Old Thumper

[monk]

I'm going to try out a recipe for Ringwood's Old Thumper. I picked up some white labs 005 (supposedly the ringwood strain) and have a starter going which I'll split in a couple days. I've been examining the proportions noted in the Real ALe almanac, but I'll have to wing it on hop additions. Anyone have an experience with this brew?

Monk

[steve_flack]

I've heard the ringwood yeast is Captain Diacetyl so I hope you like butterscotch. A big starter and perhaps rousing at the end may help keep it down to manageable levels.

[monk]

Yes, I think you're right about the butterscotch. if memory serves me, it also is quite estery. Perhaps I'll use a full quart of starter. thanks for your advice.

monk

[monk]

I've heard the ringwood yeast is Captain Diacetyl so I hope you like butterscotch. A big starter and perhaps rousing at the end may help keep it down to manageable levels.

No sign of butter scotch in my TTL recipe I use Ringwood yeast in. It's a slow fermenter though and needs rousing regularly.

What method do you use for rousing? I normally just swirl the carboy. Is that sufficient?

Monk

[steve_flack]

Yes, I think you're right about the butterscotch. if memory serves me, it also is quite estery. Perhaps I'll use a full quart of starter. thanks for your advice.

monk

Plenty of aeration might also be a good idea.

[mysterio]

I've never had any of these problems people talk about with WLP005, I think it's an excellent yeast. There's a hint of diacetyl but I think it works nicely.

[BigEd]

monk, I don't think the WL005 is a Ringwood yeast. There are a lot of mysteries about that strain and I have heard many times that it is a special blend of two yeasts. Another rumor I have often heard is that it is a proprietary strain and in the USA it belongs to Alan Pugsley. That said the Old Thumper brewed by Pugsley's Shipyard Brewery in Portland, ME is one of my favorite beers. Wyeast does call their 1187 Yeast Ringwood and if you can I would probably use that rather than the WL005. AFAIK the Shipyard Old Thumper has an OG of 1.058 and is hopped with Challenger, Progress and Goldings. The grist bill is pale malt (probably Crisp), crystal and a bit of chocolate malt.

[BigEd]

Am I missing something or are you mixing up Shipyard 'Old Thumper' with Ringwoods 'Old Thumper' ?

http://www.ringwoodbrewery.co.uk/old_thumper.htm

Since monk is in the US I assumed he was drinking the US produced product. It's actually quite good, Shipyard and Pugsley do a nice job with it.

[BigEd]

Ok, I was assuming that as he was asking about Ringwood yeast and the Ringwood brewery, the source of the yeast strain make their own Old Thumper, that was the one he had in mind

Alan Pugsley's Shipyard Brewery in Maine, USA brews the Old Thumper recipe from the Ringwood Brewery with the Ringwood yeast as formulated by Peter Austin, or at least say they do. It is a damn nice drink especially when served on hand pump. I know Pugsley and Austin were in business together here in the States and sold a bunch of their brewing systems, especially in the Northeast.

http://www.shipyard.com/taste/

[BigEd]

I'm going to try out a recipe for Ringwood's Old Thumper. I picked up some white labs 005 (supposedly the ringwood strain)
Monk

Here's a link with purported sources for various White Labs and Wyeast strains. It also has a nice list for comparison of the two companies' yeasts.

http://www.mrmalty.com/yeast.htm

[monk]

The above link is the one I looked at to find out that it was ringwood. Pugsley worked for Ringwood Uk and brews old thumper in the US under license from Ringwood UK, using Ringwood's yeast. in fact, he brought the yeast with him and has used successive generations of the same sample. So it should be the same yeast strain, and basically the same beer.

Here is a link to an interesting interview with Pugsley: http://www.brew-monkey.com/articles/interview.php?id=11

That should clear up some confusion regarding Shipyard and Ringwood.

Monk

[monk]

Well, I brewed today using this recipe:

180g Crystal Malt 120°L
113g Special Roast
3.2kg Golden Promise

10g Target (Pellets, 11.5 %AA) boiled 90 min.
15g EKG (Pellets 5 AA) boiled 20 min.
30g EKG (Pellets 5 AA) boiled 1 min.

Yeast: WL005 Ringwood w/ starter

I know it's not exactly the same; I substituted GP for Maris Otter and I didn't add any torrified wheat. but I'm hoping it will come out nicely. I made a big starter of the ringwood yeast and it's already going. My only snag was that I had a lot of trouble hitting the right mash temp. I got stuck around 70c and it took about 15 minutes or longer to get it down to a good temp. I hope that doesn't mess it up too much.
Thanks for all your advice, guys.

monk

[monk]

Can I ask where the recipe came from? I fancy a go at this one myself. I had a pint the otherday, it's quite sweet so the initial high mash temperature may not be all bad.

Unfortunately it is completely out of my head. I seem to remember a toffee like flavor, so I assumed darker crystal. As for the Special Roast, it was just to complement the crystal and the hops.

The Real Ale Almanac says:
Maris Otter 90%
Crystal 4%
Torrified Wheat 6%
Challenger and Progress hop pellets for bitterness (32 IBUs)
Goldings as late hop and for aroma
OG 1.058

That oughta get you closer to the real thing. IMO, the yeast is the most essential thing. It seems to derive a lot of the flavor from the yeast.

Good luck,

Monk

[oblivious]

What dose torrified Wheat as apposed to flaked wheat?

[steve_flack]

They're pretty similar both being raw wheat. One is made like popcorn (torrified) and the flakes (I think) are made by wetting the grain and sticking it through rollers.