Samuel Smith's Organic Best Ale

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Jabin

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So after a couple of months i have decided that i am going to try to do an AG using the BIAB method, albeit scaled down for mini batches at the moment. I was hoping to attempt something along the line of samuel smith's organic best ale, but have found practically zero information on the net on how to go about this. Do any of you guys have a recipe, or at least a suggestion to help get me in the ballpark? BTW, a big thanks to everyone who contributes to this site, it has been a world of useful information!
 
rightio, apparently there's not a great deal of interest in the organic best ale, but i'll carry on regardless and try something else B) . I'm about to attempt my first biab hopefully on saturday, provided the grain arrives and all that, i've plugged a couple of numbers into promash and this is what i'm going to attempt for a first go:

(i have a 16L pot and a stovetop, am working on a better setup as we speak)

10L Batch

2.3 kg Maris otter
.23 medium crystal

goldings pellets @ 60 & some other time (will have a fiddle when i get the specs, aiming for approx 31 ibu)

ringwood ale yeast (which i hear can be a bit of a bugger, but once again will carry on regardless!)

have worked this out at 65% efficiency, does this look alright? any feedback would be appreciated!
 
sounds delicious mate

sometimes simple recipe's like this one turn out as crackers :p

best of luck!
 
I've never tried that organic ale so couldn't really offer much feedback on it. The recipe you have sounds very nice. It'd probably help us to help you plan your recipe if you give us a description of that beer. Hoppy? Malty? Any esters?

What gravity does that give you at 65%? (And 65% seems a reasonable guesstimate for your first go.) Personally, I'd cut that crystal back a smidge to say 150g but it'll certainly be fine as is. That's more personal taste.

I'd add some more hops at 15-10 for flavour/aroma. Again, depends what level of hoppiness you want.

I've been meaning to give that yeast a go too, but other yeasts keep catching my eye. Certainly sounds like a nice one if you can tame it. :)
 
I've never tried that organic ale so couldn't really offer much feedback on it. The recipe you have sounds very nice. It'd probably help us to help you plan your recipe if you give us a description of that beer. Hoppy? Malty? Any esters?

What gravity does that give you at 65%? (And 65% seems a reasonable guesstimate for your first go.) Personally, I'd cut that crystal back a smidge to say 150g but it'll certainly be fine as is. That's more personal taste.

I'd add some more hops at 15-10 for flavour/aroma. Again, depends what level of hoppiness you want.

I've been meaning to give that yeast a go too, but other yeasts keep catching my eye. Certainly sounds like a nice one if you can tame it. :)

Hi Stuster, thanks for the reply. At 65% i'm getting 1.050. I guess i'm looking for a malty beer with a bit of caramel, probably not too hoppy for this one. I picked the yeast to try and introduce a bit of a buttery flavour, although not sure if this will work, but i'm interested to taste the fianl result! I can't really comment on what style it is that i'm trying to do here, i haven't really stuck to any style guidelines, just have an idea of what i want it to taste like and am throwing stuff together!
 
Well, if that's what you want, I'd stick to the grain bill you have. With the hops, that should be a good level of bitterness. You could just stick with that if you don't want too hoppy and skip any later additions. Looks simple and tasty. :)
 
Alright, so i got this one done Saturday morning, is fermenting away as we speak. Only a minor hiccup during the process, should be cool. I tasted the wort at all stages, although being my first ag i wasn't really sure what i was tasting, but it didn't taste bad, so i'm hoping all will be ok! Is currently fermenting at around 22 degrees, although i'm trying to drop the temp to 20, i guess the next bit of equipment i need will be a dedicated fridge! Oh yeah, ended up with og of 1.052, so around 67% efficiency, which i'm happy enough with for a first go. I am so goddamned excited about this!
 
That's a good efficiency for your first go. And small problems are pretty standard for the first few tries as well till you understand how it all works on your system. Seems like a success. Welcome to the dark side. :D
 
Thanks Stuster, I shall let you know how it turns out!
 
I think the Samuel Smith Organic Ale is a great beer, in fact I do like many of their beers (their pubs are pretty good also, one of my favourites was the Fitzroy Tavern in Bloomsbury London)

Anyway I found this old thread and thought I would like to make this beer.

Does anyone have any further ideas of an AG recipe? I rinsed the bottle before I could see if it was naturally carbonated, but I have a feeling that it wasn't.
 
Cubbie...I've not tried this particular beer, so have no idea at all if Jabos' recipe was even remotely close....but that being said, his basic recipe, the og/ibu ratio, and the yeast choice all add up to be a very nice beer, balanced bitter.
Got an update on how it turned out, Jabos?
 
I will need to go buy another bottle and give it a bit of a review so people can get a glimpse of what it is.
 
hey cubbie,

this was my first ag adventure, and yeah...it didn't really turn out like the organic ale unfortunately. I came up with this recipe by plugging numbers into promash to replicate what i thought it should be without a great deal of knowledge. It was not quite on the mark. It wasn't too bad a drink, a bit too sweet and heavy, i think the yeast gave it a very different flavour to what i was expecting. I would certainly recommend finding some more reliable advice regarding a recipe. If you have any luck finding one that gets close i would be very interested to hear about it!
 
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