Personally, Crisp MO is my go-to, but if you don’t like MO, then try Vienna, GP, or a Pale Ale malt (Dingemans has worked well for me) as alternatives for your base malt. I do find that a flavorful Pale Ale malt carries a lot of the flavor, so definitely find one you enjoy.
Torrified wheat at about 10-15% of the grist adds a nice nuttiness if that works in the recipe you’re brewing.
English styles actually run a wide spectrum. Try different yeasts and base malts to see what you like, then dial in your recipes and process from there. I use 1469 the most, but I also enjoy 1968, WLP013 and Winsor/Notty, and I have others on my wish list that I haven’t gotten around to trying yet.
yup, thats what i’ve decided i’m working on this brew-year. really keeping it simple in recipe formulation. torrified wheat - i better try it at some point finally.
isn’t 1469 a PITA to deal with? is it relatively forgiving? what do you think about WLP007?
For me, 1469 is super easy and forgiving in my experience. I brew 2.5-gallon batches, and pitch 1 pack without a starter in pretty much all my recipes with it (typically in the 1.040 range, but I’ve gone up to the mid 1.060’s OG). Even though it is a Yorkshire yeast, it doesn’t require the heavy oxygenation that other Yorkshire strains require. I don’t add any supplemental oxygen, or even aeration for that matter. I let the wort splash as I drain into my fermentation keg, pitch, seal the keg, and let her go.
WLP007 is pretty clean to me. It’s great for West Coast IPA, but I prefer more esters in my English ales. I’ve only used it a couple of times, so don’t take my wordas gospel on that one.
I know stone’s house yeast was 007 if it not anymore and their specialty is west coast ipa. I’m no English style brewer but I think something with more character might be a good touch.
I have been using WY1469 a lot and do not find it at all difficult, in fact it has been a consistent performer. When I first started using it I gave the wort extra aeration but the last two times I just used the aeration from running the wort into the fermenter like Eric mentioned and I didn’t see a difference.
I use a couple simple grist formulations. I like MO and recently used Simpson’s GP for the first time and liked that too. However what I have used most is a pale ale malt, specifically from my local master, Valley Malt. I almost always do 99% base malt and 1% black malt for color or 95% base and 5% 60L crystal. The former is inspired by Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, the latter by Whitbread IPA.
“does anyone have any favourite “english” grists or tricks?”
Yes, use sugar.
I just tapped my latest British ale this past weekend, and it is quite tasty. 85% Simpson’s Maris Otter, 10% Lyle’s Golden syrup, 5% Hugh Baird Carastan. A little inverted sugar gives a nice toffee flavor that pairs well with the dirt hops.
English malted barley. Invert sugar #3 or #2. Very little crystal malt.
English hops but brewers there also imported plenty of hops from America and continental Europe.
I have used S-04 and don’t care for it. Switched to Wyeast 1099 for several years and have lately been experimenting with Imperial A-09 and A01 with satisfactory results. I’ll need to do a side by side comparison between these and 1099 at some point.
you sure the dirt flavor isnt from from so many of the english hops we get stateside being past their prime? I know this sounds semantic, but I have tasted earthiness in hops, and then straight dirt flavor from hops, and the difference seemed to be hop freshness.
Agree with everything here. That said, the imported American hops were probably nothing like our fruity/citrusy/tropical hops that are popuar today and were probably more herbal and flowery.
I definitely do not care for any of the Dry English ale yeasts I have tried, and I really don’t care for So4 at all. I think WY1099 may be my new favorite English Ale yeast
I don’t distinguish a difference between “earthiness” and “dirt” flavor. That said, a reasonably fresh bottle of Theakston’s Old Peculier has the classic Fuggles dirt hop flavor that I have been able to replicate in clone attempts.
My scale for English dirt hop flavor, in terms of most to less pronounced, would be:
