I first tasted Courage Directors Ale in 1990 in the North Yorks Moors and have been a fan ever since, even when it has changed hands and is no longer brewed by Courage. I've tried several different versions of clone recipes in an attempt to find one that more closely matches the original version. This weekend I am brewing the clone recipe listed in the orginal 1993 edition of Graham Wheeler's "Brew Your own British Real Ale at Home", which includes over 4kgs of Pale Malt, Crystal Malt, a small amount of Black Malt for flavour and 500g of Maltose Syrup.

Unlike later versions, the hop Mixture includes a mix of Hallertau and Styrian Goldings hops as both a late boil hop and a dry hopping addition. I'm going to use Brewing Sugar instead of Maltose Syrup and add it during the boil, but otherwise I will follow the recipe and see how it comes out.

I currently stock an All Grain Mix pack for Courage Directors that is based on the recipe in the latest version of Graham's book, but if this one proves to be better, I will amend the mix to reflect this recipe instead.