RecipeDB - DrSmurto's Golden Ale

[Schober]

Just brewed this as my first all-grain attempt. Absolutely fantastic 5-star brew.

It's probably written somewhere in the previous 29 pages of comments, however... to what extent are you folk carbonating at? I carbonated my bottles to the ESB english ale standard (1.3 volumes). I quite like the mouthfeel of this brew at low carbonation. What are your thoughts on a higher carbonation?

Cheers.

 

[drsmurto]

Just brewed this as my first all-grain attempt. Absolutely fantastic 5-star brew.

It's probably written somewhere in the previous 29 pages of comments, however... to what extent are you folk carbonating at? I carbonated my bottles to the ESB english ale standard (1.3 volumes). I quite like the mouthfeel of this brew at low carbonation. What are your thoughts on a higher carbonation?

Cheers.

Nice! I love a beer at the lower end of carbonation. My keg system is set to run at 1.8 volumes, i tend to bottle around 2.0-2.2 for this beer on the rare occasion it gets bottled.

 

[RobH]

Sort of cross-linking topics here, but am commenting on my first AG attempt at this recipe...

My efforts on DrSmurtos GA recipe I am reserving my judgement on for now ... letting it clear up a bit - but my initial impressions of what I turned out was that my mash temp might have dropped a bit as the end product feels a bit thin and lacking in malt character ... the Amarillo hop flavour and aroma however is there at a level that I like.

<--- first taste was 6 days ago

Couldn't help but pour a few glasses of these tonight ... once left for a week to settle in the keg I really notice the difference. In particular I am now recognising the finer malt flavours of the pilsner malt ... yes I think pilsner malt is going to become a favourite of mine ... reminds me of some nice German lagers & Oktoberfest.

My initial tasting as quoted above mentions lack of malt & thin-ness ... maybe that was due to yeast flavour masking the pilsner malt at the time, but now I have a wonderful flavour fuision of malt & hops that lingers after each mouthful.
:chug:

 

[beerdrinkingbob]

Made this one again myself last week, only thing I changed was the bitter hop addition from 60 minutes to 40 minutes to try and squeeze a bit more flavour out of it. The beer is still in the fermenter, but from what i can tell from the samples, the Amarillo flavour of this years crop is a bit of a let down, so I've dry hopped as well.

Still a tasty beer but this crop lets it down a bit, might use centennial in it next time for something different :beerbang:

 

[Spork]

Put my order in with Ross @ CB, planning a 1/2 size stovetop BIAB of this recipe as my next brew.

 

[String]

This is my first kit and extract brew.
Having never smelt hops before I was surprised at the intensity of the Amarillo pellets! Even now, my kitchen fridge has a distinctly 'herbal' aroma to it and the strength of the hops smell coming out of the fermenter is also surprising.

Does the beer smell this strongly in the glass? I haven't added the final 15g of pellets yet, and I don't get this strength of aroma from JSGA. I want to stay with the receipe to see how it turns out but I'm starting to think I don't want much more aroma...

Put it down yesterday, using Nottingham as the HBS was out of US05, and it's bubbling away quite strongly at 20 degrees. (HBS said Nottingham at 20 degrees should do the same job as US05).

 

[adniels3n]

String - Being new to the game, I too was taken by the "in your face" nature of the aroma. It does die down, but is still pretty out there compared to a store bought ale. See it through, try to taste the other aspects of the beer as you drink it (bitterness, malt etc). 2 glasses in you'll be a convert.
Edit - My final hop addition was at flameout, so your secondary dry hop will differ from my experience.

 

[drsmurto]

This is my first kit and extract brew.
Having never smelt hops before I was surprised at the intensity of the Amarillo pellets! Even now, my kitchen fridge has a distinctly 'herbal' aroma to it and the strength of the hops smell coming out of the fermenter is also surprising.

Does the beer smell this strongly in the glass? I haven't added the final 15g of pellets yet, and I don't get this strength of aroma from JSGA. I want to stay with the receipe to see how it turns out but I'm starting to think I don't want much more aroma...

Put it down yesterday, using Nottingham as the HBS was out of US05, and it's bubbling away quite strongly at 20 degrees. (HBS said Nottingham at 20 degrees should do the same job as US05).

This recipe has more hop flavour than JSGA.

That said, if this is all new to you i would skip the dry hopping and see what you think.

Nottinghman is not the same as US05. US05 highlights the hops, Nottingham mutes them.

This may work in your favour as it will produce a milder hop flavour.

Next time i would suggest US05 and see if you can pick the difference - the hops should stand out a bit more.

 

[Wolfman]

I have dry hopped in the primary fermenter is this OK?

 

[RobH]

That is a regular practice by many brewers ... so I'd say yes
In the end it comes down to did it achieve a result that you like.

 

[Wolfman]

Cheers mate.

 

[Hubert]

I gave the kits and bits a crack yesterday. My first step towards AG. All went reasonably well with the make up, lost a couple of grains into the stockpot, thanks to a dodgy colander. Might have to invest in some voile cloth, heck might just have to go straight into BIAB for the next go My OG was a little higher than the original receipe and it looked a little darker than a golden ale, will be interesting to see how it turns out.

In the fermenter now, just have to wait.

Tasted fantastic. Surprising how many mates come around and specifically asked for it! Very enjoyable beer, heading to the LHBS to try out an AG BIAB version today.

Only issue I had was that the keg leaked about 1/4 of its contents onto the bottom of the fridge. Damn seals!

Cheers.

 

[String]

This is my first kit and extract brew.
Having never smelt hops before I was surprised at the intensity of the Amarillo pellets! Even now, my kitchen fridge has a distinctly 'herbal' aroma to it and the strength of the hops smell coming out of the fermenter is also surprising.

Does the beer smell this strongly in the glass? I haven't added the final 15g of pellets yet, and I don't get this strength of aroma from JSGA. I want to stay with the receipe to see how it turns out but I'm starting to think I don't want much more aroma...

Put it down yesterday, using Nottingham as the HBS was out of US05, and it's bubbling away quite strongly at 20 degrees. (HBS said Nottingham at 20 degrees should do the same job as US05).

Thanks for all the advice on this, the hops aroma almost disappeared over the first 5 days or so. So I stayed true to the receipe and added the final 15g after 5 days for dry hopping.

It's still ticking away slowly at 20 degrees and I can't wait to try it! (neither can my neighbours and friends who helped my destroy my first keg of basic Coopers Lager, it didn't even last 10 days in the keg)

 

[Salt]

Put the extract version of this drop down on Sunday...

Not really bubbling away, but I think that my ferm has a seal issue, as I checked the SG and its dropped from 1.048 to just over 1.03 so fermenting is underway. Was concerned as its getting pretty cold here in NZ, and Im limited with my temp controls.

In any case Im going to dry hop this batch (only my second proper crack at homebrewing, and first go at dry hopping), with 15g each of Amarillo and Centennial.

Question; should I just chuck in the pellets, or use a Hop sock? I didnt strain this brew (or Centenarillo Ale) so not overly concerned with Hop matter as it all sinks out. When is it best to dry hop? From my readings, its best after fermentation is pretty much complete...around a week im guessing. Plan to leave in primary for 2 weeks. No secondary, so wont be dry hopping that way. Any tips, or just chuck em in?

Chur

 

[drsmurto]

Put the extract version of this drop down on Sunday...

Not really bubbling away, but I think that my ferm has a seal issue, as I checked the SG and its dropped from 1.048 to just over 1.03 so fermenting is underway. Was concerned as its getting pretty cold here in NZ, and Im limited with my temp controls.

In any case Im going to dry hop this batch (only my second proper crack at homebrewing, and first go at dry hopping), with 15g each of Amarillo and Centennial.

Question; should I just chuck in the pellets, or use a Hop sock? I didnt strain this brew (or Centenarillo Ale) so not overly concerned with Hop matter as it all sinks out. When is it best to dry hop? From my readings, its best after fermentation is pretty much complete...around a week im guessing. Plan to leave in primary for 2 weeks. No secondary, so wont be dry hopping that way. Any tips, or just chuck em in?

Chur

Hi mate

Wait until fermentation is finished or very close to it then chuck the hops in. They'll sink to the bottom anyway.

What temp are you fermenting at? I find US05 still ticks along at as low as 15C.

Cheers
DrSmurto

 

[Salt]

Hi mate

Wait until fermentation is finished or very close to it then chuck the hops in. They'll sink to the bottom anyway.

What temp are you fermenting at? I find US05 still ticks along at as low as 15C.

Cheers
DrSmurto

Sounds good, will do...
Ferm is around 18deg, but cools down a bit over night. I know change in temp is not idea, but not a hell of a lot I can do with whats on hand.

Cheers

 

[spox]

Going to try the Kits & bits version below. My only change was Morgans wheat malt as i couldnt get coopers. My largest stockpot is only 7.5L or so, guessing i could get a 5L boil from it after steeping the grain. Would this create any issues for boiling of the hops in such a small volume of water?

"How you go about this depends on your pot size but my standard procedure back in the kit brewing days was to use a 6 pack esky to steep the grain in. If you use 2 parts boiling water to 1 part tap water you should get water with a temp of between 65-70C which is great for steeping grain in. Mix ~1L of this temp water with the crushed caramalt (or other crystal malt) and let steep for up to an hour. Drain through a colander and pout the grain back in the esky with another 1L of 65-70C water. Stir and drain straight away.

I used a large stockpot for brewing in back then, i think its 16L so i would then add the 2L of liquor from steeping the grain and top up with another 6L of boiling water. Add the can of coopers wheat malt and bring to the boil. Add 15g of amarillo and boil for 10 mins. Add another 15g of amarillo and boil for a further 5 mins. Turn off the heat. Add the can of sparkling ale and mix thoroughly. Cool this pot down, i found it was easiest to sit it in a sink of cold water. Strain into fermenter and top up to 20L (not 23L). Once the temp is below 22C add the yeast. Try to keep the temp between 18-20C ideally, up to 22C is OK. Leave it in the fermenter for at least 7 days if racking, 14 days if not. I dont dry hop anymore as i find the aroma is good without it."

 

[drsmurto]

Going to try the Kits & bits version below. My only change was Morgans wheat malt as i couldnt get coopers. My largest stockpot is only 7.5L or so, guessing i could get a 5L boil from it after steeping the grain. Would this create any issues for boiling of the hops in such a small volume of water?

5L boil will be fine. :icon_cheers:

 

[spox]

5L boil will be fine. :icon_cheers:

Cheers! its my 2nd beer, should be an interesting experiment!

 

[drsmurto]

Just doughed in a golden ale that was almost the original to the letter

Only difference is i am using magnum to bitter and saving up the amarillo for a big flameout addition.

Double batch for a mates party - he requested the golden ale.

To feed my rye addiction given this is the first beer i have brewed in months that hasn't got any rye in it i am making a few loaves of rye sourdough. :wub:

 

[ploto]

I'm drinking the kit version of this, now three weeks in the bottle and starting to settle down. I did a slightly larger batch (25l) and used 20g additions instead of 15. It's very nice - certainly a bit fresher than the JSGG on tap at my local when they haven't cleaned the beer lines in a while... :angry: - but still has a bit of a kit taste to it, though I expect that will mellow in time. Two months in the bottle seems to be about the best drinking time for most of the kit-based APA-style beers I've made. Might do a full extract version if I can tear myself away from my current obsession with NZ hops, but I suspect that this will be at the top of the list when I try my hand at ag biab

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

I'm drinking the kit version of this, now three weeks in the bottle and starting to settle down. I did a slightly larger batch (25l) and used 20g additions instead of 15. It's very nice - certainly a bit fresher than the JSGG on tap at my local when they haven't cleaned the beer lines in a while... :angry: - but still has a bit of a kit taste to it, though I expect that will mellow in time. Two months in the bottle seems to be about the best drinking time for most of the kit-based APA-style beers I've made. Might do a full extract version if I can tear myself away from my current obsession with NZ hops, but I suspect that this will be at the top of the list when I try my hand at ag biab

You'll find that it settles down quicker when you do it AG. The good thing about APA IMO is that they drink really nicely young. You get that really flavourful hop taste. Having to wait for the kit taste to settle kinda kills the hops a little, which is a shame, because IMO an APA is supposed to be drunk quickly, when it's punchy.

 

[ploto]

yes I've learnt that, I did the LCPA kit copy which was very nice, but after 3 months the flavour started to disappear. Shame about the few swing-top bottles of this I put away thinking it would age nicely over time... should have saved them for the stout... ah well, they're going in the fridge now!

 

[mikeintmba]

I decided to give this recipe a try but have made a little mistake. I ordered the grain from Craftbrewer and got them to mill and mix the Caramunich and Munich malts together and I will mill the other grains because I purchased more than required for this recipe. Only problem is I misread the recipe and ordered 1.6kg of both Caramunich and Munich (doing a double batch) but realise now the recipe calls for only 0.25kg of Caramunich (0.5kg for double batch) so I am wondering what effect this will have on the final product. So instead of 1.6kg of munich and 0.5kg of caramunich I have 1.6kg of both grains milled and mixed together. My plan is to just go ahead and make the beer and see what happens. Any comments?

 

[beerdrinkingbob]

You'll find that it settles down quicker when you do it AG. The good thing about APA IMO is that they drink really nicely young. You get that really flavourful hop taste. Having to wait for the kit taste to settle kinda kills the hops a little, which is a shame, because IMO an APA is supposed to be drunk quickly, when it's punchy.

Agreed Goomba, recently did another one of these and had a bottle at 10 days :icon_drool2: bloody awesome!! god i love winter and fermentation control!! thank god i will have a ferment fridge in the new place in a couple of months, summer will be a plus not a minus for my beers!!

 

[Brad Churchill]

G'day mate.

Seeing as the original recipe uses 6% crystal and you are using more than three times this amount making it more than 20% I don't think I would just go ahead a make it.
Remember Caramunich is a crystal malt and 10% is the normal recommended upper limit for this type of malt.

This is what I would probably do. If you look at the bag of milled grain and it is all thoroughly mixed together I would just use around a third of the bag for this brew and assume that you are taking equal quantities of each grain. I would then add another kg or so of your base malt to make up the difference.

Okay so by doing this you wont have as much munich in your brew and you can't be sure exactly how much munich and caramunich is going into the brew but you will still end up with a tasty beer and it is I feel a good way to solve the little stuff up.

It may also pay to drop off 50g or so of the wheat and make this up with base malt as well now that you don't have as much munich in there.

Anyway that's my thoughts. Someone might suggest something else but good luck with it mate.

Cheers
Brad

I decided to give this recipe a try but have made a little mistake. I ordered the grain from Craftbrewer and got them to mill and mix the Caramunich and Munich malts together and I will mill the other grains because I purchased more than required for this recipe. Only problem is I misread the recipe and ordered 1.6kg of both Caramunich and Munich (doing a double batch) but realise now the recipe calls for only 0.25kg of Caramunich (0.5kg for double batch) so I am wondering what effect this will have on the final product. So instead of 1.6kg of munich and 0.5kg of caramunich I have 1.6kg of both grains milled and mixed together. My plan is to just go ahead and make the beer and see what happens. Any comments?

 

[mikeintmba]

Brad your suggestion makes sense to me. Thinking about it I might just use half of the mixed grain which will be a compromise that should make a reasonable beer. Thanks for the idea.

 

[Hinji]

Was extremely impatient and had to try my Smurto's GA that had only been bottled for four days. Flat as two peas on a breadboard, but still very tasty. My first AG beer and a very nice one to start with.
Cheers!

 

[jakethedog]

Had my first Dr Smurto's GA after bottling 2 weeks ago. Wow!!! Very tasty and hoppy. My 3rd all grain BIAB. The taste of all grain is sooooo much better than kits. I can't believe it tastes so good after 2 weeks. If anyone has not brewed this get on to it!!!!

 

[saintbanger]

Same here jake, my first BIAB was Dr.Smurtos which is drinking now from the keg. Thanks again to the inventors of BIAB so much better than the kits I have been doing for years. Done 4 since which are cubbed or fermenting. Going to try the Dr.s again next with a different yeast. My only problem is it tastes so much better that its nearly empty already after kegging on Monday.