Recreating Boddingtons

[Clibit]

I have inadvertently made a brew that reminds me a lot of Boddingtons. Not an exact match but not far off, as memory serves me. It's on this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=24&t=66346&p=701781#p701781

The blend of Northdown and First Gold is not too far away I think. Northdown is a Northern Brewer variant I think, and First Gold is a Goldings variant. Some Boddingtons clones use Northern Brewer and Goldings.

The colour is close, and I even think the yeast has the right kind of profile. It's not Boddington's exactly, but it is lovely, and reminds me of drinking Boddingtons back in the late 70s and early 80s.

[Billb]

Thanks, that sounds really interesting. Dead simple grain bill. I've not tried the NBS Ale 2 (in fact I've not tried any NBS yeasts). Maybe I need to give this a try some time...

Old Trafford? You can't be that far from me in Cheshire.

[Clibit]

It's about nailing the hops for me at the moment. Orfy's recipe uses Northern Brewer for bittering and Goldings for aroma. The Ron Pattinson 1987 version uses just Goldings. Other clone recipes suggest WGV. First Gold, which I used, derives from a WGV parent. Seymour's version uses Goldings, Northern brewer and Bramling X for aroma, but no proportions are specified.

It's likely the hop bill varied at Strangeways over time, so if you make a brew with a simple malt bill like mine (Pale malt.small % of Crystal, which tallies with what we know) and then use a combination of hops that focuses on Goldings, and/or WGV, you should get a beer that is similar to Boddies. It makes sense to use Northern Brewer for bittering, and experiment with adding some at the aroma stage too. Maybe split a batch and try adding some Bramling X to one part, see what effect that has.

[Billb]

Do you have a view on the yeast then? I used Wyeast London Ale III (Youngs brewery I think), because I read somewhere that that yeast (or something similar) was used at Boddingtons. But I'm not sure it imparted any particular Boddingtons flavour. So kind of back to the drawing board on that one.

[Clibit]

Do you have a view on the yeast then? I used Wyeast London Ale III (Youngs brewery I think), because I read somewhere that that yeast (or something similar) was used at Boddingtons. But I'm not sure it imparted any particular Boddingtons flavour. So kind of back to the drawing board on that one.

Not really no. The Wyeast 1318 is rumoured to be Boddies, but these claims are not really reliable. I would like to think the Boddingtons strain was preserved, maybe adopted by a micro or two, but i've not found any info. I found it odd that Orfy's recipe, which is said to be quite close, uses Young's dried ale yeast. I've never used that yeast. I'm not expecting to clone Boddington's exactly. I haven't had a decent pint of Boddies for about 25 years anyway, so how could I be sure?

The beer what i just made reminded me of Boddies, and that is a cool thing to have happened! It's a very enjoyable pint, with that more-ish quality, similar to Bods. I think the yeast I used is a reasonable approximation, possibly. This may be what Orfy was doing - getting into the ballpark area. It's very difficult to clone a beer exactly. Impossible probably. I think I will brew again with Northern Brewer and EKG, and with Northern Brewer and WGV, and maybe try the Young's ale yeast! About 99p a packet.....

[Billb]

If you do try again, please post back and let me know how you get on!

[Clibit]

Resurrecting this thread with an article which provides a few clues and a bit of a history of Bodds...

http://boakandbailey.com/2014/05/boddies-buried/

[Billb]

Really interesting article - thanks for sharing that.

At the moment I am absolutely loving Lee's MPA - seek it out if you haven't tried it. But it isn't Boddingtons. Much fruitier. Much more hop flavour and aroma. But lovely.

[Clibit]

I've had MPA quite a few times. Quite like it but it's not in the same league as Boddingtons for me. I liked the dry bitterness of Bodds. I like Marble Manchester bitter, but it's still not Bodds. However, Bodds was like an oasis in a desert of dull lifeless 70s beer, it wouldn't stand out to the same extent now I'm sure. I remember Marble Lagonda hitting me in the face about 15 years ago and thinking wow, at last a beer that matches up to Bodds of old, the pale bitter hop hit. Lagonda is not what it was though, it's a keg ale now and although I like many keg beers, it seems all wrong, fizzy IPA.

[Billb]

Yes, I think your point (and the point made in the article) is very valid - these days we have such a range of different beers and styles that Boddingtons probably wouldn't stand out in the same way. I can't remember the last time I just drank the same beer for a whole night. I like the variety and being able to move to a different beer every pint. Back in the day, I'd just drink Boddies all night. God it was good though.

[fatcontro11er]

I love these threads! I remember boddies being a cracking drink and have tried to recreate it many times but always fell a bit short!
I too resell drink the same ale all night due to the variety available depending where I am drinking but I must say this I am in Cardiff for the brother in laws stag doo, and was in the nearest witherspoons last night and drank celts silures all night, it was fantastic!!!! Not boddies but very good!

[Billb]

Hope you had a good night - how's your head this morning??

[fatcontro11er]

Great couple of nights! Heads not too sore either!!!!

[Clibit]

Thought I'd add this brewday post to this thread. I knocked up a 10 litre stove top AG last night, in the style of Boddingtons. Not a clone attempt, yeast from the wrong side of the Pennines for starters - see how it turns out!

Batch Size (L): 10.0
Original Gravity (OG): 1.040
Final Gravity (FG): 1.010
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 4.0 %
Bitterness (IBU): 45.7
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 75
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

1.500 kg Maris Otter Malt (90.91%)
0.100 kg Crystal 40 (6.06%)
0.050 kg Cane Sugar (3.03%)

14.0 g Northern Brewer Pellet (8.8% Alpha) @ 45 Minutes
14.0 g East Kent Golding Pellet (5.7% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes
14.0 g East Kent Golding Pellet (5.7% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes
3.0 g Irish Moss @ 15 Minutes (Boil)

Single step Infusion at 66°C for 50 Minutes.
Fermented with Wyeast 1469 - West Yorkshire Ale

[Billb]

Looks like a pretty plausible recipe to me. I'll be interested to hear if you think it's close!