Abbot Ale

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alexlark
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Abbot Ale

Post by alexlark » Sat Mar 05, 2016 9:29 am

Couldn't decide what to brew today and this has been on my 'to do' list for ages!

Brew day went really well! Hit all my numbers and the wort smelt lovely. Looking forward to this one!

I'll report back when I have a sample on kegging day :mrgreen:

Water treated with half a campden tablet.

Added:
Calcium sulphate
Calcium chloride

Water profile: General Purpose


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Last edited by alexlark on Sat Mar 05, 2016 1:59 pm, edited 5 times in total.

BenB

Re: Abbott Ale

Post by BenB » Sat Mar 05, 2016 12:29 pm

A home brew version would probably be very nice- I find the proper version sold in our local a bit generic and one dimensional- does anyone know if the draught version is pasteurised or real ale? It feels filtered and subdued.

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Hanglow
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Re: Abbott Ale

Post by Hanglow » Sat Mar 05, 2016 1:37 pm

I imagine all the big beers from the likes of GK are at least very well filtered then re-seeded with yeast in cask so they can still call it real ale. I know marstons do that for their fast cask

Abbott was supposed to have been a great beer a few decades ago, I'd have loved to have tried that one

Looking forward to the recipe, it's still one of my dads favourite beers so I might try a batch down the line

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Dennis King
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Re: Abbott Ale

Post by Dennis King » Sat Mar 05, 2016 1:45 pm

Hanglow wrote:Abbott was supposed to have been a great beer a few decades ago, I'd have loved to have tried that one
It was the best beer I have ever drank, it was a standard regional brewery in those days before they tried for world domination. The gravity was higher then as well.

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alexlark
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Re: Abbot Ale

Post by alexlark » Sat Mar 05, 2016 1:54 pm

It's a brew that I don't really find offensive. I'd put it somewhere between a session beer and a big beer. As I've been brewing quite a few 6%-ish APAs recently I fancied something a bit weaker, but not too weak. I'll prob have it on tap in May.

Soay4699
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Re: Abbot Ale

Post by Soay4699 » Sun Mar 06, 2016 11:20 am

I brewed this recipe last July and if you don't mind me quoting myself "Truly like a good Abbott". I am sure you will be well pleased with yours too.

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alexlark
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Re: Abbot Ale

Post by alexlark » Sun Mar 06, 2016 12:00 pm

Cheers. It's gone off like a rocket, fermenting well.

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Dennis King
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Re: Abbot Ale

Post by Dennis King » Sun Mar 06, 2016 3:41 pm

As someone how has brewed quite a few Abbot clones over the years in pursuit of something approaching that original Nectar I might give this one a try. Might up the gravity a bit and will change the yeast as I dislike SO-4 with vengeance.

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alexlark
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Re: Abbot Ale

Post by alexlark » Sun Mar 06, 2016 10:17 pm

I'm yet to delve into the world of weird and wonderful yeast strains. I've been lazy but had great results with S-04 and US-05 for pales.

Look forward to seeing how yours turns out.

Dr. Dextrin

Re: Abbot Ale

Post by Dr. Dextrin » Mon Mar 07, 2016 1:28 pm

I, too, have for ages been trying to reproduce Abbot as it was back in the 1970's. I still remember it being the best pint I've ever had. Not so long ago, I got a chance to chat for quite a while with the GK head brewer (who I believe was shortly to leave GK). Amongst many things, we discussed Abbot and why it had changed over the years. He only had first-hand knowledge of the more recent versions, but knew a bit about its history. Some things I learned were:

1) Many people claim the beer used to be stronger, but it wasn't. It's always been 5.0% ABV (this is my recollection too).

2) The recipe hasn't changed over the years, but the "process" has (it seems that hops and maybe yeast are part of the "process").

3) The colour in Abbot comes almost entirely from amber malt and it contains "maybe 20%" amber malt (I haven't done the calculations yet, but I think that implies no crystal malt and an EBC value of around 60 for the amber malt). This is one of the aspects that hasn't changed.

4) The hops "change all the time" depending on what is available. I pointed out that currently First Gold is quite a feature of the beer but that it wouldn't have been available when the beer started out. He agreed and thought that perhaps WGV would have been the "go to" hop in earlier years.

I haven't had time yet to try these ideas out, but thought that Abbot afficionados might be interested.

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Dennis King
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Re: Abbot Ale

Post by Dennis King » Mon Mar 07, 2016 2:42 pm

When we noticed a change in the 80s the GK rep told the landlord where I drank they had a problem with the yeast strain. How true that is I don't know.

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alexlark
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Re: Abbot Ale

Post by alexlark » Thu Mar 17, 2016 6:48 pm

Slightly tweaked the recipe and just dry hopped with 10g of Bobek Styrian Golding. Smells great in the FV.

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Kyle_T
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Re: Abbot Ale

Post by Kyle_T » Thu Mar 17, 2016 7:06 pm

I am still not convinced by the "recipe hasn't changed" twaddle they still sling about.
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Dennis King
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Re: Abbot Ale

Post by Dennis King » Thu Mar 17, 2016 10:02 pm

Kyle_T wrote:I am still not convinced by the "recipe hasn't changed" twaddle they still sling about.
Nor me. I used to drink Abbot at least 4-5 nights a week from around 1974 to the start of the 80s and even through the 80s most weekends. I know taste buds get knackered over the years but it is defiantly not the same.

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alexlark
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Re: Abbot Ale

Post by alexlark » Fri Mar 25, 2016 6:40 pm

Got this transferred to a jerry can this afternoon and had a taste. Pretty close to the current Abbot Ale. Not overly fruity but quite neutral. Quite pleased with it to be honest. FG was 1.014 so a little weaker than planned but has plenty of body. I think my mash temp was a bit higher than 66c but suits the beer.

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