Lesser Known and Misunderstood English Beer Styles

Lesser known and Misunderstood English Beer Styles Antony Hayes 1 Why bother? ¾ Popularity has its reasons ¾ Frequent brewing ironed out kinks ¾ We have more control today We don’t innovate; we look in the archives John Keeling, Brewing Director at Fullers 2 English Beer Families Light Ale Bitter India Pale Ale Pale Ale London Brown Ale Mild Newcastle Brown Ale Old Ale Brown Beer Common Porter Stout Porter Russian Imperial Stout Porter Dark Pale Strong Old Ale Vintage Ale Barley Wine Mild Strong Ale 3 Today’s talk Boys Bitter Golden Ale Burton Ale Pale Ale Old Ale Brown Beer Milk Stout Porter 4 Thanks to the brewers Susan Ruud Curtis Stock Vince Rokke Tom Roan & Nancy Bowser Golden Ale Burton Ale Milk Stout Boys Bitter Old Ale 5 Milk stout; who likes milk stout? Big Brew 1999 6 My first love 7 History of sweet stout Mild stout Mackeson patents milk Government bans use stout of “milk” on label 85% of UK’s stouts sweet 1875 1907 1946 1970 Initially Mackeson’s OG was 1.054 (5% abv) Currently 1.045 (3% abv) in England 8 What leads to the thought, “I feel like a milk stout”? 9 Picture my Gran 10 Snowblower beer 11 Brewing Milk Stout ¾ Sweet stout – Traditional milk stout – 25g lactose per litre (0.5 oz per pint) – Pale, wheat and black malt. Mash at 68ºC (155ºF) – Poorly attenuating yeast ¾ Off-dry stout – Less lactose – Some crystal malt to broaden character 12 Moving into Summer English lawnmower beer Boys Bitter 13 What is it? ¾ OG 1.030 - 35 ¾ Straw to amber. Light head. ¾ Lightly hopped. Clean, dry and refreshing. ¾ No flavour components prominent A low alcohol bitter 14 15 Brewing Boys Bitter ¾ Must be refreshing – but not taste “lite” ¾ Characterful pale malt – mash at 68ºC (155ºF) ¾ Touch of crystal ¾ Fuggles/ Goldings ¾ Medium attenuating yeast – clean profile Subtlety and Balance 16 Summer at the Pub England’s answer to continental lager Golden Ale 17 What is it? ¾ OG 1.038 – 53 ¾ Straw to golden. Brilliant clarity. White head. ¾ More hops than malt ¾ Clean aroma and flavour ¾ Drinkability is critical 18 19 This style of beer should have a distinct pale malt character, but it should act as a more-or-less blank canvas onto which the hop character is projected. Sean Franklin & Zak Avery 20 Single Varietal Golden Ale 21 Brewing Golden Ale ¾ Low colour pale malt ¾ Top quality hops ¾ Clean, well attenuating yeast ¾ English ingredients 22 Gone for a Burton 23 What is it? ¾ Sweeter and darker than an India Pale Ale ¾ OG 1.070 to 1.120 ¾ Prolonged cellar treatment 24 Some history ¾ Roots are 1740 to 1820 export trade to Riga, Danzig, St Petersburg and Hamburg. ¾ Nut brown or darker, and sweet. High strength was its selling point ¾ 1824 recipe: 1.140 and 4.5 pounds of hops per barrel. Matured for 18 months. ¾ Bass red diamond had 4 strengths: – 1.110 to 1.070 – weaker versions sold as mild ¾ In London, Old and Burton were synonyms – “Bitter -and- Burton” was termed a “Mother-in-Law” ¾ Fuller’s Old Burton Extra morphed into ESB 25 What is a Burton Ale? “Burton is a strong ale of the pale ale type, but with a proportion of highly dried or slightly roasted malt; it is consequently darker in colour with a fuller flavour than pale ales. Essentially a draught beer, it is usually given a prolonged cellar treatment, in the course of which those special flavours develop which are associated with maturity in beer.” The Brewers Art, 1948 The Burton which, like Sancho’s sleep, ‘wraps one round like a blanket’ Charles Knight, 1851 26 27 Brewing Burton Ale ¾ Lots of pale malt (OG 1.070 to 1.120) ¾ A touch of black malt for colour – target nut brown ¾ Plenty of English bittering hops ¾ Poorly attenuating English yeast ¾ 12 to 18 months maturation ¾ Dry hopped at racking, and stored cool for some weeks 28 What is Old Ale? 29 Old Ale? “Brewed to an original gravity of 1040° -1044° this dark, full bodied beer combines sweetness and strength to produce an exceptionally smooth palate.” 30 Old Ale? “This is a mild ale style beer brewed with East Anglian pale ale and Crystal malted barley and Boadicea hops, dark red brown in colour with an aroma of caramel and nutty chocolate.” 31 Old Ale “Gales Prize Old Ale is a carefully crafted blend of brews, one aged and one fresh, giving the beer a unique flavour and character. The aged beer, brewed in 2008 and matured for over 18 months, is also seeded with a small amount of the last Prize Old Ale to be brewed at the Gales Brewery in Horndean, Hampshire.” 32 Aging and Brettanomyces ¾ Brettanomyces was isolated by Niels Hjelte Claussen in 1903 ¾ Brettanomyces translates as “British fungus” ¾ Brett character was the signature of English stock beers Aging allows Brett character to develop and for the beer’s components to meld 33 Blending “Gales’ method of fermenting the beer in open vessels gave it some intriguing qualities, particularly a fruity tartness. By adding some of the beer brewed at Horndean to each new release we will maintain some of those characteristics, while blending aged beer and the fresher version gives the finished article a more balanced flavour, as the malty sweetness from the fresh beer kicks in.” John Keeling, Brewing Director at Fullers Blend an aged and a fresh beer Find the ratio that works for you 34 Making sense of English strong ales ¾ India Pale Ale ¾ Burton Ale ¾ Old Ale ¾ Russian Imperial Stout ¾ Winter Warmers ¾ Vintage Ale ¾ Barley Wine 35 References ¾ Amber, Gold & Black: The History of Britain's Great Beers, Martyn Cornell ¾ Beer: The Story of the Pint : The History Of Britain's Most Popular Drink, Martyn Cornell 36.

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