I thought I would share the beer I brewed for Christmas Day, as it turned out to be my most accomplished brew so far. As there is usually 15 of us at mums for Christmas day we usually get a cask of ale in from one of the local breweries for the day. This year, I decided to have a go at brewing my own. I was aiming for something similar to Leeds pale ale, easy drinking, but without any over powering features to it that would become too dominant. Thing is, whilst I really enjoy strongly hopped ales, I find that after more than 1 pint of them they can sometimes loose that initial wow factor and become too much on the taste buds. Subtleness, restraint and moderation is what I was looking for.
It was my first time using the pin I purchased from this forum, and also my first time using my angram beer engine. I have never tried cask conditioning my own beer before. It delivered the beer exactly how I wanted it. A creamy lasting head, only slight carbonation and a smooth taste.
The recipe is
88% Golden Promise malt
10% Wheat Malt
2% Carapils
OG 1040 3.9% ABV
For 23 litres
26 grams first Gold @60 mins
100 grams Bobek @ 10 mins
100 grams East Kent Goldings steeped 20 minutes @ 80 degrees
For yeast I used some slurry from an awesome local micro brewery who also were really kind and prepped the cask for me and gave me advice on how to treat it.
I brewed it Friday 13th December, it had fermented out by folllowing Monday evening, it was chilled for a couple of days then racked with finings on Thursday. It was crystal clear and tasted in perfect condition for Christmas day, so a quick turnaround. It was all gone by 9.00pm and everyone loved it.
Overall I would say this was the ideal pint for session beer, delivered in the most perfect fashion
We called it Hunslet Pale as that is where I brewed it in Leeds
(The stella are nothing to do with me!)
