Banks’s Mild Ale clone

Banks’s Mild Ale clone
Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries, England

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.035 FG = 1.008
IBU = 23 SRM = 8 ABV = 3.5%

Ingredients

5.5 lbs. (2.5 kg) mild ale malt (substitute a 50:50 mix of pale ale malt and Vienna malt or pale ale malt and light Munich malt, if mild ale malt is unavailable)
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) flaked barley
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) crystal malt (40 °L)
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) light brown sugar
3.5 AAU Fuggle hops (90 min.) (0.7 oz./20 g of 5% alpha acid)
2.25 AAU Kent Goldings hops (90 min.) (0.45 oz./13 g of 5% alpha acid)
Wyeast 1318 (London III) or similar yeast (1 pt. yeast starter)
2/3 cup corn sugar (for priming)

Step by Step

Mash grains in 2.2 gallons (8.36 kg) of 150 °F (66 ºC) water for 60 min. Sparge with 168–70 °F (76 ºC) water to collect 4 gallons (15.2 L) of wort. Add 2.5 gallons (9.5 L) of water and boil for 90 min.

At beginning of boil, add the hops and boil 90 min. Add sugar for final 15 minutes of boil. Whirlpool and cool to 68 °F (20 ºC), pitch yeast starter and aerate well. Ferment for 4–5 days at 68 °F (20 ºC), then rack to secondary fermenter.

Condition for seven more days or until fermentation is done or gravity is about 1.008 (2° Plato). Prime and bottle. Allow to carbonate (carbonation will be low compared to most American beers). Age at least seven more days before drinking.

Partial mash option: Add 3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) liquid malt extract to the recipe, decrease amount of mild ale malt to 0.5 lbs. (0.23 kg). Steep grains in 0.75 gallons (2.9 L) of water at 150 °F (66 ºC) water for 30 min. Sparge grains with 0.5 gallons (1.9 L) of 170 °F (77 ºC) water. Add water to “grain tea” make 2.5 gallons (9.5 L) and heat this liquid to boiling. Add sugar and boil for 60 minutes. At beginning of boil, add hops. With 15 mins left in boil, stir in liquid malt extract. After boil, cool wort to 68 °F (20 ºC) and then transfer to fermenter. Add water to make 5 gallons (19 L), aerate and pitch starter. Aerate well. Ferment as above.