Summer Brew Review Thread - Golden Ale

[pilgrimhudd]

Fancied a golden ale and found @Stu's Brews golden ale in the fridge! A beautiful fruity aroma, well carbed, golden with a slight haze. Medium bodied I'd say, ever so slightly cloying but only because it has a lovely punchbowl flavour. Is this only ernest in here, I'd love to see the recipe. A lovely beer, many thanks for sharing. I'd defo say one of the nicest I've had this year. Sorry the pic is do sh*t!

 

[Stu's Brews]

Fancied a golden ale and found @Stu's Brews golden ale in the fridge! A beautiful fruity aroma, well carbed, golden with a slight haze. Medium bodied I'd say, ever so slightly cloying but only because it has a lovely punchbowl flavour. Is this only ernest in here, I'd love to see the recipe. A lovely beer, many thanks for sharing. I'd defo say one of the nicest I've had this year. Sorry the pic is do sh*t!

View attachment 74045

Wow, that's some high praise! Glad you enjoyed it so much!

I used a small amount of Challenger to bitter and then threw in some EKG towards the end of the boil. Ernest was used in the hop stand with another small helping of EKG.

Having done the same brew before but with Willamette instead of Ernest, I'd definitely say the Ernest is doing the heavy lifting on the fruitier flavours.

Agree with you on the slightly cloying sweetness, I went a bit too heavy on the CaraGold so going to dial that back a touch for next time.

More than happy to share the full recipe - @Alastair70 can you remind me what the etiquette is? Do we share them in this thread or somewhere else?

 

[dave_77]

View attachment 74018
After a long day preparing for tomorrow's family BBQ I figured it was time to sit and enjoy a beer.

Starting with @dave_77's golden ale.

A pleasing hiss on opening the bottle, which then pours a perfectly clear, straw coloured beer with a fluffy white head. Aroma is light with honeyed floral notes. Some honey in the taste but also some white wine/gooseberry and spicy notes. Mouthfeel is light and refreshing with a relatively high (but not out of style) level of carbonation. Bitterness is quite restrained but is well balanced considering the light body.

A very well brewed beer that I can see being drunk very quickly! Thanks for sharing

Thanks for the comments Glad you enjoyed it.

 

[Alastair70]

More than happy to share the full recipe - @Alastair70 can you remind me what the etiquette is? Do we share them in this thread or somewhere else?

Share your recipes here, and tell us what you’ll do differently next time too!

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Wow, that's some high praise! Glad you enjoyed it so much!

I used a small amount of Challenger to bitter and then threw in some EKG towards the end of the boil. Ernest was used in the hop stand with another small helping of EKG.

Having done the same brew before but with Willamette instead of Ernest, I'd definitely say the Ernest is doing the heavy lifting on the fruitier flavours.

Agree with you on the slightly cloying sweetness, I went a bit too heavy on the CaraGold so going to dial that back a touch for next time.

More than happy to share the full recipe - @Alastair70 can you remind me what the etiquette is? Do we share them in this thread or somewhere else?

Well deserved, it's my favourite style and I think hops like ernest have made it so much better.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

My recipe.... for 20l

2tsp gypsum and a camden tab

5 kg otter
400g wheat

10g Admiral @60
10g Challenger @60

20g Ernest @10
20g Bramling X @10

20g ernest @5
20g Bramling x @5

20g Ernest and Bramling x whirlpool for 20mins @80c ish.....

CML 5 fermented at the lowest temperature range. 18c

Things I might change? Not a lot really, I thought it may have too much 'body' so I could drop the wheat entirely to try and get a crisper brew. Currently fermenting another golden ale without wheat but with a little caragold so i'll see how that compares.

 

[Stu's Brews]

Here's the recipe for my Golden Ale, 'Meteor':

Malts:

• Crisp Extra Pale Maris Otter - 3.25kg
• Crisp CaraGold - 300g
• Crisp Torrified Wheat - 150g
• Crisp Light Crystal (150L) - 50g

Hops:

• Challenger - 10g @ 60mins
• East Kent Golding's - 25g @ 10mins
• East Kent Golding's - 25g Hop Stand, 20mins @ 80degC
• Ernest - 50g Hop Stand, 20 mins @ 80degC

Yeast:

• Wyeast 1318 London Ale III - 0.75million cells/ml

Water:

• Chloride: 100ppm
• Sulphate: 120ppm

Mashed at 65degC for an hour then 10 minute mash out at 75degC.

Fermented at 19degC.

As mentioned earlier, I'll probably drop the CaraGold back slightly next time. Might also try swapping the Challenger for some Admiral.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Here is the recipe for mine if anyone is interested.

Ignore the ABV as it ended up slightly higher.

 

[dave_77]

Here is the link for my recipe.

Happy with the malts and balance of bitterness & ABV..would maybe change the dry hop to Godiva and have Saphir in the whirlpool to get more of the citrus flavours
https://share.brewfather.app/vkZiXLv8kKOWwX

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

My last beer I have to review and it’s by @Alastair70

I’ll start with the colour. As you can see it’s a pleasing golden orange colour. Tried to capture the colour as best I could in my dingy kitchen.

On the aroma I get wheat (I think?). Please correct me if I’ve got that wrong. If not wheat then it’s something I can’t quite put my finger on.

My palate tells me that this has balanced malt and hops - neither one is too forward in my opinion.

I am getting a medium body from this one with light carbonation and a nice head. The bitterness is just right and adds to the full flavour.

Enjoyable beer, thanks for sending A!

 

[FirebladeAdam]

First to try for me was @Tess Tickle ... A really good golden ale. Opens with a healthy fizz, gives a nice head and good lacing. Quite strong flavoured... No bad thing, I would love to know what hop that is (in fact if you could post the recipe that would be good!). I have a feeling it's the same hop as mine, I'm not going to give the game away though for those trying my beer (although I'm quite probably wrong!).
Bitterness was spot on, lovely colour, just darker than straw, slightly hazy, probably my poor pouring. A really nice balance between malt and hop here. Really good level of carbonation, no flatness and it didn't jump out of the bottle either.
On a side note, my wife said it tastes like one of my beers. I think, and hope, that's a good thing; praise indeed.
Thanks for sharing, I know that you, like me, are about two years in to the brewing game, I think that's a great beer, certainly I'd have been proud to make that. I even remembered to take a photo!

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Thanks Adam for your kind words, much appreciated, as I’d convinced myself that no-one was going to like it. I have posted the recipe somewhere. I tried to keep it super English - everything I used was from an English maltster or otherwise English. Post number 68 for the recipe I’ve just checked. Hope that helps

 

[FirebladeAdam]

Nice... And that hop- I KNEW IT! I should trust my nose more

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Nice... And that hop- I KNEW IT! I should trust my nose more

Aw I wish I knew which one you were on about as there were 4 grrrr

 

[SMP Brewery]

2nd up for me is this one from @Hazelwood Brewery

Poured with a lovely white fluffy head and well carbonated (I’m thinking mine will be under carbonated) and nice an clear, it’s condensation on the glass in the photo, the head stuck around until the end.
There is a nice citrusy aroma to it which got more pronounced the warmer it got.
Nice soft mouthfeel from the carbonation, with a slight biscuity flavour at first, this the gives way to I want to say lemony taste (might be wrong here) but definitely fruity esters. Think I’m going to give MJ M36 a try.
All told this is a lovely beer with just the right amount of bitterness for me, it didn’t last long
I’m really beginning to feel sorry for those that have to drink my effort now

 

[Fazzer]

I've tasted all my recieved brews and all my sent out brews have been tasted, so i just wanted to say how much fun this has been.
From brewing to packaging to sending it off, then recieving the beers and seeing them in the fridge every day, and holding off for them to clear from the travel and the excitment of trying others homebrew for the first time.

Thanks to @dave_77 @Stu's Brews and @pilgrimhudd for the beers you sent. I thouroughly enjoyed them all. Really nice and really easy to drink. A lot lighter than mine, but i find the kits i do are always a lot darker than the style they claim to be!

Thanks to @Hazelwood Brewery @Tess Tickle and @Alastair70 for your kind words and critique. Its much appreciated. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Yes, not everyone is a massive fan of kits and they can have an off/twang/background flavour, but i'm happy as my palate is not that refined, and i dont really notice it!!.
But Alastair has pointed me in the direction of foundation kits, that i will be trying soon.

So here is the moment you've all been waiting for - my recipe........

I used our fabulous Wellingborough tap water, with half a campden tablet and 9ml of CRS.
Pitched at 20 degrees.
Ferment at 18 degrees for 15 days.
Cold crash at 2 degrees for 5 days.
Bottled with 1x coopers carbonation drop per 500ml bottle.
Carb for 2 weeks in the corner kitchen cupboard, which sits between 19 and 22 degrees for 2weeks. After 2 weeks it had not fully carbed, which worried me slightly, but left it for another week and it seemed fine.
Conditioned in my conditioning fridge at 8 degrees for 2 weeks and thats it.
OG 1048
FG 1012
for a 5.2% ABV.

I just kicked off my milk stout from muntons flagship range. I've had it for a few weeks, so was really excited about the next swap, but sadly the category didnt get picked. I did have a quick look online for kits that met the criteria but couldnt really find anything suitable so for that reason, i wont be participating in the next one.

But all said, what great fun and a special thanks to @Alastair70 for arranging the whole thing and making sure it ran smoothly.

 

[SMP Brewery]

.

I just kicked off my milk stout from muntons flagship range. I've had it for a few weeks, so was really excited about the next swap, but sadly the category didnt get picked.

According to the guidelines in Brewfather if Tropical stout does get picked then it states.

Ingredients Similar to a Sweet Stout, but higher gravity. Pale
and dark roasted malts and grains. Hops mostly for bitterness.
May use adjuncts and sugar to boost gravity. Typically made
with warm-fermented lager yeast.

Just add a bit of sugar and a few more hops

 

[Fazzer]

According to the guidelines in Brewfather if Tropical stout does get picked then it states.

Ingredients Similar to a Sweet Stout, but higher gravity. Pale
and dark roasted malts and grains. Hops mostly for bitterness.
May use adjuncts and sugar to boost gravity. Typically made
with warm-fermented lager yeast.

Just add a bit of sugar and a few more hops

Very interesting.
But its in the fermenter now!
Maybe i could dry hop it to bring into guidlines?

 

[samale]

My first golden ale from @Jim Brewster. This bottle had leaked in transit but thankfully it hasn't effected the beer.
Great carbonation, good clarity and a nice white head.
It has a slight citrus aroma, very clean not much yeast profile
Taste is really good, citrus straight away then a real hit of bitterness. The beer itself is very light. Nice well made beer

 

[samale]

Second golden ale from @Jim Brewster.
Again lovely golden colour, carbonation lighter than the first but more than enough. Nice head
Aroma is more earthy than citrus. Taste again is really good. Very smooth bitterness, a lot less than the previous one. Light citrus, again another well made beer. If I was to pick from the two I would go with the first. It had better hop profile and was lighter.
Both very enjoyable after a day at the beach