UK Golden Ale...my new favorite?

[J A]

I credit this beer in a roundabout way to @Sunfire96.
Though there have been other discussions around this style, an American iteration, which constituted the Q3 2025 Community recipe got me inspired. For that brew, I simplified the recipe a little (mostly due to ingredients on hand) and came up with an extremely nice hoppy light-blonde that I think of as PNW Golden Ale. When I brewed that, I split off and made half the batch with a pretty heavy dose of Pacific Northwest hops and fermented with Chico yeast. It turned out fantastic and was fairly close to the recipe, at least in concept, that @Sunfire96 posted.
For the other half of that split, I bittered the same as the PNW, with a dose of Magnum, but instead of a big flavor infusion pf PNW hops, I used a simple addition of Willamette (it's my generic, neutral hop for UK and American styles) and fermented with S-04. The result was clean, malty, bittered to perfection and very flavorful.
I've since brewed it on its own and it's just plain hard to resist! It's a little bigger and more malty than a typical UK Bitter, simpler, cleaner and crisper than a typical American Blond, more flavorful and interesting than the average lager. I've tended to start hitting the keg pretty much immediately and, even before it clears well, it's extremely good. When I can manage to leave any in the keg long enough to "lager out" it's pretty fantastic!
I'm going to do a batch soon (maybe a 10-gallon) and try Apex Sherwood, a Nottingham strain. I like what the S-04 does but I think I'll like the little more "clean" yeast profile and won't hate another point or two of attenuation. The S-04 does give that bit of fruitiness ( I always think of mild cherry cough drop) that might be missed. It's the good malt character that I like in this beer, though, and the Notty strain is pretty good at pushing that. We'll see.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1594695/uk-golden-ale

 

[Zambi]

Nice. Sounds like something I would enjoy

 

[Sandy Feet]

That does sound good. I also wonder about WLP 004?

 

[J A]

That does sound good. I also wonder about WLP 004?

I've gotten such solid results with dry yeast that I've pretty much given up on liquids. It's just easier to control cell count with confidence and the cost difference is pretty substantial. I did a split of my Irish Red with Nottingham and WLP004 and my records show that the Notty went faster and finished a couple of points lower. I didn't note any difference in flavor. I've made that beer a number of times using either S-04 or Notty and have defaulted to using Notty. I think S-04 drops a little cleaner, faster but I use Bio-Fine so it doesn't matter too much.

 

[Dave Y]

I've seen you mention magnum hops a few times of late. Would you mind sharing what characteristics you're getting and appreciating from Magnum? They're on my potential to buy list.

 

[J A]

I've seen you mention magnum hops a few times of late. Would you mind sharing what characteristics you're getting and appreciating from Magnum? They're on my potential to buy list.

It's a super all-around hop. I buy it by the pound or half pound and use it for bittering in nearly every recipe.
High alpha makes it very economical - I almost always use less than an ounce. The bittering is very present but super smooth and doesn't linger to interfere with the finish.
Because it's a German hop, it pairs extremely well with any sort of nobel or neutral hop but it lends a touch of citrus/floral when used in later additions. When used in higher quantity for bittering additions in IPAs and Pale Ales, the flavor tends to support late additions without getting in the way.
Occasionally, I'll use it for late additions, but I use it for bittering just about everything. I do like Warrior for bittering IPAs and Pales when I have it on hand and if I'm doing something that's very West Coast or PNW, I may use some CTZ for bittering to play up the piney character of later additions. For anything that's predominately fruity/citrus/floral and definitely for anything nobel, Magnum is my go-to.

 

[Dave Y]

Thanks! Back when I was in NoVA, magnum was an easy to grow hop, also Galena and Chinook. I'm looking for a solid bittering hop when I pick up more nobles. I will probably grab a pound of magnum too.

 

[Donoroto]

Magnum is perfect for clean bitterness.

 

[J A]

Thanks! Back when I was in NoVA, magnum was an easy to grow hop, also Galena and Chinook. I'm looking for a solid bittering hop when I pick up more nobles. I will probably grab a pound of magnum too.

I just haven't been without it for years now. Again, there are others that I like for IPAs but even for big, hoppy beers, Magnum is just solid.

 

[Dave Y]

I just haven't been without it for years now. Again, there are others that I like for IPAs but even for big, hoppy beers, Magnum is just solid.

Exactly the info I was looking for. Now that I'm in a homebrew supply dessert, I need to keep even more stuff on hand.

 

[Bigbre04]

I've seen you mention magnum hops a few times of late. Would you mind sharing what characteristics you're getting and appreciating from Magnum? They're on my potential to buy list.

magnum is hands down my favorite bittering hop. i have never really used it beyond that. i have a bag that i am gonna open up soon. i just wish i could get it in cryo

To me, magnum is very smooth for bittering.

 

[J A]

Exactly the info I was looking for. Now that I'm in a homebrew supply dessert, I need to keep even more stuff on hand.

If you haven't already done so, invest in a decent vacuum sealer. I use mine for everything - freezing meat from hunting, Costco quantities of just about everything, waterproof storage and for homebrewing, brick yeast (fridge) and hops (freezer). I buy almost all my hops from Yakima Valley. They run sales often and their shipping is fast and reasonably priced.

 

[Brew Cat]

cant go wrong with Magnum my only question is why only a touch of the MO in a British Pale Ale
spend the $ and go for all MO or GP in my opinion
a British Golden Ale is like a Pilsner its all about the malt, actually its probably more like a Kolsch
an American Golden is different that needs hops different animal more of a light Pale Pale Ale

 

[J A]

cant go wrong with Magnum my only question is why only a touch of the MO in a British Pale Ale
spend the $ and go for all MO or GP in my opinion
a British Golden Ale is like a Pilsner its all about the malt, actually its probably more like a Kolsch
an American Golden is different that needs hops different animal more of a light Pale Pale Ale

Yes, exactly,...like a Pilsner. I want clean malt flavor with a touch of color and sweetness. When I brew a German Pilsner or an American lager, I use predominately Pilsner malt or American 2-row with a relatively light percentage of Vienna, just the way I've used MO in this recipe. It's not about saving money - I buy by the bag and I think MO comes out to maybe 20 cents more per pound.
MO is a Pale Ale malt and is great for something closer to amber in color and much more malty and sweet. I do like a heavy MO percentage but not in this beer. I use it APA and IPA recipes if I'm low on other Pale Ale malts.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

Yes, exactly,...like a Pilsner. I want clean malt flavor with a touch of color and sweetness. When I brew a German Pilsner or an American lager, I use predominately Pilsner malt or American 2-row with a relatively light percentage of Vienna, just the way I've used MO in this recipe. It's not about saving money - I buy by the bag and I think MO comes out to maybe 20 cents more per pound.
MO is a Pale Ale malt and is great for something closer to amber in color and much more malty and sweet. I do like a heavy MO percentage but not in this beer. I use it APA and IPA recipes if I'm low on other Pale Ale malts.

for many years I only stocked Pale Ale and Vienna as base malts rather than pilsner or 2-row, Its just my preference in flavor

 

[Brew Cat]

yes I'll grab 2-row when its cheap for very hoppy beer but flavor wise its pretty underwhelming imo
I have been roasting my own malt and I can really tell the difference in grains flavor
my theory being that when you heat the grain whether mashing or roasting it really helps to highlight the flavor more

 

[Jerry R]

I have Warrior hops in stock for bittering. Do you think they would be good to use in this beer?

 

[J A]

I have Warrior hops in stock for bittering. Do you think they would be good to use in this beer?

I tend to use Warrior hops for American styles that call for more piney undertones. It is fairly neutral when used for bittering and so wouldn't be the worst choice.

The Warrior would be perfect for the PNW version of this beer. Here's my recipe that's based on @Sunfire96 's original. I've altered it to be bittered with Warrior, though one would make adjustments according to specific AA values of hops on hand. You could use any combination of Northwest hops - piney, citrus, tropical, etc... It's a fairly light beer so I toned down the IBUs a bit. When I brewed it at a higher IBUs, I thought it was a little much.
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/edit/1608297

And here's the original Community Recipe from Q3 2025
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1500460/on-tap-ale

 

[J A]

yes I'll grab 2-row when its cheap for very hoppy beer but flavor wise its pretty underwhelming imo
I have been roasting my own malt and I can really tell the difference in grains flavor
my theory being that when you heat the grain whether mashing or roasting it really helps to highlight the flavor more

I find that with 2-row, especially, it really depends on the maltster. I had a supply of Sekado a few years ago and the 2-row was fantastic. I also find that Great Western 2-row has a lot of flavor. I think Rahr is also good. If I'm remembering right, Breiss was pretty bland.

The idea of roasting your own is great. For just darker color and deeper, toasty/roasty flavor it's great. For more complex sweetness, just roasting won't quite do. I haven't experimented with "stewing" malt or partially converting and then drying/roasting to get more cara/crystal effect but it could be done.

 

[Brew Cat]

I make crystal and in another post I was talking about it
It's not stewing you actually mash it without crushing it then dry it and roast it like any other malt you roast
It comes out fantastic I was eating it like candy