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I'm not sure whether this recipe would be classified as a mild or bitter so i'm going to call it a mild unless told otherwise. Its a use up some grains and hops I've had laying around for a while type beer but i'm also trying out the Gales yeast i got from Brewlab so aimed for a English ale. Its probably a slightly higher gravity and too hoppy for a mild but maybe a little do dark and roasty for a bitter. Either way i'm hoping for a full flavored easy drinking session ale.
As i think the yeast is quite a low attenuator the main mash temp was kept low at 64C, i was tempted to add around 5% sugar as well but wanted to keep the gravity quite low so left it out. I'd also normally up the volume a little to max out the fermenter but i suspect this yeast could do with a little more head space then the usual dried yeasts.

Target Gravity is 1.042 for 25L

3000g Maris Otter 66.77 %
760g Pilsner 16.92 %
250g Wheat Malt 5.56 %
220gCrystal Malt 4.90 %
110g Chocolate Malt 2.45 %
110g Dark Crystal Malt 2.45 %
43g Black Malt 0.96 %

36g Fuggles [4.10 %] (90 min) Hops 15.0 IBU
9g Challenger [7.49 %] (90 min) Hops 6.8 IBU
15g Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (15 min) Hops 3.5 IBU
1g Fuggles [4.50 %] (15 min) Hops 2.4 IBU
19g Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep)
10g Fuggles [4.50 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep)

Mash Schedule
Mash in 30L at 38C
Step 1: 75 Mins @ 64C
Step 2: 10 Mins @ 78C


Grain Shot:


Mash in
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Pumps on:


Hops:


Mash all done:


Yeast starter hopefully ready to go:


Wort cooled and hop bags draining:


Wort run off:


Break material. At this point i tryed stuffing a hob bad in front of the tap outlet in a attempt to filter out the breaj material. It didnt work, all i did is disturbed it all and probably ended up with more in the fermenter than i would have done.


Gravity reading on backup hydrometer after breaking my second SR thermometer

Call it what you want, it sounds delicious to me! What kind of yeast is that?

As per top of the post, it is Brewlab's Gales strain

Goulders wrote:As per top of the post, it is Brewlab's Gales strain

You're totally right, I skimmed right over that the first time. Well, now I'm even more sure it'll be a winner.

It seems to be happily fermenting away despite me letting the temp drop more than i'd have liked. I'm pretty excited about this brew, i've had a few issues with water treatment errors, beers finishing at a high gravity creating rather lively beers in the bottle. Then the one beer i did want really fizzy i seemed to have under primed. I am hoping to turn a corner with this brew. One problem is i change quite alot from brew to brew one of them being yeasts so starting with this brew i'm going to be brewing with just the gales yeast for a few batches and keep the gravity's similar so i can work on consistency.

Job done and i'm very happy with the result. It definitely has a hint of HSB about it from the yeast and also reminds me of some hobgoblin i had from a minikeg. I'm terrible at describing flavour's so i'll leave it at that. Its served via my crusader keg and has come out pleasingly clear. Next time i do this i'll simplify the grain bill a little by dropping the pilsner and maybe replace the medium with more dark crystal and adjust the black malt down to get the same colour. I may even finish with some styrian goldings. I've also changed my mind about it being a mild as i'm getting more hops than expected so probably more towards a bitter.

That looks great, and I like your Adnams glass. Nice work.

What mash tun / pump combo is that you're using? Looks interesting...

Its a Braumeister 50L - a single vessel brewing system

Lovely-looking pint

Thanks, Its been slipping down far to easily and is almost gone now, i will have to get another one on soon.