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Has anyone tried any of the numerous recipes out there for cloning or producing beers similar to older versions of Ballantine's IPA? I've been wanting to try recreating an old-style beer and this seems like a good place to start since there is a lot of discussion about this on numerous boards. Using old-time hops and aging the beer for a year will make this a fun brew. There is a recipe in Mitch Steels's IPA book that looks like a good place to start. It is based upon a recipe from BYO Magazine.

I found some interesting reading:

http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtop ... 4&t=106564

http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtop ... 4&t=106564

The recipe in the book:

Malt

Pale Malt: 71.3%
Flaked Maize: 14.7%
Light Munich Malt 10.9%
Crystal-60 Malt: 3.1%

Hops: IBU = 62
48.8% Cluster(7%) @ 90 mins
25.6% Brewer's Gold (8%) @ 25 mins
25.6% EKG(5.5%) @ 3 mins
Dry hop with EKG 0.2 oz/gal

It mentions that a distilled extract of Bullion hops was originally used for dry hopping.

( I haven't back calculated the hop bill yet to get the actual amounts.)

This leads me to a few questions:

Malt

The recipe simply calls for Pale malt. Will 2-row suffice here or would 6-row or an English malt be better suited? It seems that a lot of IPA recipes during this time period used adjunts, so I guess the flaked corn is a good way to go here.

Hops:

I have some EKG and I don't think it is too challenging to get Brewer's Gold or Cluster. Is it possible to get distilled hop oil for homebrewing? I doubt it would be possible to get bullion hop oil (I don't think I have ever even seen Bullion hops) but it would be neat to substitute.

Yeast

"Old Newark Ale" from East Coast Yeast seems to be the real deal for the yeast but seems to be next to impossible to get. The recipe suggests WY 1056 or WLP001.

Aging

There seems to be a lot of debate around the aging of this beer and whether there was a wood character to it. On the label it said "Aged in wood one year." The articles mention oak tanks but other articles mention the tanks were "lined with pitch" to prevent the beer from contacting the wood. The only way I can impart oak character is to use chips or a spiral. It would be interesting to divide the batch and age a portion with oak.

Any and all comments would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

I've got some of "Old Newark Ale" from East Coast Yeast in my fridge. When are you planning on brewing this? I could use it in a beer and give you a slurry if you wanted or vise versa.

I think Wyeast 1272 or BRY-97 would likely be a better substitute than the Chico strain if you end up going that way.

I'd also like a little sample of this one Brian, when you get enough cultured. Don't need much, can build my own starter.

mr x wrote:I'd also like a little sample of this one Brian, when you get enough cultured. Don't need much, can build my own starter.

No problem, i'll plan something to brew maybe this weekend and harvest from there.

Brian:

I won't be brewing for a bit as I have to order the cluster and brewer's gold hops. I would love to get a sample of this yeast if possible.

X:

Maybe if you get it back to NG I could grab a bit from you?


Thanks!

Was there ever any action with the Old Newark Ale Yeast? I have the hops ready to go. If not, my options are British Ale (1098), Burton Ale, and Cali V in my fridge now. I guess the Burton Ale would be most appropriate here.

I brewed my batch with it on Wednesday, a little behind schedule but the yeast is going just fine. Another week and I can have some harvested for you and X. Does this work for your schedule? We still have the logistics of getting it down there as well but i'm working on some options for that.

I'm very flexible with my schedule. I can check around if I know someone heading this way from Halifax as well when its ready. Thanks!

I can get it at least as far as NG.

Couple things. I've actually had that beer, back when it was one of the hoppier things around.

It was not aged in oak. But wooden barrels that were lined. No perceptible oak, or wood flavour. And no need to age it so long. Maybe 2 months, and you'll be there. And as well, if my memory serves me correctly, Sierra Nevada used Ballantynes Yeast to start up, so 1056 would be the genetic match, though if there is one labelled Newark, that's where Ballantynes was, so it would probably be fun.

Brewnoser wrote:Couple things. I've actually had that beer, back when it was one of the hoppier things around.

It was not aged in oak. But wooden barrels that were lined. No perceptible oak, or wood flavour. And no need to age it so long. Maybe 2 months, and you'll be there. And as well, if my memory serves me correctly, Sierra Nevada used Ballantynes Yeast to start up, so 1056 would be the genetic match, though if there is one labelled Newark, that's where Ballantynes was, so it would probably be fun.

The Newark strain is supposedly rejuvenated yeast from Ballantine's own yeast bank and in my experience is quite a bit different than 1056, much closer to 1272 in terms of behaviour and flavour profile.

Brewnoser wrote:Couple things. I've actually had that beer, back when it was one of the hoppier things around.

It was not aged in oak. But wooden barrels that were lined. No perceptible oak, or wood flavour. And no need to age it so long. Maybe 2 months, and you'll be there. And as well, if my memory serves me correctly, Sierra Nevada used Ballantynes Yeast to start up, so 1056 would be the genetic match, though if there is one labelled Newark, that's where Ballantynes was, so it would probably be fun.

When did you get to try this? From what I've been reading the recipe changed many times. There is a ton of controversy about the "aged one year in wood." Were the tanks oak or cedar. Were they lined with pitch or not etc etc.

More info here:

http://www.callzia.com/BBB/BallantineTastingNotes.pdf

Cheers!

I had it a few times. It was a unique bottle. Mid to late 80's.

So it would appear I had the Ft Wayne version. This makes sense as I remember Fred Eckhardt, an older serious beer geek, who i was drinking with, talking about how it was all dumbed down. Not the same anymore.

Brewnoser wrote:So it would appear I had the Ft Wayne version. This makes sense as I remember Fred Eckhardt, an older serious beer geek, who i was drinking with, talking about how it was all dumbed down. Not the same anymore.

Wow! Must have been quite the experience to have a few beers with Fred Eckhardt!

spears104 wrote:

Brewnoser wrote:So it would appear I had the Ft Wayne version. This makes sense as I remember Fred Eckhardt, an older serious beer geek, who i was drinking with, talking about how it was all dumbed down. Not the same anymore.

Wow! Must have been quite the experience to have a few beers with Fred Eckhardt!

I bet.

Here's a nice video with him: http://vimeo.com/15405537" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've racked my beer off the cake and made up a couple of small mason jars of slurry for you guys. Now we just have to figure out the logistics. I thought I may have someone going your way Jason but it doesn't look good right now. Let me know if anyone has any other ideas.

I'll be in hfx next weekend.

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X - if you mule it to NG, just let me know a time and I can come pick it up.

Thanks a million Brian!

When I get this made, I'd love to send a few bottles to you guys.

Cheers!

If there's a bus, I might be able to send it that way, save you a drive.

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OK. Just let me know the cost and I'll EMT you the funds. I don't mind driving either. Thanks!

I'll see if I can find a bus schedule.

You guys still looking for this yeast?

I'll always take yeast.