X Ale 2009-01-10

[Invalid Stout]

This is inspired by the cheaply brewed mild ale that used to be the staple in British pubs in the first half of the twentieth century. It's supposed to be light and low-gravity so I can grab one and chug it when I come home from work.

10 litre recipe, as I boil on the stove...

steep 150g crystal malt at 70C 30 mins
750g pale DME
180g golden syrup
30g Bramling Cross 5.1% 70min (apparently this gives about 49 IBU which is a good bit more than they would have had back in the day)
10g Bramling Cross 0 min (but I guess in the old days they would only have had one hop addition)

I ended up with 1036, which is more than I expected to get!

It's not as dark as I expected; clearly I should have used a bit more crystal for colour.

[Invalid Stout]

Oh, I nipped out while this was cooling down and when I came back I noticed a cabbagey-hoppy aroma in my flat. That's good isn't it? It means the DMS is in the air, not in my beer!

[Invalid Stout]

This is down to 1012 already!

[roger the dog]

Nice one IS, looks like you'll be drinking this one in no time

[Invalid Stout]

It's bottled now ... but I'm not sure I like it. Too much sugar ... I don't know what I was thinking of, trying to replicate the kind of cheap and nasty ale that when I was 18 made me think I didn't like beer!

[boingy]

Heheh. I did wonder why you were brewing something so, erm, "non-special". It's a bit like deciding to build a kit car and choosing an Austin Allegro replica.

Anyways, give it some time to rest. It may improve or you may become more used to the taste!

[Invalid Stout]

That's the advantage of small batches -- if it's rank, I don't have to pour so much away!

I didn't expect the taste created by the golden syrup to be quite so spot on. It's eerily reminiscent of Tartan Special or Whitbread bottled light ale.