porschemad911 Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 My next brew will be an English Old Ale. I am thinking of going with the following recipe. I'm looking to brew a nice warmer for winter 2016, so I will be packaging into 330ml glass bottles and storing for approx. 12 months to mature before drinking. Stats Volume: 10.5 litres OG: 1.074 (at 70% efficiency) Bitterness: 45 IBU Colour: 32 EBC ABV (est): 7.8% Method Mash: 60 mins single infusion at 68C, batch sparged Boil: 60 mins Chill: No-chill cube Grain 2.75kg Thomas Fawcett Maris Otter Malt 300g JWM Wheat Malt 300g Weryermann Munich I Malt 100g Simpsons Medium Crystal (150 EBC) 100g Simpsons Dark Crystal (240 EBC) 30g JWM Chocolate Malt (650 EBC) Hops 25g East Kent Goldings @FWH 15g East Kent Goldings @15mins Yeast Harvested WLP006 Bedford British Has anyone brewed an Old Ale before and would care to give some feedback on my recipe, or just share some tips? It would be greatly appreciated! As I have never brewed one of these before, I am falling roughly in the middle of the style guidelines. As an aside, this will be my 6th and final brew from my vial of Bedford British Ale yeast, and I have to say that I've really enjoyed the beers it has produced so far. It gives off a lovely subtle apricot ester when fermented at 18C which is really nice against a Maris Otter malt background. Next up I will be playing with a lager yeast - I'm leaning towards WLP800, but am struggling to think of different beers I can brew with this yeast. Alternatively I'm considering WLP029 Kolsch as it seems pretty versatile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiphile Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 If you'd like a more versatile lager yeast that gives really great results, at least consider WLP830 German Lager Yeast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 Thanks for the tip Phil, I have been reading through Brewing Classic Styles this afternoon to try and figure out some style progressions for different yeast strains. WLP830 was one that caught my eye actually! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 I have checked out the White Labs charts and it looks like I can brew a German Pils, Bohemian Pils and Vienna Lager well with WLP830. The description sounds like it's good for Marzen and Oktoberfest too. Cool! Have you ever tried WLP820? White Labs say this one is well suited for a Bohemian Pils, Marzen and Oktoberfest and Dopplebock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiphile Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 I have used 820, but like many of the reviews and comments by other people, I found it to be pretty slow to start. And it wasn't only restricted to to the 1st generation; it was used as 2nd and 3rd generation with the same results. Don't misconstrue this, 'cos the results were good. But I'd prefer the yeast to have a bit more vigour. The other WLP lagers I like are the German Lager X (835) and I'm yet to pitch the Czech Budejovice (802) but the starter is ready and rearing to go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted May 14, 2015 Author Share Posted May 14, 2015 Thanks for sharing your experience Phil, I think I will try to get hold of some WLP830. Seems like it is a bit more attenuative so I may have to mash a little higher on a Bohemian Pils and Oktoberfest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiphile Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Hi again 9 September Even though it is way too young to drink after only 10 days in the bottle (and pitched on 19 April), I opened one of the Pilsners to check appearance, crispness, bitterness etc. This one used WLP835, and took 15 days to hit FG at 11C, but it was worth the wait. In short, it is a magnificent beer, and I don't think anything in the recipe needs changing. I'm just finishing making enough of the 835 for someone else tonight, but if you want to try some give me a hoy, PMM, and I'll step some more up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 Looks beautiful Phil! I have to confess that because Craftbrewer don't carry White Labs I popped some Wyeast 2206 Bavarian Lager in my order this morning. I have read about people using this successfully as an all-round lager strain, so I will give my Bohemian Pils and Oktoberfest a go with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted May 30, 2015 Author Share Posted May 30, 2015 My goodness, down from 1.070 to 1.015 by Friday evening! One thing I have noticed about WLP006 is that even at 17 or 18C it works really fast once it kicks in. Will give it another week and a half to clean up a bit and then bottle. That reminds me, I have a few bottles I will need to empty by then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 A quick update on this one (if only to remind myself of how it turned out if I want to brew it again) ... this is great, even after only a month and a half in the bottle. I'll try and keep my hands off the rest until next winter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 Hiya John. I had to dig up your old thread as it is the most recent titled for this type of beer. I'm thinking of making up a brew that would possibly fall into this category & just wondered how this brew eventually turned out for you once aged a bit. Have you brewed anything along this line since? I'd be interested in your thoughts. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted August 28, 2019 Author Share Posted August 28, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, Beerlust said: Hiya John. I had to dig up your old thread as it is the most recent titled for this type of beer. I'm thinking of making up a brew that would possibly fall into this category & just wondered how this brew eventually turned out for you once aged a bit. Have you brewed anything along this line since? I'd be interested in your thoughts. Cheers, Lusty. Hey Lusty, This turned out to be a fantastic beer. The malt complexity that developed over time was so enjoyable. Just carb it a bit lower than I did - 1 carb drop in a 330ml bottle is a bit much for this style. I haven't actually brewed anything in exactly the same style since, was tempted to brew a Wee Heavy or Scotch Ale when I had the Edinburgh ale yeast going but went for a smoked porter and stout instead. I am actually planning to do another Old Ale once the weather warms up a little here however. I'm going to see what (White Labs) English strains my LHBS has stock, then do a run of repitches through up to around Christmas. I've got a fair bit of EKG in the freezer which I'm looking forward to getting stuck into. Anyway, looking at the recipe, I will definitely leave out the Munich and wheat malt this time. My LHBS can't get Simpson's dark crystal any more so I'll go with just medium this time. 150g Simpson's medium crystal, 50g Voyager chocolate and Maris Otter to a 1.075 OG sounds like a plan for the grain bill, although I'm tempted to maybe try a biscuit malt instead of the chocolate. See what the LHBS has at the time. I'll also move the late EKG addition down to 5 or 10 mins (and maybe increase the weight a bit). The hop character was very, very subtle and a touch more wouldn't go astray. I'm half tempted to drop the late addition altogether given that it's a malt-focused beer built for aging, but from my last taste of my English IPA, EKG hop character can definitely stick around and contribute to the beer for many months. That beer did have a total of > 20 g/l hops though. Cheers, John P.S. That reminds me, I need to sample another of my all-EKG English IPA and smoked porter from the back of the cupboard... It's been at least a couple of months since I last tried either of them. Edited August 28, 2019 by porschemad911 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Thanks for the info John. My planned version is going to be a little different. I'm going to use some Mt. Hood, Aromatic malt & some CaraBohemian in the mix. I haven't settled on the rest yet. Currently there is some Bravo, Amarillo & Cascade in the mix. So certainly not traditional, but my hop schedule will be aimed at a more malt driven beer overall with more subtle hop notes. I might try a new yeast on it as well. Cheers, Lusty. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 2 hours ago, Beerlust said: more malt driven beer overall with more subtle hop notes. ESVA territory? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted August 29, 2019 Author Share Posted August 29, 2019 2 hours ago, Ben 10 said: ESVA territory? Sounds like it... ESVA is meant to fit the Old Ale style. Cheers, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Yeah both spot on Ben & John. It'll be around the same ABV as well. I'm not trying to re-invent the wheel, just dipping my toe in the water & using a few ingredients I know reasonably well to see if I can make a nice drop around the 7.5% ABV mark. This will be the first time I've made a beer to this level from scratch. Cheers, Lusty. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now