ale

Lightning Strike Summer Ale Recipe

Apr 26, 2017

Lightning Strike Summer Ale (23 Litres)

The UK Golden Ale style (or Summer Ale) appears to have emerged in the mid 1980’s - with its origin attributed to a beer known as Summer Lightning, brewed by Hopback Brewery in Wiltshire, England. The brewer’s intention to produce a style of ale (5%ABV) with the refreshing characteristics and drinkability of lager with the added dimension of zesty hop aromatics was met with resounding success! Roger Protz, renowned beer author, once said “If I had to draw up a list of 10 world classic ales, it would include Summer Lightning.” So it’s no surprise that Summer Lightning became a multi-award winning ale and now has many commercial imitators. The recipe we have developed is an ‘easy to make’ interpretation of the cask version of Summer Lightning, with more malt and the addition of Northern Brewer hops this brew will achieve an even bolder result.

Ingredients

1 x 1.7kg Canadian Blonde
3 x 500g Light Dry Malt
1 x 25g East Kent Goldings (EKG) Hop pellets
1 x 25g Northern Brewer hop pellets
1 x 11g Danstar Nottingham Yeast
1 x Dextrose Corn Sugar or Carbonation Drops

Features:

Colour: Gold
Body: Medium
Bitterness: Medium
Approx. Alcohol Level: 5.4
Naturally Carbonated: Natural

Instructions:

Step 1: Mix

In a good sized pot (around 8 litres) bring about 500g of Light Dry Malt to the boil with 5 litres of water. Add half of the EKG Hops and boil for 5min then remove from the heat. Add the remaining EKG and all of the Northern Brewer hops, cover and let sit for about 25min. Set the pot in a cold/ice water bath to cool then strain into a fermenting vessel. Add the Canadian Blonde and 1kg of Light Dry Malt, stir to dissolve then top up with cool water to the 20 litre mark and stir thoroughly. Check the brew temperature and top up to the 23 litre mark with warm or cold water (refrigerated if necessary) to get as close as possible to 18C. Sprinkle the dry yeast, fit the lid and try to ferment at 18C.

Step 2: Brew

Fermentation has finished once the specific gravity is stable over 2 days. It should finish around the 1010 – 1014 mark.

Step 3: Bottle

Bottle the brew with 2 carbonation drops per 740ml - 750ml bottle (priming rate of 8g per litre).

Step 4: Enjoy

Allow to condition for at least 2 weeks in the bottle. To take advantage of the fresh hop characters, drink this brew early. Expect the alcohol content to be around 5.4% ABV.