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Styles · Old Ale

Beer style · BJCP 2021 17B

Old Ale

Strong British Ale

Published ranges These are the ranges the BJCP 2021 guidelines publish for this style.

Original gravity
1.055–1.088
Final gravity
1.015–1.022
Bitterness
30–60 IBU
Color
10–22 SRM (20–43 EBC)
Alcohol
5.5–9.0 % ABV

What it is

A strong British ale that has spent real time in the cellar, picking up dried-fruit, sherry and leather notes from oxidation and slow maturation. A mild lactic or Brettanomyces edge is welcome so long as it stays complexity, not fault.

Flavor

What a Old Ale should taste like, on the three wheels the studio scores every recipe against. The shaded ring is the style’s range on each axis, from 0 at the center to 5 at the edge.

Hops

Room for earthy/woody.

Malt

Caramel, dark fruit and sweet/honey, with room for grainy, toasty, nutty or chocolate.

Fermentation

Fruity esters and clean, with room for tart or funk.

Hops that suit it

The traditional choice

What Old Ale has classically been brewed with.

Nothing else on character: the hops here are there for bitterness and balance, and any variety whose aroma you would notice is out of place.

Yeasts that suit it

Strains the lab made for beers like this one, whose fermentation character sits inside the style’s wheel. A strain sold by several labs is listed once; its page names the others.

And 72 more yeasts whose character fits. These are the 24 that fit best.

Style numbers, names and vital statistics are from the BJCP 2021 Beer Style Guidelines, where you will find the official descriptions. The descriptions and flavor wheels here are Beerwright’s own. Beerwright is not affiliated with or endorsed by the BJCP.