Summer Lightning recipe clone

HEY SEAN,

Here's a recipe from a fairly famous contributor to the english forum from a long time ago
Author wrote:
> As posted by Dr Gillian Grafton ages ago.
> Here's my version 3 of the recipe. This is the one I'm sticking to, cos I
> think it's as close as I'm going to get.
> 4635 g Pipkin malt
> Mash 1 hour at 66 C
> 35 g Challenger (7%) full boil
> 20 g Goldings (5%) full boil
> (boil time is 1 hour)
> 13 g Goldings - last 5 minutes
> 7 g Goldings - when the heat is turned off.
> Yeast: cultured from the bottom of a bottle of Summer Lightning. Ferment
> below 17 C. For 23l (5 gallons). OG 1050
> I have it on good authority that the yeast in the bottom of the bottled
> Summer Lightning is the one they use for the primary fermentation. It really
> hates being fermented at warm temps. - you get some funny off tastes in my
> experience. If you can't get the bottled stuff, then I'm sure any decent ale
> yeast will do the business, but I strongly recommend you don't use Wyeast
> London. It's a great yeast, but it didn't suit this recipe the one time I
> tried it out.
regards breaky

Click to expand...

An Ankoù said:

Hi Daniele. I've been making Summer Lightning for as long as Summer Lightnings been around. I remember it was something of a holy grail in it's day. The best posts were from a woman called Gillian Grafton (why do I remember that????) and you might still find them on line. If not, I'll post my recipes (which are based on hers) later on. Good luck. This is one of my favourite beers. Stick to Goldings throughout and don't be tempted to use Challenger for bittering would be my advice.

Click to expand...

An Ankoù said:

Hi Daniele. I've been making Summer Lightning for as long as Summer Lightnings been around. I remember it was something of a holy grail in it's day. The best posts were from a woman called Gillian Grafton (why do I remember that????) and you might still find them on line. If not, I'll post my recipes (which are based on hers) later on. Good luck. This is one of my favourite beers. Stick to Goldings throughout and don't be tempted to use Challenger for bittering would be my advice.

Click to expand...

the baron said:

Malt Miller have a clone recipe on there site you can use but as An A says they have Challenger for bittering just adapt it and use East Kent Goldings all the way through

Click to expand...

An Ankoù said:

Hi again Daniele. I've looked through my recipes and I see that the tiniest bit of crystal is present in all of them and I think Grafton also made this change as her recipe evolved. Back in the day I used to do a 90 minute boil, but I now think that's excessive. Sometimes I used Challenger in the boil and others times EKG's all the way through. I think Hopback switched about, too, in the early days. My old recipes are for 5 gallons (22.73 litre) and I used pounds and ounces. I've converted the old weights to grams, but the volume is still 23 litres.
Here goes: OG 1050 : IBUs 38 disregard contribution of late hops to overall IBUs

(10 lb) 4.55 Kg Marris Otter pale malt (not extra pale)
(4 oz) 114 g Medium Crystal malt (ebc 135 or thereabouts)
Challenger or EKGs to 38 IBUs full boil
(0.5 oz) 14g EKGs last 15 minutes together with copper finings (protofloc or Irish moss)
(0.5 oz) 14g EKGs last 5 minutes (I think today, I'd put them in at flameout)
Safale S-04

I used to drink loads of this stuff, even in the Wyndham Arms where it was brewed before they moved to Downton. Even the best pint was always very slightly hazy so don't worry if it's not crystal clear.
Good luck.

It was after a night on the Summer Lightening that I realised that drinking 8 pints was the alcoholic equivalent of drinking a pint of whisky. Enlightenment, indeed.

Click to expand...

daniele said:

Thank you very much!!!!
You have read my mind... I was thinking Maris Otter extra pale o r Golden promise!!!!!

Click to expand...

An Ankoù said:

NOT extra pale. Use the full colour 4-5 ebc.

Click to expand...

An Ankoù said:

I think that's absolutely spot on. You don't need the protein rest at 52C as the malt is already fully modified and the mash out rest won't add anything to the wort. I'd go straight in with a 90 minute (some would say that's too long) mash at 66C max. Check the temperature after 15 minutes and bring it back to 65-66C.
What you suggest will work perfectly, however.
Good luck.

Click to expand...

daniele said:

why 90 minute?????

Click to expand...

An Ankoù said:

Good question. Back in the eighties, a 90 minute mash wash considered standard and I've sort of grown up with it. I see many recipes that only recommend a sixty minute mash these days. I suspect today's maltsters have more control over the diastic enzymes than they did in the steam days. If you can test for full starch conversion with a drop of iodine (don't add it to the bulk of the beer, just to a small sample) then go for 60 minutes and test. If you mash too long, it won't make a great deal of difference, but if you fail to reach full starch conversion, your beer will turn out hazy, that's all.

Click to expand...

daniele said:

thanks!!!
I've iodine so i will test for a complete conversion!!!
thank you very much!!


What about the fermentation temperature? 17°C is ok? or it's too clear?

Click to expand...

An Ankoù said:

17C should be just fine.

Click to expand...