St Austell's Tribute

[chrisr]

I did have a Tribute Extra at the beer festival. Though probably my palate was a little jaded at that point as it didn't seem to taste any different to Tribute and at the side of the other brews available, it seemed a bit tasteless! It wasn't in any pubs we went in, unfortunately, to give it a proper tasting. I know people say it's a lovely drink, better than Tribute.

Mmm, that's worrying. But how can it be? My bottle was well sterilised and it was sealed and kept in a fridge after I got it. Surely the brewery's yeast should be OK? They are using it every day. You've put me off reusing it, now!

But against that, as I mentioned further up this thread, when I brewed the original, as supplied, Tribute kit, that went off. It smelt and tasted great at the end of fermentation, but after a couple of weeks in the barrel, it had turned vile. That was the first time I'd suffered such a mishap for perhaps two years. Naturally, I cleaned everything involved cold-side with bleach and then steriliser but maybe I missed something... It only takes one little cranny of muck, doesn't it? I'm going to have to be even more thorough before the next brew.

[chrisr]

Just for interest:

How I Created Tribute
http://www.insidebeer.com/articles/20131220_2

Very interesting that all three of (the old) StA's main beers were parti-gyled.

I think he's being a bit harsh on Tinners. (But he's the pro, I suppose!) I liked Tinners; the fact it was thinner and sharper made it a really refreshing drink when hot & thirsty.

[chrisr]

As a postscript to my previous post, I've read that HSD is no longer considered part of the range of 'regular' beers in the StA range. Only going to be available in bottles and as a special/seasonal.

[PeteNMA]

A minor note but hopefully a happy one for some. I just brewed 10 gallons of Tribute-A-Like and tried out some of the new dry yeast offerings from Mangrove Jack, the M07 British Ale and M79 Burton Union varieties. The M79 is a very close match to the St.A yeast profile, so is much easier to lay your hands on (at least on this side of the pond).

Quick recipe rundown (all units US)
14lbs Maris Otter, 4lbs Munich 20L
Mash with 7 gallons at 152f for 1 hour
Sparge 10 gallons
1oz ea Fuggles and Willamette at 90min
1oz ea Willamette and Styrian Goldings at 15min
1oz ea Willamette and Styrian Goldings at 0min
Steep flameout hops for 20 minutes
Cooled to 64F and pitched dry yeast directly to wort
Fermented at 68F

[wsj]

I have never had the pleasure to drink this ale but when my brothers got back from London, this is all they talked about. (We are in northern Europe)
Let me quote my younger brother: "Now I understand, why British go for a pint after every workday" (not the smoothest translation, but you get the point)
I ordered the hops and grains. I have no access to Maris Otter so 2 row Pale Ale and Munich has to suffice.

I have two options for yeast: London 1028 or WLP007.
I was leaning toward WLP007
Please let me know if this is a bad idea.

I am adding Crystal 150 (only 2.4% or 100 g) for the colouring. Estimated colour is 14,5 EBC

Cheers!

PS! Congratulations to the winners of the competition.

[chrisr]

I can tell you the BrewUK kit offers WLP005, English Ale, or 1275, Thames Valley (or Nottingham, if you prefer dry). I don't know whether that was the recommendation of the competition winner, or Roger Ryman.

The actual StA yeast is quite attenuative (sometimes, unbelievably so!).

But I would go with the 1028, even though it is less attenuative (or quoted as such, anyway) than the WLP007. Two reasons: 1/ the little bit of sweetness Tribute has really makes it for me, 2/ I've used WLP007 and it turned out really dry - rather spoiled that beer for me. Just my personal opinion.

I believe weiht (another regular contributor to this thread) has been using 1028 with some success.

No matter which you choose, you can always try the other next time and see which you prefer!

[wsj]

I used 1028 and got almost everything right except the OG 1046 so it will be a bit stronger: Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4,5 %. No big deal really.
I also got a bit more worth then I can fit in to may boiling kettle. I boiled 3 L in a separate pot and added it back before hops went in. Only 2 litres was left in a small pot - we will see how that plays out.

[Thfax]

Hi is there a link to the final tribute recipe? Also is any extra sugar required during the mashing?

Thanks

[chrisr]

I think everyone who has been trying to do this has got their own version now! And the late hopping requirements means everyone has to adjust how they do it to fit their brewing kit.

Anyhow, my last brew was:

Pale malt 82% (StA use Simpsons, if you can get it)
Munich malt 18% (I prefer the Weyerman, Munich I, to the UK Munichs)
I don't think there's much dispute on the malts to use. There's NO sugar involved.

Mash at 65C. I use water with SO4 about 250ppm, Cl about 125ppm.

It's the hopping that's the tricky part. Based largely on what Rich Locke says, and I've been doing doing this:
22IBU Fuggles at 60 mins
4IBU Fuggles at 15 mins
At flameout, add into the boiler (or run off the wort into your mash tun and use that) about 40g Styrian Goldings/Celeia. Let that steep for 30 mins or so, and keep it hot. Then whirlpool it and start running off the wort though a hopback and plate chiller into the fermenting container. The hopback has about 40g Styrian Goldings/Celeia plus 35g Willamette. These weights for hops of between 5-6% AAU.

OG 1045

Add oxygen and yeast and let the fermentation warm itself up to about 18C and keep it there for the first 48 hours. Then let it go up to 20C until finished. I up it to 22C for the last 48 hours. Then chill, rack off etc.

I hope that helps. Enjoy.