Hawkshead Brewery Lakeland Gold - All Grain recipe help

[rossydoodle]

Has anyone had a go at making something similar to Lakeland Gold?

I think it's a lovely beer from a keg, but seems to suffer from freshness when I've had it bottled, so I thought I'd try and make some.

Having only brewed , IPA's, APA's, American amber and some Belgian's, I haven't had any experience with British brews yet, so struggling with malt ideas.

I suspect it's not too dissimilar to the Landlord malt bill, but with a touch more caramel sweetness perhaps. Hop wise, I understand they use First Gold and Cascade and could make a bit of a stab at the hop schedule.

Can anyone offer advice on the crystal malt used in this on top of the Maris Otter then, and perhaps some suitable yeast?

Thanks in advance.

 

[clibit]

They are the two questions to ask I think, but i don't know the answers. I've seen them describe their yeast as 'English ale' so maybe they use WLP002, which is popular with micros. I suspect the crystal is pale, 20-40L, or caramalt. Couild be wrong.

 

[rossydoodle]

Thanks for the reply.

I've never used WLP002, but that's what I would have tried out given other recipes and the description of residual sweetness.

I have some pale crystal in stock, so I'll use that.

I think it's a relatively caramel malt profile, with some sweetness, but quite high bitterness for it's 4.something %. Do you think around 10% pale crystal sounds OK, or perhaps a touch high?

 

[clibit]

I would agree it's about right but maybe a touch high. 8%? It's all guesswork obviously. The beer is pretty pale, which is why I think it's pale crystal. The yeast will leave some sweetness, so getting the balance right between yeast and crystal is not easy, may not get it spot on - but it will be a good beer, with that combination of grains, hops and yeast, it will be in the right area.