British-ish Ale

Sunday was a brew day, despite the cold and rain that persisted throughout the entire afternoon. This is likely my last for the year, as we’ve got stuff planned for the next two weekends, and then its our annual trek to Atlanta to spend the holidays with our families. This round was 10 gallons of a British ale, although I’m not sure if it qualifies as a Bitter or maybe a darkish Pale. I kept the recipe really simple, with just 2-row, a pound of Special Roast, and a pound of Crystal 40L. The hops were Brewer’s Gold for Bittering and Fuggles for Flavor / Aroma, but since the ingredients are actually all American – Its kind of a British style ale made with American ingredients… hence “British-ish”.

The yeast, White Labs’ Burton Ale (WLP023) has a very unique and decidedly English character of pears and fruit that will hopefully pull it firmly over into a Bass or similar vein… The vial had expired back in early August, however after 48 hours of propogation on the stir plate (about half of that with filtered air providing fresh O2), the yeast seemed very healthy and ready to do its duty.

The brew day itself went very well. No stuck mashes, the wort that went into the kettle was probably some of the clearest I’ve ever managed, and the wort that made it into the fermenters was also relatively free of trub. The cooler groundwater temperatures allowed me to cool from a boil to pitching temperatures in just under 25 minutes. Start to finish took about 6 hours, my norm for a 10 gallon batch.

I am really looking forward to trying this one when it is ready.