Simple pale session english ale

[Chrissyr63]

Hi,

for my next AG I would like to do a simple pale session ale with English hops (and use up some of my open packs) - nice easy drinking chilled pint for the great summer weather coming up.
So am looking at:
23lts to FV - 60 mins mash at 65c, 2x 10 mins sparges, 60 mins boil.
Aiming for 3.8% abv - usually don't get 23lts from my boiler so will liquor back to get OG.

grains
3.615kg MO
0.285kg Biscuit
0.1kg porridge oats (just for head retention as it seems to work in my past brews)

Hops
25g Challenger (8.58%) @ 60 mins for 25 ibu
18g EKG (6.6&) @ 10 mins for 4 ibu
12g Fuggles (5.55%) @ 0 mins 0 ibu

All look OK?

Chris
(might look very bland but I have several other brews coming ready over the next few weeks - Amarillo, Smoked, Rye, black lager, Hoegaarden clone and a raspberry wheat (plus got everything ready to start a Ditch Stout) - so would would like a nice simple ale to fill the 'gap'!)

[DeGarre]

Looks good, not bland at all. Personally I would swap EKG and Fuggles around.

[jmc]

You can't go wrong with Challenger,EKG and Fuggles. Sounds like a cracking pint. You could swap Biscuit with Crystal if you want.

Fullers yeast WLP002 or harvested would help it along.

[6470zzy]

You can't go wrong with Challenger,EKG and Fuggles. Sounds like a cracking pint. You could swap Biscuit with Crystal if you want.

Fullers yeast WLP002 or harvested would help it along.

I also vote for the crystal addition as well as the EKG at flame-out.

Cheers

[subfaction]

I used a similar grain bill with burton ale yeast, cultured from a coniston bluebird bottle, best ale I've made so far...

[Chrissyr63]

Thanks all.

fuggles was chosen as a sub for golding Syrian but might swap so I get to try late ekg.
Biscuit cos I have bit left which I have had a few months and also wanted to keep it pale.
Going to use S04 yeast.

Chris

[Barley Water]

I would vote to keep the biscuit also but then I'm usually trying to dry my beers out. One the other hand, I don't have alot of expereince making beers that small, most of the stuff I make is 1.042-1.055 O.G. ('cause over here we are just used to bigger beers). I made what I guess I would call an English Summer ale which was Marris Otter plus a little biscuit with about a 1.048 O.G. and I was extremely happy with the way it came out. Ended up with a light golden beer with really nice English flavor and nice yeast contribution (I used the scorned Ringwood strain). I'll be making that one again although my next beer will be my all time favorite a London Pride clone.

[YeastWhisperer]

My summer ale is a 1.062 blonde.

OP, the recipe looks good. A couple of months ago, I too would have suggested the Fuggle/EKG flip. However, I am starting to like the way Fuggle and it's American daughter Willamette taste and smell in a bitter. In fact, I am starting to prefer them to EKG, which can get quite grassy.

I'm with BarleyWater with respect to keeping the bisquit. I am rapidly reaching the point where I hate the taste of crystal malt. Beers with more than a percentage or two of crystal malt always seem to develop muddy-tasting dark fruit notes as they age. If I need color, I use a tiny percentage of chocolate or black patent.

[YeastWhisperer]

I used a similar grain bill with burton ale yeast, cultured from a coniston bluebird bottle, best ale I've made so far...

Coniston uses a Burton strain? That's good to know.