Duchy Originals Traditional English Ale

[Chad]

Whatever you might think of the Prince of Wales, he produces a damn fine beer. Duchy Originals Traditional Ale is one of the tastiest English pale ales I've had. I know that it is made from Plummage Archer barley, but other than that I can't find many clues about the recipe. It appears to be brewed under contract by Wychwood, always a good sign. The beer also appears to be somewhat similar to Wychwood's Circle Master. One source says First Gold and Target hops. The beer pours cloudy copper and has a hint of residual sweetness so I believe there must be some portion of crystal malt in there, probably 40L or 60L.

From the limited information available I could probably dial in a credible clone with a couple of tries, but does anybody have any additional information or even a tested recipe? Orfy, this is right up your alley, whatcha got?

Chad

 

[Bob]

My question is "Where did you get it?" Is it being imported?

Bob

 

[Chad]

It's imported by Eurobrews, which, as it turns out, has a very nice video on the brewing of the ale on its website. I hadn't seen it before. Additional clues: 5%abv & solely First Gold hops. They only do a single hop addition in the video, but that's kind of surprising. The ale has a pretty strong hop flavor.

I get the Duchy Original ale at my local Whole Foods.

Chad

 

[Chad]

This is what I've worked out for a starting recipe. Comes in at 5%ABV and 36IBU with an IBU/GU ratio of .7, which seems about right to me. 60 minute mash at 154°, though I may go 150-152°. This beer finishes somewhat drier than, say, Hobgoblin.

Recipe: Pass the Duchy
Style: Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 6.00 gal
Boil Size: 7.94 gal
Estimated OG: 1.050 SG
Estimated Color: 8.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 36.1 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
9 lbs 8.0 oz Palt Malt, Golden Promise (2.0 SRM) Grain 86.36 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 13.64 %
1.25 oz First Gold [6.90 %] (60 min) Hops 26.8 IBU
0.50 oz First Gold [6.90 %] (30 min) Hops 8.2 IBU
0.25 oz First Gold [6.90 %] (5 min) Hops 1.1 IBU
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 11.00 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 13.75 qt of water at 165.9 F 154.0 F

Any thoughts?

Chad

 

[fastricky]

I love this beer too... curious to hear how the recipe turns out.

 

[Chad]

I'll let you know in a week or two. I brewed the test recipe yesterday. Unfortunately my usually well-choreographed brew day did not go smoothly. A brisk wind caused no end of trouble, including forcing me to chase my mash temperatures. In the end I managed 152°, but that was after a boiling water addition. Part of the mash was done at 146-148°. Let's call it a beta-amylase rest. Yeah, that's it. I expect this version to ferment really well. Probably too well.

Because I had to add water to hit my mash temperatures, I ended up with 6.5 gallons of 1.050 wort. I split that into two batches, a 2 gallon batch pitched with Nottingham (no starter, no rehydration) and a 4.5 gallon batch pitched onto a yeast cake of London Ale III (the Boddington's strain, reportedly). Both went into fermenters at 68° and were oxygenated with a 60 second blast of O2. Both fermenters are in water baths with ice bottles to keep the temperature in the 62-65° range.

Now that I give it some thought, the increased fermentability might be a good thing. I used Golden Promise, which has a reputation for sweetness, and a pound and a half of crystal 40. Mashing low might keep these test batches from being overly cloying. We'll see.

Chad

 

[Danek]

Now that I give it some thought, the increased fermentability might be a good thing. I used Golden Promise, which has a reputation for sweetness, and a pound and a half of crystal 40. Mashing low might keep these test batches from being overly cloying. We'll see.

Yeah, I think that could be a good thing - the one batch that I made with GP finished too sweet, so this could be a serendipitous accident. Hope it turns out OK for you.

 

[fastricky]

Keep us posted!

 

[Chad]

Update:

5/7/09 - 15 days from pitching. Nottingham sample is crystal clear and 1.007. London Ale III sample is cloudy and 1.010. Neither has any detectable hop aroma. Nottingham sample is crisp and bitter, lightly malty on the nose. London Ale III sample has a fuller mouthfeel and distinctly less bitterness, though there is a back of the palate finishing bitterness that I don't find in the Nottingham batch, which finishes cleaner. Color of both is a little darker than I was going for. There is no residual sweetness in either beer. The London Ale III version is simply fuller. Warm and flat, the Nottingham version is tastier.

Chad

ETA: Neither batch is quite what I'm looking for, though I think I'm on the right track. Next text batch, Pass the Duchy v2.0, will use Marris Otter rather than Golden Promise because the Plumage Archer barley used by Wychwood for Duchy Originals is a progenitor of Marris Otter. I think I'll also back off on the crystal 40 and substitute some crystal 10 to get the color closer to the target. Mashing low, inadvertent though it might have been, paid off, at least in the Nottingham sample. So PTDv2.0 will be mashed at 150° to 152° and fermented with Nottingham. On brew day I altered the hop schedule so the aroma/flavor hop addition came at 15 minutes rather than 30. I think that was a mistake. I'll go back to the original hop schedule of 60/30/5 rather than the 60/15/0 I used in v1.0. I'm missing the hop aroma that is a big part of the Duchy Originals' appeal.

 

[Chad]

Oh, and in a "what the heck" moment I blended the 2 gal. Nottingham-fermented sample into a keg of Boddington's clone I had in the fridge. I think it is an improvement. The clone was a bit bland. I swirled the Nottingham yeast slurry into the London Ale III fermenter in the hopes of drying and clearing that batch. All in the name of science, of course. I'll post the results in a week or so.

Chad

 

[Cowbizzoy]

Just curious if you ever nailed this clone down?

A local pub serves it up.... but i can't seem to find a liquor store with it...figure i'll make my own!

Cheers.

 

[Hex]

Just got the last bottle from BevMO.

 

[Chad]

Brewing this again next week when I rack my Inventory Bitter off the Wyeast 1026 yeast cake. I think I can get it closer this time with a half pound of Crystal 40 and a half pound of Crystal 10 or CaraPils, whichever I happen to have on hand. I'll mash low (150º to 152º) and ferment at 63º to keep it crisp and clean, and up the aroma hops addition. I'll have to pick up a bottle or two of the real thing for research purposes