Old Peculier

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Coalminer said:
Mark
Interested in your opinion of the 2 recipes in Brewbuilder
Which would you recommend?
Cheers
Paul
The OP1 is the older of the two and probably a bit closer to the way Theakstons made the beer 10-15 years ago, the OP11 is based on a more recent report of a brewery visit and interview with the head brewer there that I dug up somewhere (I think it was an IBD magazine).
They both taste pretty good, and the problem with recipes is that they are always changing.
I think If I was brewing Old Peculiar this weekend, for me to drink it would be the OP11.

Techno... I suspect there is very little chance that OP is brewed with much or for that matter any MO, there simply isn't enough MO grown in the world to make all the beers that someone (often the brewer) claims contain Maris. Its good marketing to say a beer is "made with" Maris, tho that is a true statement even if the beer only contains 1% MO its still made with... and I cant taste the typical MO flavours in this beer, all toffee, fruit cake and yeast esters. I think I would enjoy tinkering around with a similar beer but use CaraAroma and maybe even a bit of Special B, they both throw lots of that plumb pudding I like in strong dark ales. The Chocolate and/or Black patent would be for me a personal taste, I don't get a chocolate hit from the beer - nor the astringency you would expect from Roast, Its mostly there for colour adjustment so I suspect it's Black Patent but hey there is more than one way to skin a cat (still sucks if your the cat) and there are lots of options you could try.

But if anyone is interested here is a lift of the Recipe Coalminer was asking about - and yes Brewman is a Sponsor and no I'm not a retailer so de-bunch Ok
Mark
Capture.JPG
 
RobinHood said:
[SIZE=14pt]In response to comments:-[/SIZE]
[SIZE=14pt]Welly2 – “Used to love that stuff” – What do you mean “Used to”?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=14pt]MartinOC – Blakey, on the Yorkshire Moors and in the middle of nowhere. The Lion Inn, GREAT old pub – but I’m over 6ft and the 5’ 6’ ceiling bearers can be a headache. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=14pt]Brbie G – It’s a wonder you caught the train at all![/SIZE]
[SIZE=14pt]Cheers,[/SIZE]
Used to when I could buy and drink it! I'd still love it now if I could get my grubby hands on the stuff.
 
Alrighty.

First up, I've brewed an attempt at a clone twice and done T-ruckloads of reading on this baby.
First time it turned out like a good dark ale, but not quite a TOP replica.
Recipe was tweaked (yes, i have too many malts to tempt me, begging me to throw them in also) and the 2nd version's (brewed a few months ago) result was definitely closer - definitely some of those malty, dried fruit aromas coming through.
However, it'll probably need and extra few months before it's remotely close enough to tell; and unfortunately the yeast i used turned out to be completely wrong (MJ Dark Ale) - stalling at 60% attenuation, then waking up 2 weeks later and dropping it to maybe 85% attenuation (mumble mumble f@*k&#* yeast M*#@^&RF#@%#R!!) so i'll need to do another batch to test that recipe now anyway.

Of the 35 recipes i'd gleaned from the internet, Wheeler seemed to be the one who had the "best" versions (over a few editions of his British Ale book). He initially started with something more like the OP or post#11, then moved to more like what i'd suggested in post#20. Now i'm under the impression the majority of Wheeler's recipes these days are acquired by rocking up to the respective brewery, finding out what their recipe is, then trying to scale it down to a homebrewing level. I also believe some of the recipes in his earlier editions were from his calculated guesses when he wasn't able to get the breweries' recipes. But over time he's managed to get most of them these days. Whether his earlier versions were from Theakston's and they've changed their recipe, or whether he's guessed those and now has the "official" one, or if he's still guestimating i'm not sure. However, i got the impression on the UK forums/threads he participated in that the version i've used is "authentic". Who knows?!? What i've said is just what i "believe" etc.

The version i based my attempts on is roughly:
23 L
5.5 kg MO
0.3 kg Med crystal
0.2 kg Chocolate
30g Northern Brewer @ 90mins
15g Fuggles @ 90mins
15g EKG @ 10mins
yeast not specified

The exact Wheeler's recipe varies slightly in the quantities but the above is what i was guided by.
FWIW, there's several others i came across that do similar ingredients and ratios, so there seemed to be a little bit of consensus/plagiarism on this version of a clone.

The 1st version i did was:
5.45kg MO
0.45kg Chocolate
0.225 Crystal (50g pale/125g med/50g dark)
0.1g Acidualted
some salts, favouring CaCl a bit
25g Northern Brewer @60mins
14g Fuggles @ 60mins
14g EKG @ 10mins
Fermented with Nottingham

The changes were made based on conversations with Grantw and his attempt at it (and manticle has mentioned before splitting crystal additions like i did to get better depth in darker beers - so i blame him for that :lol: ).
As mentioned this turned out to be a good dark ale, but not what i was after.
Back to the drawing board!

The 2nd attempt was:
25L (@85% efficiency)
5.25kg MO
0.25kg Amber (Simpsons)
0.2kg Chocolate
0.325kg Crystal (150g med/75g dark/100g caraAroma)
0.1kg Acidulated
some salts biased to CaCl
20g each of Fuggles & Horizon (free hops!, otherwise i'd go Challenger) @ 40mins
20g EKG & 15g Fuggles at 20mins
MJ03
Separately reduced 3L to 0.5L during the boil. Cold-steeped crystal + chocolate overnight.

Amber was to get some toastiness and amp up the maltiness (Simpson's Amber is meant to be ~ the UK version of Biscuit). The crystal split was pushed into darker territory to try to get more "dried fruit" aroma & flavour. Otherwise the crystal:chocolate proportion is more similar to what i think is Wheeler's version. The hops additions are based on my addiction to hops elements, but in hindsight i could've been less of an idiot and just pushed the 40mins back to 60-90mins. MJ03 was a terrible choice - i'm still angry about it! I'm sure it's got great applications, but was incorrect for this; though i suppose something might've screwed up with my mash temps also to cause this. Definitely choose a typical UK yeast next time.
So instead of being ~6.4% alcohol, it's now 7.5% alcohol and thinner to boot. Not Happy, Jan!

Re: the Trappist Ale yeast mentioned earlier, i believe it's to try to achieve the fruity esters you get in TOP. Should be achievable with the UK yeasts, but obviously some people believe in a more direct approach!

@Mark/MHB, yeah, agree that MO is a dubious label these days. Hey, it looks cool; like you know all about UK beers if you insist on it in your beers! :ph34r: :lol:
Also the ingredients quoted by a brewery definitely may be in any ratio, and may not even be *all* of the ingredients in there. Sneaky bastards!
In terms of flavours/aromas, i'd say that with so much dark stuff, it might be masking the typical elements you'd expect to get from MO. I mean, we're all trying to nail a particular beer that's awesome specifically for the unusual flavours/aromas it has - i.e.: dried fruit & pudding from a bunch of grain and hops. So there's obviously some weird ingredient synergies going on in there.
I actually think it's the bloody yeast that's the trick! - TOP is a particular combo that the yeast really brings together in an amazing way. It is a great example of the synergies that can be achieved with simple ingredients done just right, to produce "non-typical" beer flavours. So to get a dried fruit flavour doesn't mean you throw in dried fruit, but that you combine some caraaroma, etc and yeast and do it in a certain way and it produces this magic!
TBH, i've never used the various brewing sugars, so i can't really comment on them. UK breweries certainly have a history of using sugars, though this obviously doesn't mean they are/were used in TOP.

I hope that slab of text helps!

Aopolgies to the OP - i believe he is an extract brewer, so the AG recipes i've mentioned are of limited value. Hopefully someone can convert it to extract if he's interested in trying one. Or it's a good excuse to turn to AG!!

EDIT:
At a pinch, i'd maybe try something like
1 tin of Amber extract,
1 tin of Dark extract,
some crystal and chocolate malt to steep (e.g.: 150g crystal, 100g chocolate),
and then some Fuggles + Challenger @60-90mins, & EKG @10-20mins.
Best try a liquid UK yeast if you can.
 
This is really one of my favourite UK beers and I have brewed about half a dozen versions, the best couple both used Muntons Gold Yeast, better even than versions using liquid yeasts.
It really does seem to tick all the boxes for me - it can be a bit of a pain to get at present but I think its worth doing the legwork,
M
 
Whether or not maris is used in 100% proportions of all uk beers, doesn't mean it would be a bad base to start with. GP or MO would be my starting, readily accessible pale malt for this and I can't see anyone going wrong with either.
 
Funnily enough I like both, GP particularly for it flexibility, you can use it for a base for most premium British Ales. Maris on the other hand has a very characteristic flavour and you always pay extra for it.
A visit to Theakstons web site will show they make no claims as to there being any MO in the beer - were there I suspect they would be saying so!
If you were trying to clone Fullers which everyone knows is based on Halcyon, we would probably be a bit startled at any suggestions to use Pilsner malt and given that Halcyon is pretty thin on the ground in Oz these days, I think choosing a malt like Maris with its baggage would be an equally poor choice, not a bad malt - a bad choice.
Using MO is apparently the default premium malt choice around here - often very inappropriately.
Maris is a great malt for some beers I would suggest not for this one.
Mark
 
What do you think it would bring to the party that would be inappropriate?
 
ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1438867798.814625.jpg
After all this talk I had a hankering for an updated sample.
Slowly getting good. Still needs a few months - the roasts need more time to mellow.
Has a nice "cola" flavour to it.
Slight fruitiness but a long way to go on that front - hopefully it'll eventually get there!
Color looks about right - black with a red glint. Maybe the original is a fraction darker?
Pretty happy considering how the yeast or mash screwed me on this one.
 
manticle said:


What do you think it would bring to the party that would be inappropriate?
Maris is justifiably an highly esteemed malt and in lots of UK style beers (especially cask ales) it would be my first choice. But it brings a characteristic nutty biscuity flavour.
If you taste Theakstons Old Peculiar or even read the tasting notes, Here is a lift of one example from Theakstons
"Distinctive banana and blackcherry aroma leading to a magnificent Christmas pudding kaleidoscope of flavour. Rich, smooth and sweet."

For the same reasons that we both aren't too impressed with the idea of using Belgian Ale Yeast, or molasses in this recipe - that being that they bring with them flavours that we aren't looking for in a TOP clone, I am suggesting that a cleaner less emphatic base malt will allow the flavours we are looking for from the Crystal/Roast and Yeast to stand out more clearly!

This thread isn't about designing a great tasting beer - its about coming up with a "Clone" of a great tasting beer.
Anyone can put anything the like in their beer, but when we are working on a homage recipe I think we are much more likely to get close to the result we are looking for if we use the most appropriate (unlikely to be identical) ingredients to what the brewer is using - I strongly suspect the brewer isn't using Maris Otter in this beer.
Mark

This is the 50th anniversary of the release of Maris Otter, the people (Robin Appel Ltd) have put out a media release, looking at the history of Maris Otter, If you like Maris as much as I do (but perhaps not in TOP) it makes interesting reading View attachment Maris-Otter-Press-Release.pdf
M
 
It's a fair call. It is a very distinctive base, well discernible even in beers with lots of roast like porter and stout.
 
MHB said:
Funnily enough I like both, GP particularly for it flexibility, you can use it for a base for most premium British Ales. Maris on the other hand has a very characteristic flavour and you always pay extra for it.
A visit to Theakstons web site will show they make no claims as to there being any MO in the beer - were there I suspect they would be saying so!
If you were trying to clone Fullers which everyone knows is based on Halcyon, we would probably be a bit startled at any suggestions to use Pilsner malt and given that Halcyon is pretty thin on the ground in Oz these days, I think choosing a malt like Maris with its baggage would be an equally poor choice, not a bad malt - a bad choice.
Using MO is apparently the default premium malt choice around here - often very inappropriately.
Maris is a great malt for some beers I would suggest not for this one.
Mark
I have used Perle malt in a few British ales. Would this be useful in a TOP clone?
 
Yes Perle would be a very good choice, my personal pick would be Golden Promise, especially the floor malted version, it has a bit more depth and complexity
Mark
 
Rather than start another thread on this topic, i thought i'd latch onto this one.

I'm going to do another attempt at this soon, probably for the Vic Xmas in July Case Swap.
The plan is to cut it back to a simple recipe.
Also, of the 2 versions i've done, one was ~ similar to Wheeler's clone recipe (91.4% MO, 5% Crystal, 3.6% Choc), and 1 was similar to Grantw's clone (same as wheeler's, but swapped Cystal & Choc around). Both of which seemed to be a bit excessive in the roasty, toasty flavours.
Combined with some of my experience with Irish Reds of late, i've decided i'll have a go at using Roast Barley instead of Choc malt, as per the Theakstons website itself. So i basically went with the idea the Wheeler probably hits the numbers with his recipe, so use those numbers as the targets & then tweak to maintain those numbers. (though i dropped the colour by ~5 EBC to get dark dark red rather than almost-black)

So, the 3 main questions are:
1) choice of yeast, preferably within the options i currently stock;
2) *timing* of hops additions, as i'm fairly sure i've got the right 3 selected (& is bitterness enough?);
3) General thoughts on malt bill.

Current recipe:

Vol = 24L
OG= 1.060
FG= 1.016
IBU= 36
EBC= 42
Alc%= 6.1

5.55kg MO
0.3kg Heritage Crystal (150 EBC)
0.15kg Roasted Barley

15g Challenger @ FWH
15g Target @ FWH
20g Fuggles @ 20mins (cube-hopped)
10g Challenger @ 20mins (cube-hopped)

55/65/72/78 for 5/60/20/2

Boil for 90mins.
Draw off 3-4L and boil down to 0.25-0.5L to enhance caramelisation.

Yeast = 1728 (scottish) or 004 (irish).


Thoughts most appreciated !
 
I hope to knock the top off an old perc later tonight. If I remember to check back, I'll throw 2 cents at it.
 
Bribie G said:
1469?
I know you're a big fan of 1469, bribie, but will it be much different to the Scottish or Irish?
I don't mean to shoot down the suggestion, more looking for an elaboration on the differences.
I've used the Scottish and Irish yeasts before with good results. They seem to bring out deep malty elements, in particular caramel notes. But I'm not sure they'll bring the plum & cherry notes TOP is generally seen as having. From the TOP webpage: "a beer of awesome full-bodied flavour with subtle cherry and rich fruit overtones...Distinctive banana and blackcherry aroma leading to a magnificent Christmas pudding kaleidoscope of flavour."
Basically I'm pretty ignorant of UK yeasts and the specific elements each brings to the table.
And I'm starting to suspect that 50% of what you get out of TOP is from the yeast.
So I'm looking for some Ed-U-Cation !

I vaguely recall reading your posts in the West Yorkshire yeast/bitter thread not so long ago and reading a bit more about 1469 (theakstons is in North Yorkshire!), wondering if it might be worth a shot in a TOP clone. Had forgotten about it until now! I'll reread ASAP, I think.
I think the lower attenuation and lack of it being recommended for Old Ales put me off a bit. So you think this is definitely the best of the UK yeasts for a TOP clone?

And if I need to buy a specific yeast for this then so be it. But if I'm buying, then I might as well check the other options/strains.

Edit: and if 1469 is sold out [emoji53] is there a second option you'd suggest?

Ps: keen to hear your thoughts mid-TOP, mants.
 

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