Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild

[Jovial_Monk]

Brewed this yesterday

5.88K Pale
340g crystal malt
340g dark muscovado sugar

mash at 67C for 2 hours

simmered rather than boiled for 2 hours
120 min hops
40g Progress pellets (sub fuggles)
14g Goldings pellets

14g progress at flameout


Pitched Nottingham yeast
ferment 5 days, rack to keg for secondary, drinkable in ten days from pitching


Very yummy strong Mild
This willbe fairly easy to do with dried and liquid extract





Jovial Monk

 

[Wozza]

JM,

What's the idea of simmering as opposed to boiling?

 

[PostModern]

JM,

What's the idea of simmering as opposed to boiling?

I'm going to hazzard a guess here. Simmering would mean less caramelisation of the malts and the muscovado sugar but still ensuring good bitterness from the hops. (Low AA??)

 

[Jovial_Monk]

Here is the relevant quote from the CAMRA article:

"Unlike the normal rolling boil of [70?] minutes, Guy recommends you use more of a strong simmer for about two hours. This will have a beneficial effect on the final flavour. At the end of this time add the final half-ounce of the Fuggles, allow the wort. . ."

A longer boil, with less heat applied, less evaporation than usual and less caramelisation. It has already got a fair bit of crystal, a vigorous boil would result in a too-cloying beer.

A note on crystal malt. I avoid using it. In large quantities (250g or so) it produces a cloying beer. I have also found that a beer with a fair bit of crystal in the grist tends to have a bitterness that becomes rather yucky with a bit of age. Not what I want!

Instead of using 500g of crystal I add another kilo of pale, collect a bit less in the sparge, so have richer runnings, and a much cleaner beer. So why brew the Sarah Hughes with 340g crystal? so i can repeat the same recipe next year, replacing the crystal with brown malt. if that turns out OK, that will be my regular recipe.

And, brew it, anyway you can, all extract + the crystal & muscovado

You will thank me for it.







JM