Four Classic Clones of Great Britain
To a beer drinker, certain areas of the world are sacred. Cities like Munich, Vienna and Prague. Valleys like the Senne, Tettnang and Willamette. Even entire countries, like Germany and Belgium, conjure rich images of excellent beer, world-class ingredients and memorable evenings in pubs.
Speaking of pubs, perhaps no place evokes more images than Great Britain. Many classic ale styles — such as mild, bitter, brown and pale — originated in England, while Scotland is renowned for strong ales that are dark and malty. Around the globe, any region that was ever colonized or settled by the British retains, to this day, a lasting tradition of British brewing.
Here in North America, we had until recently forgotten our British beer heritage. We had forsaken the ales of the Old Country for the newfangled lagers created by German and Dutch settlers. These beers are worthy, make no mistake. But until the craft-brewing renaissance of the 1980s, there were very few commercial ales produced in the United States or Canada. My, how things have changed!
So let’s go back to our roots. Below we offer recipes to reproduce four classic beers from the United Kingdom — two from England and two from Scotland. They’re presented as all-grain recipes with notes on converting them to partial mash and all-extract versions.
Before you get started, a few notes on successful cloning. First and foremost, use the right ingredients! Pale malt is the base grain in most English beers. The most traditional barley variety is Maris Otter; many British brewers firmly believe it makes beer with superior flavor. If you’re really a stickler, look for Maris Otter that’s been “floor malted.” During this old-fashioned process, the barley is spread a foot thick on a stone floor and turned by hand, with a shovel, during germination. (If you’re looking for it, Beeston Malting and Crisp Malting both make floor-malted Maris Otter; ask at your local homebrew shop. If they don’t stock that variety, they can probably order it.) If you’re using malt extract, be sure to buy brands produced with authentic British grains, such as UK-based Muntons or John Bull.
Fuggles and Goldings are the finest British hop varieties for both bittering and aroma. And, of course, choose an appropriate yeast strain. In most cases (the John Courage clone is an exception), you’ll want a top-fermenting ale strain such as Wyeast 1028 (English Ale) or White Labs WLP-002 (English Ale).
Fuller’s London Porter clone
Griffin Brewery: Chiswick, London, England
This is London’s oldest brewery, in operation since 1654. John Fuller took the helm in 1845, joined by partners Henry Smith and John Turner, and descendants of that original trio still sit on the brewery’s board of directors.
Porter had its heyday in London almost 200 years ago, during the height of England’s industrial era. The style had all but disappeared by the 1950s, but was revived a few decades ago during the country’s successful consumer-driven, grassroots “real ale” campaign.
London Porter is a reddish-brown color, nearly black. It has a rich, dark caramel flavor and a roasty, bitter-coffee aroma.
Ingredients
• 7.75 lbs. pale malt
• 0.5 lb. black malt
• 0.5 lb. dark (120°L) crystal malt
• 0.25 lb. roasted barley
• 0.5 lb. chocolate malt
• 2 oz. of 4% alpha-acid Fuggles hops (8 AAUs)
• 1 oz. of 4% Goldings hops (4 AAUs)
• 1 pt. starter of English ale yeast (Wyeast 1028 or equivalent)
• 7/8 cup dark dry malt extract (DME)
Step by Step
Heat 12.5 quarts water to 164° F, crush grains, mix into liquor. Hold at 152° F for 90 minutes. Begin runoff, sparge with 16 quarts water at 168° F. Bring wort to boil, add 1.5 oz. Fuggles hops (6 AAUs), boil 15 minutes. Add Goldings hops, boil 15 more minutes. Add rest of Fuggles hops, boil 30 minutes. Total boil is 60 minutes.
Time your boiling and hop additions to end with 5.25 gallons (add a little water to kettle during boil if necessary to keep volume up).
Remove from heat, cool to 68° F and pitch yeast. Ferment 8 to 10 days at 65° F, transfer to secondary and condition at 50° F for two weeks. Prime with dried malt extract and bottle. Age in bottles for three weeks.
Partial mash version:
Reduce pale malt to 4.75 lbs., mash in 8.5 quarts, sparge with 10 quarts. Add 2 lbs. amber unhopped dry malt extract, proceed from boiling. Top up kettle as necessary to make 5.25 gallons.
All-extract version:
Steep black, crystal, chocolate and roasted barley as above (omit the pale malt) in 3 gallons water at 150° F for 45 minutes. Add 5.5 lbs. amber dried malt extract, proceed from boiling. Top up kettle as necessary to make 5.25 gallons.
OG =1.055
FG = 1.015
Bitterness = 36 IBUs
John Courage Amber clone
Scottish Courage Brewing Ltd.: Edinburgh, Scotland
We’ll spare you the corporate details, but various mergers and buyouts over the last four decades have made Scottish and Newcastle PLC one of the largest brewing companies in Great Britain. According to “The Good Beer Guide to Great Britain” (see “Brew Like the Brits” on page 30), Scottish and Newcastle now operates more than 2,600 pubs nationwide and produces such brands as Courage, McEwan, Younger, Theakston and Newcastle.
John Courage has an unusual twist for a British beer: It used to be labeled “amber lager” and is still brewed as a lager. It is malty and sweet, with a dry grainy aftertaste.
Ingredients
• 6.5 lbs. pale malt
• 0.5 lb. biscuit malt
• 0.75 lb. light (30° Lovibond) crystal malt
• 2/3 oz. of 9% alpha-acid Northern Brewer hops (6 AAUs)
• 1 oz. of 4% alpha-acid Fuggles hops (4 AAUs)
• 1 pt. starter of Wyeast 1338 (European lager) or 1742 (Danish lager)
• 1 cup light dried malt extract
Step by Step
Heat 10 quarts water to 164° F, crush the grains and mix into liquor. Hold at 152° F for 75 minutes. Begin runoff, sparge with 16 quarts of water at 168° F. Bring the wort to a boil, boil 10 minutes and add the Northern Brewer hops. Boil for 40 minutes. Add the Fuggles hops, boil for 5 additional minutes. Try to time the boil and the hop additions to end with 5.25 gallons (add a little water to the brew kettle during the boil, if necessary, to keep the volume up).
Remove from heat, cool to 55° F and pitch yeast. Ferment 8 to 10 days at 40° F, transfer to secondary and condition at 40° F for three weeks. Prime with dried malt extract and bottle. Age in bottles for four weeks.
Partial mash version:
Reduce pale malt to 3.5 lbs., mash in 10 quarts, sparge with 12 quarts. Add 2 lbs. amber unhopped dry malt extract, proceed from boiling. Top up kettle as necessary to make 5.25 gallons.
All-extract version:
Steep biscuit and crystal malts as above (omit the pale malt) in 3 gallons of water at 150° F for 45 minutes. Add 4.5 lbs. light dried malt extract, proceed from boiling. Top up kettle as necessary to make 5.25 gallons.
OG = 1.045
TG = 1.010
Bitterness = 18 IBUs
Samuel Smith’s India Ale clone
Samuel Smith Old Brewery: Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England
Founded in 1758, Samuel Smith’s is the oldest brewery in Yorkshire. It’s in Tadcaster, a small village nicknamed the “Burton of the North” for its distinctive water and the ales produced by the town’s three breweries.
India Ale is an amber ale with an explosive hop aroma and a deep, long, buttery malt flavor. The diacetyl (butterscotch and toffee) aroma and flavor is a by-product of the yeast strain. This beer is complex, yet smooth.
Ingredients
• 8 lbs. pale malt
• 1 lb. toasted pale malt (350° F for 15 minutes)
• 0.75 lb. medium (60° Lovibond) crystal malt
• 0.5 lb. malted wheat
• 2/3 oz. of 9% alpha-acid Northdown hops (6 AAUs)
• 1.5 oz. of 4% alpha-acid Kent Goldings hops (6 AAUs)
• 1 oz. of 4% alpha-acid Bramling Cross hops (4 AAUs)
• 1 oz. of 4% alpha-acid Fuggles hops (4 AAUs)
• 1 pt. starter of English ale yeast (Wyeast 1098 or equivalent)
• 3/4 cup light dry malt extract for priming
Step by Step
Heat 13.5 quarts water to 164° F, crush grains, mix into liquor. Hold at 152° F for 90 minutes. Begin runoff, sparge with 16 quarts water at 168° F. Bring wort to boil, add Northdown hops, boil 30 minutes. Add Kent Goldings hops, boil 15 minutes. Add Bramling Cross hops, boil 15 minutes. Try to time boil and hop additions to end with 5.25 gallons (add a little water to kettle during boil if necessary to keep volume up).
Remove from heat, cool to 68° F and pitch the yeast. Ferment 8 to 10 days at 65° F, transfer to secondary, add Fuggles hops (for dry hopping) and condition at 50° F for two weeks. Remove Fuggles, prime with dried malt extract and bottle. Age in bottles for 4 to 6 weeks.
Partial mash version:
Reduce the pale malt to 5 lbs., mash in 10 quarts of water, sparge with 12 quarts of water. Add 2 lbs. light unhopped dry malt extract, proceed from boiling as above. Top up brew kettle as necessary to make 5.25 gallons.
All-extract version:
Steep toasted pale, crystal and wheat malts as above (omit the pale malt) in 3 gallons water at 150° F for 45 minutes. Add 5.5 lbs. amber dried malt extract, proceed from boiling. Top up kettle as necessary to make 5.25 gallons.
OG = 1.060
FG = 1.018
Bitterness = 50 IBUs
Traquair House Ale clone
Traquair House Brewery: Innerleithen, Peeblesshire, The Borders, Scotland
Built in the early 12th century and billed as the “oldest inhabited house in Scotland,” Traquair House is actually a castle in the beautiful Scottish border country. According to “Michael Jackson’s Beer Companion,” the first written account of Traquair estate beer dates to 1566, during a visit by Mary, Queen of Scots.
The historic brewery was revived in 1965 by Peter Maxwell Stuart, the 20th Laird of Traquair. While exploring the castle’s fifty-odd rooms, he found the old brewery and restored it, using some of the original equipment that had been sitting idle for a century. His daughter, Lady Catherine, took over the brewery after his 1990 death.
Traquair House Ale is a deep reddish, full-bodied and richly-flavored ale. It carries an alcoholic warmth, hop bitterness and smoky malty flavor that is unmatched by any other beer.
Ingredients
• 13 lbs. pale malt
• 0.5 lb. dark crystal malt
• 0.25 lb. roasted barley
• 1.5 oz. of 4% alpha-acid Kent Goldings hops (6 AAUs)
• 1.25 oz. of 4% alpha-acid Kent Goldings hops (5 AAUs)
• 1 pt. starter of Scottish Ale yeast (Wyeast 1728 or equivalent)
• 1/2 cup amber dry malt extract for priming
Step by Step
Heat 18 quarts water to 164° F, crush grains, mix into liquor. Hold at 152° F for 90 minutes. Begin runoff, put the first gallon into a heavy pot and boil 30 minutes. Sparge the mash with 12 quarts water at 168° F. Add boiled (and hopefully partially caramelized) first runnings back to kettle, bring wort to boil, add 6 AAUs Kent Goldings hops, boil 60 minutes. Add remaining Goldings, boil 30 minutes. The boil should end with 5.25 gallons.
Remove from heat, cool to 68° F and pitch yeast. Ferment 8 to 10 days at 65° F, transfer to secondary and condition at 50° F for two weeks. Prime with DME and bottle. Age in bottles for 8 to 10 weeks.
Partial mash version:
Reduce pale malt to 7 lbs., mash in 10 quarts, sparge with 12 quarts. Add 4 lbs. amber unhopped dry malt extract, proceed from boiling. Top up kettle as necessary to make 5.25 gallons.
All-extract version:
Steep crystal and roasted barley as above (omit pale malt) in 3 gallons water at 150° F for 45 minutes. Add 9 lbs. amber DME, proceed from boiling. Top up kettle as necessary to make 5.25 gallons.
OG = 1.080
FG = 1.015
Bitterness = 40 IBUs
