Stingo

By Jacques Marais

Recipe is part of Recipe Index

BJCP 2021 Style 27A Historical Beer

A Yorkshire Stingo is a historical style and difficult to find. Samuel Smiths brew an annual version with slightly different recipes each time. It’s an amber to dark strong Burton ale barrel aged with quite high carbonation, typical of Yorkshire ales. Expect lots of malt and fruity esters with a balanced wooded aged character and medium bitterness. Some say it was slightly sour (hence the name), but that wasn’t the goal here. This one is two years old.

This was my second Stingo I’ve made, the first being barrel aged. This time I bought an ex-whisky stave, chopped it up and toasted the bits at different temperatures. The wood was harsh when young, but softened a lot as it aged and now I think it actually needs more wood. The judges said the same. I’d easily double the area exposed to the beer next time and aim for a bit more alcohol.

A Stingo should end dry, but this was just right with the lower alcohol. Aim for a 1.020 FG no matter what. The WY1098 is quite fruity, even after ageing, and worked well here even though a true Burton strain is more authentic.

Awards

These Ales of Wonder by Norwich Amateur Brewers (Ampersand Brewery, Norfolk, 12/10/2024)

2nd - Brown, Bitter and Historical

Measures

• OG = 1.073
• FG = 1.020
• EBC = 32
• IBU = 51
• Batch 18l

Ingredients

Water

• Target ppm: Ca 65 Mg 5, Na 25, SO4 50, Cl 100, HCO3 135 (started with 50/50 RO and tap water)

Malt

• 5kg Maris Otter
• 0.6kg Crystal 100 EBC
• 0.2kg Crystal 265 EBC
• 0.2kg Aromatic malt 57 EBC
• 0.06kg Special X 320 EBC

Hops

• Bramling X (5.8% aa) 100g at 30min
• EKG (6.0% aa) 50g at 10min

Wood

• Cut 25X3X3cm lengths from a full oak stave.
• Toasting is done in the oven for two hours and also serves as sanitation.

Total wood added:

• 22 X light toast 1cm cubes = 5 X 22cm2 = 110cm2
• 1 X 185C toast stave = 120cm2
• 1 X 225C toast stave = 120cm2
• Light toast cubes gives a woody/sweet flavour.
• 185C for vanilla and 225C for nuts.

Yeast

• WYeast 1098

Process

Mash

• Mash at 57 for 20min
• Then 70C for 60min
• Then 72C for 20min

Ferment

• Pitch and ferment at 19C
• After six days add the wood and leave for three weeks. A total of four weeks in primary is ok.

Conditioning/Serving

• Cold crash for two days then bottle at 2.7 vol CO2.
• Age for at least a year in the bottle.