 wks 3 days (b) ) – came out crystal clear from the primary with the FG exactly on target. Tasting great and promoted to the permanent recipes page. See review from earlier in the week. We have been hitting this mini batch a little hard and only have a 6 pack left.
  
• Spitfire Premium Ale clone (1 wk (p), 2wks (s), 6 wks, 3 days (b)) – my 2nd pass at Spitfire Ale, the Shepherd Neame classic from Kent UK. Only a couple left 🙁
  
• Grateful Dead Guy Ale (1wk (p), 2wks (s), 6 wks 3 days (b)) – another 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.
• Dogfish Head 90 min IPA clone (1 wk (p), 3 wks (s), 4 mths 1 wk (b) ) – Continues to mature with age. Cracked a couple open this weekend and this ale continues to improve with age.

Recipe Update – Fullers London Pride clone (9/10)

Well they say good things come to those who wait and so it has come to pass with this the final clone of the English Pale series, the Fuller London Pride, started at the end of January of 2010 and opened yesterday to much fanfare.  This clone really does have a high standard to reach. Not only is it a very tasty and popular commercial brew but it is also one that is relatively easy to come by in the USA.  So in order to really put this clone to the test I went out and acquired a bottle of the real stuff in order to perform a side by side taste test.  The results were revealing.

The side by side test

The ‘real’ Fullers London Pride

The BritishBrewer Fullers London Pride Clone

First the colour and head.  I have included pictures as evidence, taken at the same time in the same light on the same camera to ensure accuracy.  As the picture demonstrate the brew color is on the money though not as bright due to lack of filtration. The head is slightly off but the clone is bottle conditioned and the commercial bottle is force carbonated. The mouthfeel is identical which I can attribute to the Burtonization of the water.

So what about the taste, something a little difficult to demonstrate on a blog or with a camera.  It is close, which is why I gave the brew a 9/10.  As a reminder the The Real Ale Almanac described the beer as an:

Astonishingly complex beer for its gravity, a marvelous melange of malt, hops and fruit.

and the Brew Your Own British Real Ale” as a:

…fine for drinking on its own or with full flavoured food. A multi-layered delight of malt and hops and a deep intense finish with hop and ripening fruit notes.

The taste definitely lives up to the billing. This beer has a very simple malt bill and its the balance of hops that makes the beer dance on your tongue and it is the hops that I am going to alter to make this ale a 10.  I have been using the Tinseth formula up till now and the one small issue I have with all my English Pale clones has been the strong hop character of the ale.  This is partly a benefit of homebrew as the ales are fresh, bottle conditioned, unfiltered and unpasteurized, so who really knows what a commercial pint of Fuller Pride sampled directly out of the barrel really tastes like.  But I am going to experiment using the Rager formula, which promotes less hops per IBU and I have made the necessary adjustments for the London Pride clone promoted to the permanent English Pales recipe page.

The ale was easy to brew. The White Labs Fullers yeast (#WLP002, Attenuation 63-70%, Flocculation: Very High) worked as advertised, the ale was in the secondary for a week and in the bottle for 4 weeks.  I cannot express how happy this ale makes me, and not just the alcohol, its a true taste of South West London, my home and a place of many memories from rowing past the Fullers brewery to drinking in many a Fullers Pub.

So please enjoy and try your own version.  This wraps up the English Pale series. The next time we brew the Pales it will be to perfect some of the recipes that fell short the first time around. Its been an experience, I have definitely got more comfortable with the ingredients and this probably attributes to why the ratings have improved from one recipe to the next.  Here is the final breakdown:

• My example generic best bitter modelled after the BJCP style using only kent hops, Kentish Best Ale, was a solid 7/10
• After many upgrades my Fullers ESB also made it 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
• Fuller London Pride – 9/10

This is truly a great line up of Ales with a magnificent history, so please brew a couple and pass along your feedback. None of these recipes made 10/10 so we have 1 point to make up.  Next up will be the first review in the Old and Browns series, the Theakston Old Peculier, but given the aging requirements for this ale it won’t be for a while.

Happy St Paddy’s Day to one and all.

On Tap (Mar 15th 2010)

What a week, the wife and kids have been in San Diego, I have been as sick as I think I have ever been, I managed to finally watch Beer Wars and even brewed some beer.  Well brewing beer wasn’t the forgone conclusion I thought it was going to be with the family away. Getting the flu, immediately followed by a stomach virus actually left me not wanting to even smell ale, a first for me, let alone the pungent delicious aromas of boiling wort filling my house.  It was not until Sunday I finally felt well enough to move some ales around and get my Old Speckled Hen clone underway.  I am looking forward to the rest of my time alone, I hope to get my Fullers London Pride clone review done and finally begin my malt post which I have been working on but it has been taking a while.  So hears to staying healthy for a week, drinking some great beer and happy reunions when the family returns all sunned up from San Diego, its time for an On Tap Update.

Primary

• Old Speckled Hen clone ( 1 day (p) ) – Its all good, colour is golden and the yeast is a cooking.

Secondary

• 115th Dream Imperial IPA ( 2 wks (p) 1 day (s) ) – 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 a few weeks back. It came out of the primary a whopping 1015 FG, almost 83% attenuation from the mighty American Ale yeast and checking in at over 10% ABV, so begins week 1 of its 6 week rest.
  
• Olde Luddite English Strong Ale (1 wk(p) 2 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.  Final week of its 3 week rest.

Bottle/Keg Conditioning

• Theakston Old Peculier Clone (1 wk(p) 3 wks(s) 1 day (b)) – My first pass at this classic old ale, FG came out in range along with the colour, that is all we can ask. But the tail does not end here.  As reported the yeast fired up again leaving a layer of cake on the surface of the secondary and sure enough I retested the FG before bottling and it had fallen from 1016 to 1012, the yeast in my cellar is really rocking this year.  Smelled delicious but definitely in for at least a 6 week rest before sampling.
  
• Twelfth Night Stout (2 wk (p), 2 wks (s), 2 wks 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 third week rest out of  four.
  
• Lord Fatbottom Ale (1 mth (p), 3 mths 1 wk (s)) –beginning the second half of its 6 months rest.

Drinking

• Fullers London Pride clone (1 wk (p), 1 wk (s), 4 wks 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.  So its done, its great, special review to come this week. Yeah I am really happy about this one.
  
• Spitfire Premium Ale clone (1 wk (p), 2wks (s), 5 wks, 3 days (b)) – my 2nd pass at Spitfire Ale, the Shepherd Neame classic from Kent UK.  I am drinking one now as a matter of fact.
  
• Grateful Dead Guy Ale (1wk (p), 2wks (s), 5 wks 3 days (b)) – another 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.
• Dogfish Head 90 min IPA clone (1 wk (p), 3 wks (s), 4 mnths (b) ) – Continues to mature with age. Cracked one open last night on its 4 month birthday. It continues to age beautifully, really smoothed out and I still think it could a few more months. I will pace these for a while.
  

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.