Ashes Ale
(21 litres)
Rivalry between the Australian and English cricket teams is long standing. The most prized trophy, for which these teams compete, is ‘The Ashes’. What could be more fitting than sitting down to watch the “The Ashes Test Series” with your own beer made from Australian and English ingredients? We’ve chosen a blend of East Kent Goldings and Bramling Cross hops, which can impart delightfully fresh blackcurrant and lemon characters to the beer. However, you might like to use any English hops that suit your taste. We reckon the addition of Crystal Malt grains, although optional, is worth the extra effort. The final result being a full strength ale, packed with flavour and aroma. HOWZAT?!
Ingredients
- 1 .7kg Australian Pale Ale
- 1kg Coopers Light Dry Malt (2x 500g)
- 25g East Kent Goldings Hop Pellets
- 50g Bramling Cross Hops (2x 25g)
- 11g Nottingham Yeast (or english ale yeast of your choice)
- 200g Crystal Malt Grains (optional)
- Coopers Carbonation Drops
- Colour: Gold
- Body: Medium
- Bitterness: Medium
- Approx. Alcohol Level: 4.8% ABV
- Carbonated: Natural
STEP 1: The Day Before
Place the Crystal Malt Grain in a plastic zip-lock sandwich bag and crack it using a rolling pin. Line a pot (at least 4 litres) with a mesh cleaning cloth (pulled straight from the pack), then add the cracked grain and 2 litres of cold water.
Fit the lid and sit in the fridge for 24hrs.
STEP 2: Brew Day
Remove from the fridge then gather up the corners of the mesh cloth and lift, allowing the liquid to drain from the grains back into the pot.
Place the strained liquid onto the stovetop, add about 250g of Light Dry Malt and bring to the boil - be sure to keep close watch to avoid boilover!
Once boiling, add 25g of East Kent Goldings Hops and boil for 15mins.
Remove from the heat, add 25g of Bramling Cross hops and let steep for 30mins.
Add the remaining Light Dry Malt to a drained sanitised fermenting vessel and add 2 litres of hot water. Immediately pick the fermenting vessel up and swirl the contents until dissolved (approx 15 secs) - this method minimises clumping.
Strain the steeped wort into the fermenting vessel and mix in the Australian Pale Ale beer kit.
Fill to 18 litres with cold water, stir well and check the brew temperature.
Top up to the 21 litre mark with warm or cold water (refrigerated if necessary) to get as close to 20C as possible.
Sprinkle the dry yeast over the surface, fit the lid and try to ferment in the 18C – 20C range.After about 3 days-
Add the remaining Bramling Cross hops to the brew (we suggest wrapping in a mesh cleaning cloth pulled straight from the packet).
STEP 3: Bottle
Bottle once the SG readings are stable over a couple of days – it should finish around the 1008 to 1010 mark.
We recommend the use of PET bottles or reusable glass bottles designed for storing beer.
Bottles need to be primed so that secondary fermentation (producing the gas in the bottle) can take place.
Prime at the normal rate (8g/l) or slightly lower, in accordance with the style.
STEP 4: Enjoy!
Allow to condition at or above 18C for at least 2 weeks before tasting. The final alcohol content should be approximately 4.8% ABV.
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