Old Speckled Hen "copying" it......

[Lehmann]

HI

I really like the Old Speckled Hen taste, would be possible to incorporate it into the Stout brew?

TIA

Lehmann

 

[MmmBeer]

I have tried brewing Graham Wheeler's recipe for OSH a couple of times, but without any real success. When I drink OSH, I always get a sort of honeycomb or cunchie bar flavour that was lacking in my version. I know that GW's recipes are simplified versions of the original beers, so where that recipe includes 12% white sugar, I always wondered whether candy sugar or even golden syrup would give a more authentic flavour.

 

[Fireside Ales Homebrewery]

I have tried brewing Graham Wheeler's recipe for OSH a couple of times, but without any real success. When I drink OSH, I always get a sort of honeycomb or cunchie bar flavour that was lacking in my version. I know that GW's recipes are simplified versions of the original beers, so where that recipe includes 12% white sugar, I always wondered whether candy sugar or even golden syrup would give a more authentic flavour.

I agree, I get honeycomb flavours from OSH.
I have tried using Golden Syrup, as I have come across a few recipes that call for it. I am still not getting a good clone of Hen though.
It’s one of my favourite commercial brews so it would be a nice one to replicate.

 

[An Ankoù]

I see that GW's recipe calls for Pipkin malt. I haven't seen that around for ages and it may very well have something to do with the flavour. I think the choice of yeast is probably critical, too. In the meantime, you might try adding a small percentage of Chevallier to the grist as that tends to leave a sweetish richness. I understand Plumage Archer leaves a sweetish flavour- but that's not necessarily the same as honeycomb. A small addition of honey malt might do the trick- Gambrinus would be the one.
I didn't mind it at all as a commercial, canned beer, but I can't get hold of here unless a visitor buys a case on the ferry on the way over. Whether those ferries will ever sail again is anyone's guess.

Edit: correction above.... the choice OF YEAST is probably critical.....

 

[trueblue]

I see that GW's recipe calls for Pipkin malt. I haven't seen that around for ages and it may very well have something to do with the flavour. I think the choice of yeast is probably critical, too. In the meantime, you might try adding a small percentage of Chevallier to the grist as that tends to leave a sweetish richness. I understand Plumage Archer leaves a sweetish flavour- but that's not necessarily the same as honeycomb. A small addition of honey malt might do the trick- Gambrinus would be the one.
I didn't mind it at all as a commercial, canned beer, but I can't get hold of here unless a visitor buys a case on the ferry on the way over. Whether those ferries will ever sail again is anyone's guess.

Edit: correction above.... the choice OF YEAST is probably critical.....

100 % right the yeast is critical. Although now brewed by Green King they still use the original Morland yeast. I think the closest yeast available to us would be Wyeast 1275 Thames Valley, which is one of my favorite yeasts, or maybe Brewlabs can match the original.

 

[Fireside Ales Homebrewery]

I think the closest yeast available to us would be Wyeast 1275

I’ll give this a go next time.

 

[An Ankoù]

I’ll give this a go next time.

I'll give it a go first time.
I recall noting in my notes, somewhere that after drinking a can of OSP, I had a homebrew and couldn't taste the difference. I'm going to see if I can find it.

EDIT:
I've found it- doesn't time fly? I thought this was last spring and it turns out that my notes were made in August, 2019.
Let me say that I had absolutely NO intention of making OSH and that any similarity to Wheeler and Protz recipe is entirely coincidental. In fact it was the first time I had got my hands on honey malt and the beer is called "Gambrinus Honey Test"
Recipe is in old money. Uses a mixture of imperial gallons and pounds and ounces and the hops are weighed in grams.
2½ gallon batch : OG 1048 : BU 38
Treat water for chlorine and chloramine (very soft water) add a quarter tsp. CaCl2 and 1 tsp CaSO4
4 lb 6 oz Minch malt
10 oz Gambrinus Honey malt
Bittering hops: 13g Challenger @12.2% alpha acid (This is a cock up as I had meant to add 18g and misread my figures)
Flavour hops: 7g EKGs last 10 mins + a quarter tablet of Protofloc
Hopsteep 15 mins 7g EKGs when wort temperature <80C
Pitched with 3rd or 4th generation Wyeast 1469.
I didn't record mash duration or temperature. It was possibly overnight FG 1007 5.4% abv
Boil would have been 70 minutes.
Bottled 11 June 2019
Notes:
13/7/19: Not a bad beer. The honey notes are apparent, but not overpowering.
7/8/19: Just had a can of Old Speckled Hen with (name) and followed it with this. Tastes just like what the Hen should have tasted like. Very nice. (I'm not sure what I meant by "should have tasted like")
28/8/19: It's a lovely beer. It needs to be a bit bitterer though, and dry hop with EKGs too (remember I'm not trying to clone OSH). The 13g above should have been 18. (in fact it should have been 17.7)
30/10/19: This beer is absolutely gorgeous, both on the nose and in the old gob. Yes, it could be a little more bitter. Certainly well adapted to bottle conditioning.

Two further notes reminding me to make more as it's lovely. I never did!!! I wrote out a page for a full batch, but somehow didn't get round to it, but I'm going to make some now.
Note how my notes betray increasing enthusiasm as the beer ages in the bottle.

 

[An Ankoù]

I think it's clear to many that I brew more than I can drink simply for the joy of brewing and experimentation. It's a real problem not being able to pop down to the supermarket and pick up a bottle or a can to do a taste check. The last OSH was 2 years ago and I can't remember, even vaguely, what Old Peculier is like, although I recognise that mine is nothing like.
Hoping things are going to get back to normal soon and we can have visitors again.
Not that I'm missing human company. Ideally they can leave samples on the door step and bugger off.

 

[abacab666]

Or you can give this a go..
https://darkrockbrewing.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=Speckled+hen

 

[Galena]

Interesting, I have OSH high on my list of brews to try, just been biding my time to formulate. I was going to try using Golden Syrup .

I see that GW's recipe calls for Pipkin malt.

Where did you see that? I have the 1993 edition of GW and RP book and that lists just Pale malt and Crystal plus sugar as does the less than spectacular 2009 edition. Even the 1995 edition of The Real Ale Almanac lists just Pale Malt, Crystal and Brewers Sugar (presumably invert)

 

[Fireside Ales Homebrewery]

I'll give it a go first time.
I recall noting in my notes, somewhere that after drinking a can of OSP, I had a homebrew and couldn't taste the difference. I'm going to see if I can find it.

EDIT:
I've found it- doesn't time fly? I thought this was last spring and it turns out that my notes were made in August, 2019.
Let me say that I had absolutely NO intention of making OSH and that any similarity to Wheeler and Protz recipe is entirely coincidental. In fact it was the first time I had got my hands on honey malt and the beer is called "Gambrinus Honey Test"
Recipe is in old money. Uses a mixture of imperial gallons and pounds and ounces and the hops are weighed in grams.
2½ gallon batch : OG 1048 : BU 38
Treat water for chlorine and chloramine (very soft water) add a quarter tsp. CaCl2 and 1 tsp CaSO4
4 lb 6 oz Minch malt
10 oz Gambrinus Honey malt
Bittering hops: 13g Challenger @12.2% alpha acid (This is a cock up as I had meant to add 18g and misread my figures)
Flavour hops: 7g EKGs last 10 mins + a quarter tablet of Protofloc
Hopsteep 15 mins 7g EKGs when wort temperature <80C
Pitched with 3rd or 4th generation Wyeast 1469.
I didn't record mash duration or temperature. It was possibly overnight FG 1007 5.4% abv
Boil would have been 70 minutes.
Bottled 11 June 2019
Notes:
13/7/19: Not a bad beer. The honey notes are apparent, but not overpowering.
7/8/19: Just had a can of Old Speckled Hen with (name) and followed it with this. Tastes just like what the Hen should have tasted like. Very nice. (I'm not sure what I meant by "should have tasted like")
28/8/19: It's a lovely beer. It needs to be a bit bitterer though, and dry hop with EKGs too (remember I'm not trying to clone OSH). The 13g above should have been 18. (in fact it should have been 17.7)
30/10/19: This beer is absolutely gorgeous, both on the nose and in the old gob. Yes, it could be a little more bitter. Certainly well adapted to bottle conditioning.

Two further notes reminding me to make more as it's lovely. I never did!!! I wrote out a page for a full batch, but somehow didn't get round to it, but I'm going to make some now.
Note how my notes betray increasing enthusiasm as the beer ages in the bottle.

Thanks for this.
I shall get er brewing...
Currently have fermenters and kegs full of Belgian and wheat beers, so I shall put it on the schedule for next month.

 

[An Ankoù]

Interesting, I have OSH high on my list of brews to try, just been biding my time to formulate. I was going to try using Golden Syrup .


Where did you see that? I have the 1993 edition of GW and RP book and that lists just Pale malt and Crystal plus sugar as does the less than spectacular 2009 edition. Even the 1995 edition of The Real Ale Almanac lists just Pale Malt, Crystal and Brewers Sugar (presumably invert)

1998 édition reprinted 2001.
5th edition of R A A says pipkin.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I wouldn't get too hung up on the Pipkin thing as they won't be using it now - it's not been on the Recommended List for 20-odd years which means effectively no longer being grown in the kind of quantities that Greene King would need. For modern OSH I would just use regular English pale malt.

The yeast is difficult - you may be able to get it from cask dregs from a pub, but I don't think there's any bottle-conditioned beers from Morland these days, Hen's Tooth seemed to disappear about 2 years ago.

One thing I do remember seeing is that they ferment OSH really warm to really drive the esters, supposedly they ferment up to 24C. But that's one of those things that you can't compare with homebrew size, as the volumes they brew in mean that there's all sorts of hydrostatic effects suppressing ester production, fermenting at 24C at homebrew scale will just result in a fusel-y mess. So I would go warm but not too warm - say 21C?

 

[Galena]

Right, I'm going to give this a go and this is my recipe

Batch Size: 15 Litres
ABV 5.3%
OG 1.050
FG: 1.010
EBC: 32.5
IBU: 35

2.35Kg Thomas Fawcett Maris Otter 75.8%
450g Crisp Medium 14.5%
300g Golden Syrup 9.7%

18g Challenger @ 60
11g EKG @ 15
11g EKG @ 5
5g EKG Dry Hopped

Water profile - Strong Bitter
Ca: 120 Mg: 4 Na: 9 Cl 73 SO4: 200

I have everything in stock except the Wyeast 1275, so will either have to go with WLP005 or wait until I place an order for some other stuff

 

[Lehmann]

My plan for the next brewing is make my regular stout (I have from a kit) had the nice taste of the OSH.

I found here in the forum someone said that used 44g of challenger and 28g of East Kent Golding and got a test similar to the OSH.

Could I instead using the Irish stout hop from the kit, I put the Challenger and East Kent Golding? Or should I still keep a proportion of the original Irish stout hops?

Tks all

Prost

Lehmann