Dave Line & Lost Beers

Try some of these great recipes out, or share your favourite brew with other forumees!
The Epworth Brewer
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Dave Line & Lost Beers

Post by The Epworth Brewer » Wed Jul 01, 2020 10:54 pm

Next January, as well as turning 70, it will be 40 years since I first started doing AG using Dave's BBLTYB book. Yes, his recipes and methods are a bit primitive now but back then they were a revelation.
I am going to do some of the old recipes again, including a dabble with some of those from the notorious 'keg' era. I would be interested to know if anyone old enough to remember some of the defunct ales in the book still try and brew them, obviously adjusting the recipes to modern techniques?

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Re: Dave Line & Lost Beers

Post by IPA » Thu Jul 02, 2020 6:40 am

I have brewed several of Dave's beers in the last couple of years. I entered the recipes into Graham's Beer Engine and adjusted them as necessary. They all produced reasonable beer.
"You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on." Dean Martin

1. Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming... "f*ck, what a trip

It's better to lose time with friends than to lose friends with time (Portuguese proverb)

Alone we travel faster
Together we travel further
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Re: Dave Line & Lost Beers

Post by a-slayer » Thu Jul 02, 2020 8:38 am

I started brewing AG after reading Dave Lines book, first brew was a clone of London Pride. Thie difference from tweaking kits and malt extract brews was amazing, first proper beer I ever made. That was 25 years ago and have made nearly a couple of hundred brews now... thanks to Dave.

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Re: Dave Line & Lost Beers

Post by Dennis King » Thu Jul 02, 2020 11:20 am

After a couple of years following the recipes of Ken Shales and CJ Berry I bought this book around 1980 and it was a life changing moment as it made me realise I could not only make good beer I could make great beer. Stand out ones from memory London pride, Abbot ale, Sam Smiths, Bass plus several others. Big disappointment was Ind coope draught Burton one of my favorite beers that tasted nothing like the original.

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Re: Dave Line & Lost Beers

Post by The Epworth Brewer » Thu Jul 02, 2020 12:07 pm

The Draught Bass was particularly good as it was the original Bass taste, not the crap that Marston's brew. I am still using Beer Engine to calculate the hops. I feed in the quantities in the original recipe, which gives way too many IBU's, read the percentages that BE shows and then scale the hops back until I get the same percentages but with what I guestimate the IBU's would have been. Being from Lincolnshire the regional brews in the book that I supped in pubs include Websters Pennine Bitter, Theakston's, John Smith's Yorkshire Bitter (keg version) and the most popular one of all round here Barnsley Bitter.

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Re: Dave Line & Lost Beers

Post by a-slayer » Thu Jul 02, 2020 3:14 pm

Looks like Dave Lines was a starting influence for many of us "older" brewers who following his recipes found we could make beer we could be proud of and enjoy.

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Re: Dave Line & Lost Beers

Post by john luc » Fri Jul 03, 2020 8:33 am

I have Dave Lines book too from waaay back then,also have a great old book, "All about Beer and home Brewing" by Bob Pritchard. A bible for me before someone invented the tinternet. https://www.ebay.com/itm/All-About-Beer ... 971468771I I think it was reissued but this is the old version. Love his approach to water treatment,in the chapter about water treatment he finishes with, "when I have nothing to hand for water treatment i have often tipped all of a 4 oz tin of Andrews liver salts in to my brew. It contains citric acid and magnesium sulphate and the inner cleanliness aspect of the salts are adequately lost in 5 gallons."
Ye don't get advice like that anymore. :)
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Re: Dave Line & Lost Beers

Post by Mike-T » Sat Jul 04, 2020 6:03 am

I had Dave Lines book and still have his “Big book of Brewing.” Unfortunately, after moving house (and countries) a few times I appear to have misplaced my “Brewing beers like those you buy” copy.

I too remember Some of the recipes being better than others. London Pride, Draught Bass, Marstons Pedigree we’re particularly good. I seem to remember an Adnams recipe and a Wadworths 6X recipe also being really good. I brewed all these in a “Bruheat” several times back in the early 80’s.

It would be great if any owners of this book could share the odd recipe on this thread to try again for old times sake. Surely with today’s yeasts and other technologies that are available, these recipes should come out even better

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Re: Dave Line & Lost Beers

Post by IPA » Sat Jul 04, 2020 6:18 am

You,of course,buy another copy of the book.
"You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on." Dean Martin

1. Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming... "f*ck, what a trip

It's better to lose time with friends than to lose friends with time (Portuguese proverb)

Alone we travel faster
Together we travel further
( In an admonishing email from our golf club)

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Re: Dave Line & Lost Beers

Post by Marshbrewer » Sat Jul 04, 2020 11:18 am

I recently picked my copy up from an Amazon second hand book seller for pennies. I think the postage was the bulk of the cost and even then we were looking at less than £3, so there are copies out there if you fancy one!

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Re: Dave Line & Lost Beers

Post by Marshbrewer » Sat Jul 04, 2020 11:19 am

The Epworth Brewer wrote:
Thu Jul 02, 2020 12:07 pm
The Draught Bass was particularly good as it was the original Bass taste, not the crap that Marston's brew. I am still using Beer Engine to calculate the hops. I feed in the quantities in the original recipe, which gives way too many IBU's, read the percentages that BE shows and then scale the hops back until I get the same percentages but with what I guestimate the IBU's would have been. Being from Lincolnshire the regional brews in the book that I supped in pubs include Websters Pennine Bitter, Theakston's, John Smith's Yorkshire Bitter (keg version) and the most popular one of all round here Barnsley Bitter.
Wot, no Bateman's! Scandalous. :D

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Re: Dave Line & Lost Beers

Post by john luc » Sat Jul 04, 2020 2:56 pm

Thing was about Dave Lines book was that you could not buy the ingredients listed. I recall he said to use Bullian hops for Guinness and as for Amber malt.... :shock:
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Re: Dave Line & Lost Beers

Post by Mike-T » Sat Jul 04, 2020 4:02 pm

A bit more difficult to find here in little old Perth, Australia ..... but I’ll have a look 😊

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Re: Dave Line & Lost Beers

Post by The Epworth Brewer » Thu Jul 23, 2020 5:02 pm

JJSH wrote:
Sat Jul 04, 2020 11:19 am
The Epworth Brewer wrote:
Thu Jul 02, 2020 12:07 pm
The Draught Bass was particularly good as it was the original Bass taste, not the crap that Marston's brew. I am still using Beer Engine to calculate the hops. I feed in the quantities in the original recipe, which gives way too many IBU's, read the percentages that BE shows and then scale the hops back until I get the same percentages but with what I guestimate the IBU's would have been. Being from Lincolnshire the regional brews in the book that I supped in pubs include Websters Pennine Bitter, Theakston's, John Smith's Yorkshire Bitter (keg version) and the most popular one of all round here Barnsley Bitter.
Wot, no Bateman's! Scandalous. :D
I know, but I have to admit I could count on one hand the pints of Bateman's I've had in pubs, and I wouldn't need all my fingers to count the decent ones I've supped. Maybe I've just been unlucky.

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Re: Dave Line & Lost Beers

Post by Old Bloater » Sat May 15, 2021 11:06 pm

I've come to this thread quite late but yes, I still occasionally brew Gales HSB and his Guinness recipe has been the core of my stout recipes for the last 43 years (originally with the yeast harvested from the bottle conditioned variety). I originally bought the book back in 1978 and it was my go to recipe source for many years, probably until the interweb. The Big Book of Brewing was a great source of technical info in those days also.

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