Getting the hoppy taste and creaminess

[towser]

I had the pleasure to be working in Newcastle over the last few weeks. I discovered a pub called the Crown Pasada that serves a lovely pint of Tyneside Blonde. It got me thinking as to how on earth you get that really hoppy flavour and creaminess that the beer seems to have.

Does anyone know what hops they use and also how to get the gelatinous effect? I would suspect its plenty of hops for the last 15 mins and also more once the boil is over (ie 20 mins @ 80C or so). However, I would welcome advice from anyone who knows the beer and anyone who's had success getting that hoppy flavour as well as that lovely thick consistency.

[Nofolkandchance]

Yep if your referring to Hadrian & Border Brewery, its a crackin pint at under 4% so a real session job! Havnt a clue what they use but they do so by the bucket!

[towser]

that's the one! it's now one of my favourites. I would love the recipe for this, but just to get the hops and how on earth they get that lovely creamy body would certainly be appreciated. I heard they may use wheat malt, so i'm wondering if its that, that gives it the body. they can't use too much though, because its crystal clear beer.

[critch]

try some munich, worked for me in the past

[Bribie]

Try 20% wheat malt and mash at 68°.

[towser]

wow. ok. 68C is quite high compared to what i normally do which is 66C. I was actually thinking of going lower - perhaps to 62C after a trip to camerons brewery (where i found out that 62C is their mash temp) to get a dryer flavour, but happy to take advice here.

Have you had good results on the creamy texture with that?

[Bribie]

Funny you should mention it, I was on the Camerons Site the other day and also noted the 62 degrees which surprised me. Mashing higher gives you less fermentables and more dextrins. Dextrins of themselves are not sweet in flavour but contribute to mouthfeel, if that's what you mean by creamy. On the odd occasion I do a dark mild, I start with a grain bill that would normally give a 4.5% ABV beer, but mash at 70°, and the resulting high dextrin wort only ferments out to around 1022, with a 3.5% ABV. With that blonde (which I've never tried) I wonder if they do something similar, seeing as it's a lower strength beer.

Edit: off topic, when I lived in Newcastle in the 70s, Camerons beers were all bright tank (I've still got a photo somewhere of a tanker with the hose going down the cellar trap door ) - even so I loved the Strongarm, it's great to see them on cask as well nowadays.

[towser]

I wasn't overly impressed with the beer there in truth. They also do a lot of fizzy pop production under licence. The staff were great though and the tour was good.

Many thanks for your advice. Looks like I have a plan now for the feel of the beer!

Would anyone have an idea of the hops in Tyneside Blone or the quantity to use? Failing that, what are the really good finishing hops for taste? Would it be US or NZ ones? Would be good to know the preferences. I tried a beer up in wasdale called Green Bullet which was extreme in hops, but quite good. They also use Nottingham yeast in all of their brews - so that seems a pretty good yeast to let the hops come through. Not sure of the amount of hops needed though. I'm guessing upwards of 50g at 80C for 20 mins after the boil is over and just before crash cooling.

[Barticus]

I wasn't overly impressed with the beer there in truth. They also do a lot of fizzy pop production under licence. The staff were great though and the tour was good.

Many thanks for your advice. Looks like I have a plan now for the feel of the beer!

Would anyone have an idea of the hops in Tyneside Blone or the quantity to use? Failing that, what are the really good finishing hops for taste? Would it be US or NZ ones? Would be good to know the preferences. I tried a beer up in wasdale called Green Bullet which was extreme in hops, but quite good. They also use Nottingham yeast in all of their brews - so that seems a pretty good yeast to let the hops come through. Not sure of the amount of hops needed though. I'm guessing upwards of 50g at 80C for 20 mins after the boil is over and just before crash cooling.

This is currently my favourite pint however my local is about to stop selling it.

Their description of the beer says the following...

TYNESIDE BLONDE 3.9%

A pale coloured thirst-quencher, using maris otter malt, wheat malt and an abundance of bittering and aromatic hops.

I also asked the Landlord whether he added Nitro etc to get the smoothness and he said all they add is the co2.

If someone managed to make a version of this I would sell the kids and go AG tomorrow.

Good luck

[Dr. Dextrin]

Wheat malt can give a nice creamy head, but I find it a bit sharp in taste, so not what you'd call a creamy taste as such, although using a sparkler might help.

I've not tasted the Tyneside Blonde in question, but sometimes I've suspected that light but creamy beers might be using flaked barley, as the effect is often slightly reminiscent of a stout (but without the roasted grains, obviously). Just a thought.

[Spikesdad]

I had the pleasure to be working in Newcastle

Now theres an oxymoron

[jimp2003]

You could try dropping an email to the brewer - sometimes you get lucky if you word your request right...

[micromaniac]

i,ve been tatin around with a mixture of wheat malt oat malt and flaked barley and it,s certainly smoothed out my beer and when i leave it 2-3 months before drinking it,s crystal clear

[Jim]

The Crown Posada is a great pub and they know how to serve their ales.

Re the creamy mouthfeel, I personally suspect that's more down to the serving than the brewing - not too much condition and using a sparkler.

[darkonnis]

I noticed I got epic smoothness and a creamy head on my beers when I put 5% torrified wheat in them, with not much conditioning. Havent tried this though