Old stock ale (D-90, Brett, cherries)

[mike_chapman]

I want to make a “Old Stock Ale” I just ordered a bunch of recondition kegs and plan on making one or two a dedicated “sour” keg to play around with. That said the recipe I have come up with as of now is

12lb-floor malted marish otter
2lbs caramel 40-Bairds
1lb Simpson golden naked oats-should I use two for such a big beer?
I planed to then ferment this with WLP004 Irish ale yeast.
Once racked to secondary I would add WLP645 (Brett C) or an alternative I’m not sure if this is seasonal? NB doesn’t have it. I don’t want anything to funky. More of a background note; I am open to dropping brett just an idea as of now.
Also in secondary I planned on adding a mixture of 1lb D-90 Candi syrup and a bunch of overly rip cherries. My thinking behind it was I would pit the cherries after they became wicked rip and then add them the D-90 and some water to a pot and lightly boil or hold at a high temp for awhile then add to the fermentor once cooled. Then just let it sit for a few months? Keg it and taste a sample every once in awhile?

[tom_sawyer]

The base beer seems sound enough, a little high on crystal but it should work well enough. I haven’t used those oats but a pound of oats ought to give a nice body and mouthfeel. The Brett idea is consistent with an old ale too.

I don’t know about the cherries and D90 syrup, those seem out of place. More of a Belgian thing. You’ll get a little cherry flavor from the Brett anyway and the Maris Otter and crystal will give you plenty of malt flavor. I’d save the syrup and cherries for a nice Flanders red or a kriek.

[mike_chapman]

I’m not so worried about brewing to style as much as making a great drinkable beer. My plans originally were to use molasses instead of D-90 but thought it might add to much flavor? Never brewed with either so my idea was totally based off reading about the ingredients. I also want to dry the beer out some which I know; or believe the brett will do to some degree also by eating sugars the other yeast will not? I may have the wrong mind frame but I was hoping that by drying it out with brett and sugar it would still have a large complex flavor but would take some of the cloying sweetness away. I love “big” malty beers but a lot of times by the bottom of the glass I find myself not looking too forward to the next sip because its beginning to taste thick with sweetness. Usually I cut this by have a small glass of hoppy beer to sip. The cherries came to me as what I thought was a stroke of genius but then brushing up on the style some I learned that “Cherry Adam” a popular old stock ale brewed with cherries is on one of the brewing network shows so I imagine it was kind of stuck in my subconscious from listening to those at work. All in all I think it would be a good beer; unless it seemed even sweeter because the brett just left behind a mountain of crystal malt flavor. Lots of new ingredients I appreciate your insight and have been thinking about it.

[tom_sawyer]

The Brett would eventually help dry out the beer but you’re talking a year not a month. So I’d maybe reduce the crystal a little, maybe 10% of the grist. A big beer tends to have enough unfermentables as it is without loading them up.

The D90 would work for drying the beer some, it brings a certain flavor with it that will add to the complexity. I don’t know that you’d need it but it won’t hurt. Molasses might actually be a little more to style, but then the stuff isn’t exactly consistent across brands so buy one thats not too dark or you’ll get a bitter twang from it. Treacle would maybe be your best choice, most authentic and has the flavor of a molasses without the bitterness.

Be sure and post on how this comes out.

[mike_chapman]

Treacle and molasses are very similar. I think treacle is just not processed as much. (concentrated) But ya that was my idea behind it was to make a cherry puree if I can find a blender to use and then concentrate it with a heat reduction. I will follow up on this post with results as I make steps and if it comes out fantastic months down the line make a new post. It will sadly be a month or slightly more till I get this one going. Have two lagers going now next week starting a IPA and mild amber. Ordering some buckets though, at 16 dollars I might just get more and brew like crazy!

[shadetree]

[quote=“Mike Chapman”]Treacle and molasses are very similar. [/quote]Depends on the treacle and the molasses - dark treacle is similar to regular molasses, but blackstrap molasses is in a class by itself and light treacle is more like amber corn syrup, at least from the examples I’ve worked with in the past. Seems to me that when they call for treacle in an English beer it’s likely the light treacle.

[ppdude72]

A few years ago, NB had a kit for an old ale very similar to what you’ve described. They used a Wyeast old ale blend that had brett in it. I brewed it in 2009 and still have quite a few bottles because it is a sipper. The Brett definitely dried it out over time and added a bit of tartness. I’d have to look at the recipe in Beersmith but I don’t think there was that much crystal. Definitely had black treacle in it though.

[mike_chapman]

K I will probably cut the crystal in half then.