TheWiggman
Haters' gonna hate
I’ve got a pommie mate who longs for his beer back home which I’ve taken the liberty of trying to replicate. Based on a random internet post and their web site, here are the basics –
[SIZE=10pt]St. Austell HSD/Hicks Special Draught "Strong Cornish Ale"[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]St. Austell Brewery - St. Austell, Cornwall, UK
OG: 1050[/SIZE]
ABV: 5.0%
IBU: 32
Colour: 17°SRM/33°EBC, reddish brown
Grainbill: Maris Otter, Crystal Malt, Black Malt
Hops: Fuggles, Goldings, dry-hopped as well
Yeast: primary strain available in bottle-conditioned Admiral, Proper Job, or Black Job
I’ve had 2 attempts using the same basic process. First attempt was my first ever AG brew.
Attempt 1
4.70kg Maris Otter
0.30kg Carared (45 EBC)
0.15kg Black malt
50°C 20 mins > 67°C 60mins > 78°C mash out, fly sparge with tap hot water.
EKG / Willamette @ 60 mins and 15 mins to reach 32 IBU (don’t remember exact amounts)
Accidental high gravity boil with 1.058 in fementer. Watered down to OG 1.051. FG 1.006 at 18-25°C.
20g EKG / Willamette day 4 in primary. Bottled after 3 weeks (long story...).
Attempt 2
4.40kg Maris Otter
0.40kg Crystal (160 EBC)
0.06kg Black malt
56°C 20 mins > 67°C 60mins > 78°C mash out, batch sparge with 78°C water.
44g Fuggles @ 60mins
20g Goldings @ 15mins
18g Fuggles @ 4 days
OG 1.048, FG ??? (mate didn’t measure it). Bottled on day 8. 18°C in mate’s freezer using my controller.
London Ale 1028 used for both.
The feedback I got on the first one was –
· Not too far off, hops a bit different
· Too brown, not red
· Very grassy – but we can thank the extended dry hopping for that.
· Knocks your socks off with the alcohol content.
Still not sure why it attenuated so low. Was its 2nd culture.
My biggest change on #2 was to use BB crystal instead of carared and to up the amount to add redness. I reduced the black malt to maintain colour.
I’ve tasted #2 after 2 weeks in the bottle and he’s used 2 x carbonation drops per 640ml bottle against my advice. It’s a bit overcarbonated.
There is a distinct sugary smell and taste about it, but most notably the smell. Has a toffee odour and almost no hop scent. To taste it is appropriately bitter, some hop presence but has a very strong sugary taste about it, hinting towards toffee. The colour is quite red when held up to light, but has a brown appearance otherwise. It’s closer to the real thing.
The Pom’s feedback was that the first one was a better drop and also noted the sugary taste and smell.
Any suggestions?
It’s only 2 weeks in the bottle, so has some aging to do, but the sugary taste has me perplexed. 8% caramalt shouldn’t be too much to my knowledge to be imparting such toffee tastes and smells. The other thing may be the carbonation drops, but again I’ve never had this when I’ve used them.
I’m hoping it will improve over time but this is an ale.
[SIZE=10pt]St. Austell HSD/Hicks Special Draught "Strong Cornish Ale"[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]St. Austell Brewery - St. Austell, Cornwall, UK
OG: 1050[/SIZE]
ABV: 5.0%
IBU: 32
Colour: 17°SRM/33°EBC, reddish brown
Grainbill: Maris Otter, Crystal Malt, Black Malt
Hops: Fuggles, Goldings, dry-hopped as well
Yeast: primary strain available in bottle-conditioned Admiral, Proper Job, or Black Job
I’ve had 2 attempts using the same basic process. First attempt was my first ever AG brew.
Attempt 1
4.70kg Maris Otter
0.30kg Carared (45 EBC)
0.15kg Black malt
50°C 20 mins > 67°C 60mins > 78°C mash out, fly sparge with tap hot water.
EKG / Willamette @ 60 mins and 15 mins to reach 32 IBU (don’t remember exact amounts)
Accidental high gravity boil with 1.058 in fementer. Watered down to OG 1.051. FG 1.006 at 18-25°C.
20g EKG / Willamette day 4 in primary. Bottled after 3 weeks (long story...).
Attempt 2
4.40kg Maris Otter
0.40kg Crystal (160 EBC)
0.06kg Black malt
56°C 20 mins > 67°C 60mins > 78°C mash out, batch sparge with 78°C water.
44g Fuggles @ 60mins
20g Goldings @ 15mins
18g Fuggles @ 4 days
OG 1.048, FG ??? (mate didn’t measure it). Bottled on day 8. 18°C in mate’s freezer using my controller.
London Ale 1028 used for both.
The feedback I got on the first one was –
· Not too far off, hops a bit different
· Too brown, not red
· Very grassy – but we can thank the extended dry hopping for that.
· Knocks your socks off with the alcohol content.
Still not sure why it attenuated so low. Was its 2nd culture.
My biggest change on #2 was to use BB crystal instead of carared and to up the amount to add redness. I reduced the black malt to maintain colour.
I’ve tasted #2 after 2 weeks in the bottle and he’s used 2 x carbonation drops per 640ml bottle against my advice. It’s a bit overcarbonated.
There is a distinct sugary smell and taste about it, but most notably the smell. Has a toffee odour and almost no hop scent. To taste it is appropriately bitter, some hop presence but has a very strong sugary taste about it, hinting towards toffee. The colour is quite red when held up to light, but has a brown appearance otherwise. It’s closer to the real thing.
The Pom’s feedback was that the first one was a better drop and also noted the sugary taste and smell.
Any suggestions?
It’s only 2 weeks in the bottle, so has some aging to do, but the sugary taste has me perplexed. 8% caramalt shouldn’t be too much to my knowledge to be imparting such toffee tastes and smells. The other thing may be the carbonation drops, but again I’ve never had this when I’ve used them.
I’m hoping it will improve over time but this is an ale.
