2014 Big Brew Day: Seymour Simcoe Mild

[Jim]

Nice one Seymour - a new style? Atlantic fusion!

[lord.president]

I like the idea of a Simcoe Mild.

If we could guarantee weather like that in Manchester there would be no stopping me.

Unfortunately, you can almost guarantee weather not like that.

HA. 15 hour sparge?

[Monkeybrew]

Excellent work Seymour!

This is a very inspiring brew, looks like my AG#7 is going to be a Seymour Simcoe Mild type thing.

Cheers

MB

[seymour]

Nice one Seymour - a new style? Atlantic fusion!

Thanks, Jim. Yeah, you're right. But then...everything I brew would fall under that style.

Excellent work Seymour!

This is a very inspiring brew, looks like my AG#7 is going to be a Seymour Simcoe Mild type thing.

You won't regret it. Is your Ringwood yeast still kickin'?
This recipe is custom-made for it.

[Clibit]

Seriously though, I personally think certain fruity American hops work great in dark roasty ales, especially with subtly spicy Ringwood yeast.

Seymour, which fruity hops would you put in this bracket? Simcoe, Columbus, Chinook, Cascade, Centennial? Others?

[seymour]

Seriously though, I personally think certain fruity American hops work great in dark roasty ales, especially with subtly spicy Ringwood yeast.

Seymour, which fruity hops would you put in this bracket? Simcoe, Columbus, Chinook, Cascade, Centennial? Others?

Yes, those for sure, and I've tasted delicious Big Brown Beers made from all the above. El Dorado, Amarillo, and Belma are also great. There is a new type called Meridian I'm trying to get my hands on.

Really any strongly flavoured hops (as opposed to "fine" noble types) will do. My Sorachi Ace Mild is drinking really good right now. And Australian/New Zealand types bring a lot to the party: Green Bullet, Mosaic, Galaxy, Rakau, etc. I've been really digging the French/Alsace types lately, too: Strisselspalt & Triskel especially. Go crazy, the sky's the limit. Report back with some of your own findings!

Interestingly, it's always been that way, so it's not a cheat. Even historical London Porter brewers often intentionally selected "wilder" American hops instead of the nobler Fuggles, Goldings, Styrian, Saaz, etc, available to them, and not just because of cost-savings or shortages, as the story often goes.

[YeastWhisperer]

However, in that context, "wild" American hops meant Cluster, not modern citrus and pine bombs like Simcoe.

[seymour]

However, in that context, "wild" American hops meant Cluster, not modern citrus and pine bombs like Simcoe.

True dat. "But these go to eleven."

[gibbiem]

Seymour, what would be a good yeast substitute for this brew?

[Clibit]

Really any strongly flavoured hops (as opposed to "fine" noble types) will do. My Sorachi Ace Mild is drinking really good right now. And Australian/New Zealand types bring a lot to the party: Green Bullet, Mosaic, Galaxy, Rakau, etc. I've been really digging the French/Alsace types lately, too: Strisselspalt & Triskel especially. Go crazy, the sky's the limit. Report back with some of your own findings!

Interestingly, it's always been that way, so it's not a cheat. Even historical London Porter brewers often intentionally selected "wilder" American hops instead of the nobler Fuggles, Goldings, Styrian, Saaz, etc, available to them, and not just because of cost-savings or shortages, as the story often goes.

Cheers, thanks for the info. I have used some of those in dark beers - Rakau, Chinook, Columbus, Centennial and Cascade. I have some Green Bullet and Simcoe, so could give those a whirl.

Can you describe the aroma characteristics of Strisselspalt and Triskel? Sound interesting. Might grab some cheap £1 Triskel from the Maltmiller....

[seymour]

Seymour, what would be a good yeast substitute for this brew?

Brewer's Choice, as always!

Use your favourite English ale yeast with strong personality. Think bolder than the typical Nottingham or Whitbread-B/WLP007/Wyeast 1098/S-04 (or if that's all you got, at least ferment warm to emphasize esters.) I love the true Ringwood brewery yeast because it's high-attenuating (meaning it'll ferment even the most difficult sugars down to dryness, hence higher abv, magically retaining some maltiness and bready mouthfeel yet allowing the hops to shine), high-flocculating (meaning it finishes fast then clumps together and drops like a stone, which is also ideal for cask- and bottle-conditioning), plus a great balance of spicy, fruity, woodsy flavours with just the faintest hint of pleasant diacetyl when young. So, any yeast with as many of the above traits as possible will do. This would also be a great opportunity for you to increase complexity by creating your own multi-strain yeast. The possibilities are endless.

In particular, an estery top-cropped Yorkshire type would be best (remember: the Ringwood Brewery got their dual-strain from Hull in North Yorks which probably got it from Samuel Webster & Wilson in Halifax, West Yorks.) Can you get a bottle of Samuel Smith's Stingo to culture from? Anyway, there are so many exquisite English ale strains to choose from. I can't wait to hear which you choose.

If however, you select a lower-attenuating strain, you'll probably want to compensate by slightly reducing the percentage of unmalted grain as well as the mash temperature and--hard as it is to wait--give it plenty of bulk-conditioning time before bottling.

Cheers, thanks for the info. I have used some of those in dark beers - Rakau, Chinook, Columbus, Centennial and Cascade. I have some Green Bullet and Simcoe, so could give those a whirl...

I think Green Bullet for bittering and lots of Simcoe for flavour and aroma would be delicious.

Can you describe the aroma characteristics of Strisselspalt and Triskel? Sound interesting. Might grab some cheap £1 Triskel from the Maltmiller...

Okay, but you asked for it. Cheap Triskel should be swept-up on sight, once the word spreads, there will no longer be such a thing as cheap Triskel

This excellent article discusses Elsasser hops, an obvious variant spelling, apparently referring to related French/Alsace Strisselspalt varieties. The author states it was an old favourite of Anheuser Busch, who simply called them "Alsace." That must have been a very long time ago, although A-B still grew some of their own "improved" Spalt Select hops (released by Hull Institute in Germany, 1991) in the US and Germany until the InBev takeover when they stopped using any whole hops. You can sometimes find Spalt Select pretty cheap, if so grab 'em, they're great noble aroma hops you can cheat into any style, like Hallertau but more so. Meteor Pils, a fairly well-known French lager, is still brewed with Saaz and Alsace hops.

I used Strisselspalt for aroma in this big smoky stout, blended with Chinook, Hallertau and Ahtanum. Way too much going on there to distinguish one hop, but the beer was certainly delicious.

Here are some excerpts from my Ratebeer.com submissions:

Urban Chestnut Strisselspalt IPA
"… Very pleasant hops aroma, seemed like familiar German noble characteristics but with a lemony, flowery, honey-like twist. Very tasty biscuity malt backbone, mild buttery diacetyl and vanilla aromas (a little pils malt in the mix?) Light-medium body, strong carbonation, lingering bittersweet aftertaste. A nice, nuanced, single-hop IRA. Well-crafted and highly drinkable."

Triskel hops were bred from Strisselspalt and Yeoman, a high-alpha, disease-resistant variety bred at your Wye College (along with Challenger, Northdown, Northern Brewer, Progress, Target, etc. There you go again, England, helping the rest of the world grow more exciting hops…wink, wink!)

Urban Chestnut Triskel Trafalgar
"…Nice hoppy aromas, wildflowers, somehow gritty yet perfumey at the same time, definitely different (and less classically English profile) than the regular Trafalgar, husky grains, rising bread dough, freshly baked whole-grain bread, mild but very harmonious. Delicious, true-to-style English bitter flavors: sweet malts, biscuits, crackers, toasted nuts, light caramel, fruity ale yeast, apricots, orange rind and zest, lemon peel, cooked and caramelized fruitiness (marmalade is right.) Light-medium carbonation, light-medium body, lingering fruity and bittersweet aftertaste. Tasty, easy-drinking, and well-balanced English ale…"

Schlafly Hop Trial: Triskel Golden Ale
"…Refined noble-type aromas of freshly-cut grass, faint black pepper, vanilla, but unexpectedly lemon zest, peppermint, flowers, warm drizzled honey. I might’ve guessed Sorachi Ace, or a New Zealand variety. Flavours: a nearly neutral grainbill, although very crisp malts, highly attenuated, with the spotlight on this unusual hop: lemony and peppery again, plus golden raisins, hints of mango and honeydew melon, herbal Sleepytime Tea. Light body, strong carbonation, lingering fruity aftertaste. I’ve learned (from this one as well as Urban Chestnut’s current single hop Trafalgar English Pale Ale) that I really like Triskel as an all-around hop: aromatic and tasty, no harshness or unpleasant vegetal aspects at all. I bet it will blend nicely with other citrusy hops too."


Another cool related French/Alsace hop is called Tardif de Bourgogne. I can't find any to brew myself, but they were extremely interesting in this commercial beer:

Schlafly Hop Trial: Tardif de Bourgogne Pale Ale
"… Interesting aromas of freshly-cut lawn, pronounced lemon zest, faint ripe melons, strawberries, lemon zinger tea, and warm honey-drizzled baklava. Good flavours, too: light biscuity malt sweetness again with perfectly tangy hops balance. Bitterness was smooth and pleasant, just right for this simple grainbill and session strength. The low-alpha aroma hops used for every addition lent a green, herbal impression. Reminiscent of sparkling lemonade with more subtle melony, fruity, flowery notes. Overall, I like Tardif de Bourgogne hops a lot: faint but pleasant bitterness, nice mellow fruity flavours, and superb aromas. Very well-balanced and "noble" variety of French Strisselspalt…"

Most imporantly, try 'em out for yourself. Looking forward to hearing your own thoughts and/or rebuttals.

[killer]

Apparently Orval is dry hopped with Strisselspalt for 2-3 weeks during its secondary fermentation in the conditioning vessels.
There is now also a small amount of Alsace grown Cascade available - I think I might get some of the Alsace Columbus first though...

[seymour]

...There is now also a small amount of Alsace grown Cascade available - I think I might get some of the Alsace Columbus first though...

Killer, my man, I think you just blew my mind.

[Clibit]

Ok, I asked for it! Thanks for the full response, I think I need some Triskel.

[AdyG]

Great write up there Seymour as always, & congrats on a great looking mild.

I was going to attempt my first mild so and thinking along these lines with bold hops, still going for a 20 IBU 4% ABV max beer but I have Simcoe, Citra and Mosaic at my disposal, as was also thinking of adding a little bit of rye & chocolate rye to a standard mild grain bill.