STRANGE

[GARYSMIFF]

Evening, I thought i'd do a but of research.

I like old Specked Hen and the Ruddles Country cant remember if I like abbot Ale,

I noticed when I put the OSH and the RC in my baske they have the same colour, so decide to see if any others where avaliable and the Abbot is a dead ringer.

so they are all the same colour (see pic)

My research was to understand if i could decide between the OSH and the RC what I liked about them and put that into a brew, as you can see from my posts in the past I do not follow others recipes, but will use internet and Wheelers book to see what I am tasting and move it on to my tastes.

Wish me luck.

If all elese fails its sure to be fun.

[Dennis King]

Common link here, all 3 brewed by Green King

[GARYSMIFF]

Yes but I would have expected a slight dif in colour not just % and Hop aroma / tastes.

All very samy if thats a word.

So far

OSH sweeter than the other 2

Ruddles has more hop bite

and the Abbot at the moment is winning in my book but guess

All brewed as one stock beer then Sugar (OSG) or hops(RC) are added but when could not say.


Not sure if its me but I get a Mushroom like flavor from them all but mostly in the Abbot any Ideas what that is? ( have stopped smoking for over a year now so not that)

Also going off of the Harsh hop of the Ruddles, dont remember Bramlin X being so rough, I love BX.

That said not wishing to blow my own trumpet, but I may not be able to shine the beer to the same standard but have brewed better, I am now felling non-plus about the Greene kings 3 beers here, but will finish them.
Time to get one of my last few Bottled beers out.

I now feel like I'm all gassed up, my ale with the Bramling X in it has a wonderfull sweet smelling soft wine like aroma not harsh like the RC.


and the winner is with only a 1/4 of each to go is:

The Hen, started to pick up on the same harsh Hop in the Abbot, I guess my sweet tooth helped with picking the Hen.



the research was no fun as I now feel like i'm going to pop.

A pic of the sky this evening just for the hell of it.

[Dr. Dextrin]

The colour match is interesting but I doubt the beers are all brewed the same. More likely the marketing dept. has decided that's the ideal colour to sell to Tescos. They do that sort of thing, marketing depts. Usually no research involved, they just feel it in their water - more of a fashion thing.

Personally, I've never liked OSH, but love the other two and would really like to get something like those tastes in my own beer. The flavour of Abbot has always puzzled me. Very distinctive, although it has changed over the years. They claim it uses amber malt, which may be part of it. However, I had a couple of pints of it in a pub recently that I think had barely stopped fermenting. It was way too sweet and still cloudy (gave me evil farts for days) BUT the malt flavour was amazing. Like drinking concentrated ovaltine with toffees dissolved in it (not the dark toffees, the light creamy ones). Suddenly I understood how the beer works - balance that flavour with the hops, lessen the sweetness, and you have Abbot.

So now I'm wondering how to get that malt flavour. Nothing I've brewed to date has that. I'm going to experiment with amber malt, but somehow I don't think that's the whole story.

[GARYSMIFF]

Dr , I expect that you have never put all 3 together in the same place. I feel cheated, honest it's like hop essence has been added to the Ruddles and sugar to the OSH, I'm sure it's not but it is almost like getting a base white paint and adding pigments when you taste them side by side.
If you do decide to test all 3 get a 2nd or 3rd person to help, feel a bit full now.

[Dr. Dextrin]

Well, I'd never have said these beers were very similar in the past, but I'm prepared to believe you might be right now they're all brewed by GK - especially given that commercial beer quality seems to be going down of late. Of course, if you bought (say) three Marston's ales, you'd certainly detect a house style, but given the beers you're tasting have separate histories you'd hope they might remain a bit distinct. I'll keep my eye open for a tasting opportunity but probably won't be forking out for three bottles unless they're on special offer.

Not too troubled by the carbonation BTW - can't say I've ever had any bother dealing with three bottles on the trot. Depends what you're used to, I suppose.

[Eadweard]

I wouldn't be surprised if they're 'condiment brewed': make a unhopped barley wine strength brew, water it to the desired strength and add hop extracts (and colour if you wanted to) to taste. This way you can make lots of different beers from one 'core' brew. Lovely.

[GARYSMIFF]

Might have been the large pasta meal and super stress of my day.
Starting to ease off now, but for the record, drank 25 pints at Murphys in cork a few times now its the only bar I know that dont have a till...

Must be the stress and pasta 1.5ltrs Ha, that's a Friday Lunch time.


'condiment brewed' ooooh thats what its called, would love someone from GK to advise.

[Dr. Dextrin]

I wouldn't be surprised if they're 'condiment brewed': make a unhopped barley wine strength brew, water it to the desired strength and add hop extracts (and colour if you wanted to) to taste. This way you can make lots of different beers from one 'core' brew. Lovely.

I believe that's how most restaurant curries are made. Doesn't seem to bother most people. The shame is if they've ruined what used to be good and distinctive beers.