Today's Recipe

[Fast_Eddy]

Today I'm brewing a new recipe I call "Bitter Gold Special".

7 lbs 2-row
1 lb 60L
.5 Caramunich
1 oz Columbus 45 min
1 oz EKG leaf 15 min
1 oz EKG leaf 0 min
1 oz EKG leaf dry hop


Mash at 154F for 60 min. 60 min boil.

I'm trying for an English Special Bitter overdone American-style :D

[Fast_Eddy]

A comment to make - this is turning out to be a most excellent ale - good taste after a week. I don't think the dry hop will be necessary at all since it has a very noticeable EKG taste.

I have been using and re-using and prop'ing(slightly) Wyeast 1968 for about 2 months now and it has started to perform brilliantly. After one week this recipe has fermented from ~1.050 to 1.010 and dropped bright - it fermented and dropped bright in a week. I can see why this would be a yeast that would perform well for cask ales. It gets the job done and then floc's hard. Don't get me wrong - it's not ready to drink - still very rough around the edges - but still.

Just thought I'd share....there really seems to be a lot to the idea that a strain starts to perform likes it's "supposed" to after it has been used for a few gen's.

[jstrausss]

sorry if this is a very beginner question , but what is cask ale ?

[Caffinehog]

Sounds tasty, Fast eddy.

A cask ale is brewed like normal, then put into a cask, usually made of wood. It undergoes carbonation and sometimes dry hopping in this cask, so it contains live yeast. Like ales of long ago, it is open to the atmosphere once tapped, so it is low in carbonation. It's also usually fined with isinglass. It's not as clear as commercial beers, but the yeast should settle nicely to create a fairly clear beer.
They're fairly hard to come by in the USA. I've only been able to find two beers like this, both at the same time at the same pub, and both imported from England. They're worth seeking out, though. The equivalent beer, bottled, is not nearly as good.

[jstrausss]

Are these casks avalable for purchase on the NET. sounds like a really intresting tasting beer

[Sunriver]

You really need to taste these kind of beers strait from the tap in order to get the true flovor profile. I would suggest asking in the locations boards if anyone knows of anywhere they are served in you area.