St Austell Tribute is a beer many know and love, for Rakey here at The Malt Miller its one of his favourite beers. Its just so drinkable and there is nothing he loves more than heading to Cornwall to enjoy it whilst looking out at the sea, anytime of the year.

Zesty and fresh pale ale brewed with specially sourced ingredients, including Cornish Gold malt and hops from the UK and the USA. The malty base brings character and flavour and balances the beer’s fresh orange and grapefruit notes.

Join us as we take you on a journey behind the scenes at St Austell Brewery in Cornwall, learn all about their brewery, processes and all about the beer itself.

Ingredients Included

Crisp Extra Pale Maris Otter
Simpsons Malt – Cornish Gold™

Total Grain Bill 4300g

Willamette Whole Hops 100g (1 pack)
Celeia (Styrian Goldings) Whole Hops 100g (1 pack)
Target T90 Pellets (20 grams)
Aurora T90 Hop Pellet (15 grams)
Celeia – BarthHaas® Pure Hop Pellet (6 grams)
Fuggles T90 Pellets (25 grams)

NO YEAST INCLUDED – please full recipe details to understand more

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Method

Beer Style (main): British Ales
Beer Style (sub): Classic English-Style Pale Ale
Batch Size: 23
Original Gravity: 1.042
Final Gravity: 1.010
ABV %: 4.2
IBU: 15.1
Mash efficiency: 80
Brewing equipment: Recipe built using Grainfather software and brewed using a G40

THE MASH
Temperature °C (Step 1): 67
Length (mins) (Step 1): 60
Temperature °C (Step 2): 76

THE BOIL
Boil time (mins): 60

Hop / kettle additions and timing:

9g Fuggles T90 at 60 mins
15g Fuggles T90 at 15 mins

6g Celeia T90 at Flame out
5g Aurora T90 at Flame out

Whirlpool / hop stand:

Copper/Whirlpool Addition
20g Target T90
10g Aurora T90

Aroma Addition
100g Celeia & 50g Willamette

Read notes for details on timing

Yeast: NOT INCLUDED – To match St Austell yeast you want an ale yeast that flocculates well, has hints of orange, will leave a bright clean beer with minimal esters – see notes below for more info
Fermentation temperature/steps: Pitch at 14/15c and allow to free rise to 20c (no higher), or as per yeast instructions

Secondary additions:

No FV additions

Comments:

As part of our BrewWithUs series of YouTube videos we had the pleasure of spending 2 days at St Austell Brewery in Cornwall in November 2023. Where we got the privilege to spend time with Georgina Young their Brewing Director and her team learning all about their brewing processes. She also very kindly gave us the recipe for a beer we totally love Tribute.

When taking a commercial recipe that is designed for use with a specific brew kit it sometimes requires adjustments and adaptations to help make it more home brew friendly. Please be sure to watch the video on YouTube so you fully understand their processes and that the next text makes full sense before brewing this beer, as perfecting this recipe at home is all about process.

St Austell have a 4 vessel brewing system, as with any home brew recipe we supply this is your brew and you can choose to brew it how you see fit, however the following instructions are what we developed to best replicate the way St Austell brew this beer when using a single vessel at home.

Hop Additions

During the boil we are using T90 pellets just like St Austell. The boil is 60 minutes in total and hops are added as those 60 minutes count down to zero/Flame Out.

Once the boil has been completed and flame out addition added for 10-15 minutes then proceed to chill the wort to 80c and maintain the temp between 70-80c before moving onto the copper/whirlpool addition.

To take into account the time and process of St Austell we suggest that the Target T90 and Aurora T90 additions are added first to represent the copper addition that St Austell do, allow this to stand for 20-40 minutes.

Then add the Whole Hops, this represents the aroma addition of Celeia and Willamette which we have adjusted and measured based on the percentages that St Austell use and the variances of batch compared to their stock v ours. For those who wish to calculate this on software just enter 100g of Celeia whole hops. Once added if possible whirlpool the hops for 20-40 minutes.

Then chill the wort and transfer to the fermenter. The ideal is to get the wort to 14/15c then pitch your chosen yeast at 16c and allow it to free rise to 20c. St Austell do not allow it to go above 20c or raise for a diac rest either at the end.

Yeast

This kit comes without yeast, we have researched and tried various strains of yeast to try and deliver as close as possible to the St Austell yeast profile which is not overly estery, very flocculant and drops clear. Flavour wise Georgina describes it as a very subtle flavour with hints of orange that works well with the malt and hops.

We test brewed with WHC Old English, WLP007 and St Austell Yeast strain. Be sure to watch our video where we brew and taste this recipe to understand why the next section of notes and the reason behind yeast selection.

The most successful option to get a result close as possible to Tribute is to harvest yeast from Proper Job bottles. We have also tested this method by chilling 4 bottles of beer, pouring out the beer and enjoy whilst and retaining the last centimetre of each bottle. This was then swirlled around in the bottle to gather the yeast sediment, then transferred to a sanitised Kilner jar and chilled. You can then remove some of the excess beer and harvest this yeast and make a small yeast starter. We would suggest 300-500ml to start, then build it up slowly to at least 1 litre.

Fermentation

Yeast is pitched at 14/15c, allow the temp to slowly free rise to 20c and do not allow it to exceed 20c. A gentle rise will minimise the ester production and allow the yeast to do its thing at its own pace. St Austell do not raise above 20c, not even for a diac rest.
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We are not stipulating timings as these can and will change according to time of the year, temperature and brewing equipment, our best advice is use patience, measure, smell, taste and remember to be kind to the yeast.

Once FG is achieved slowly cold crash (couple of degrees per day) to 6c and allow it to naturally drop clear or add your usual finings before packaging the beer (we used Clarity at the start of fermentation then Brausol at the end). For those bottling their beer you will need to carbonate as per your normal process and repeat the temp control steps for the bottled beer before the next step.

When packaged the beer will need to condition. Based on what we learnt at the brewery this should be a minimum of 7 days.

Be sure to check out our YouTube channel where you will be able to find lots of great content featuring other breweries.

Don’t forget we also have an amazing range of beer to buy in our online beer shop Indie Beer Fridge for your enjoyment at home