Golden Ale - recipe adjustment advise please

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samtavi

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Hello there

First post here from a new all grain brewer (3 brews done!), I have read this site for a while now and have found it a fantastic resource, I have learnt lots so thanks for all the information and discussion that goes on here, its a really useful tool.

A friend is getting married in November and has asked for a Golden Ale for the reception, so as a starting point to finding a recipe fit for the big day I brewed the Exmoor Gold recipe in Brew Your Own British Real Ale by Graham Wheeler. Initial feedback from him is that it's very nice but he'd like it with:

- More body
- Sweeter
- More fruity/floral

So these are the characteristics I'd like to add. As a new brewer I don't yet have the experience to draw upon to "tweak" this recipe to get the above characteristics, but I have read about using higher mash temps/adding adjuncts/dry hopping/using different yeasts and using yeast starters, etc - all of which I believe I'm capable of doing.

Does anyone have any ideas about the best thing to do?
I suppose if I don't tweak this recipe I could try something completely different, there is still lots of time before November to get a few more test batches done.

Recipe.
Maris Otter Pale Malt
Challenger Hops (start of boil)
Golding Hops (last 10 mins of biol)
Styrian Golding Hops (Post-boil)
GV12 Yeast re-hydrated
Mash 90 mins @ 66 deg c. (I mashed for 60 mins)
Target OG 1045 (I measured 1042)
Target FG 1010 (I measured 1004)

In case it helps, I use a coolbox mashtun, electric brew kettle, DIY wort chiller, plastic bucket fermenter, and I have just made a fermentation chamber with Inkbird ITC-308 temp controller (yet to be used) which all future brews will be fermented in.

Many thanks
 
I would use something like S04 yeast which will let the hops shine but not leave the beer too dry. Im sure others will have a different opinion. also dry hopping with loads of EKG will give a nice floral aroma
 
You could add some crystal malt to your grain bill for sweetness, say 250g and try some big flavour hops late in the boil (in place of the goldings and styrian goldings), Galaxy is very fruity and centennial, citra or cascade for citrus flavours.
 
You could try golden promise as your base malt or as others have said some crystal.
 
Similar to what others have said, but I'd;
Mash a degree or 2 higher
Use a small amount (250g-ish in a 23l brew) of a pale crystal malt like caramalt
Dry hop with Cascade for a nice fruity/floral aroma
:cheers:
 
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To be fair, Sam, I have nothing to add to the comments above. Crystal on the malt bill - not too much, bigger floral hop at the end. Cascade my fave, too.

Basic recipe is simple, sound and easily repeatable.
 
more body / sweeter => change the yeast for a lower attenuating yeast. GV12 S04 and Nottingham are beasts ... if you want to stick to dry yeast, try Windsor or the Danstar ESB yeast. Both require work to get the ale clear and they will leave a slight yeasty note to the beer. Personally, I would go for the Wyeast Thames Valley 1275 ... it will bring out the fruity / floral of the hops.

Maris Otter is excellent malt and with a low attenuating yeast I find I don't need to add any crystal malt, the MO is beautiful on its own.

Hops => change up the hops, go for traditional British hops EKG and or Fuggles.

or WGV gives fruity floral ... apparently, not used it myself.
 
I was going to say do the Hop Back Summer Lightning recipe from the same book, as I've just done this and it's a cracker, but looking at the recipes it's almost identical to Exmoor Gold just a little stronger. I found Exmoor Gold nice but a tad bland, so I'm not sure why such subtle recipe adjustments made SL much better.

I'm no expert, and I've also been trying to achieve the effects you describe with limited success, here's what has helped my brews. Agree with what others have said regarding adding crystal malt (not a dark one) and yeast, I'd also up the late hops a bit. I prefer Styrian Goldings to EKG in these beers. I also found that a teaspoon of Gypsum in the mash and another in the boil seemed to improve things.
 
Thanks for your replies everyone, much appreciated.
I'll use these suggestions, I just need to figure out if I do them all at once or incrementally in a couple of different batches so I can keep a closer eye on how each change affects the flavour.
 
Another hop you may consider is Ella, floral and a tiny bit spicy. Australian hop. Whirlpool or boil end steeping additions should get you the floral character.
 
Blimey, and I thought being the Best Man was pressure - brewing the beer for someone's reception is way beyond that!

Good luck with it.
 
I brewed a beer for my sisters wedding last year that had a similar brief. They wanted something sessionalbe, fruity, light. The recipe I brewed can be found here. I was really pleased with it, if I do say so myself. I got some amazing complements from their friends which was really gratifying.

I used oats to add body and mouthfeel to what would otherwise have been quite a light beer.

If the beer is going to be bottle conditioned then I would recommend a yeast like Nottingham which sticks to the bottom of the bottles. Us home brewers don't mind a bit of haze but some people would be put of with lots of yeast in suspension.

As trueblue says, pay attention to your water alkalinity. For a pale ale it can make all the difference.
 
Sorry I'm a bit late to this one, but last year I experimented with several single hop pale ale recipes where I changed the mash temp and added different quantitees of crystal/cara (200-600grm in a 6kg grainbill)and used different yeasts. If you want to keep the beer light coloured, with some sweetness and body I'd add 400grams carapils, mash at 67-68C (definitely not lower than 66) and add a load of EKG at the end of boil, or (preferably) dry hop to get the floral aroma. I found my best smooth/medium body pales came out best with WLP002, WLP028 and Saf05 rather than Nottingham.
 
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