East India Pale Ale - Double Mash Recipe

Big Brew 2011

This is an English recipe from the 1800s that comes from “India Pale Ale,” by Steve Wagner and Mitch Steele, an upcoming book from Brewers Publications.  The recipe from the 1800s uses the double-mash technique, where the mash is held at conversion rest for 2 hours before draining, and then a second mash is performed on the grain at a hotter temperature.  The wort of each mash is boiled separately, each with half of the hops, before they are combined to hit the target gravity in the fermenter. Because this is a technique not everyone can perform, we also offer the recipe in an all-grain single mash version, and of course, an extract version.

Brewing Liquor targets:

The target is Burton well water, hard: ~300 ppm Calcium, 650 ppm Sulfate, 700-900 ppm hardness.

Boil liquor for 15 minutes and allow to cool to strike temperature (for removing carbonates/temporary hardness).

Malt Bill

100% White Malt (floor malted British Extra Pale Malt), color target < 2°L.

Alternate malt bill is a 50/50 blend of floor malted English Pale Malt and Pilsner Malt.

Mashing/Lautering

Double-mash system, no sparging.

1st Mash: Strike Temp 165 °F (74 °C). Hold for 2 hours, tap temperature (wort temperature) at end of conversion should be 150 °F (66 °C).

2nd Mash: Strike Temp 180 °F (82 °C). Hold for 1 hour, tap temperature should be 165 °F (74 °C).

Kettle Boil and Hopping

~5 lbs of hops per barrel =2.5 oz per gallon, split evenly between the 2 boils.

Use the freshest possible East Kent Goldings hops at 100%.

1st Wort: Boil 2 hours with half the hops. After straining, leave these hops in the hopback.

2nd Wort: Boil 2 hours with the other half of hops. Run over the first half of hops in the hopback.

Fermentation and Aging

Combine worts. Pitch fresh Burton Ale Yeast at 58 °F (14 °C), and allow to free rise to 72 °F (22 °C) over 4 days. Rack when the beer is about 7 degrees Plato (1.030). At one week cask or keg beer and add dry-hops.

Dry hop in casks or kegs at rate of 1.5 lb/bbl (0.8 oz/gallon) using fresh East Kent Goldings hops. Allow the beer to age cool at 50 °F (10 °C) maximum for at least 6 months in the keg prior to serving or bottling.

Analytical Targets

OG Plato (SG): 16.8°P (1.067)

TG Plato (SG): 2.5°P (1.010)

ADF: 85.1%

BU: 130 in wort, 70 in beer

ABV (ABW): 7.8% (6.5%)

Special Notes/instructions:

1.         Double mashing was traditional in the 1700s and early 1800s British mash systems. The milled malt is mashed in with water and held at conversion rest. Then the wort is drained from the grain, and boiled. At same time, a second mash using the original grain, is held at a hotter temperature for the indicated amount of time. The second wort is drained from the grain and boiled separately from the first. Combine the two cooled worts to hit the target gravity in the fermenter.

2.         Boils should be low intensity to avoid excess color development. Boil each for 2-3 hours, adding the hops to each at start of the boil.