# Summer Mid Strength Recipes



## chrisluki (16/7/18)

Hey guys

As a family man, trying to teach his kids to be good humans, I am pretty keen to not get blind drunk in front of them, which means I drink a bit of mid strength beer. Being that the good Craft MS's are something like $80 a case, I often find myself with a Gold Can in hand.

I have written about this category in the past on my blog, (http://beerhealer.com/index.php/2016/12/04/mid-strength-craft-beer-can-dig/) and I am a passionate advocate for these style of beers. In the past I have tried to brew my own lower ABV beers, but most of my efforts in the past have been pretty ordinary. Getting a good beer that hots the mark for taste, aroma and mouth feel is difficult when you are taking away a lot of the ingredient that provide those characteristics.

I am really loving the Rover Henty St Ale right now as a lower ABV option, but also love the Green Beacon Half Mast which is similar...and I guess both are not too far from being lower ABV versions of S&W PA.

Anyway, I was just wondering if any of you guys had any tips on how to brew a decent AG Mid Strength Summer Ale?

Cheers

Chris


----------



## goatchop41 (16/7/18)

A good ale malt (eg. Gladfield ale) for most of the grist, about 10-15% wheat with it.
Get all of your IBUs at 5 mins + flameout (I go for ~20 IBUs).
Go hard with your flameout and dry hops.


----------



## Wobbly74 (16/7/18)

Have you tried mashing a decent ale malt on the warm side and fermenting with something less attenuative like Windsor?


----------



## TheSumOfAllBeers (17/7/18)

How low is low abv? You can do a lot at 4% at lower gravity it gets harder. But ordinary bitters, many yeast forward belgian styles, all work at low gravity, as well as hop bombs.

I have a lager around 4.3% that has loads of character.


----------



## chrisluki (17/7/18)

goatchop41 said:


> A good ale malt (eg. Gladfield ale) for most of the grist, about 10-15% wheat with it.
> Get all of your IBUs at 5 mins + flameout (I go for ~20 IBUs).
> Go hard with your flameout and dry hops.


Cheers mate...good advice!


----------



## chrisluki (17/7/18)

TheSumOfAllBeers said:


> How low is low abv? You can do a lot at 4% at lower gravity it gets harder. But ordinary bitters, many yeast forward belgian styles, all work at low gravity, as well as hop bombs.
> 
> I have a lager around 4.3% that has loads of character.



I was keen for a 3.5% Summer Ale to be honest, but I would kill to be able to brew a Founders All Day IPA at around 4%.


----------



## Muzzanthrope (17/7/18)

I made a session IPA this summer that came out quite well with a bunch of different Gladfield Malts (it was a bit of a leftover brew) - it came out at around 3.7% with plenty of body and flavour.

OG: 1.040
FG: 1.011
IBUs: 38.5

85.5% Vienna
5.5% Gladiator
4% Biscuit
2% Toffee
1.5% Light Crystal
1.5% Redback Wheat

Yeast: Danstar American West Coast (BRY-97)

Simcoe, Chinook and Kohatu for the hops


----------



## chrisluki (17/7/18)

Muzzanthrope said:


> I made a session IPA this summer that came out quite well with a bunch of different Gladfield Malts (it was a bit of a leftover brew) - it came out at around 3.7% with plenty of body and flavour.
> 
> OG: 1.040
> FG: 1.011
> ...


what commercial beer would you liken this to?


----------



## Muzzanthrope (17/7/18)

chrisluki said:


> what commercial beer would you liken this to?


From memory, when I put it together I was working off Bridge Road's Little Bling. But I found this a little watery and the malt gave more sweetness than backbone and balance for the bitterness, I've really moved away from traditional crystal malts recently, but this is my taste so it may not be for everyone, hence I upped the biscuit and gladiator.


----------



## shacked (17/7/18)

We just did a low gravity case swap at the IBUs; nothing over 4%. I think the trick is to 'bulk' your beer out with beta glucans from wheat, rye, spelt, oats etc, mash high (67C+) and use a less attenuative yeast (English strains are good).

I did a 3% red ordinary bitter with 100% SM40 malt from Voyager and 1469 yeast. Also did a 2.8% smoked English brown with S04 and 84% rauchmalt from Weyerman.


----------



## chrisluki (17/7/18)

shacked said:


> We just did a low gravity case swap at the IBUs; nothing over 4%. I think the trick is to 'bulk' your beer out with beta glucans from wheat, rye, spelt, oats etc, mash high (67C+) and use a less attenuative yeast (English strains are good).
> 
> I did a 3% red ordinary bitter with 100% SM40 malt from Voyager and 1469 yeast. Also did a 2.8% smoked English brown with S04 and 84% rauchmalt from Weyerman.



Excellent info, thanks!
Did anyone produce a beer similar to a Rover or S&W Pacific? Was it good?


----------



## Muzzanthrope (17/7/18)

chrisluki said:


> Excellent info, thanks!
> Did anyone produce a beer similar to a Rover or S&W Pacific? Was it good?


I haven't tried either of those, but they do sound pretty similar to my post from before (XPA/session IPA) and was extremely impressed with the results. I've also brew quite a few mild ales including some using rye and oats to get the gravity up, along with English style, lower attenuating yeasts. The downside of this is that both can significantly alter the end result if you are after a more American, hop forward beer.
Also a blog here on Session IPA's with Vienna malt: https://www.themadfermentationist.com/2012/01/vienna-malt-session-ipa-recipe.html


----------



## chrisluki (17/7/18)

Muzzanthrope said:


> I haven't tried either of those, but they do sound pretty similar to my post from before (XPA/session IPA) and was extremely impressed with the results. I've also brew quite a few mild ales including some using rye and oats to get the gravity up, along with English style, lower attenuating yeasts. The downside of this is that both can significantly alter the end result if you are after a more American, hop forward beer.
> Also a blog here on Session IPA's with Vienna malt: https://www.themadfermentationist.com/2012/01/vienna-malt-session-ipa-recipe.html



Rover is less malty, more fruity than Little Bling, as is S&W.
Thanks for the link.


----------



## Muzzanthrope (17/7/18)

chrisluki said:


> Rover is less malty, more fruity than Little Bling, as is S&W.
> Thanks for the link.


OK just realized what S&W is!
Shouldn't be too hard to knock 1% of the total for something similar. I would take a basic clone recipe, most are almost (or all) pale and wheat. Switch the pale to Vienna and throw in some form of cara malt to bump your gravity and then use something like Windsor for the yeast. Oats could work but I think most other additions will be too noticeable. I think I might try this myself for Summer.


----------



## chrisluki (17/7/18)

Muzzanthrope said:


> OK just realized what S&W is!
> Shouldn't be too hard to knock 1% of the total for something similar. I would take a basic clone recipe, most are almost (or all) pale and wheat. Switch the pale to Vienna and throw in some form of cara malt to bump your gravity and then use something like Windsor for the yeast. Oats could work but I think most other additions will be too noticeable. I think I might try this myself for Summer.


cheers mate...I might just do that!!!


----------



## TheSumOfAllBeers (17/7/18)

chrisluki said:


> I was keen for a 3.5% Summer Ale to be honest, but I would kill to be able to brew a Founders All Day IPA at around 4%.



I have made session IPAs at that strength.

Too one dimensional to score highly at a competition, but in principle the reduced malt bill was reinforced by an aggressive hop bill. I could address the balance concerns with more character in the malt bill / finishing higher, or by adding in a chunk of very characterful malt.

But it hit the objective you are going for: a More-ish summer drinking beer that leaves you and your friends in control at the end of the night.


----------



## shacked (18/7/18)

chrisluki said:


> Excellent info, thanks!
> Did anyone produce a beer similar to a Rover or S&W Pacific? Was it good?



@Markbeer made a cracking 3.5% XPA. Drop him a note and I'm sure he will share the recipe.


----------



## gabbawocky (19/7/18)

I'd really like to brew something like this:

https://craftypint.com/beer/3365/fortitude-brewing-pacer

Decent drop for a 2.8% abv pale ale.

You could always work your way through these if you're worried about the booze but you're not going to be able to replicate them at home:

https://www.alcofree.com.au/collections/beers

...or you could try brewing 'small beer':

https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pwp/tofi/medieval_english_ale.html
https://byo.com/article/searching-for-medieval-ale/
http://21timetraveler.com/recipe/alewife-for-a-day-a-guide-to-medieval-home-brew/


----------



## Dan Pratt (19/7/18)

The tips have for making lower ABV with full hop flavours/aromas

1 - mash at higher temps, 70c for 30mins works well to get a FG of 1012-1014
2 - use wheat or oats to soften the mouthfeel - 5-10% is plenty
3 - add carapils, this adds body to the beer with the dextrins use about 8%
4 - add hops FWH = 4-5ibu, get a little bitterness from that addition
5 - add a heap late after 5mins to ramp up to 30ibu+ 
6 - dont be shy with the dry hop, 5g/L will get her jumping from the glass

if you are playing with your water, also target a crisp 5.2 for the mash and get the sulphate around 150ppm


----------



## chrisluki (19/7/18)

gabbawocky said:


> I'd really like to brew something like this:
> 
> https://craftypint.com/beer/3365/fortitude-brewing-pacer
> 
> ...



Actually, the pacer isnt too bad...but the Zero's...no thanks!!!


----------



## chrisluki (19/7/18)

Dan Pratt said:


> The tips have for making lower ABV with full hop flavours/aromas
> 
> 1 - mash at higher temps, 70c for 30mins works well to get a FG of 1012-1014
> 2 - use wheat or oats to soften the mouthfeel - 5-10% is plenty
> ...




You are a legend...thanks!!!!


----------



## aster1 (19/7/18)

You could try this one, might just fit the bill:
Pale ale 2.7%, citra hopped.
http://homebrew-recipes.com/the-little-big-guy-mid-strength-2/


----------



## Dan Pratt (24/7/18)

chrisluki said:


> You are a legend...thanks!!!!



hi, 

i seen the video last night on Facebook, looking forward to the review of the final beer. 

What hop schedule did you go with for boil additions?

p.s aussie slang - a shit load of hops, hahahahahahaha


----------



## meathead (24/7/18)

aster1 said:


> You could try this one, might just fit the bill:
> Pale ale 2.7%, citra hopped.
> http://homebrew-recipes.com/the-little-big-guy-mid-strength-2/



Thanks for this. It mentions 50gm aromatics. What is that?


----------



## aster1 (24/7/18)

meathead said:


> Thanks for this. It mentions 50gm aromatics. What is that?



Best guess, it's referring to an aromatic malt:
https://www.northernbrewer.com/products/belgian-aromatic-malt


----------



## shacked (24/7/18)

meathead said:


> Thanks for this. It mentions 50gm aromatics. What is that?



It's a type of kilned malt. There is a Belgian version and an English - slightly different. (http://www.castlemalting.com/Castle...ficationID=180&CropYear=2017&Language=English)

Substitutes include biscuit, amber, abbey, victory and at a push maybe some melanoidin or perhaps dark munich.


----------



## dkilleen (25/7/18)

chrisluki said:


> Hey guys
> 
> As a family man, trying to teach his kids to be good humans, I am pretty keen to not get blind drunk in front of them, which means I drink a bit of mid strength beer. Being that the good Craft MS's are something like $80 a case, I often find myself with a Gold Can in hand.
> 
> ...


I bought the CAMRA UK recipe book a few years back and it has loads of brews (full and steeping/extract) and many are around the 3.5/4% mark. It’s served me well for ale recipes.


----------



## Naboo (25/7/18)

https://www.experimentalbrew.com/session-beer-day-recipe-bonanza-14-recipes-you-brew

Here's a collection of some session beer recipes from some notable brewers. I haven't brewed any of them but hope to this summer. Hopefully they give you some more inspiration.
Cheers.


----------



## chrisluki (9/8/18)

Naboo said:


> https://www.experimentalbrew.com/session-beer-day-recipe-bonanza-14-recipes-you-brew
> 
> Here's a collection of some session beer recipes from some notable brewers. I haven't brewed any of them but hope to this summer. Hopefully they give you some more inspiration.
> Cheers.


Cheers!!


----------



## koshari (15/8/18)

Anyone got a brewdog dead pony club clone? These come in at 3.8%.


----------



## Thomas Wood (15/8/18)

koshari said:


> Anyone got a brewdog dead pony club clone? These come in at 3.8%.


Try here mate. They have a PDF of everything: https://www.brewdog.com/lowdown/diydog


----------



## Schikitar (15/8/18)

koshari said:


> Anyone got a brewdog dead pony club clone? These come in at 3.8%


This seems to be a good one (it follows the vague DIYDOG recipe) - https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/334289/dead-pony-club


----------



## chrisluki (2/9/18)

Thomas Wood said:


> Try here mate. They have a PDF of everything: https://www.brewdog.com/lowdown/diydog


I can vouch for this beer...mine is tasting great!!!


----------



## Wolfman1 (2/9/18)

chrisluki said:


> I can vouch for this beer...mine is tasting great!!!


Mine is cold crashing at the moment and my keezer is at a mates place after his party. I won’t see it back again for a week and the suspense is beginning to mount. 
A metric shit ton of dry hops has the gravity samples pretty aromatic but it needs carbing and some time to soften


----------



## count-ant (7/9/18)

Brulosophy recently did an experiment making the same recipe mashing at 64/73 and found the taste differences to not be ‘significant’. Might be worth looking into, you can brew your 4.9% recipe and it will end up 3.3% and taste similar. 

Thinking I’m going to have a crack at this in summer for a low abv option. Guess one potential downside is you are getting low abv standard calories if that is a consideration.


----------

