Worts and all Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 (edited) It is a truth,universally acknowledged, that the world’s best beer is each home brewer’s own.Or is it?. On a recent trip to the UK,this 6th generation Australian undertook the task of evaluating the skills of English brewers. As the normal serving size is a pint,and I was afraid to request anything smaller,you will understand the sample size was necessarily limited,although my efforts were unrelenting,and on occasion heroic.What did I learn? Firstly, that oft quoted epithet “warm Pommie p—s” is as insulting as it is inaccurate. Their beers are almost always served at a temperature appropriate to the style.Particularly revealing were their many uncarbonated cask ales ,served at cellar temperature ,drawn up by the good old hand pump. They reveal a complexity of flavour with which the average Oz pub drinker ,swigging down his chilled, carbonated lager style beer ,would be utterly unfamiliar. All were good,some memorably so. However,occasionally resting from my labours,I hankered for my favourite home brew, so on arrival home wasted no time. A bottle of my humble kit and kilo Dark Ale was chilled and poured. And there it was, all shiny and dark, with a fine,white creamy head. Delicious aromas of roasted grain and muted hops from the addition greeted my nose, followed by a gorgeous mouth feel and that delectable,complex roasty taste on the tongue as it slips down.It’s good to be home! To claim it to be the world’s best beer would be silly of course,but I think it may be my favourite. And who’s to say otherwise? Cheers and happy brewing. Edited October 1, 2019 by Worts and all Spelling error 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSands Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Pretty much echoes my experience a couple of months ago as I travelled around the UK conducting some very important beer 'research' along the way I did however sample one cask ale in Oxford, on a day that was close 30ºC that really was warm - close to ambient I'd say. Now THAT particular beer was bloody awful as a result! But that was an exception. Now, I too am sitting with a beer based on the Coopers Dark Ale can. I was inspired by the popular English beer called Hobgoblin, so I brewed something along those lines using the DA can... I call mine Hobgollum. One co-drinker in my house thinks it IS the best! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussiekraut Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 (edited) I have a weakness for English ales, although considering my heritage, I shouldn't admit this in public Whenever I get to spend time in England, I visit my fair share of pubs and always go for the hand drawn ales. It always has the right temperature for the flavour profile and rarely do I get a beer I'm not happy with. I see where people are coming from when they complain about English beers. Most people are used to crisp cold light lagers which reinvigorate ones parched body and when they are confronted with a slightly lower than room temperatured dark ale with a ton of different flavours, it is just a WTF moment. I used to be the same. There is one thing to be said about British ales, thirst quenchers they're not. One of my fav homebrews is an English inspired dark ale Edited October 1, 2019 by Aussiekraut 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lab Cat Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 It's understandable how the warm beer myth got started. Australia is a country that needed and wanted cold beer. While room temperature is often a prerequisite for quality English Beer, at pubs in winter that might 5C, unless you're next to the fire. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malter White Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Love the Dark Ale. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worts and all Posted October 3, 2019 Author Share Posted October 3, 2019 On 10/1/2019 at 2:48 PM, BlackSands said: Pretty much echoes my experience a couple of months ago as I travelled around the UK conducting some very important beer 'research' along the way I did however sample one cask ale in Oxford, on a day that was close 30ºC that really was warm - close to ambient I'd say. Now THAT particular beer was bloody awful as a result! But that was an exception. Now, I too am sitting with a beer based on the Coopers Dark Ale can. I was inspired by the popular English beer called Hobgoblin, so I brewed something along those lines using the DA can... I call mine Hobgollum. One co-drinker in my house thinks it IS the best! Any chance of some details of this Hobgollum brew that finds so much favour at you place? Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSands Posted October 3, 2019 Share Posted October 3, 2019 (edited) 21 minutes ago, Worts and all said: Any chance of some details of this Hobgollum brew that finds so much favour at you place? Cheers. Sure, I've copied the details below from "whats in your fermenter" thread: It's a very simple partial mash recipe that could easily be done as an extract brew. With regard to Hobgoblin, it seems Styrian Goldings are the main flavour/aroma hop used in the original version of that beer so that's simply what I used, so basically the DA can, additional base malt to get the OG up and 50g hops. On this occasion I fermented with the coopers ale/lager blended yeast but I think for future versions I'll be using either Nottingham of Mangrove Jacks M36. I like the way the beer turned out, largely thanks to the DA can which makes a tasty brew anyway - the added hops just help finish it off nicely. If anything, I do think it is just a wee bit too bitter though but aside from reducing the boil times on the hops there's not really much that can be done about that as the DA itself is 35IBU. Hobgollum Now, as it happens I actually screwed up when I ordered the grains... should have been 2.4kg! I've added some sugar (which I often do anyway) to compensate. 2kg GF Ale Malt 1.7kg Coopers Dark Ale 600g LME 250g Sugar 25g Styrian Goldings @ 15min 25g Styrian Goldings @ 5min 5g Gypsum 14g Coopers Blended Yeast | ABV = 5.4% | IBU=40 | EBC=33 | Edited October 3, 2019 by BlackSands 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussiekraut Posted October 3, 2019 Share Posted October 3, 2019 31 minutes ago, BlackSands said: 2kg GF Ale Malt 1.7kg Coopers Dark Ale 600g LME 250g Sugar 25g Styrian Goldings @ 15min 25g Styrian Goldings @ 5min 5g Gypsum 14g Coopers Blended Yeast | ABV = 5.4% | IBU=40 | EBC=33 | Is there any noteworthy difference between Styrian Goldings and EKG? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSands Posted October 3, 2019 Share Posted October 3, 2019 1 minute ago, Aussiekraut said: Is there any noteworthy difference between Styrian Goldings and EKG? Yes. Styrian goldings are actually part of the fuggles family. So, if you're looking for a sub then fuggles might be a better option. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worthog Posted October 3, 2019 Share Posted October 3, 2019 46 minutes ago, BlackSands said: Hobgollum Hey BlackSands, if you're half as good at brewing as you are at photography, I want some. Seriously great pics you take! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSands Posted October 3, 2019 Share Posted October 3, 2019 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Worthog said: Hey BlackSands, if you're half as good at brewing as you are at photography, I want some. Seriously great pics you take! Thanks. It is said however that "looks can be deceptive" and yet it's also been said that we "drink with our eyes" so I guess that kinda cancels each other out! Edited October 3, 2019 by BlackSands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussiekraut Posted October 3, 2019 Share Posted October 3, 2019 20 minutes ago, BlackSands said: Yes. Styrian goldings are actually part of the fuggles family. So, if you're looking for a sub then fuggles might be a better option. None of the HBS within "reasonable" driving distance seem to be stocking Styrian Goldings. I'm sure i can get them online but I prefer to support the local guys where I can. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSands Posted October 3, 2019 Share Posted October 3, 2019 8 minutes ago, Aussiekraut said: None of the HBS within "reasonable" driving distance seem to be stocking Styrian Goldings. I'm sure i can get them online but I prefer to support the local guys where I can. Williamete might be another choice but really, I think the DA can paired with any similar-ish hop would still produce a nice tasty beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Lao Posted October 3, 2019 Share Posted October 3, 2019 I have read that Willamette is closest to Styrian Goldings. I think I prefer Styrians though. Cheers James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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