John Smiths

[thepatchworkdoll]

Hey Guys do any of you have a clone recipe for John Smiths. Any offers really appreciated.
Regards
Patch

 

[calumscott]

1 pint fizzy water, stir until mostly flat, add 1/4 tsp marmite, 1/4 tsp sugar and you should be close...

 

[desmosteve]

1 pint fizzy water, stir until mostly flat, add 1/4 tsp marmite, 1/4 tsp sugar and you should be close...

ROFL!!

 

[NickW]

1 pint fizzy water, stir until mostly flat, add 1/4 tsp marmite, 1/4 tsp sugar and you should be close...

:lol: :lol:

I don't think you'll get a straight answer with that question on this forum patchworkdoll.... sorry :nah:

 

[JonnyD]

in no way do I condone drinking this tripe but a quick internet search through up this:


JOHN SMITHS MAGNET BITTER The Brewery Tadcaster

25 litre batch OG 1040 ABV 4% 37 units of colour 32.5 EBU

PALE MALT 3250 gms
BLACK MALT 41 gms
SUGAR 580 gms Added to Boiler (As for the sugar, I'd use demerara)

HOPS Boil time 90 minutes

TARGET 31 gms

Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire Ale or White Labs WLP037 Yorkshire Square

 

[anthonyUK]

Just get the cheapest nastiest kit you can and brew it as bad as you can and you'll be somewhere close but still better than the original :sick:

 

[MyQul]

Is it me or do I get the impression people on this forum aren't that keen on John Smiths? :whistle:

 

[morethanworts]

I'm sure I've mentioned this before on this forum but I was once in a queue for the bar with an australian guy, and when it came to order there was either john smith's or fosters. I asked him what he would like and he said john smiths: I don't drink fosters because I am australian. to which I said I will have the fosters I'm british I don't drink john smith's!

Take your pick!

 

[bobsbeer]

Are we getting a tad snobbish on here? The OP asked for a recipe for a clone of John Smiths. Not whether it is a good or bad beer to make. But as the OP is wanting to make it, (I'm assuming he wants to make it, or why would he ask :hmm: ) Perhaps more than one poster offering a recipe might be a little more helpful? A few more comments on how to alter and make a decent beer might be helpful? Anyway rant over. I have found a recipe for you.

Dave Line suggests:

John Smith's Yorkshire Bitter - 25lt OG 1.037
Pale Malt 1500g
Wheat Malt 60g
10 lt water for bitter (? Not sure about this, but that's how it's listed
DMS Malt extract 1000g
Bramling Cross hops 30g
Golding Hops 45 + 10g
Soft Dark brown sugar 450 g

Mash at 66c for 90 mins
Sparge to collect 15lt
Boil with the Bramlings and first Goldings for 90 mins
Add the sugar and the extract during the boil
Switch off and add second hops and allow to sit for 15 mins
Strain into FV and allow to cool and top up to final volume.

Dave also suggests adding 15g of gelatine when you rack into secondary.
No specific yeast is suggested other than Brewers yeast.
(This recipe is in his Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy dated 1978)

I haven't made this, so can't comment on how close it is to the present day commercial version. But don't be surprised if it tastes better than the present day version. So if commercial authenticity is what your after, you may want to drop the hops a bit, and decrease the extract and add more sugar. Oooops :lol:

 

[MattN]

Are we getting a tad snobbish on here? The OP asked for a recipe for a clone of John Smiths. Not whether it is a good or bad beer to make. But as the OP is wanting to make it, (I'm assuming he wants to make it, or why would he ask :hmm: ) Perhaps more than one poster offering a recipe might be a little more helpful? A few more comments on how to alter and make a decent beer might be helpful? Anyway rant over. I have found a recipe for you.

Dave Line suggests:

John Smith's Yorkshire Bitter - 25lt OG 1.037
Pale Malt 1500g
Wheat Malt 60g
10 lt water for bitter (? Not sure about this, but that's how it's listed
DMS Malt extract 1000g
Bramling Cross hops 30g
Golding Hops 45 + 10g
Soft Dark brown sugar 450 g

Mash at 66c for 90 mins
Sparge to collect 15lt
Boil with the Bramlings and first Goldings for 90 mins
Add the sugar and the extract during the boil
Switch off and add second hops and allow to sit for 15 mins
Strain into FV and allow to cool and top up to final volume.

Dave also suggests adding 15g of gelatine when you rack into secondary.
No specific yeast is suggested other than Brewers yeast.
(This recipe is in his Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy dated 1978)

I haven't made this, so can't comment on how close it is to the present day commercial version. But don't be surprised if it tastes better than the present day version. So if commercial authenticity is what your after, you may want to drop the hops a bit, and decrease the extract and add more sugar. Oooops :lol:

I agree, it can be quiet daunting for somebody joining a forum an they should be welcomed.

Matt

 

[jonnymorris]

...if commercial authenticity is what your after, you may want to drop the hops a bit, and decrease the extract and add more sugar.

No specific yeast is recommended.... says it all.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[morethanworts]

Are we getting a tad snobbish on here? The OP asked for a recipe for a clone of John Smiths. Not whether it is a good or bad beer to make. But as the OP is wanting to make it, (I'm assuming he wants to make it, or why would he ask :hmm: ) Perhaps more than one poster offering a recipe might be a little more helpful? A few more comments on how to alter and make a decent beer might be helpful?

OK, to be a bit more helpful to the OP (who doesn't state his/her experience or setup)...

I have been making kits, extracts and now all grain brews on and off since the mid-90s. It is only recently that I feel, primarily with the help of this brilliant forum and with some modern products, that my processes and set up are anywhere near good enough to hope to 'clone' a particular brew with reasonable accuracy. That's not to say it would take you as long, because the information and products available should mean you could save a lot of the time that I spent trying things out. I've learnt more in the last 10 months or so on here than the other years put together, since a break from the hobby.

By all means have a go at one of the clone recipes, but keep fairly low expectations of the similarity to John Smith's - The pessimist is rarely disappointed! I have the Dave Line book, but out of the two above, I'd definitely go for the one JonnyD quotes, naming as it does a specific yeast, widely available. The use of a modicum of black malt mainly just to colour, with a chunk of sugar to thin things out a bit and the absence of any late hop additions looks like a good shot at the desired brew. No wheat malt/torrefied wheat, though? I'd suggest sticking a couple of hundred grammes of one of those in there for head retention: I'm sure draught JS must have some.

That recipe via JonnyD is at least nice and simple and should be suitably bereft of any hop aroma. Assuming good sanitation, temperature control and basic methodology, I still reckon it will surpass the original, however close to target, sadly. Sorry.

 

[anthonyUK]

I think there could be a legitimate reason for wanting to replicate this if only to show how bad the original is but without further detail from the OP we won't know.
The OP has remained rather quiet so for all we know it could of been an attempt at trolling as the contempt for JS is well known here.

There is nothing snobby at deriding JS as a beer as it is a poor product so if you are starting out, is there any point in shooting so low?

 

[Dunfie]

The other thing to consider when aiming for John Smiths is whether it is the Smooth Flow effect that you are really after. I once spoke to a novice brewer and his ambition was to make John Smiths Smooth Flow but had been getting disappointing results. He was dispensing via a budget plastic keg so was either getting beer without the condition he was looking for or a glass full of foam. Over all not what he was after.

If you are looking for this effect then you should do some research for nitrogen/co2 mixed gas setups and dispense via Cornelius kegs. There is plenty of info in the forum to help you there and if you do then you will be able to do a really good Guinness too.

If you do nail a John Smiths clone and master the mixed gas setup then I'm sure if you invited a few friends over and poured them a pint that they will be mighty impressed.

 

[Jeltz]

To be fair JS sells well so many people do like it. I have drunk many pints of it in my lifetime, but then my appreciation for good bitter has grown especially since I started brewing. I think that its no worse than many of the mass produced beers that are on tap.

Looking at the couple of recipes posted here I see no reason why they should produce a bad beer.

 

[thepatchworkdoll]

Thanks Guys for all the comments. its pretty obvious not very many like John Smiths here. I have only joined the forum 2 weeks ago but have been brewing for over forty years albeit not brewed beer for over five years. I have just finished building a HERMS system and am looking forward to running it. I do not frequent pubs very often and prefer to drink at home with friends. I have to admit I am partial to tinned John Smiths hence the reason for the original request. I will look around the forum for a better recipe. thanks again for all your comments.
Regards
Patch

 

[morethanworts]

Thanks Guys for all the comments. its pretty obvious not very many like John Smiths here. I have only joined the forum 2 weeks ago but have been brewing for over forty years albeit not brewed beer for over five years. I have just finished building a HERMS system and am looking forward to running it. I do not frequent pubs very often and prefer to drink at home with friends. I have to admit I am partial to tinned John Smiths hence the reason for the original request. I will look around the forum for a better recipe. thanks again for all your comments.
Regards
Patch

That's a great response, given the ribbing! If you like it, you like it. Enjoy the HERMS system.

I quite like San Miguel - it's OK, as it goes... There, I've said it.

 

[StevieDS]

When compared to the majority of big commercial, mass produced beers I don't think JS is too bad. Certainly better than Harp :sick:

 

[Jeltz]

I quite like San Miguel - it's OK, as it goes... There, I've said it.

Reported!!!

:rofl:

 

[calumscott]

Thanks Guys for all the comments. its pretty obvious not very many like John Smiths here. I have only joined the forum 2 weeks ago but have been brewing for over forty years albeit not brewed beer for over five years. I have just finished building a HERMS system and am looking forward to running it. I do not frequent pubs very often and prefer to drink at home with friends. I have to admit I am partial to tinned John Smiths hence the reason for the original request. I will look around the forum for a better recipe. thanks again for all your comments.
Regards
Patch

:hat: Apologies for the first response. I assumed it was a wind-up...