As well as experimenting with different recipes, I try to brew a small number of core beers. The problem is that as our tastes have changed, so too have the “core beers”. This approach has the additional benefit that I don’t have to stock a wide variety of ingredients. Plus what I do stock gets used quickly – meaning the ingredients are always fresh.
When I started out, Deanhouse Blonde was a big favourite and I couldn’t brew enough of it. It is similar to Farmer’s Blonde (Bradfield Brewery) or Golden Pippin (Copper Dragon Brewery). There are a number of other similar pale ales from other Yorkshire breweries.
Now we seem to be drinking more of the “hop forward” pale ales. There are a lot to choose from, but many of the beers from Verdant remain firm favourites. One of the stand out beers from Verdant is People, Space, Money, Time – full of flavour and with an ABV of around 4%, you can drink more than one can of it at a time.
You will find a complete list of all the brews here, but the core ones currently are….
Deanhouse Blonde
For me, this is a typical Yorkshire Blonde – full of flavour based on the large amounts of Cascade and Simcoe hops. It is possible to produce a very hoppy IPA using Cascade hops without adding loads of bitterness or an unusual bitter aftertaste. I usually brew this with extra pale Maris Otter and Fermentis US-05 yeast. Occasionally, I add some pale wheat malt to the recipe to provide more body (and a little bit of haze).
You will find the recipe here on the Grainfather site.
ABV 4.7% IBU 32
Welsh Steve’s NE-IPA
My version of the trendy New England IPA. Using Maris Otter Extra Pale malt with some pale wheat and oats for body (and haze). I use different hop combinations but it is usually something like Mosaic, Citra and (El Dorado/Bru-1/Galaxy). It is double dry hopped for additional flavour and aroma. It is kegged and then bottled as it doesn’t really like bottle conditioning. Uses Lallemande’s Verdant IPA yeast.
You will find the recipe here on the Grainfather site.
ABV 6.3% IBU 30
Black IPA
It looks like a stout, but it is actually a black IPA! The toasted flavour comes from the addition of Carafa III malt with Galena and Citra hops. When I first brewed this, I wasn’t convinced, but after I left it condition in the bottle, it turned out to be a firm favourite. The original brew was 6.8%, but I have turned the ABV down on the latest batches to around 5.8%. Base malt is Crisp Maris Otter with Fermentis US-05 yeast.
ABV 5.8% IBU 67
New World Bitter
It is a traditional English Bitter based on Golden Promise together with some crystal malt. This gives it a slightly caramel taste. I am using new world hops (Cascade, Columbus and Chinook) for flavour with Cascade as the bittering hop, so it isn’t overly bitter. Fermentis US-05 yeast produces a very clean taste. Bottle conditioned.
You will find the recipe here on the Grainfather site.
ABV 4.73% IBU 25
South Sea Spice
Based on a Cascade hopped IPA, but with a subtle taste of fresh ginger. This is based on a recipe from Bowman Ales in Southampton. I first tasted this in a pub in London and was blown away by it. Unfortunately, Bowman don’t brew this any more, but they were kind enough to provide me with the recipe. The trick is trying to get the balance right between the hop flavour and the ginger. Base malt is Maris Otter with Fermentis US-05 yeast.
You will find the recipe here on the Grainfather site.
ABV 4.0% IBU 23