Anyone know the recipe for Green King IPA 3.6%?

[NickK]

Looking for a beer for summer with a low ABV% of these the bottled Green King IPA seems perfect. So I'm on the look out for doing the recipe for a brew on 1st March.

[boingy]

Can't help you with the GK IPA recipe but I would suggest you brew something like a lower OG version of one of the Summer Lightning recipes on here. It would be light and hoppy, just the job for a sumer's evening in the garden I reckon.

Oh, and brace yourself for some sarcastic replies. GK is not exactly popular around here, although personally I quite like it....

[Eadweard]

I had a nice pint when I was in Bury St Edmunds but usually I avoid it.

[sib67]

Looking for a beer for summer with a low ABV% of these the bottled Green King IPA seems perfect. So I'm on the look out for doing the recipe for a brew on 1st March.

When I saw the thread title, I assumed you wanted the recipe so that you didn't make it by accident

[boingy]

I'm at home now so I can check the books.

The Almanac lists the (likely) ingredients but not the recipe:

OG 1036
3.6% ABV

Halcyon, Pipkin and Puffin pale malts
Crystal malt
Sugar
Dash of caramel for colour if needed.
Hops: Challenger, Northdown and Target pellets. Late hopped. 26 IBU.

Just to further muddy the waters, Dave Line lists a Greene King Pale Ale. Not sure it is the same beer as IPA but he uses Light Malt Extract, Crystal malt, Northern Brewer and Goldings Hops

So, a bit of everything then...

[NickK]

Hmm - I think people can gather what I think about people telling me what I should think but enough of that iceberg

To me IPA is a crisp dry taste, medium body with a bitterness and hoppy taste. All the tastes of summer with that dry sun-baked feel..

I'm guessing it's basically a weak pale malt with hops providing the taste, driven so that it's not too bitter (say 50). Personally I think I'd also put some aroma hops in to give it a fresh summer smell.

With your suggestions I'm thinking a bitza brew (bit of everything) with the basis of keeping the malting light, slight honey and tang of bitter and hops.

30% Golden Promise
50% Marris Otter
20% Amber Malt
Challenger
Goldings

Not sure which liquid yeast I should use.. thinking the WYeast #1098 British - dry, crisp but slightly fruity.

For your amusement

[roger the dog]

When I saw the thread title, I assumed you wanted the recipe so that you didn't make it by accident

[boingy]

Hmm - I think people can gather what I think about people telling me what I should think but enough of that iceberg

Heheh, amen to that, although you maybe need to report to Forum Central to be properly assimilated.
In addition to GK IPA it's also quite easy to catch me drinking Bud, Sol, Pedigree or Carlsberg. I'm such a Philistine. Hmm... maybe I need to be assimilated too.

Your (vague) recipe looks good to me. Late hops are the key I reckon, and probably a smidge of dry-hopped Goldings. I've got a Summer Lightning variant in secondary atm. It's smelling so good that it will be lucky to reach Spring, never mind Summer....

[mysterio]

I think the 20% Amber malt is a mistake, that would make something more like a Scottish ale... at least with the Amber malt that I buy, I know others have reported lighter versions. To me it has a heavily toasted flavour like toasted sesame seeds. Just out of place in an IPA.

I would go 100% pale malt, If you want a spot of colour then possibly one or two % of crystal malt.

I think GK IPA use Challenger & First Gold hops. I would reserve most of these for the last 15 - 10 minutes of the boil, and consider dry hopping with some of the FG. For the record, I think GK IPA is a decent pint if kept well, I think the trouble is since it's so ubiquitous, and most pubs dont keep cask beer well (at least up here), add to that people just plain don't like GK as a company - and for good reason - then the overall impression from the homebrewer and beer lover is negative

[subsub]

I'm going for a wee wee I'll make some in the toilet for you (not a fan of greene king)

[NickK]

I think the 20% Amber malt is a mistake, that would make something more like a Scottish ale... at least with the Amber malt that I buy, I know others have reported lighter versions. To me it has a heavily toasted flavour like toasted sesame seeds. Just out of place in an IPA.

I would go 100% pale malt, If you want a spot of colour then possibly one or two % of crystal malt.

I think GK IPA use Challenger & First Gold hops. I would reserve most of these for the last 15 - 10 minutes of the boil, and consider dry hopping with some of the FG.

I was still up in the air about that - perhaps just a MO/GP 50/50 blend as I'd originally thought (before adding the amber - really for colour). I'm getting the impression it's better to use later hopping (and dry hopping) to maintain the hop taste - possibly even running with 80% of the hop IBU in the last 15 minutes. To me freshness of taste is the key in this brew.

I also thought of carapils to add head and a little body but I think this would go against the texture of the beer required to make it taste liquidy which makes it so refreshing in the hot weather.

[haz66]

I made a bitter and put too much Amber in and its totally overpowered most of the other flavours
it tastes like burnt toast and is not a nice drink but i have 35 pints left so gonna have to suck it and see,
if i were to use Amber again (which i doubt i will) i`d only add a very small amount, i prefer to use Cyrstal
to darken the colour as it as a rather nice caramel taste to it, i know it doesn`t darken it like Amber does,
but i do not want another beer that tastes even remotely of burnt toast.

The grain bill i used was
3500g of MO
350g Amber
150g Wheat

So it wasn`t even quite 10% of the grain bill and it`s still way too much,i reckon even if i`d only put half
the amount in it would still have a strong burnt toast flavour.
Mind you saying that my mates dad thought it wasn`t too bad, just maybe too much Amber.

PS the Amber i used was 100 EBC Colour

[dcq1974]

Haz
I had a similar problem with a Xmas brew in that it was like burnt toast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was only using 150 g. Saying that I think I burnt some sugar addition on the boiler element also!!!!

I did a brew last weekend that used 60 g and at this rate it adds a really nice biscuit and toast note to the Wort. Incidently Dave Line used 60 g of roast malt in his original Abbott recipe.

[NickK]

I used 70L Amber in my own recipe brew recently, the result is very interesting and not at all burnt.