THE CAT'S MEOW: BEER RECIPES FROM THE USENET HOMEBREW DIGEST ARCHIVES By the Subscribers of the Homebrew Digest Edited by Mark Stevens and Karl Lutzen PAGE ii The Cat's Meow is a compilation of recipes from the Homebrew Digest archives. This compilation may be stored in electronic form on any computer system or transmitted in its original form to any interested party provided that the book is not altered in any way, that this copyright notice is preserved, and that no fees are charged for it. Commercial use of this publication is strictly forbidden without the express permission of the Digest coordinator or his designee. This book is intended for the free sharing of information between members of the homebrewing community, as such it may be freely copied, dis- tributed, and used by any homebrewer, homebrewing club, or homebrew supply shop, without charge. Copyright 1991 by the Homebrew Digest. All rights reserved. First edition, February 1991. Electronic copies of this document are available as compressed PostScript files (*.Z), and compressed plain text from the Homebrew Digest archives via anonymous ftp to: mthvax.cs.miami.edu Users with problems using the archive should send E-mail to: [a--m] at [mthvax.cs.miami.edu] Homebrewers without network access can get copies of this compilation in various electronic forms (or as hardcopy) by writing (please enclose SASE) to either: Macintosh users: Mark Stevens, P.O. Box 405, Glenn Dale, Maryland 20769. DOS users: Karl Lutzen, Rt. #6 Box 419, Rolla, Missouri 65401. Comments, corrections, or questions about this document can be sent to Mark Stevens via E-mail to: [s--v--s] at [stsci.edu] or to Karl Lutzen at [l--tz--n] at [apollo.physics.umr.edu.] GEnie users can send GE Mail to: M.STEVENS21 PAGE iii Acknowledgments First and foremost, thanks are due to all of the subscribers of the Homebrew Digest who contribute their collective experience, tips, techniques, and of course, recipes. Through this sharing we improve our homebrewing skills and our knowledge of beer and the brewing industry. The digest would not be possible without the dedicated work of Rob Gardner, the digest coordinator; we all owe Rob tremendous praise for diligently collecting articles, collating them, and dis- tributing the daily digest to a list of well over 1,000 subscribers. Thank you Rob. Special thanks are also due to A.E. Mossberg who main- tains the digest archives at Miami. Without these archives much of the collective wisdom of the Homebrew Digest would be lost---especially to future subscribers. PAGE iv Early Scottish Ale ------------------ Thrice the brinded cat hath mewed. Thrice and once the hedge-pig whined. Harpier cries. 'Tis time, 'tis time. Round about the caldron go: In the poisoned entrails throw. Toad, that under cold stone Days and nights has thirty-one Swelt'red venom sleeping got, Boil thou first i' th' charmed pot. Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble. Fillet of a fenny snake, In the caldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder's fork and blindworm's sting, Lizard's leg and howlet's wing. For a charm of pow'rful trouble, Like a hell-broth, boil and bubble. Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble. Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf, Witch's mummy, maw and gulf, Of the ravined salt-sea shark, Root of hemlock digged i' the dark, Liver of blaspheming Jew, Gall of goat, and slips of yew Slivered in the moon's eclipse, Nose of Turk and Tartar's lips, Finger of birth-strangled babe Ditch-delivered by a drab, Make the gruel thick and slab: Add thereto a tiger's chaudron, For th' ingredients of our caldron. Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble. --- by William Shakespeare, in the true homebrew spirit PAGE v Contents Introduction vi Chapter 1: Pale Ale 1 Chapter 2: Pale Lager 26 Chapter 3: Wheat, Steam, and Rauchbier 35 Chapter 4: Stout and Porter 44 Chapter 5: Bock and Dark Lager 78 Chapter 6: Dopplebock and Barleywine 82 Chapter 7: Herbal and Spiced Beer 90 Chapter 8: Fruit Flavored Beer 102 Chapter 9: Specialty Ales 116 Chapter 10: Mead and Other Beverages 128 Appendix A: Bibliography 148 Appendix B: Sources of Supplies 152 Appendix C: Beginners Guide to Homebrewing 168 PAGE vi Introduction The digest began back in 1988 with calls for a compiled book of reci- pes first surfacing in Digest #77. Since then, there have been sever- al pleas for a compiled source of recipes, and several offers to cre- ate such a compilation. None have yet surfaced. The recipes in this book are ordered by general categories, although these are somewhat artificial and not always cohesive. For example, Chapter 3 covers styles that do not fit neatly into another category, yet bear little relation to each other---steam beer bears little rela- tion to wheat beers. These styles were grouped together because there were not enough of any one of these styles to warrant giving them their own chapter. Chapters 7-10 are all made up of loosely-related styles. This recipe compilation will hopefully be a useful source of informa- tion that serves you long and well. (If anybody wants to do volume 2 of this compilation, we stopped compiling recipes at issue #572). In several of these recipes the authors did not fully explain the process or did not mention steps and ingredients that theyassume home- brewers know about---for example, several recipes do not tell you to prime with 1/2 to 3/4 cup of corn sugar, even though that is common practice among most homebrewers on the net. Most recipes are 5-gallon batches unless otherwise specified. If you are unsure about how any beer is produced, we suggest consulting a general homebrewing text such as Charlie Papazian's Complete Joy of Homebrewing (a brief bibli- ography is provided at the end of this book). One aspect of these recipes that we did not make consistent is the authors' choice of hops units. Many homebrewers still prefer to measure hops by the ounce, while others prefer to use more exact measurements such as the AAU, HBU, or IBU. These are all related to the amount of alpha acid in the hops; basically, 1 ounce of hops with 1% alpha is 1 AAU. If you use 2 ounces of Cascades hops with an alpha of 5.2%, then you are adding 10.4 AAUs of hops. (See Miller's Complete Handbook of Home Brewing for more information about hops units or the 1990 special hops issue of Zymurgy magazine). Cheers! Mark Stevens and Karl Lutzen CHAPTER 1: PALE ALE Pale ales are one of the most popularly brewed styles among Homebrew Digest subscribers. This chapter includes the substyles India Pale Ale, and Bitter. The pale ale style is generally brewed with 2-row pale malt for a full mash recipe, or with light extract for the more basic recipes. The beer is generally characterized by a light yellow or golden color, although some will range to a coppery color (espe- cially among India Pale Ales) depending on the types and amounts of specialty grains added as an adjunct. These styles are typically well-hopped, usually with Fuggles, East Kent Goldings, or perhaps Willamette varieties. Fermentation is carried out at warmer tempera- tures, typically 60-70 degrees. For more information about the pale ale style, see Terry Foster's Pale Ale, Fred Eckhardt's The Essentials of Beer Style, (both available from the Association of Brewers) gener- al beer texts such as Michael Jackson's World Guide to Beer. 1 Clara Bell Author: Doug Roberts ([d z zr] at [lanl.gov]) Digest: September 2, 1989, Issue #244 Ingredients: 7 pounds light, unhopped syrup 1 pound Cara-pils malt, cracked 1 pound light crystal malt, cracked 1-1/2 ounces Hallertauer hops pellets 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon citric acid 2-1/2 teaspoons yeast nutrient 2 tablespoons Irish moss 2 packs Munton & Fison yeast Procedure: Put cara-pils and crystal malt in 2 gallon pot with 170-180 degree water for one hour, stir occasionally. Sparge into boiling pot with enough water to bring volume to 3-1/2 gallons. Add syrup and 1 ounce of hops. Boil one hour, adding Irish moss in last 1/2 hour and 1/2 ounce hops in last 10 minutes. Add salt, citric acid, and nutrient. Put in primary with enough water to bring volume to 5 gallons. Pitch yeast at about 75 degrees. Comments: This is simple, yet a little different from any of my previous batch- es. Ingredients were ordered from Great Fermentations of Santa Rosa--- great company...good stuff and two-day delivery. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.059 Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 2 Dry Ale Author: Martin Lodahl (pacbell!pbmoss![m--l] at [hplabs.HP.COM]) Digest: July 18, 1989, Issue #203 Ingredients: 3 pounds light Scottish malt extract 3 pounds 2-row pale malt 9 AAU Kent Goldings hops Edme ale yeast 1 teaspoon gelatin 1 ounce PolyClar-AT 1 cup corn sugar (priming) Procedure: This beer was made using the small-scale mash procedure described by Miller in The Complete Handbook of Home Brewing. Comments: This beer had an unpleasant "dry" feeling to it and left me thirsty. Possibly my sparging procedure could be at fault with too much hot water being passed over the grains. It is also possible that the yeast was too attenuative or that the fermentation temperatures were too high (ambient temperature fluctuated between 70 and 90 degrees). Method: Partial mash Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 3 Yeast Test Recipe Author: Jeff Casey ([c--s--y] at [alcvax.pfc.mit.edu]) Digest: October 8, 1990, Issue #512 Ingredients: 6.6 pounds M&F light unhopped malt extract 3/4 pound M&F light unhopped spray 3/4 pound crystal malt 1 teaspoon gypsum 2 ounces clusters hops (boil) 1/2 ounce cascades hops (finish) ale yeast Procedure: This is a 7-gallon recipe. Steep crystal malt while bringing water to a boil. Remove malt and add extract. Boil. Comments: This is a 7-gallon recipe that was divided into 7 1-gallon fermenters for the purpose of testing different yeasts. Fermentation was carried out at 75-85 degrees. Best results were obtained with Edme ale yeast which was well-rounded and slightly sweet. Some diacetyl, but nice balance. Whitbread ale yeast was lighter and crisper, but had a poor- er head and some esters. CWE ale yeast was very dry but had a good head and no esters---fermentation was frighteningly fast. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: varied Secondary Ferment: N/A 4 Pale Ale Author: Rob Bradley ([b--d--y] at [dehn.math.nwu.edu]) Digest: September 26, 1990, Issue #504 Ingredients: 7-8 pounds English 2-row malt 1/2-1 pound crystal malt 3 ounces Fuggles hops (boil) 3/4 ounce Hallertauer hops (finish) ale yeast Procedure: You'll get good yield and lots of flavor from English malt and a 1- stage 150 degree mash. In the boil, I added the finishing hops in increments: 1/4 ounce in last 30 minutes, 1/4 ounce in last 15 min- utes, and 1/4 ounce at the end (steep 15 minutes) don't have to be Fuggles; almost any boiling hops will do, I usually mix Northern Brewer with Fuggles or Goldings (just make sure you get .12-.15 alpha) Conversion will probably only take 60 minutes rather than 90. Depend- ing on when you stop the mash your gravity may vary as high as 1.050. That's a lot of body! Comments: This is a simple all-grain recipe for a good pale ale that lets the beginner concentrate on the mashing process. Hallertauer may not be traditional for ales, but neither is a modern piano for sonatas. But I think Beethoven himself would have used one if he had one. Method: Full mash (infusion) Original Gravity: varies; up to 1.050 Final Gravity: varies; up to 1.020 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 5 Pale Ale Author: Alex Jenkins ([a--j] at [mirror.tmc.com]) Digest: January 24, 1989, Issue #57 Ingredients: 5 pounds pale malt 1 pound crystal malt 1 teaspoon gypsum 3-1/2 pounds pale dry extract 1-1/3 pound light brown sugar 1 ounce Willamette hops (boil) 1-1/2 ounce Hallertauer hops 1 teaspoon Irish moss 1 ounce Clusters hops pellets Red Star ale yeast Procedure: Mash pale malt, crystal malt, and gypsum in 2-3/4 gallons of 170 degree water; this should give initial heat of 155 degrees (pH 5.0). Maintain temperature at 140-155 degrees for 2 hours. Sparge. To wort, add extract and brown sugar. Boil with Willamette hops. After 15 minutes add Hallertauer and Irish moss. Dry hop with clusters and steep. When cool, add wort to carboy and pitch yeast. The posted recipe called for 4 pounds of dry extract with 2 cups reserved for priming. This seemed excessive and a good way to get exploding bottles, so we reduced the amount of extract to 3-1/2 pounds and assumed that standard priming techniques would be used, maybe replacing corn sugar with 3/4 to 1 cup of malt extract. --- Ed. Comments: Notice that I screwed up the hops: Clusters are for bittering, and Willamette (or Fuggles) for aromatic. Method: Partial mash Original Gravity: 1.048 Final Gravity: 1.011 Primary Ferment: 23 days Secondary Ferment: N/A 6 Too Sweet Ale Author: Bill Pemberton ([f--a--h] at [virginia.edu]) Digest: April 13, 1990, Issue #398 Ingredients: 1/2 pound crystal malt 3.3 pounds unhopped amber extract 3.3 pounds unhopped light extract 1-1/2 ounce Northern Brewers hops (boil) 1/4 ounce Cascade hops (finish) Whitbread ale yeast Comments: This produced a wonderful beer, except that it was just too sweet for my likings. I shouldn't complain too much, all my friends thought it was great! I tried several variation of this, and all worked out well, but were too sweet for me. Several people suggested cutting back on the crystal and I may try that. I have also tried sing a lager yeast to create a steam beer. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 7 KGB Bitters Author: Andy Wilcox ([a--y] at [mosquito.cis.ufl.edu]) Digest: May 9, 1990, Issue #415 Ingredients: 1 can Alexanders Sun Country pale malt extract 3.3 pounds Northwestern Amber malt extract 1/2 pound dark crystal malt 3 ounces CFJ-90 Fresh hops 1/4 teaspoon Irish moss ale yeast Procedure: Start grains in brewpot with cool water. Remove when boil commences. Add malt extract and 1-1/2 ounce of hops. Boil 1 hour. Strain out boiling hops and add 1/2 ounce more hops and Irish moss. Boil 5 min- utes. Remove from heat and add another 1/2 ounce of hops. Steep 10 minutes and cool. Strain wort into primary fermenter with cold water to make 5 gallons. Add final 1/2 ounce of hops. Comments: Water was filtered with a simple activated carbon system. This seems to make a big difference. Amateur judge commented, "Beautiful color. A bit under carbonated. Great hop nose and finishes very clean. Good balance with malt and hops, but lighten up on finishing hops a bit and it's perfect. Very marketable." Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 8 Pale Ale #2 Author: Todd Enders Digest: May 15, 1990, Issue #417 Procedure: Recipe makes 2 gallons. Mash in 5 quarts water at 140 degrees, main- tain temperature of 150-152 degrees for 2 hours. Mash out 5 minutes at 168 degrees. Sparge in 2-1/2 gallons at 160 degrees. Boil 90 min- utes. Add boiling hops 45 minutes into boil. Ingredients: 2-1/2 pounds pale ale malt 2/5 pound 80L crystal malt 1/2 ounce Perle hops (7.6 alpha) (boil) 1/2 ounce Perle hops (finish) Wyeast #1028: London Ale Method: Full mash Original Gravity: 1.041 Final Gravity: 1.010 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 9 Pale After Math Ale Author: Ken van Wyk ([k--n] at [oldale.pgh.pa.us]) Digest: May 16, 1990, Issue #418 Ingredients: 6.6 pounds American classic light extract 1 pound crystal malt 2 pounds British pale malt 3 ounces Fuggles leaf hops 1 ounce Cascade leaf hops 2 teaspoons gypsum 1/2 teaspoon Irish moss 1 pack MEV high-temperature British ale yeast Procedure: Mash grains at 155 degrees. Sparge with 170 degrees water. Boil, adding extract and boiling hops; the hops were added in stages, 1 ounce at 50 minutes, 1 ounce at 30 minutes, and 1 ounce at 20 minutes. The Cascade hops were sprinkled in over the last 10 minutes of the boil. Method: Partial mash Original Gravity: 1.054 Final Gravity: 1.018 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 10 The Drive Pale Ale Author: Dave Baer ([d s baer] at [Sun.COM]) Digest: February 13, 1989, Issue #73 Ingredients: 6.6 pounds light, unhopped malt extract 5 pounds light dry malt extract 2 cups corn sugar 3/4 cup medium crystal malt 1/4 cup black patent malt 3-3/4 ounce Cascade hops pellets (4.4 alpha) 1-1/5 ounce Willamette hops pellets (4.0 alpha) Whitbread ale yeast Procedure: This is a 10-gallon recipe; cut ingredients in half for 5 gallons. Steep grains in a mesh bag until water reaches boiling. Remove grains. Follow standard extract brewing process, adding extract and Cascade hops. I boiled the wort in an 8-gallon pot and added 4 gal- lons of cold water. Pitch yeast at about 80 degrees. I fermented this in a 20-gallon open container for 4 days, then racked to glass carboys for 24 days. Comments: This is a pale ale recipe I used for my class. I used M&F pale ex- tract and grains were for demonstration more than flavor. I suggest doubling grain quantities if you want to get something out of them. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.047 Final Gravity: 1.010 Primary Ferment: 4 days Secondary Ferment: 24 days 11 Killer Party Ale Author: A.E. Mossberg ([a--m] at [mthvax.miami.edu]) Digest: March 7, 1989, Issue #95 Ingredients: 2 cans Pilsner/Lager or American light malt 15 cups corn sugar 2 jars Lyle's golden syrup (22 oz.) 2-1/2 ounce Hallertauer hops 2 pounds flaked maize 1 pack BrewMagic yeast Procedure: In 1 gallon water, boil malt, golden syrup, sugar and 1-1/2 ounce hops for 8 minutes. Add remaining hops and boil another 2 minutes. Pour into primary fermenter with 2 gallons water. Bring another gallon of water to a boil and add flaked maize. Turn off heat and 1/3 pack of BrewMagic. Let sit 10 minutes. Add another 1/3 pack of BrewMagic. Let sit 10 more minutes. Strain maize into primary fermenter, and rinse with cold water. Discard maize. Fill primary to 5 gallon mark. Comments: This recipe comes from Craig McTyre at Wine & Brew By You. The Lyle's syrup is available in many grocery stores, usually located near the pancake syrup. BrewMagic is some sort of yeast nutrient/additive. It is available from Wine & Brew By You. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.090 Final Gravity: 1.015 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 12 Summer Pale Ale Author: Jackie Brown ([B--o--n] at [MSUKBS.BITNET]) Digest: April 24, 1989, Issue #134 Ingredients: 8 pounds 2-row pale malt 1 pound Munich malt 1/2 cup dextrin malt 1 teaspoon gypsum 20 grams Nugget leaf hops (14 alpha) 15 grams Brambling leaf hops pinch Irish moss 1 pack Edme ale yeast Procedure: Use the standard temperature-controlled mash procedure described in Papazian. Use a 30 minute protein rest at 122 degrees, 20 minutes at 152 degrees, and 20 minutes at 158 degrees. Sparge with 4 gallons of 180 degree water. Boil 1 hour with Nugget hops. Add Irish moss in last 10 minutes. Remove from heat and steep Brambling hops for 15 minutes. Cool wort and pitch. Comments: This ale is light in color, but full-bodied. If you want an amber color, add a cup of caramel malt. I get a strong banana odor in most of my ales (from the Edme I believe) which subsides after 2-3 weeks in the bottle. If you don't have the capacity for 9 pounds of malt, you could substitute some extract for the pale malt. Just thinking about this makes me want to speed home and have a cool one. Method: Full mash (decoction) Original Gravity: 1.045 Final Gravity: 1.015 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 13 Perle Pale Author: Doug Roberts (roberts%[s--g--y] at [lanl.gov]) Digest: March 15, 1990, Issue #378 Ingredients: 8 pounds Klages malt 1 pound flaked barley 1/2 pound toasted Klages malt 1/2 pound Cara-pils malt 1-1/2 ounce Perle hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Willamette hops (finish) 1 teaspoon gypsum 1/2 teaspoon Irish moss 14 grams Muntona ale yeast Procedure: The 1/2 pound of Klages malt was toasted in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. The mash was done using Papazian's temperature-controlled method. The Perle hops equal 12.4 AAUs. The Willamette hops are added after the boil, while chilling with an immersion chiller. The yeast is rehydrated in 1/2 cup of 100 degree water. Comments: Perle pale was a beautiful light-golden ale, crisp yet full-bodied. Method: Full mash Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 14 Mild Ale Author: Darryl Richman ([d--rr--l] at [ism.isc.com]) Digest: March 5, 1990, Issue #371 Ingredients: 5 pounds Klages 2-row malt 4 pounds mild malt 2 pounds crystal malt (80L) 1/2 pound English pale malt 1/2 pound flaked barley 1/5 pound chocolate malt 1 ounce Willamette leaf hops (5.9% alpha) 1/8 ounce Cascade leaf hops (6.7% alpha) 1/8 ounce Eroica leaf hops (13.4% alpha) 1/2 ounce Willamette leaf hops (finish) yeast Procedure: Water was treated with 2 gm each MgSO4, CaSO4, KCl, and CaCO3. Mash grains in 3 gallons of water at 134 degrees. Hold 120-125 degrees for 55 minutes, raise to 157 degrees for 55 minutes. Raise to 172 degrees for 15 minutes. Sparge with 5-3/4 gallons water. Boil 15 minutes. Add bittering hops. Boil 55 minutes. Add finishing hops and boil 5 more minutes. Chill and pitch with Sierra Nevada or Wyeast Northern White- shield yeast. Ferment and bottle or keg. Comments: This is the only beer I can make 10 gallons of on my stove. I mash and boil 5 gallons and then add 5 gallons of cooling water. The Wyeast makes this a beer a bit sweet and rich beyond its gravity. Emphasis is on the malt, with crystal and chocolate bringing up the rear; hops were noticeable, but not in the foreground. Method: Full mash (decoction) Original Gravity: 1.031 Final Gravity: 1.011 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 15 India Pale Ale Author: Todd Enders ([e--de--s] at [plains.nodak.edu]) Digest: April 19, 1990, Issue #402 Ingredients: 2-1/2 pounds pale malt 5 ounces crystal malt (80L) 5.5 AAUs bittering hops (1 ounce of 5.5% Willamette) 1/2 ounce finishing hops (Willamette) Wyeast #1028: London ale Procedure: This is a 2-gallon batch. Mash in 5 quarts 132 degrees (140 degree strike heat). Adjust mash pH to 5.3. Boost temperature to 150 degrees. Mash 2 hours, maintaining temperature at 146-152 degrees. Mash out 5 minutes at 168 degrees. Sparge with 2 gallons of 165 degree water. Boil 90 minutes, adding hops in last hour. Add finishing hops 5 min- utes before end of boil. Ferment at 70 degrees, 6 days in primary, 4 days in secondary. Comments: If you haven't tried mashing yet, you really should. You can start small and grow as equipment and funds permit. Also, by starting small, you don't have a large sum invested in equipment if you decide mashing isn't for you. Method: Full mash Original Gravity: 1.043 Final Gravity: 1.008 Primary Ferment: 6 days Secondary Ferment: 4 days 16 Special Bitter Author: Chuck Cox (bose!synchro![c--u--k] at [uunet.UU.NET]) Digest: December 18, 1990, Issue #556 Ingredients: 15 pounds pale unhopped dry extract 2 pounds crystal malt 1 pound flaked barley 1 pound pale malt 1 teaspoon gypsum 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon Irish moss 4-1/2 HBUs Fuggles hops (boil) 14 HBUs Northern Brewer hops 5 HBUs Cascade hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Fuggles hops (finish) 1 ounce East Kent Goldings hops 26 grams Fuggles hops (dry hop) 40 grams East Kent Goldings (dry) Young's yeast culture beechwood chips Procedure: This is a 10-gallon partial mash recipe. Use standard procedures, brewing about 7 gallons of wort in a 10-gallon kettle, followed by a 7-gallon primary and 2 5-gallon secondaries, then keg (or bottle) Method: Partial mash Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 17 1990 Christmas Ale Author: Chuck Cox (bose!synchro![c--u--k] at [uunet.UU.NET]) Digest: December 18, 1990, Issue #556 Ingredients: 9.9 pounds pale unhopped liquid extract 6.6 pounds liquid wheat extract 3 pounds honey 1 pound flaked barley 1 pound pale malt 1 pound malted wheat 10 grams orange peel 1 teaspoon gypsum 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon Irish moss 14 HBUs Chinook hops (boil) 7 HBUs Northern Brewer (boil) 1 ounce Kent Goldings (finish) 1 ounce Cascade hops (finish) Young's yeast culture Procedure: This is a 9-gallon partial mash recipe. Use standard procedures, brewing about 7 gallons of wort in a 10-gallon kettle, followed by a 7-gallon primary and 2 5-gallon secondaries, then keg (or bottle) Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 18 Decent Extract Pale Ale Author: Florian Bell (florianb%tekred.cna.tek.com) Digest: February 11, 1989, Issue #72 Ingredients: 7 pounds Steinbart's amber ale extract 1 pound cracked crystal malt 1/8 pound cracked roasted malt 2 ounces Cascade or other strong hops 1/2 ounce Kent Goldings hops yeast Procedure: Add cracked grains to 2 gallons cold water. Bring to boil and prompt- ly strain out grains. Add extract and Cascade hops. Boil 30 minutes. Add Kent Goldings hops in last five minutes. Comments: This brew results in a chill haze, which I don't pay any attention to since I don't care (I don't wash my windshield very often either) I am so impressed with this ale that I can't seem to make enough of it. can't seem to make enough of it. This is a good pale ale, but not an excellent pale ale. It lacks sweetness and aroma. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 19 Hot Weather Ale Author: Florian Bell (florianb%tekred.cna.tek.com) Digest: April 19, 1989, Issue #132 Ingredients: 3 pounds pale malted barley 3 pounds Blue Ribbon malt extract 2 ounces Willamette hops 1/2 ounce Kent Goldings hops 1 pack Red Star ale yeast 1 cup corn sugar (priming) Procedure: Mash the 3 pounds of plain malted barley using the temperature-step process for partial grain recipes described in Papazian's book. Boil 30 minutes, then add the Blue Ribbon extract (the cheap stuff you get at the grocery store) Add Willamette hops and boil another 30 minutes. Add Kent Goldings in last 5 minutes. When at room temperature, pitch yeast. Ferment at about 68 degrees using a 2-stage process. Comments: This turned out refreshing, light in body and taste, with a beautiful head (I used 1 cup corn sugar in priming) goodness of the outcome. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 20 Really Incredible Ale Digest: T. Andrews (ki4pv![t--nn--r] at [bikini.cis.ufl.edu]) Author: August 11, 1989, Issue #225 Ingredients: 5-7 pounds pale malt 3 pounds crystal malt 2 pounds wheat 2 ounces Northern Brewer hops 1 ounce Hallertauer hops 1/2 ounce Cascade hops yeast Procedure: Mash all grains together. Add Northern Brewer at beginning of boil. Boil 90 minutes. During last 1/2 hour, add the Hallertauer hops. In last 15 minutes add the Cascade. Comments: The wheat helps make a beer very suitable to a warm climate. This has been a hot summer; it has topped 100 degrees (in the shade) several times. Method: Full mash (infusion) Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 21 British Bitter Author: Fred Condo ([f--e--c] at [pro-humanist.cts.com]) Digest: October 31, 1990, Issue #528 Ingredients: 5 to 6 pounds Alexander's pale malt extract 1/2 pound crystal malt, crushed 10 ounces dextrose (optional) 1-1/4 ounces Cascade hops (boil) 1/4 ounce Cascade hops (finish) Munton & Fison ale yeast corn sugar for priming Procedure: Steep crystal malt and sparge twice. Add extract and dextrose and bring to boil. Add Cascade hops and boil 60 minutes. In last few minutes add remaining 1/4 ounce of Cascade (or dry hop, if desired). Chill and pitch yeast. Comments: This really shouldn't be too highly carbonated. This is a well- balanced brew with good maltiness and bitterness. It was good when fresh, albeit cloudy, but this is okay in a pale ale. After 2 months of refrigeration, it is crystal clear and still delicious! (And there's only 1 bottle left.) By the way, Munton & Fison yeast is very aggressive---fermentation can be done in 24-72 hours. I hope you like this as much as I do. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.058 Final Gravity: 1.022 Primary Ferment: 4 days Secondary Ferment: N/A 22 Six Cooks Ale Author: Jeffrey Blackman ([b--ck--n] at [hpihouz.cup.hp.com]) Digest: October 31, 1990, Issue #528 Ingredients: 10 pounds English pale malt (DME) extract 4 ounces Cascade hops pellets (boil) 2 ounces Hallertauer hops pellets (finish) 4 teaspoons gypsum 2 packs Edme ale yeast 1-1/2 cups corn sugar (priming) Procedure: This recipe makes 10 gallons. Bring 3 gallons of water to a boil. Add 4 teaspoons of gypsum, four ounces of hops, and 10 pounds of the DME extract. Bring to boil. Boil 45 minutes. Add 2 ounces of Haller- tauer hops in last 1 minute of boil. Strain wort into large vessel containing additional 7 gallons of water (we used a 55 gallon trash can). Allow wort to cool and siphon into 5-gallon carboys. Add yeast. Caveat Brewor: Trash cans are generally not food-grade plastic, digest wisdom calls for avoiding non-food-grade plastic. Brewer discretion is advised. -Ed. Comments: This is more hoppy than most of the Old Style/Schaefer persuasion seem to prefer. If you think its too much, cut back. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.030 Final Gravity: 1.007 Primary Ferment: 3 weeks Secondary Ferment: N/A 23 Bass Ale Author: Rob Bradley ([b--d--y] at [math.nwu.edu]) Digest: October 31, 1990, Issue #528 Ingredients: 6-7 pounds pale malt (2-row) 1 pound crystal malt 1 pound demarara or dark brown sugar 1 ounce Northern Brewer hops (boil) 1 ounce Fuggles hops (boil 30 min.) 1/2 ounce Fuggles hops (finish) ale yeast Procedure: This is an all-grain recipe---follow the instructions for an infusion mash in Papazian, or another text. The Northern Brewer hops are boiled for a full hour, the Fuggles for 1/2 hour, and the Fuggles finishing hops after the wort is removed from the heat, it is then steeped 15 minutes. Comments: I'm a hophead (as you may have guessed). Purists may object to brown sugar in beer, but a careful tasting of Bass reveals brown sugar or molasses in the finish---not as strong as in Newcastle, but present. British malt, in particular, can easily stand up to a bit of sugar, both in flavor and in gravity. Method: Full mash (infusion) Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 24 Carp Ale Author: Gary Mason ([m--s--n] at [habs11.enet.dec.com]) Digest: November 2, 1990, Issue #529 Ingredients: 3 pounds Munton & Fison light DME 3 pounds M&F amber DME 1 pound crystal malt 2.6 ounces Fuggles hops (4.7% alpha= 12.22 AAU) 1 ounce Kent Goldings hops (5.9% alpha = 5.9 AAU) pinch Irish moss 1 pack Brewer's Choice #1098 (British ale yeast) Procedure: Break seal of yeast ahead of time and prepare a starter solution about 10 hours before brewing. Bring 2 gallons water to boil with crushed crystal malt. Remove crys- tal when boil starts. Fill to 6 gallons and add DME. After boiling 10 minutes, add Fuggles. At 55 minutes, add a pinch of Irish moss. At 58 minutes, add Kent Goldings. Cool (I used an immersion chiller) to about 80 degrees. Pitch yeast and ferment for about a week. Rack to secondary for 5 days. Keg. Comments: This is based on Russ Schehrer's Carp Ale from the 1986 Zymurgy spe- cial issue. The beer has a light hops flavor and could use some work on the mouth feel. It is also a bit cloudy. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: 1.016 Primary Ferment: 7 days Secondary Ferment: 4 days 25 CHAPTER 2: PALE LAGER Lagers do not seem to be brewed by Homebrew Digest subscribers as much as other styles, probably because adequate refrigeration is not avail- able, it takes longer to ferment and age, and the techniques are not as straightforward as ale brewing. Still, lagers are the predominant styles in many countries, such as the United States and Germany, so homebrewers who want to emulate commercial beers usually find them- selves brewing lagers. Chapter 2 includes the pilsner style, as well as any of the continen- tal or American style pale lagers. The beer is typically brewed from a 6-row malt and hopped with some of the more delicate hops, such as Hallertauer or Saaz. Fermentation typically takes place at lower temp- eratures, around 40 degrees. For more information about the pale ale style, see David Miller's Continental Pilsner, Fred Eckhardt's The Essentials of Beer Style, (both available from the Association of Brewers), or one of the gen- eral beer texts such as Michael Jackson's World Guide to Beer. 26 German Malz Bier Author: Doug Roberts ([d z zr] at [lanl.gov]) Digest: January 16, 1991, Issue #566 Ingredients: 7 pounds light unhopped syrup 2 pounds Cara-pils malt 2 pounds light crystal malt 1 pound extra rich crystal malt 1/2 ounce Hallertauer (5.0% alpha) 1 ounce Willamette (4.5 alpha) 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon citric acid 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient 1 tablespoon Irish moss Edme ale yeast Procedure: Mash cara-pils and crystal malt for 2 hours in 140 degree water. Sparge to make 4 gallons. Add syrup and Hallertauer hops. Boil 60 minutes, adding Irish moss in last 30 minutes. Decant to primary, adding enough water to make 5 gallons. Add salt, citric acid, yeast nutrient, and dry hop with Willamette hops. Comments: A year or so ago I went to a party where the host had about 20 dif- ferent types of good beer. One was a German malz bier that was deli- cious! It has a wonderful sweet, malty, full-bodied flavor. Working on the assumption that its body is achieved with dextrin and crystal malt, I cooked up this recipe. The intent is to have all or most of the dextrin and caramelized maltose remain after fermentation for the malz taste and body. Method: Partial mash Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 27 Munich Style Lager Author: Norm Hardy (polstra![n--m] at [uunet.UU.NET]) Digest: October 11, 1990, Issue #515 Ingredients: 7 pounds Klages malt 3 pounds Vienna malt 6 ounces pearl barley 1-1/2 ounces Hallertauer leaf hops 1/2 ounce Hallertauer hops (finish) Wyeast #2206 Procedure: Soak the pearl barley overnight in the refrigerator, mix it into a starchy glue using a blender. Mash the pearl barley with the grains. Boil 1-1/2 ounces of Hallertauer with the wort. Add 1/4 ounce of fin- ishing hops in last 10 minutes and steep 1/4 ounce after boil is com- plete. Pitch yeast at about 76 degrees. I put the fermenter in fridge for 23 days, then racked to secondary for another 49 days before bottling. Comments: This is a wonderful Munich-style lager that I would like to think rivals Andechs (I aim high). Method: Full mash Original Gravity: 1.052 Final Gravity: 1.015 Primary Ferment: 23 days Secondary Ferment: 49 days 28 Lager Author:Doug ([d--eg--r] at [seismo.gps.caltech.edu]) Digest: October 5, 1990, Issue #511 Ingredients: 3.3 pounds Northwest malt extract 1 pound light dry malt 1/2 pound Munich malt 2 pounds Klages malt 1 ounce Hallertauer hops (5.1 alpha) 1/4 ounce Nugget hops (11.0 alpha) 1 ounce Hallertauer hops (finish) Wyeast #2042: Danish Procedure: Start yeast ahead of time. Mash Munich and Klages malts together. Sparge. Add extract and boiling hops. Boil one hour. Add finishing hops. Chill to 75-80 degrees. Pitch yeast. When airlock shows signs of activity (about 6 hours) refrigerator at 42 degrees. After one week, rack to secondary and ferment at 38 degrees for two more weeks. Bottle or keg. Comments: This beer tastes great and is very clean. There are, however, two things I will do next time: add more bitterness (perhaps 10-11 HBUs), and second, add more malt. Method: Partial mash Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: 1 week Secondary Ferment: 2 weeks 29 B.W. Lager Author: Alex Jenkins ([a--j] at [mirror.tmc.com]) Digest: January 24, 1989, Issue #57 Ingredients: 7 pounds cracked lager malt 5 pounds amber dry malt extract 1 teaspoon gypsum 2500 mg ascorbic acid 2 ounces Talisman leaf hops 1 teaspoon Irish moss 1/2 ounce Hallertauer leaf hops 1 ounce Willamette hops pellets Red Star lager yeast Procedure: Add grain to 2-1/2 gallons of 170 degree water giving an initial heat of 155 degrees and a pH of 5.3. Maintain temperature at 130-150 degrees for 2 hours. Sparge. Bring to boil. Add extract, and Talisman hops. In last 20 minutes add Irish moss. In last 10 minutes add Hallertauer hops. Strain wort and cool. Add Willamette pellets for aroma. Pitch yeast. Comments: Tastes great, but low alcohol according to the measurements. Nice amber lager. Method: Partial mash Original Gravity: 1.029 Final Gravity: 1.020 Primary Ferment: 30 days Secondary Ferment: N/A 30 Lager Author: Alex Jenkins ([a--j] at [mirror.tmc.com]) Digest: January 24, 1989, Issue #57 Ingredients: 7 pounds cracked lager malt 1250 mg ascorbic acid 3.3 pounds light unhopped John Bull malt extract 1-1/2 ounce Northern Brewer hops pellets 1 ounce Talisman leaf hops 1 teaspoon Irish moss 1 ounce Willamette hops pellets Red Star lager yeast Procedure: Add grain to 2-1/2 gallons 170 degree water giving initial heat of 155 degrees. Maintain temperature for two hours. Sparge and add malt extract. Bring to boil. Add Northern Brewer hops, Talisman hops, and Irish moss in last 20 minutes of boil. Dry hop with Willamette pel- lets and cool. Add water to make 5 gallons and pitch yeast. Comments: Higher gravity than previous recipe (B.W. Lager) reflecting a more effective mash. On day 2 of ferment the bubbler got clogged and was replace with blow tube. The resulting beer was fairly amber, not too sweet, with a certain dryness in the aftertaste. Method: Partial mash Original Gravity: 1.046 Final Gravity: 1.018 Primary Ferment: 25 days Secondary Ferment: N/A 31 Twelfth Lager Author: Alex Jenkins ([a--j] at [mirror.tmc.com]) Digest: January 24, 1989, Issue #57 Ingredients: 10 pounds lager grain 4000 mg ascorbic acid 1 pound light dry malt extract 9 ounces Chinese yellow lump sugar 1 ounce Talisman hops (leaf) 1 ounce Hallertauer hops pellets 1 teaspoon Irish moss 1 ounce Cascade hops Red Star ale yeast Procedure: Add grain to 3 gallons of 170 degree water giving an initial heat of 155 degrees. Mash at 130-155 degrees for 2 hours. Sparge and add ex- tract and Chinese lump sugar. Boil. In last 20 minutes add Talisman hops. In last 10 minutes add Hallertauer hops and Irish moss. Strain. Add Cascade hops and steep. Strain into fermenter when cool and pitch yeast. Comments: Slightly hazy and very light colored. This should not lack body. Method: Partial mash Original Gravity: 1.043 Final Gravity: 1.010 Primary Ferment: 35 days Secondary Ferment: N/A 32 Pilsner Author: Erik Henchal ([h--c--l] at [wrair.ARPA]) Digest: April 15, 1989, Issue #128 Ingredients: 4 pound can Mountmellick hopped light malt extract 3 ounces crystal malt 2 teaspoons gypsum 1/4 ounce Saaz hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Saaz hops (finish) Wyeast #2007 Procedure: This recipe makes 5-1/2 gallons. Make 2-quart starter for yeast. Steep crystal malt at 170 degrees for 20 minutes in brew water. Remove grains. Boil extract and boiling hops for 75 minutes. Add finishing hops in last 10 minutes. Conduct primary fermentation at 47-49 degrees for 3 weeks. Lager for 4 weeks at 30 degrees. Comments: This recipe has produced one of the finest pilsners I have ever made. What could be simpler? Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: 3 weeks Secondary Ferment: 4 weeks 33 Number 17 Author: John Watson ([w--ts--n] at [pioneer.arc.nasa.gov]) Digest: November 21, 1990, Issue #541 Ingredients: 3.3 pounds plain light malt extract 2.2 pounds maltose 3/4 ounce Cascade hops (boil) 3/4 ounce Cascade hops (finish) yeast, cultured from a Sierra Nevada bottle Procedure: The maltose is a cheap rice-malt mix obtainable from oriental markets. Boil malt, hops, and maltose in 2-1/2 gallons of cold water. In last 2 minutes, add the finishing hops. The yeast was cultured from a bottle of Sierra Nevada pale ale. By the next day, the yeast did not seem to start, so I added a packet of Vierrka lager yeast. Rack to secondary after one week. After another week, prime with 3/4 cup corn sugar and bottle. Comments: Color similar to any American lager. Tastes much better, very mellow. The goal was to brew 5 gallons of beer while only spending $10. This came to about $11. I'm not sure what drives me to such frugalness, but having grown up with American beer, sometimes I would rather have it with certain foods, like pizza. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.038 Final Gravity: 1.006 Primary Ferment: 1 week Secondary Ferment: 1 week 34 CHAPTER 3: WHEAT, STEAM AND RAUCHBIER Wheat beers, steam beers, and rauchbier have no more in common than stout and lambic, yet they are grouped because each is specialty style of interest to digest subscribers, yet none is brewed so often that a significant number of recipes exist in the digest archives. The wheat beer style includes both the weisse, common in Berlin, and the weizen, common in Munich. Weisse is the lighter of the two, with lower starting gravities and a lower wheat to barley ratio (typically 1 to 4). Weizen is a fuller-bodied brew and will often contain equal portions of wheat and barley malt. Hallertauer is often the predomin- ant hops choice for wheat beer, but homebrewers regularly experiment with traditionally English hops (such as Willamette) or some of the younger U.S. strains. Steam beer is fermented with lager yeast at warmer temperatures, and rauchbier shows a hint of smoke, derived from either adjuncts such as Wright's Liquid Smoke, or from barbecuing the malted barley. For more information about these styles, see Fred Eckhardt's The Essentials of Beer Style, (both available from the Association of Brewers), or one of the general beer texts such as Michael Jackson's World Guide to Beer. 35 Weizen? Why Not? Author: Jason Goldman ([j d g] at [hp-lsd]) Digest: February 16, 1990, Issue #359 Ingredients: 6 pounds Williams wheat extract 1 pound crystal malt 1/2 pound toasted barley 1 pound honey 2 ounces Cascades hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Cascades hops (finish) 1 package Wyeast wheat yeast Procedure: Make a 2-quart starter before brewing. Steep crystal and toasted barley in 4 gallons water for 40 minutes (use grain bags to make this easier). Add extract, honey and bittering hops. Boil wort for 1 hour. Remove from heat. Add finishing hops and steep 2 minutes. Chill and pitch yeast. After 3 days, rack to secondary. Bottle after 8 days. Comments: This beer was a bit cloudy and should have some Irish moss. I'm not really sure what the honey added to this beer (more experimentation is in order). However, it turned out so well that I won't omit it in the future. This was a very good extract-based recipe (it well nigh evap- orated). Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.050 Final Gravity: 1.012 Primary Ferment: 3 days Secondary Ferment: 5 days 36 Ole Bottle Rocket Author: Wayne Allen (wa%[cadillac cad mcc com] at [mcc.com]) Digest: January 31, 1990, Issue #348 Ingredients: 6 pounds light dry malt extract 1/2 pound toasted malt 3/4 ounce Northern Brewer hops pellets (boil) 1/4 ounce Northern Brewer hops pellets (finish) 1 pack lager yeast Procedure: Toast grains on cookie sheet in 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Crush malt as you would grain. Put in 1-1/2 gallons water and bring to boil. Strain out grain. Add extract and boiling hops. In last 2 minutes of boil add finishing hops. Add to enough water to make 5 gallons and pitch yeast. Comments: I've made many variations of steam beer, but simple ones like this seem to turn out best, not to mention being easy to make. I usually use more Northern Brewer than this, but then nobody will eat my chili either. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 37 Rauchbier Author: Ken Weiss ([c c kweiss] at [castor.ucdavis.edu]) Digest: May 18, 1990, Issue #420 Ingredients: 7 pounds light dry extract 1-1/2 teaspoons liquid smoke 1-1/2 ounce Tettnanger hops (boil) 1 ounce Tettnanger hops (finish) 1/2 teaspoon Irish moss 2 packs Red Star lager yeast Procedure: Boil extract, liquid smoke, and boiling hops in 2-3 gallons of water for 45 minutes. Add Irish moss and finishing hops and boil 5 more minutes. Strain into fermenter, add cold water to make 5 gallons, pitch yeast. After 3 days rack to secondary. Allow to ferment an additional 3-4 weeks. Comments: This is basically a nice light beer, but with a definite smoke after- taste. Mainstream, but with a non-commercial twist. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: 3 days Secondary Ferment: 3-4 weeks 38 Anchor Steam-Style Amber Author: Clay Phipps (hplabs!garth!phipps) Digest: June 21, 1990, Issue #444 Ingredients: 7 pounds John Bull plain light malt extract 1/4-1/2 pound crystal malt 2 ounces Northern Brewer hops (11 alpha) (boil) 1 ounce Cascade hops (5.6 alpha) (finish) 2 packs lager yeast Procedure: Pour 1 gallon water into brewpot. Crush grains and add to brewpot. Bring to boil. Remove grains. Add malt extract. Add 1/3 of the boiling hops. After 20 minutes, add another 1/3 of hops. After another 20 minutes add the last 1/3 of hops. After another 20 min- utes, remove from heat and add finishing hops. Cover wort. Pour 3 gallons cold water into fermenter. Strain wort into fermenter along with enough water to make 5-1/2 gallons. Pitch yeast and put in blow- off tube or airlock. Comments: This recipe was offered in 1986 by the now-defunct Home Brewer shop in San Jose, California, as the best approximation to Anchor Steam possible with home-brew-scale extract brewing. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 39 Weizen Author: Darryl Richman ([d--rr--l] at [ism780c.isc.com]) Digest: June 26, 1989, Issue #186 Ingredients: 14 pounds wheat malt 8 pounds Munich malt 6 pounds 2-row malt 90 grams Hersbrucker hops (3.4% alpha) 10 grams calcium carbonate Sierra Nevada yeast Procedure: This is a 15-gallon batch. Our beer was 50% malted wheat, 30% Munich, and 20% 2-row malt. Medium soft water was used with the addition of 10 grams CaCO4. Mash with 1-1/4 gallons water per pound of grain with rests at 120 degrees (1-1/2 hours), 135 degrees for 45 minutes, 148 degrees for 30 minutes, and 156 degrees until converted. 172 degrees for 15 minutes. We took our time with the sparge: 20 minutes to set- tle in the lauter tun, at least 30 minutes of recycling, and 1-1/2 hours to sparge. We cut it off at a gravity of 1.015 because we weren't getting sweetness, just grainy notes. Comments: The hot break in the boil was the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen. It looked like egg drop soup. We took out a sight glass and grabbed a bit and the flocks were huge---as much as 1/2 inch in diam- eter. Method: Full mash (decoction) Original Gravity: 1.055 Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 40 Blow Me Away Holiday Ale Author: Steve Conklin (...!uunet!ingr!b11!conk!steve) Digest: December 8, 1989, Issue #319 Ingredients: 6 pounds William's Weizenmalt syrup 2 pounds dark DME 2-3/4 pounds buckwheat honey 1 pound crushed crystal malt 1/4 pound crushed chocolate malt 2-1/2 ounces Cascade hops (boil) 1-1/2 ounces Hallertauer hops 3.6 alpha (boil) 3/4 ounce Hallertauer hops (finish) 4 teaspoons whole allspice 1 teaspoon Irish moss yeast 2/3 cup corn sugar (priming) Steep grains in 2 gallons water while heating to boil. Remove grains. Add extracts and honey. Boil 1 hour with boiling hops, add 1 teaspoon Irish moss at 30 minutes. Simmer allspice in water for 3 minutes, remove allspice and add water to primary. After fermenting, prime with corn sugar and bottle. This beer turned out very well. It has just a hint of the allspice, more in the aroma than the flavor, and is quite sweet tasting. There is a slight bitter hops aftertaste, but I think that if it were any less bitter, the sweetness would be overpowering. This beer will bring color to your cheeks. The spice can be omitted with no great loss. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.090 Final Gravity: 1.025 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 41 Wheat Amber Author: Marc San Soucie (wang![m d s] at [uunet.UU.NET]) Digest: July 1, 1989, Issue #191 Ingredients: 1 can Kwoffit Bitter kit (hopped extract) 3 pounds light dry malt extract 1 pound crystal malt 1/2 pound wheat malt Fuggles leaf hops Kwoffit yeast Procedure: Steep the crystal and wheat malts. Boil the resulting mixture with the Kwoffit kit and the light extract. Add a small amount (up to 1/2 ounce) of the Fuggles hops in the last minute of the boil. Comments: The result is extravagantly tasty---very rich and full-bodied, strongly hopped but not tart. I am quickly becoming a believer in the value of a little wheat malt for adding flavorful body. It seems to work very well with crystal malt. Body, crispness, sweetness, hoppi- ness...heaven. Method: Original Gravity: Final Gravity: Primary Ferment: Secondary Ferment: 42 Not-So-Sweet Beer Author: William Pemberton ([f--a--h] at [virginia.edu]) Digest: April 30, 1990, Issue #408 Ingredients: 6.6 pounds M&F amber extract 1/4 pound toasted barley 1/4 pound crystal malt 1-3/4 ounces Northern Brewer hops Vierka lager yeast Procedure: Steep toasted and crystal malts. Boil wort with hops for 45 minutes. Chill and pitch. Age in carboy for 2 weeks. Comments: This was a steam beer that turned out really well. It hasn't aged very long, but I am quite happy with the results. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 43 CHAPTER 4: STOUT AND PORTER Stout and porter are the most popular styles of beer brewed by digest subscribers, as evidenced by the number of recipes in this chapter. Porter is the older of the two styles, dating back to the early 18th century. It is a dark---almost black---brew characterized by a roast barley flavor and a fairly high hopping rate. It is typically brewed to a starting gravity of about 1.050. Stout is a thicker, heartier version of porter that is usually placed in either a dry or a sweet subcategory. The sweet stout typically contains unfermentable sugars, such as lactose, added. Russian Imperial stouts are significantly heavier and stronger than either of the other two substyles. Typical stouts are brewed to a starting gravity of about 1.060 while Imperial stouts are brewed to starting gravities in excess of 1.100. For more information about these styles, see Fred Eckhardt's The Essentials of Beer Style, (both available from the Association of Brewers), or one of the general beer texts such as Michael Jackson's World Guide to Beer. 44 Oatmeal Stout Author: Patrick Stirling ([p m s] at [sfsun.West.Sun.COM]) Digest: January 29, 1991, Issue #572 Ingredients: 8 pounds amber malt extract 1/2 pound black patent malt 1/2 pound roast barley 1/2 pound chocolate malt 1 pound steel cut oats 2 ounces Eroica hops (boil) 1 ounce Fuggles hops (finish) Whitbread ale yeast Procedure: Crack all grains (except oats), add to 2 gallons cold water, add oats, bring to boil. Remove grains with strainer when boil is reached. Add malt extract and boiling hops. Boil 60 minutes. Add finishing hops and boil another minute or so. Remove from heat, let steep 15 min- utes. Put 4-6 inches of ice in bottom of plastic fermenter and strain wort into fermenter. Sparge. Bring volume to 5-1/4 gallons and mix. The temperature should now be below 80 degrees. Rack to 6 gallon glass carboy and pitch yeast. Bottle when fermentation is done (about 2-3 weeks). Comments: I really liked this beer! Dark and smooth with a creamy mouth feel. No specific oatmeal flavor, but lots of body. Light brown head. The only problem I had was that after about 3 months in the bottle it developed a distinct off flavor. Could be from the ice, or maybe it got oxygenated during bottling. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: 2-3 weeks Secondary Ferment: N/A 45 Mackeson's Stout Author: Marty Albini (hplabs!hpsd139!martya) Digest: September 1, 1989; Issue #244 Ingredients: 5 pounds pale malt 1/2 pound crystal malt 1/2 pound roast black malt 1 pound soft brown sugar 1-3/4 ounce Fuggles hops ale yeast Procedure: Treat the water with 1/4 ounce of magnesium sulfate and 1 ounce of common salt. Crush all grains and mash in 2 gallons of water at 165 degrees for 2 hours. Sparge with 2 gallons of 170 degree water. A few drops of caramel may be added at this stage if proper color has not been sufficiently achieved. Boil 1-1/2 hours with hops and sugar. Bring to 5 gallons, pitch yeast when at correct temperature. This recipe can be brewed at an O.G. of 1.045 by adding 1/4 pound of dark extract. May also add 1/4 pound of lactose in boil to provide a slightly higher gravity and a sweeter palate. Comments: This recipe is based on one presented by Bob Pritchard in his book All About Beer. He also advocates adding saccharine. In digest #245, Doug Roberts said that he made this beer and did not like the results. He said, "I will never again make a batch with brown sugar as an in- gredient (a little honey or molasses, perhaps, but not caramelized refined sugar). The recipe absolutely no resemblance to thick, rich, sweet Mackeson. It was a thin, cidery sorry imitation." Method: Full mash (infusion) Original Gravity: 1.040 Final Gravity: 1.008-1.010 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 46 Mackeson's Stout Author: Marty Albini (hplabs!hpsd139!martya) Digest: September 1, 1989, Issue #244 Ingredients: 4 pounds dark malt extract 2 pounds soft brown sugar 8 ounces gravy browning (caramel) 1-3/4 ounces Fuggles hops ale yeast Procedure: Boil hops in 20 pints of water for 1 hour. Strain and dissolve ex- tract, caramel and sugar. Boil for 15 minutes. Bring to 5 gallons, pitch yeast at correct temperature. As in the previous recipe, this can be brought to a gravity of 1.045 by increasing the extract by 1/4 pound, and lactose may also be added. A few drops of caramel may be added at this stage if sufficient color has not been achieved. Saccharine can be added at bottling to increase apparent sweetness. Comments: I haven't tried either of these, and I'm not about to go adding saccharin to my beer, so you're on your own from here. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.040 Final Gravity: 1.008-1.010 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 47 Basic Stout Author: Marc San Soucie ([m d s] at [wang.wang.com]) Digest: August 3, 1989, Issue #219 Ingredients: 6-8 pounds dark malt extract 1/2-1 pound roasted barley 1/2-1 pound black patent malt 3-4 ounces bittering hops (e.g., Bullion) small amount aromatic hops (optional) ale yeast Procedure: To these skeleton ingredients I add other adjuncts, or remove things if the wind blows from the south. A nice beer is made by using only dark malt and black patent malt. A good strong bittering hops is key; Bullion is lovely, as are Nugget or Chinook. There are no appreciable differences between making stouts and other ales, save the larger quantities of grain. Beware of 9-pound batches as these can blow the lids off fermenters. Comments: There are scads of other additives that can lobbed into a stout with- out damaging it. Almost anything works when making stout, but match- ing your own taste preference is a matter of experimentation. Be pre- pared though to give up drinking commercial bottled stouts, because frankly, nothing can match the taste of homemade. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 48 Crying Over Spilt Stout Author: Darryl Richman ([d--rr--l] at [ism.isc.com]) Digest: August 4, 1989, Issue #220 Ingredients: 22 pounds Klages 2-row malt 2 pounds roasted barley 2 pounds flaked barley 1/2 pound chocolate malt 4-5 ounces high alpha hops (e.g., 4-1/4 ounce of 10% alpha Eroica) yeast Procedure: This recipe makes 15 gallons. Give the beer a lot of temporary hard- ness (e.g., lots of carbonate). Comments: I would not leave flaked barley out of a stout. This is what gives Guinness its creamy white head and rounds out the body. This beer will have a rich creamy body with a balanced bitterness. It is very dark, but not opaque. It makes a great substitute for your morning coffee. The name refers to a huge tragedy. I was filling carboys and rocking them to knock down the head. I must have rolled one over a pebble because there came a distinct click noise and beer poured everywhere. Method: Full mash (infusion) Original Gravity: 1.048 Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 49 David Smith's Porter Author: David Smith, posted by Russ Pencin (parcplace![p--nc--n] at [Sun.COM]) Digest: August 9, 1989, Issue #223 Ingredients: 3.3 pounds John Bull dark extract 3.6 pounds light Australian dry malt 1 pound black patent malt (coarsely crushed) 2 ounces Cascade hops 1/2 ounce Tettnanger hops 1 ounce Tettnanger hops (finish) 1 pack Edme ale yeast 3/4 cup corn sugar (priming) Procedure: Add crushed black patent malt to 1-1/2 gallons cold water. Bring to boil. (This recipe was made by boiling malt for 10 minutes, however, conventional wisdom is to avoid boiling whole grains). Strain out malt. Add extract and dry malt and Cascade and 1/2 ounce Tettnanger hops. Boil 60 minutes. Add finishing hops and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and steep 1-2 minutes. Sparge into 3-1/2 gallons cold water. Cool and pitch yeast. Comments: This recipe was modified from Papazian's "Sparrow Hawk Porter" and won first place at the Santa Clara County Fair. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.056 at 60 degrees Final Gravity: 1.024 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 50 Mackeson Triple Stout Clone Author: Doug Roberts ([d z zr] at [lanl.gov]) Digest: August 15, 1989, Issue #229 Ingredients: 7 pounds Australian light syrup 1 pound chocolate malt, cracked 1-1/2 pound black patent malt 12 ounces crystal malt, cracked 12 ounces lactose 2 ounces Kent Goldings leaf hops 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon citric acid 2-1/2 teaspoons yeast nutrient ale yeast Procedure: Bring syrup and enough water to make 3 gallons to boil. Add crystal malt. Boil 10 minutes. Add hops. Boil 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Add chocolate and black patent malt in grain bag. Steep 10 minutes. Sparge grain bag with 2 gallons boiling water. Add lactose. Pitch yeast and ferment. When bottling, prime with malt extract. Comments: It took me three tries, but I finally got a batch that was closer to the original Mackeson sweet stout than I could have hoped for. It was wonderful! After aging about three months, it was as wonderfully smooth, dark, and sweet as the real Mackeson. Maybe better. Ingredients were obtained from Great Fermentations. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.057 Final Gravity: 1.022 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: 5-6 weeks 51 Oatmeal Stout Author: Patrick Stirling ([p m s] at [Corp.Sun.COM]) Digest: September 11, 1990, Issue #493 Ingredients: 8 pounds British amber extract 1/2 pound black patent malt 1/2 pound roasted barley 1/2 pound chocolate malt 1 pound steel cut oats 2 ounces Eroica hops (boil) 1 ounce Fuggles hops (finish) Whitbread ale yeast 1/2 cup corn sugar (priming) Procedure: Crack grains using a rolling pin. Add grain and oats to 2 gallons cold water. Bring to boil. Strain out grains. Add extract and Eroica hops. Boil about 1 hour. Add Fuggles and boil an additional 2 minutes. Steep 15 minutes. Sparge through sieve over ice. Mix. Rack to 7-gallon carboy and pitch yeast. Bottle when fermentation is complete (about 1 week). Comments: This was one of my best beers yet. Black, smooth and creamy. The oatmeal doesn't add a very pronounced flavor; I think it rather con- tributes to the creaminess and smoothness, which is becoming more pronounced as the beer ages. It has a fairly dark brown head, presum- ably from roasted barley---creamy with small bubbles. This recipe was derived from several posted by Jay H. in digest #459. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.062 Final Gravity: 1.015 Primary Ferment: 1 week Secondary Ferment: N/A 52 Halloween Stout Author: Alex Jenkins ([a--j] at [mirror.tmc.com]) Digest: January 24, 1989, Issue #57 Ingredients: 5 pounds pale malt 1 pound crystal malt 1 pound chocolate malt 3.3 pounds John Bull unhopped dark malt extract 1 ounce Clusters hops pellets 1 ounce Hallertauer leaf hops 1 tablespoon Irish moss 1/2 ounce Willamette hops pellets 2 packs Red Star ale yeast Procedure: Mash malts in 2-1/2 gallons of 170 degree water; 154 degrees, ph 5.2, maintain at 140-150 degrees for 90 minutes. (Ending pH was 4.8.). Sparge and bring to boil. Add dark extract. Add Clusters and Hallertauer hops 20 minutes into boil. Add Irish moss after another 10 minutes. Add Willamette hops in last 15 minutes. Cool wort and add to carboy. Pitch yeast. Set carboy in cool basement with blow tube. On second day, replace blow tube with airlock. Bottled after 29 days. Method: Partial mash Original Gravity: 1.044 Final Gravity: 1.014 Primary Ferment: 29 days Secondary Ferment: N/A 53 Cream of Oats Stout Author: Glenn Colon-Bonet ([g c b] at [hpfigcb.hp.com]) Digest: May 4, 1990, Issue #412 Ingredients: 6 pounds Klages 2-row pale malt 1/2 pound Dextrin malt 1-1/8 pound rolled oats 1/2 pound crystal malt 1/2 pound chocolate malt 1/4 pound roasted barley 1 ounce Clusters boiling hops (7.4 alpha) 1/2 ounce Cascade hops 10 ounces lactose 1/2 teaspoon Irish moss Wyeast #1007: German ale Procedure: Mash in 3 quarts cold water. Raise temperature to 153 degrees and hold until iodine test indicates complete conversion. Transfer to lauter tun and sparge to yield 7 gallons. Boil 1 hour, adding boiling hops. Add finishing hops and Irish moss in last 10 minutes. Sparge, cool and pitch yeast. Comments: Very smooth, silky mouth feel. Great flavor, nice sweetness with mild roasted malt flavors. Somewhat thin for style. Will use ale malt next time. Could also use more dextrin and pale malt and possibly mash at higher temperature. Overall, a very nice beer! Method: Full mash (infusion) Original Gravity: 1.040 Final Gravity: 1.015 Primary Ferment: 7 days Secondary Ferment: 3 weeks 54 Russian Empirical Stout Author: Rob Bradley ([b--d--y] at [dehn.math.nwu.edu]) Digest: May 15, 1990, Issue #417 Ingredients: 5-1/2 pounds 2-row pale malt 1 pound caramel malt 1/4 pound chocolate malt 1/4 pound black patent malt 4-1/2 pounds diastatic malt extract 2-1/2 ounces Fuggles hops 1/4 ounce Chinook hops 1 teaspoon Irish moss Leigh Williams Yeast Pasteur champagne yeast 1/4 cup corn sugar (priming) Procedure: This will yield about 3-1/2 gallons at a density of 1106. Mash grains using infusion method for about 1 hour. Boil two hours with all hops added---that's right, no finishing hops. Cool and pitch Williams yeast. Ferment for 4 days then rack to glass jugs. Rack again on 24th day. Add champagne yeast. Let ferment another 4 months. Bottle. Comments: After two years this beer showed a little oxidation, but by and large it was till in excellent shape. Viscous and black with light carbona- tion and a fine-beaded medium-brown head, it still had good balance, although the hop bitterness had faded with time to give predominance to the dark malts. It was bittersweet and almost unbelievably long in the finish. Method: Full mash (infusion) Original Gravity: 1.106 Final Gravity: 1.032 Primary Ferment: 4 days Secondary Ferment: 24 days + 4 months 55 Oatmeal Wheat Stout Author: Don Wegeng ([Wegeng Henr] at [Xerox.COM]) Digest: March 10, 1989, Issue #95 Ingredients: 3.3 pounds Edme Irish stout extract 3.3 pounds Edme light beer extract 3 pounds pale, 2-row malt 2 pounds crystal malt 1 pound wheat malt 1 pound old-fashion oatmeal 2-1/2 cups roasted barley 4 cups black patent malt 1 pack Edme ale yeast 1 stick brewers licorice 2 ounces Hallertauer leaf hops 1 ounce Tettnanger leaf hops 1/2 teaspoon Irish moss 1 teaspoon diastatic enzyme powder Procedure: Crush pale and crystal malt. Loosely crush black patent malt. Place oatmeal in cheesecloth. Mash all except 2 cups of the black patent malt for 1-1/2 hours. Add diastatic enzyme. Sparge and begin boil. Add extracts and licorice. After 15 minutes of boil, add 1 ounce Tettnanger and continue boil. After another 15 minutes, add 1/2 ounce Hallertauer. During last 15 minutes, add Irish moss and 2 cups black patent malt. During last 2 minutes of boil add 1 ounce Hallertauer. Cool rapidly and pitch yeast. Ferment in 5-gallon carboy with blow tube attached. Proceed with normal single-stage fermentation. Comments: This recipe was developed by Kenneth Kramer who published it in the June 1986 issue of All About Beer magazine. I won't comment on the choice of hops. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.078 Final Gravity: 1.032 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 56 Mega Stout Author: [r--ge--l] at [Think.COM] Digest: March 15, 1989, Issue #101 Ingredients: 2 cans Munton & Fison stout kit 3 pounds Munton & Fison extra dark dry malt extract 2 cups chocolate malt 2 cups black patent malt 2 cups roasted barley 3 ounces Fuggles hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Cascade hops (finish) ale yeast 1/4 teaspoon Irish moss 3/4 cup corn sugar (priming) Procedure: Steep whole grains in 6 cups of water and bring to boil. Remove grains at boil. Add extract and boiling hops. Boil 1 hour. Add Irish moss in last 15 minutes. After boil, add Cascade hops and steep 15 minutes. Cool and pitch yeast. Comments: This recipe was developed by Doug Hinderks, president of the Northern Ale Stars Homebrewers Guild. The recipe was used as the basis for "Ursa Stout," which follows. Ursa differs in the addition of pale, crystal, and dextrin malts in place of some of the dry extract. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.071 Final Gravity: 1.020 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 57 Ursa Major Stout Author: [r--ge--l] at [Think.COM] Digest: March 15, 1989, Issue #101 Ingredients: 2 cans Munton & Fison stout kit 2 pounds Munton & Fison light dry malt extract 1 pound crushed pale malt 1 pound crushed crystal malt 1/2 pound dextrin malt 2 cups chocolate malt 2 cups black patent malt 2 cups roast barley 2 ounces Fuggles hops pellets (boil) 1-2 ounce Willamette leaf hops (finish) 2 packs M&F stout yeast 1/4 teaspoon Irish moss 3/4 cup corn sugar (priming) Procedure: Mash grains in 1-2 gallons of water. Sparge with enough water to end with 2-3 gallons in pot. Bring to boil. Stir in extract and bring to boil. Add boiling hops. Boil 40 minutes. Add Irish moss in last 15 minutes. At end of boil, add aromatic hops and steep 15 minutes. Sparge into primary with enough water to make 6 gallons. Cool and pitch yeast. Rack to secondary when initial blow off subsides. Prime and bottle about a month later. Comments: This brew is so dark I think the Irish moss may be superfluous. This was the most active brew I've had in a while. Expect to use some sort of blow off method for primary and then rack to secondary with an airlock. Very black! Thick, but not as much as Guinness. Well rounded flavor and smooth with almost no bite. Very dark head. Maybe using less roast barley and a bit more black patent would lighten the head and keep the body from suffering. Everybody who tasted it really like it. I do believe I've found my house stout. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.058 Final Gravity: 1.016 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 58 Porter Author: Gary Benson ([i--c] at [tc.fluke.COM]) Digest: April 11, 1989, Issue #124 Ingredients: 1 can Munton & Fison dark hopped extract 1/2 can Edme bitters kit 1 stick brewers licorice 1/2 pound toasted barley 1 pound flaked barley 2 ounces Cascade hops pellets 1 ounce Northern Brewer hops pellets Edme ale yeast Procedure: Make toasted barley into a tea. Bring flaked barley to boil. Sparge with kitchen strainer and boiling water. Boil extracts and Cascade hops. Add Northern Brewer. Cool and Pitch. Comments: This makes what I consider to be an excellent porter. Fermentation seemed to take off and I bottled within 7 days of brewing. Fermenta- tion took place at 74 degrees. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.045 Final Gravity: 1.005 Primary Ferment: 2 days Secondary Ferment: 5 days 59 Dextrinous Porter Author: Peter Klausler ([p m k] at [bedlam.cray.com]) Digest: June 16, 1989, Issue #177 Ingredients: 8 pounds Munton & Fison 2-row pale malt 1-1/2 pounds crystal malt 1/4 pound chocolate malt 1/4 pound black patent malt 1/2 pound flaked barley 1 ounce Willamette hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Cascade hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Cascade hops (finish) yeast Procedure: Mash grains. Add boiling hops and boil 90 minutes. Dry hop with 1/2 ounce Cascade. Comments: My mash temp was too high, as I misjudged the quantity of strike liquor and the mash spent a lot of time in the 160-170 degree range before I brought it down to 154 degrees. Conversion was good (1.048 for 5 gallons), but now after fermentation slowed to 1 bubble every 2 minutes, the gravity is 1.024. I suspect there's nothing I can do to turn this sweet porter into the dry porter I intended so my question is, "Is there some style I can claim to have intended in the first place?" I guess I need some level of plausible brewability. Method: Full mash (infusion) Original Gravity: 1.048 Final Gravity: 1.024 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 60 Crankcase Stout: An Experiment in Extravagance Marc San Soucie (hplabs!decvax!wang!mds) June 16, 1989, Issue #178 Ingredients: 1 pound crushed crystal malt 1 pound crushed roasted barley 1-1/2 pounds crushed black patent malt 9 pounds Munton & Fison dark dry malt extract 1 can John Bull dark hopped malt extract 2 inches brewers licorice 2 ounces Nugget leaf hops 2 ounces Galena leaf hops 1 ounce Cascade hops 2 packs Doric ale yeast 1 ounce amylase enzyme Procedure: Put grains into two gallons water and boil. When pot reaches boil, remove grains. Add dry extract and stir. Add hopped extract and licorice. Add Nugget and Galena hops. Boil 70 minutes. This was a big thick mess and needs a big pot---mine boiled over. Add Cascade for finishing. Cool and pitch yeast and amylase. Put in a big fermenter with a blow tube---my batch blew the cover creating a marvelous mess all over the wall. Eventually rack to secondary and ferment a long time (at least 3 weeks). Comments: Intimidating. Heavy, strong, thick. Not really drinkable after 4 months. Interesting, but not completely enjoyable. Too much of too many good things. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: 3 weeks + 61 Tina Marie Porter Author: Doug Roberts (roberts%[s--g--y] at [lanl.gov]) Digest: March 15, 1990, Issue #378 Ingredients: 8 pounds Klages 2-row malt 1 pound Munich malt 1/2 pound crystal malt (90L) 1/2 pound chocolate malt 1/2 pound black patent malt 1/2 pound roasted barley 1/2 ounce Northern Brewer hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Cascade hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Cascade hops (finish) 1 teaspoon gypsum 1/2 teaspoon Irish moss 14 grams Whitbread ale yeast Procedure: The mash was done based on Papazian's temperature-controlled method. The boiling hops used were Northern Brewer and Cascade, but other hops can be used, this recipe uses 10.75 AAUs. The finishing hops are added after the boil and steep while cooling with an immersion chil- ler. The Irish moss is added in the last 20 minutes of the boil. The yeast is rehydrated in 1/2 cup of 100 degree water. Comments: This was a marvelous bitter-sweet velvet black porter. Method: Full mash Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 62 Baer's Stout Author: Michael Eldridge ([d--ed--e] at [hitchcock.Stanford.EDU]) Digest: March 20, 1990, Issue #380 Ingredients: 1/4 pound flaked barley 1/4 pound medium crystal malt 6 pounds dark Australian malt extract 1/2 pound dark Australian dry malt 1/4 pound black patent malt 1/2 cup molasses 2 ounces Cascade hops (boil) 2/3 ounce Northern Brewer hops (finish) Wyeast British ale yeast Procedure: Steep flaked barley and crystal malt for 50 minutes at 153 degrees. Strain and boil 90 minutes. Add 1/3 of boiling hops after 30 minutes. Add black patent and molasses at 45 minutes. After 60 minutes add 1/3 of boiling hops. At end of boil add remaining hops. Steep. Strain, cool, and ferment. Comments: This is based on one of the excellent recipes from Dave Baer (from this digest). This one came out great! Apologies to Dave for what we may have done to the original. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.051 Final Gravity: 1.018 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 63 Black Cat Stout #1 Author: Mark Stevens ([s--v--s] at [stsci.edu]) Digest: February 1, 1990, Issue #349 Ingredients: 6.6 pounds Munton & Fison dark extract syrup 1 pound Munton & Fison dark dry extract 1/2 pound black patent malt 3/4 pound crystal malt 1/2 pound roasted barley 1/2 cup dark molasses 3/4 ounce Willamette hops (boil) 3/4 ounce Cascade hops (boil) 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup French roast coffee 2 packs Edme ale yeast Procedure: Brew a pot of coffee with 1/2 cup of French roast coffee. Steep specialty grains in water as it boils. Remove grains. Boil malts, hops, and vanilla 60 minutes. Strain wort into fermenter. Pour in pot of coffee. Add ice water to make 5 gallons. Pitch yeast. Rack to secondary after 3 days. Bottle 23 days later. Comments: This stout turned out pretty tasty and the coffee flavor seems to come through more in the aftertaste with the predominant flavor being the dark malts. I should probably have let it ferment in the secondary a bit longer or not used anything for priming because I got a few gush- ers after a couple months---but by then, most of the beer was gone anyway. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.069 Final Gravity: 1.028 Primary Ferment: 3 days Secondary Ferment: 23 days 64 Colorado Crankcase Stout Tom Hotchkiss ([t r h] at [hpestrh.hp.com]) February 6, 1989, Issue #352 Ingredients: 3.3 pounds Edme SFX dark malt extract 3.3 pounds John Bull dark malt extract 2 pounds amber dry malt extract 1 pound crystal malt 1 pound roasted barley 1 pound chocolate malt 3/4 pound black patent malt 1/2 stick brewers licorice 2 ounces Brewers Gold hops 2 ounces Fuggles hops 1/2 pound French roast coffee beans Wyeast #1028: British ale Procedure: Steep grains in water while heating. Remove grains just before boil- ing. During boil, add licorice and extract. Add 1 ounce of Brewer's Gold for 60 minutes, 1 ounce for 45 minutes, and 1 ounce of Fuggles for 30 minutes. Cool wort and pitch yeast. Add unground coffee beans and remaining ounce of Fuggles. The next day skim off all crud, including coffee beans and hops. One day later, rack to secondary. Ferment three weeks and bottle. Comments: Wyeast #1028 does not seem to have high attenuation, causing high final gravity. After 1 month in bottles, the beer has low carbonation levels. I like it this way! The beer feels thick and sweet. If you want a good sweet stout, like Mackeson, this recipe with Wyeast #1028 is a good way to go. This stuff is black! When you pour a bottle, it sucks all the light out of the room...you have to drink it in the dark. Amazingly, there isn't much hops aroma and taste, but with so many other flavors and aromas, you don't miss it. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.065 Final Gravity: 1.026 Primary Ferment: 2 days Secondary Ferment: 3 weeks 65 Martin's Porter Author: Martin Lodahl (pbmoss![m--l] at [hplabs.HP.com]) Digest: December 4, 1989, Issue #315 Ingredients: 3 pounds 2-row pale lager malt 10 ounces black patent malt 8 ounces wheat malt 4 pounds Scottish light malt extract 12 AAUs Northern Brewer hops (boil) 1 ounce Fuggles hops (finish) 3 teaspoons yeast nutrient Edme ale yeast 1 teaspoon gelatin finings 1/2 cup corn sugar (priming) Mash-in 3 minutes in 6 quarts of water at 122 degree (strike heat 126 degree). Adjust pH to 5.0-5.5. Protein rest 30 minutes at 131 degrees. Starch conversion 60 minutes at 150-141 degrees (longer is better). Mash out 5 minutes at 168 degrees. sparge with 2 gallons of water at 168-160 degrees. Boil 60 minutes. Add extract, yeast nutri- ent and bittering hops at start of boil. Add finishing hops 10 min- utes before boil ends. Force cool and bring volume to 5 gallons. Pitch yeast. Comments: If this beer doesn't have enough body, you might try substituting unmalted barley for the wheat malt and extend starch conversion rest to 2 hours. Bitterness can be reduced by cutting back bittering hops to 8 AAUs or so. Method: Partial mash Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 66 Double Stout Author: Chip Hitchcock ([c j h] at [ileaf.com]) Digest: October 18, 1990, Issue #520 Ingredients: 1/2 pound crystal malt 1/4 pound roasted barley 3.3 pounds Mountmellick stout kit 1/2 pound amber dry malt 1/2 teaspoon gypsum 1/2 teaspoon Irish moss 1/4 ounce Fuggles hops plug yeast Procedure: This is a 2-1/2 gallon recipe. Steep the grains 30 minutes in 1 quart of 150 degree water. Strain out grains and bring liquid up to 3 quarts. Add stout kit, amber malt, gypsum and boil 45 minutes. After 15 minutes of boiling, add Irish moss. After removing from heat, steep Fuggles hops pellets for 4 minutes. Strain into ice water and pitch yeast. Comments: This recipe is based on the Double Stout recipe that appeared in Zymurgy magazine, but the quantities have been adjusted to make a half batch. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment:N/A 67 Chocolate Point Porter Author: Doug Roberts (roberts%[s--g--y] at [lanl.gov]) Digest: October 2, 1989, Issue #269 Ingredients: 7 pounds unhopped extract syrup 1 pound chocolate malt, not cracked 1/2 pound black patent malt, not cracked 1/2 pound crystal malt (90 degrees L.) 1/2 pound Sumatra decaf coffee 1-1/2 ounce Cascade hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Cascade hops (finish) yeast Procedure: Place chocolate, patent, and crystal malts in about 2 gallons of water and bring to almost boil, Sparge into boiling pot. Add 2 more gallons of water. Bring to boil and add bittering hops. 30 minutes into the boil, add 1/2 teaspoon Irish moss. Boil one more hour. Add finishing hops in last 2 minutes of boil. Pour into fermenter and add coffee. Pitch yeast. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 68 Partial Mash Porter Author: Martin Lodahl ([m--l] at [pbmoss.pacbell.com]) Digest: October 10, 1989, Issue #274 Ingredients: 3 pounds 2-row pale lager malt 10 ounces black patent malt 6 ounces crystal malt 4 pounds Australian dark extract 11 AAUs Northern Brewer hops Doric yeast 1/2 cup corn sugar (priming) Procedure: Mash-in (6 quarts water) at 131-122 degrees, stir 3 minutes. Adjust pH to 5.0-5.5 (using calcium carbonate or gypsum). Protein rest 131-120 degrees for 30 minutes. Starch conversion 155 degrees for 60 minutes. Mash out at 168 degrees for 5 minutes. Sparge with 2 gallons of 168- 160 degree water. Bring liquid to boil and add extract and hops. Boil 60 minutes. Comments: The result is sweet, but very tasty. My next batch of porter will be somewhat drier, tending toward stout. Changes will include a less sweet extract (Scottish light), dropping the crystal malt altogether, bumping the bittering hops up a point, adding an ounce of Fuggles 10 minutes before the end of the boil for finish, and going to Edme yeast, which I believe to be more attenuative. I'm also toying with the idea of adding 8 ounces of wheat malt to improve the head, which is the only real defect this beer seems to have. Method: Partial Mash Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 69 Stout Author: Allen Hainer ([a--ai--r] at [violet.waterloo.edu]) Digest: October 18, 1989, Issue #281 Ingredients: 8.8 pounds unhopped dark malt extract 1 pound roasted barley 1 pound wheat malt 1/2 pound black patent malt 1/2 pound chocolate malt 4 ounces Bullion hops (boil) 1 ounce Cascade hops (finish) yeast Procedure: The bullion hops are added 30 minutes into the bullion. I used pel- letized hops and there was a huge amount of sediment when I racked it- --not sediment in the normal sense---it was mostly beer with hops floating in it, but it was too thick to go through the siphon. Comments: This is better than any stout I have ever tasted. It is based on the stout recipe posted by Marc San Soucie in Digest #219. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.075 Final Gravity: 1.035 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 70 All Grain Porter Author: Doug Roberts (roberts%[s--g--y] at [lanl.gov]) Digest: November 4, 1989, Issue #296 Ingredients: 8 pounds American 6-row (Klages) malt 1 pound Munich malt 1/2 pound crystal malt (90L) 1/2 pound black patent malt 1/2 pound chocolate malt 1/2 pound roasted barley 1 teaspoon calcium carbonate 1 ounce Northern Brewer hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Cascade hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Cascade hops (finish) Whitbread ale yeast Procedure: Use Papazian's temperature-controlled mash procedure. Sparge and boil. Comments: This recipes is based on Papazian's Silver Dollar Porter. I suspect the difference in quality between this batch and an extract batch is going to be the difference between fresh-brewed coffee and instant. The wort had a much better hot and cold break than I've ever exper- ienced using extracts, and it tasted better too. Method: Full mash Original Gravity: 1.051 Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 71 Sweet Darkness Author: Marty Albini ([m--rt--a] at [hp-sdd]@hplabs.csnet) Digest: November 8, 1989, Issue #298 Ingredients: 7 pounds Australian light syrup 1 pound chocolate malt, cracked 1-1/2 pounds black patent, uncracked 12 ounces crystal malt, cracked 12 ounces lactose 2 ounces Kent Goldings hops (whole leaf) 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon citric acid 2-1/2 teaspoons yeast nutrient yeast Procedure: Bring the wort to boil (water and syrup to make 3 gallons),then add crystal. Boil 10 minutes, then add hops. Boil 5 minutes. Turn off heat and add chocolate and black patent malt in a grain bag. Steep about 10 minutes. Sparge grain bag with about 2 gallons of boiling water. Add lactose. Chill and pitch. When fermented, try priming with 3/4 cup of light dry malt extract. Comments: This is based on Doug Roberts' Mackeson Triple clone. This will be lighter than the real Mackeson's with a lighter head. Very similar aromas and head retention. Overall a resounding success. One or two things I'll do different next time: Reduce black patent malt to 1/2 cup (crushed), add a bit of dextrin to increase body, and maybe add a touch of roasted barley. I recommend this to anyone who likes their coffee strong, with cream and sugar. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.057 Final Gravity: 1.022 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 72 Broglio's Quaker Stout Author: Jim Broglio (microsoft![j--me--b] at [uunet.uu.net]) Digest: December 29, 1989, Issue #334 Ingredients: 6 pounds dry amber extract 1 pound crystal malt 1/2 pound roasted barley 1 pound Quaker oats 1 ounce Eroica hops (boil) 1 ounce Kent Goldings hops(finish) 2 packs Edme ale yeast Procedure: In two gallons of cold water, add crystal, barley, and oatmeal. Steep until water comes to boil. Sparge with about 1 gallon of hot water. Add dry extract. Bring to boil. Add Eroica hops. Boil 45 minutes. In last 5 minutes of boil, add Kent Goldings hops. Cool to about 75 degrees. Transfer to primary and pitch yeast. Have a homebrew and wait. Comments: This is very lightly carbonated, but that I can live with. Could use more hops. Smooth aftertaste. Overall, I give it a thumbs up. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 73 Original Oatmeal Stout Author: Jay Hersch ([75140 350] at [compuserve.com]) Digest: July 14, 1990, Issue #459 Ingredients: 6.6 pounds John Bull dark extract 1-1/2 pounds plain dark extract 2 ounces Bullion hops (boil) 1/2 pound steel cut oats 7 grams Muntona ale yeast Irish moss water crystals Procedure: This is the first of a series of experiments in brewing oatmeal stouts. It is an extract brew, with any specialty grains (not in this particular recipe) being added in the standard stovetop method and removed at boil. When grains are used, they are cracked with a rolling pin and boiled for 30 minutes before straining. Comments: These recipes rank among my best beers. This one probably had the most noticeable oat flavor of all the variations due to the balance between the amount of malt and oats. It had a nice deep dark head, opaque color and smooth creamy flavor. I'd probably use an Irish liquid ale yeast or Whitbread if I did this again. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.042 Final Gravity: 1.021 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 74 Second Try Author:Jay Hersh ([75140 350] at [compuserve.com]) Digest: July 14, 1990, Issue #459 Ingredients: 6.6 pounds John Bull plain light extract 1-1/2 pounds plain dark dry extract 3/4 pound black patent malt 1/4 pound roasted barley 1/2 pound chocolate malt 1/2 pound steel cut oats 7 grams Muntona ale yeast 1/2 ounce Fuggles hops (boil) 1 ounce Hallertauer hops (boil) 1-1/2 ounces Cascade hops (finish) Irish moss water crystals Procedure: This is the second of a series of experiments in brewing oatmeal stouts. It is an extract brew, with specialty grains being added using the standard stovetop method and removed at boil. When grains are used, they are cracked with a rolling pin and boiled for 30 min- utes before straining. The finishing hops are added in the last 5 minutes of the boil. Comments: The addition of grains made the oatmeal less noticeable. Color and hop balance were good again. Irish ale yeast could yield some nice results and I think the steel cut oats need to be bumped up to 1 pound to bring them to the fore. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.050 Final Gravity: 1.022 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 75 Not So Oatmeal Author: Jay Hersch ([75140 350] at [compuserve.com]) Digest: July 14, 1990, Issue #459 Ingredients: 3.3 pounds Munton & Fison plain light extract 4 pounds Alexanders pale unhopped extract 1/2 pound black patent malt 1/4 pound roasted barley 1/2 pound crystal or cara-pils malt 1/2 pound steel cut oats 1 ounce Hallertauer hops (boil) 3/4 ounce Fuggles hops (boil) 1 ounce Cascade hops (finish) 1/2 ounce Cascade hops (dry) 14 grams Muntona ale yeast Irish moss water crystals Procedure: This is the third of a series of experiments in brewing oatmeal stouts. It is an extract brew, with specialty grains being added in the standard stovetop method and removed at boil. Grains are cracked with a rolling pin and boiled for 30 minutes before straining. The finishing hops are added 5 minutes before the end of the boil. The dry hopping is done after 4 days in the primary. Comments: This turned out real fruity, probably because of the Alexander's. Dry hopping also helped, again the amount of steel oats to other grains was too low. To get opaqueness it was necessary to use at least 1-2 pounds of dark malt extract; because I didn't do that, this ware more of a brown ale in color and body. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: 1.018 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 76 Most Recent Oatmeal Stout Author: Jay Hersch ([75140 350] at [compuserve.com]) Digest: July 14, 1990, Issue #459 Ingredients: 6.6 pounds Munton & Fison light unhopped extract 3.3 pounds Munton & Fison dark unhopped extract 1/2 pound cara-pils malt 1/2 pound black patent malt 1/2 pound roasted barley 3/4 pound steel cut oats 1/2 pound malt-dextrin 2 ounces Sticklbrackt hops (boil) 1 ounce Bullion hops (boil) 1 ounce Cascade hops (finish) 1 ounce Cascade hops (dry) 14 grams Whitbread ale yeast Irish moss/water crystals Procedure: Last in the series of experiments in brewing oatmeal stouts. It is an extract brew, with specialty grains being added in the standard stove- top method and removed at boil. Grains are cracked with a rolling pin and boiled for 30 minutes before straining. The Sticklbrackt are added in 1/2 ounce batches at 20 minute intervals, the Bullion 1/2 ounce at a time in between the Sticklbrackt. The finishing hops are added 5 minutes before the end of the boil. The dry hopping is done in the primary. Comments: Darker and more astringent than the other recipes, also more boldly hopped but still well-balanced due to the higher gravity. A little like Xingu or Mackesons with its residual sweetness. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: 1.030 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 77 CHAPTER 5: BOCK, DARK, AND AMBER LAGER Dark lagers must be seldom brewed by Homebrew Digest subscribers if posted recipes are any indication of brewing frequency. Still, dark lagers and bocks are important styles with a long brewing heritage, especially in Germany. This chapter includes not only bock, but the dark beers of Dortmund, Munich, and even amber beers such as Vienna or Maerzenbier. Lager beer is typically brewed from a 6-row malt and hopped with some of the more delicate hops, such as Hallertauer or Saaz. Darker colors come from specialty malts such as crystal, black patent, or chocolate. Starting gravities are typically in the 1.050 range with bocks in the 1.060 range. (Dopplebocks are covered in another chapter.) Fermenta- tion typically takes place at lower temperatures, around 40 degrees. For more information about dark lagers, see Fred Eckhardt's The Essen- tials of Beer Style, (available from the Association of Brewers), or one of the general beer texts such as Michael Jackson's World Guide to Beer. 78 Maerzen Beer Author: Florian Bell (florianb%[tekred cna tek com] at [RELAY.CS.NET]) Digest: May 24, 1990, Issue #424 Ingredients: 4 pounds pale malt 3 pounds light dry extract 1/2 pound crystal malt (40L) 2 ounces chocolate malt 1/2 pound toasted malt 1/2 pound Munich malt 2 ounces dextrin malt 2-1/2 ounces Tettnanger hops (4.2 alpha) 1/2 ounce Cascade hops (5.0 alpha) 3 teaspoons gypsum Vierka dry lager yeast Procedure: Make up yeast starter 2 days before brewing. Grind all grains togeth- er, dough-in with 5 cups warm water. Use 3 quarts water at 130 de- grees to bring up to protein rest temperature of 122 degrees. Set for 30 minutes. Add 8 pints of boiling water and heat to 154 degrees. Set for at least 30 minutes. Bring to 170 degrees for 5 minutes for mash out. Sparge with 2 gallons water. Add dry extract, bring to boil. Boil 15 minutes and add one ounce of Tettnanger. Boil one hour. Add 1 ounce of Tettnanger at 30 minutes. Add 1/2 ounce of Tettnanger and 1/2 ounce of Cascade at 5 minutes (with Irish moss if desired). Strain and chill. Rack off trub. Pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 degrees for 3 days. Rack to secondary and lager 18 days at 42 degrees. After 18 days keg and lager an additional 17 days. Comments: This brew was dark brown-red with a distinct nutty flavor coming from the toasted malt barley. A good head, little chill haze. Method: Partial mash (decoction) Original Gravity: 1.056 Final Gravity: 1.020 Primary Ferment: 3 days Secondary Ferment:15 days 79 Helles Belles Maibock Author: Chuck Cox (bose!synchro![c--u--k] at [uunet.UU.NET]) Digest: December 18, 1990, Issue #556 Ingredients: 18 pounds pale unhopped extract 2 pounds crystal malt 1 pound lager malt 1 pound toasted malt 1 teaspoon Irish moss 14 HBUs Hallertauer hops (boil) 14 HBUs Tettnanger hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Hallertauer hops (finish) 1/2 ounce Tettnanger hops (finish) Anheuser-Busch yeast Procedure: This is a 10-gallon partial mash recipe. Use standard procedures, brewing about 7 gallons of wort in a 10-gallon kettle, followed by a 7-gallon primary and 2 5-gallon secondaries. Then keg (or bottle). The toasted malt was done 5 minutes in a 350 degree oven. The yeast was cultured from bakers yeast. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 80 Dos Equis Author: Len Reed (lbr%[holos 0] at [gatech.edu]) Digest: May 8, 1990, Issue #414 Ingredients: 3.3 pounds 6-row malt (1.6L) 1.1 pound 2-row malt (1.2L) 1/3 pound Munich malt (9.7L) 1/4 pound crystal malt (80L) Hallertauer hops yeast Method: Full mash Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 81 CHAPTER 6: DOPPLEBOCK AND BARLEYWINE Dopplebock and barleywine are among the strongest beers brewed. Both are brewed to very high gravities, typically 1.100 or higher, and age several months before drinking. The difference between the two styles is that dopplebock is a lager whereas barleywine is an ale (although both may sometimes need a wine or champagne yeast to complete their fermentation). For more information about these heavy beers, see Fred Eckhardt's The Essentials of Beer Style, (available from the Association of Brewers), or one of the general beer texts such as Michael Jackson's World Guide to Beer. You may also want to look at the Russian Imperial stouts described in Chapter 4. 82 The Grommator Author: Jack Webb ([jack l webb] at [office.wang.com]) Digest: February 4, 1991, Issue #575 Ingredients: 1/2 pound pale malt 1/2 pound crystal malt 1/2 pound chocolate malt 9.9 pounds dark malt extract syrup 1 pound dry amber malt extract 3-1/2 ounces Saaz hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Hallertauer hops (finish) lager yeast 3/4 cup corn sugar (priming) Procedure: Roast pale malt in 325 degree oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Crack grains and add to 1-1/2 gallons cold water. Bring to boil. Before serious boil starts, remove grains. Add extract and Saaz hops. Boil 60 minutes. Add Hallertauer hops and boil 5 more minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let hops steep 15 minutes. Strain into 3-1/2 gallons cold water. (Be sure to strain out as much stuff as possible.) Pitch yeast and ferment one week at about 65 degrees, then rack to secondary. Secondary fermentation should last about 3 weeks at 45-50 degrees. Prime and bottle. Refrigerate bottles for about 1 month. Comments: This dopplebock was based on a recipe from Papazian's book. In making this beer, I used hops plugs for the first time. Wonderful stuff. They expand and give the appearance of fresh hops and they smell great! This batch turned out really well. Very dark and smooth, lightly carbonated, with a considerable alcoholic whammy. Great sip- pin' beer. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: 1 week at 65 degrees Secondary Ferment: 3 weeks at 45-50 degrees 83 Barleywine Author: Nick Thomas ([REDACTED] at [Eng.Sun.COM]) Digest: January 16, 1991; Issue # 566 Ingredients: 12 pounds dry pale malt extract 1/2 pound honey 1 pound dry light malt extract 1-1/2 pounds corn sugar 2 ounces Chinook boiling hops (13.2 alpha) 2 ounces Cascade boiling hops (5.5 alpha) 2 tsp. Irish moss 2 ounces Fuggles hops (finish) 2 tsp. Sparkeloid champagne yeast Procedure: Boil malt, boiling hops, and corn sugar in 1-1/2 gallons water for about 1 hour. In last 30 minutes add Irish moss, Fuggles, and spark- eloid. Add to 3-1/2 gallons cold water in fermenter. Pitch yeast and ferment about 7 months. Bottle and age. Comments: I made a batch of this about a year ago and it was so good that I've got two batches of it running in tandem. This has a nice balanced flavor. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: 7 months. Secondary Ferment: N/A 84 Marigold Ale Author: Wayne Allen (wa%[cadillac cad mcc com] at [MCC.COM]) Digest: January 18, 1991; Issue #567 Ingredients: 10 pounds Munton & Fison light unhopped extract 2 pounds marigold honey 4 ounces Fuggles leaf hops (boil) 1 ounce Cascade pellets (finish) Munton & Fison ale yeast champagne yeast Procedure: Boil malt, honey, Fuggles for 60 minutes. Add Cascades in last five minutes. Pour in fermenter with 3-1/2 gallons cold water. Pitch ale yeast. When fermentation subsides, pitch champagne yeast. When clear, rack to secondary. Let sit a long time and then bottle. Age at least one year. Comments: This is the best beer I've ever brewed (and getting better by the year!) The hops may not seem to be enough, but it is. Watch out, you can get addicted to barleywine! Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: Long Time 85 Norman Conquest Strong Ale Author: John Mellby ([j--l--y] at [ngst11.csc.ti.com]) Digest: February 23, 1990, Issue #364 Ingredients: 3.3 pounds American light malt extract syrup 3.3 pounds Coopers bitter ale kit 3.3 pounds Coopers Draught ale kit 1 pound amber malt extract 3/4 pound crystal malt 2 ounces Northern Brewer hops (boil) 2 ounces Willamette hops (finish) 2 teaspoons gypsum 1 pack MEV 031 high-temp ale yeast Procedure: Start yeast 2 days ahead and add to quart of sterile wort 3 hours before brewing. Add gypsum to 2 gallons water, add crystal malt. Bring to boil. Strain out grain. After 10 minutes add Northern Brewer hops. 30 minutes into boil add Willamette hops. Boil a few more minutes. Remove from heat. Strain into fermenter with cold water to make 5 gallons. Pitch yeast. Comments: What I want to know is, how does the wort know exactly when my back is turned so it can instantly boil over? I never see it start to rise, but I turn to the sink for one second and when I turn around, the stove is covered with molten wort! Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 86 Brain Death Barleywine Author: Chuck Cox (uunet!bose!synchro!chuck) Digest: December 18, 1990, Issue #556 Ingredients: 17-1/2 pounds pale dry extract 3 pounds crystal malt 1-1/2 pounds flaked barley 1-1/2 pounds wheat malt 1 teaspoon gypsum 1 teaspoon Irish moss 68 HBUs Chinook hops (boil) 20 HBUs Cascade hops (boil) 2-1/2 ounces Goldings hops (finish) 10 grams Chinook hops (dry hop) 20 grams Goldings hops (dry hop) 50 grams Cascade hops (dry hop) Sierra Nevada ale 1/2 - 1 pound Herbal hops substitute Procedure: This recipe makes 5 gallons of full-strength barleywine plus 4 gallons half strength. Follow normal procedures, but brew in a 7-gallon kettle and then divide the wort into separate fermenters. The special hops substitute is a mix of hops repeatedly soaked and sparged in lukewarm water for at least 4 hours to eliminate water-soluble off- flavors. Special hops are added to the secondary fermenter about 1 week before kegging. Quantity used depends on quality of herbs/hops. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 87 Nothing Exceeds Like Excess Author: Martin Lodahl (pbmoss![m--od--l] at [PacBell.COM]) Digest: November 13, 1990, Issue #536 Ingredients: 12 pounds 2-row pale malt 2 pounds Munich malt 2 pounds crystal malt 4 pounds Edme light extract 4 pounds Alexander's light extract 4 ounces dark molasses 1/4 cup priming sugar 2-1/2 ounce Northern Brewer @8% 1-1/2 ounces Kent Goldings @5.2% 1/2 ounce Hallertauer @2.8% 1/2 ounce Cascade @5.2% Wyeast Vintner's Choice champagne yeast Procedure: Mash in 18 quarts water @148 degrees (adjust pH to 5.3). Starch con- version 2 hours at 150-141 degrees. Mash out 5 minutes at 168 de- grees. Sparge at 168 degrees. Boil wort 2-1/2 hours. 90 minutes after start of boil, add extracts, molasses, and Northern Brewer hops. 30 minutes later, add Kent Goldings hops. In last 15 minutes, add Hallertauer and Cascade hops. Comments: This was not an easy batch. The yeast took off immediately and blew out 1-1/2 gallons through the blow tube. Once the yeast subsided, I let it sit for a week and then bottled. I should have taken a sample and pitched some Red Star Pasteur champagne yeast because it turns out the gravity was still 1.091! The flavor is impossibly syrupy, but I'll put in the cellar and forget about it for a few months. This could be my most expensive failure yet, then again, maybe not. Maybe I can pour it over ice cream... Method: Partial mash Original Gravity: 1.126 Final Gravity: 1.092 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 88 Barleywine Author: Fred Condo ([f--e--c] at [pro-humanist.cts.com]) Digest: January 16, 1991, Issue #566 Ingredients: 5 pounds Alexander's pale malt extract 1 pound crystal malt 11 AAU Nugget hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Cluster hops (finishing) 1/2 ounce Cluster hops (dry) ale yeast Procedure: This recipe makes 2 gallons. Steep the crystal malt and sparge twice. Add Nugget hops and boil. In last few minutes add 1/2 ounce Clusters and then dry hop with an additional 1/2 ounce of Clusters. Cool wort and pitch yeast. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 89 CHAPTER 7: HERBAL AND SPICED BEER Homebrewers love to experiment with different flavors in their beers, and over the past couple years there have been discussions about using everything from hot chili peppers to sweet maple syrup in homebrew recipes. This chapter describes some of the recipes that have been shared. Many of these are Christmas wassails spiced with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, or similar spices. These recipes can be either ales or lagers...firm rules do not apply. 90 Ginger Beer Author: (BROWN%[MSUKBS BITNET] at [CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU]) Digest: August 5, 1989, Issue #221 Ingredients: 6 pounds light dry extract 2-1/2 cups crystal malt 4 ounces grated ginger 1 ounce Northern Brewer leaf hops (14% alpha) 3/4 ounce Brambling leaf hops 1 pack Edme ale yeast Procedure: Boil malt, ginger, and Northern Brewer hops in five gallons of water for 60 minutes. Remove from heat and add Brambling hops. Allow to steep 10 minutes. Force cool, and pitch yeast. Comments: This batch turned out pretty good. It's a light amber color, with a light sweetness. The ginger comes through nicely. Light and thirst- quenching for the summer months. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 91 Spicy Xmas Beer Author: John Bates (bates%palmen.Colorado.EDU) Digest: October 16, 1990, Issue #518 Ingredients: 3.3 pounds Northwestern light malt extract 2 pounds dark malt extract 2 pounds wildflower honey 2 ounces Hertsburger hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Goldings hops (finish) 2 ounces grated ginger (boil) 1 ounce grated ginger (finish) 2 packs Munton & Fison ale yeast Procedure: Start yeast. Boil malt extract, honey, boiling hops and boiling gin- ger for about 1 hour. Strain. Add finishing hops and ginger. Cool rapidly in tub. Pitch started yeast. Ferment. Prime and bottle. Comments: This was based on a ginger beer recipe from Papazian's book. It was tasty after just one week in the bottle. This is a light beer with a nice ginger aroma and flavor. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.049 Final Gravity: 1.014 Primary Ferment: 2 weeks Secondary Ferment: N/A 92 Ginger Beer Author: Jay Hersh ([jher s h] at [yy.cicg.rpi.edu]) Digest: November 18, 1988 Ingredients: 1 True-Brew continental light beer kit (from Crosby & Baker) 3.3 pounds Munton & Fison hopped light extract syrup 1 cup corn sugar 3 ounces fresh grated ginger root 2 packs Edme ale yeast Comments: This will produce a light beer with a fairly strong ginger character. Method: N/A Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 93 Garlic Beer Author: A.E. Mossberg ([a--m] at [mthvax.cs.miami.edu]) Digest: December 29, 1989, Issue #334 Ingredients: 1 can Pilsner lager hopped malt extract 4 heads garlic, cleaned 6 cups corn sugar (dextrose) yeast Procedure: Bring 2 gallons of water to boil. Add dextrose, malt extract and garlic. Boil about 16 minutes or so. Remove from heat. You can either make super-garlic beer or regular-garlic beer. For regular garlic beer, strain out garlic. Add wort to fermenter with enough water to make 5 gallons. Pitch yeast. If making super garlic beer, rack to secondary after a few days, straining out garlic when racking. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 94 Spruce Beer Author: Louis Clark (hplabs!mage!lou) Digest: July 4, 1990, Issue #453 Ingredients: 6.6 pounds Munton & Fison dark malt extract 3 pounds dry dark extract 3 ounces Cascade hops (4.3 alpha) 3 teaspoons gypsum 1 ounce Cascade hops 1/2 teaspoon Irish moss 1/2 ounce spruce essence Leigh & Williams Beer & Stout yeast Procedure: Boil malt and boiling hops for 1 hour. In last 10 minutes add the 1 ounce of Cascade finishing hops and the Irish moss. In the last 2 minutes add the spruce essence. Chill and pitch yeast. Comments: My tasting notes on this say that at 2-1/2 months after bottling it was "fair." This tells me that it was unremarkable. My recollection is that it was drinkable but unexciting. Perhaps the dark extract overwhelmed the spruce and more spruce essence should have been used. Where the bottle says "Sufficient for 8 gallons of spruce beer" they may mean for a somewhat lighter beer. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.040 Final Gravity: 1.018 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 95 Holiday Ale Author: Doug Roberts ([d z zr] at [lanl.gov]) Digest: December 6, 1989, Issue #317 (and #318) Ingredients: 7-1/2 pounds Klages malt 1-1/2 pounds crystal malt (90L) 1/4 pounds chocolate malt 1/4 pound black patent malt 1/2 pound dextrin powder 1/2 cup molasses 1 teaspoon cardamom 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon ginger grated rind of 4 oranges 1-1/2 ounce Nugget hops (boil) 1 ounce Willamette hops (finish) Whitbread ale yeast 1/2 cup molasses (priming) Procedure: Mash grains. Add dextrin (I was out of Cara-pils), 1/2 cup molasses, spices, boiling hops, and orange peel. Boil 1 hour. Add finishing hops in last few minutes. Strain into fermenter. Cool and pitch yeast. Comments: During the boil the spices combined with orange peel and malt made the house smell really good---kind of like a beer fruit cake. After smell- ing and tasting the wort, I think I've identified one of the secret ingredients in Anchor's Christmas Ale: cardamom. I'm guessing they use 1/4-1/2 teaspoon per five gallons. Method: Full mash Original Gravity: 1.045 Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 96 Honey Ginger Beer Author: Oliver Grillmeyer ([t--ra--n] at [ernie.Berkeley.EDU]) Digest: March 15, 1989, Issue #101 Ingredients: 4 pounds honey 6 ounces grated ginger 3 pounds light malt extract 1 ounce Brewers Gold leaf hops 1/2 ounce Northern Brewer hops pellets 1/2 ounce Saaz hops pellets yeast Procedure: Use two brew kettles. In the first, add 4 gallons water, honey, and ginger. Maintain at 180 degrees for 45 minutes. While first pot is heating, add malt extract to 3 gallons water in the second pot. Bring to boil. Add 1 ounce of Brewers Gold to boil for 45 minutes. Add 1/2 ounce of Northern Brewer at 30 minutes. When second pot is removed from heat, add 1/2 ounce of Saaz hops and steep. Combine pots, cool, and pitch. I also brewed a second batch with the same procedure, except that I used 8 pounds of honey instead of 4, 1/2 ounce of Northern Brewer hops replaced the 1 ounce of Brewers Gold, and 1/2 ounce of Galena replaced the 1/2 ounce of Northern Brewer. Comments: Six ounces of ginger seems about right to give a nice balanced flavor. The ginger was grated in food processor, but it had to struggle as the ginger tends to break up into strands that get stuck in the blades. (I did not peel the ginger). This beer had an amber color and all flavors were readily apparent---hops, malt, ginger, and light honey. The color was a medium amber shade. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.051 Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 97 Ginger Beer Author: Jackie Brown ([b--o--n] at [MSUKBS.BITNET]) Digest: June 3, 1989, Issue #168 Ingredients: 3.3 pounds Munton & Fison dark plain malt extract 1-1/2 pounds Munton & Fison plain dark dry extract 1 cup corn sugar 3/4 pound crystal malt 1/2 pound chocolate malt hunk ginger, grated 2 ounces Cascade hops (boil) 1 ounce Fuggles hops (finish) ale yeast Procedure: Add crushed grains to 2 gallons cold water. When mixture begins to boil, remove grains. Boil 1 hour with malt extracts, ginger and Cascade hops. Turn off heat, add Fuggles and steep five minutes. Strain into primary, add water to bring to 5 gallons and ferment 3 days. Rack to secondary. Prime and bottle. Comments: My long-term taste bud memory says this was brown, bitter, and slight- ly sweet with a great ginger flavor and tingle at the back of the throat as it went down. It was overcarbonated (7/8 cup of priming sugar is too much!) I wish I could tell you how much ginger I used, but I remember I wished it were more. Go for it! I've found nothing better to drink with Chinese food. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: 3 days Secondary Ferment:N/A 98 North East Holiday Beer Author:Jim Conroy (AS2JXC%BINGVMA.BITNET) Digest:December 18, 1989, Issue #325 Ingredients: 2 pounds crystal malt 6 pounds amber dry malt extract 2 ounces Fuggles and Bullion hops (boil) 1-1/2 ounce Saaz hops (finish) 3 ounces fresh grated ginger 1 stick cinnamon 1 pack Edme ale yeast Procedure: Steep crystal malt until boil is reached. Strain out grain and add extract and boiling hops. Boil 60 minutes. Add Saaz hops, ginger and cinnamon in last 15 minutes of boil. Cool, top off fermenter and pitch yeast. Comments: This batch had a furious fermentation and blew the blow tube off the fermenter, losing about 1-1/2 quarts in the bargain. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 99 Maple Syrup Stout Author: Jim, Kipps, reposted by Robert Nielsen (robertn%[f m l] at [sc.intel.com]) Digest: December 11, 1989, Issue #320 Ingredients: 6 pounds Australian dark extract syrup 1-1/2 ounces Bullion hops (boil) 12 ounces maple syrup ale yeast 3/4 cup corn sugar (priming) Procedure: Add six ounces of the maple syrup during the boil and the other 6 in the last couple minutes of the boil (much like a finishing hops). Total boil time was 1 hour. Comments: This is a very good beer. I don't typically drink stouts, but I real- ly like this one. I absolutely don't like Guinness, but I do like Young's Oatmeal Stout and Rubicon Stout. I think the maple stout is better than any of these. It is very smooth going down, and has sweet but mellow maple flavored aftertaste. Thanks to Jim Kipps for posting this recipe. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 100 Sparky's After-Burner Brew Author: Marc Light ([lig h t] at [cs.rochester.edu]) Digest: August 28, 1990, Issue #483 Ingredients: 3.3 pounds John Bull amber malt extract 1/2 pound crystal malt 1/2 pound dark dry malt 1/2 pound corn sugar 10 fresh Jalapeno peppers 2 ounces Cascade hops Munton & Fison ale yeast Procedure: Chop up Jalapeno peppers and boil them with the wort for 30 minutes or so. Strain them out when pouring wort into primary. Rack to second- ary about 4 hours after pitching yeast. Note: When handling jalapenos, be sure to wash hands thor- oughly or wear rubber gloves. You'll find out why if you are a contact lens wearer. (I discovered this the hard way--- making pickles, not beer.) --- Ed. Comments: The beer is amber, clear, has enough hops for me, and has a great spicy (bordering on hot) aftertaste. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.020 Final Gravity: 1.002 Primary Ferment: 4 hours Secondary Ferment: 8 days 101 CHAPTER 8: FRUIT FLAVORED BEER Fruit is usually shunned by commercial brewers (with the notable ex- ception of Belgian lambic ale brewers) but embraced by homebrewers as a distinctive adjunct. Some of these recipes are great, some are of questionable taste---you be the judge! These recipes can be either ales or lagers...firm rules do not apply. 102 Blueberry Ale Author: Patrick Stirling ([p m s] at [Corp.Sun.COM]) Digest: September 11, 1990, Issue #493 Ingredients: 7 pounds British amber extract 1-1/2 pound crystal malt 2 ounces Northern Brewer hops (boil) 1 ounce Fuggles hops (finish) Whitbread ale yeast 2 pounds fresh frozen blueberries Procedure: Steep crystal malt while bringing to boil. Remove grains and add extract and boiling hops. Boil 60 minutes. Add finish hops and let steep 15 minutes. Sparge into ice, mix. Rack to 7-gallon carboy. At peak of fermentation add blueberries. Ferment 1 week and rack to secondary. Prime with corn sugar. Comments: When I tasted this during the bottling stage there was not much blue- berry flavor. More blueberries may be required to give a stronger taste. The beer came out remarkably clear with a nice reddish tint. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: 1 week Secondary Ferment: N/A 103 Apples in the Snow Author: Shannon Posniewski imagesys![s--n--n] at [uu.psi.com] Digest: October 19, 1990, Issue #521 Ingredients 6.6 pounds John Bull light malt extract (or other brand) 1 pound corn sugar 2 ounces Hallertauer hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Hallertauer hops (finish) 12 pounds apples (9 pounds Granny Smith, 3 # Macintosh) water crystals 2 packs Edme ale yeast 3/4 cup corn sugar (priming) Procedure: Cut apples into 8-10 slices. Put 1-1/2 gallons water into pot, add boiling hops and bring to boil. Add extract and corn sugar. Boil 40 minutes. Add finishing hops and apples. Steep 15 minutes. Pour wort into 3-1/2 gallons cold water. Push apples to one side and pitch yeast. Ferment 3 weeks. Comments: This is based on Papazian"s "Cherries in the Snow." We used Granny Smith and Macintosh because we wanted high-fructose varieties---be- sides, we like them. Perhaps the use of Saaz or a more delicate hops would be in order because this was too hoppy. Beer seems to improve with age and after a few months the flavor was described as "immacu- late" but with balance tipped more toward hops than apple. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.050 Final Gravity: 1.015 Primary Ferment: 3 weeks Secondary Ferment: N/A 104 Feelix the Cat Dark Cherry Lager Author: Mike Herbert ([m--ha--h] at [homebrew.wv.tek.com]) Digest: June 18, 1990, Issue #441 Ingredients: 3.3 pounds John Bull dark unhopped malt extract 2 pounds Munton & Fison light dry extract 1/2 cup black patent malt 2 ounces Cascades hops 2 tablespoons gypsum 1 teaspoon salt 3-5 pounds pitted chopped cherries 1/2 ounce Hallertauer hops yeast Procedure: Steep black patent malt in 2 gallons of water bringing to boil. Strain out grain. Add extract and boil with Cascade hops, gypsum, and salt. Boil 60 minutes. Remove from heat. Add finishing hops and cherries. Steep 30 minutes. Strain into fermenter with cold water to make 5 gallons. Pitch yeast. Comments: This recipe came from Charlie Papazian many years ago. This is sup- posed to make a lager, but I've never actually produced a lager with this recipe, only an ale. The cherries add a sweetness, but are not overpowering in a dark beer. I also tried another cherry beer called "Sinfully Red Cherry Ale" from the Spring 1984 issue of Zymurgy. This used 10 pounds of cherries and made a much lighter beer. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 105 Dark as the Night Stout Author: Wayne Allen ([REDACTED] at [cadillac.cad.mcc.com]) Digest: November 29, 1989, Issue #312 Ingredients: 8 cans blueberries (or 10 pints fresh, or 6# frozen) 1/2 pound roasted barley 1/3 pound black patent malt 1 pound crystal malt 6.6 pounds John Bull dark unhopped malt extract 1-1/2 ounce Fuggles hops (boil) 1/2 cup corn sugar (priming) yeast Procedure: Crush and boil blueberries in 1-1/2 gallons of water for 10 minutes. Strain out berries. Add grains and steep. Add extract and hops and bring to boil. Strain into fermenter with enough cold water to make 5 gallons. Pitch yeast. Give this lots of time in the secondary fer- menter or add champagne yeast after initial fermentation. Comments: This tastes like a normal stout, but after 4 or 5 sips, a warm glow begins to suffuse your throat and tummy; great for winter nights. Don't worry about pectin haze, you definitely won't see it! Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 106 Pick of the Season Cherry Ale Author: Chuck Coronella ([c--el--s] at [che.utah.edu]) Digest: June 26, 1990, Issue #447 Ingredients: 6 pounds Laaglander light dry extract 1/4 pound crystal malt 1/4 pound lactose 7-8 pounds fresh sweet cherries 1/2 ounce Chinook hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Chinook hops (finish) 1/2 ounce Hallertauer hops (dry) 1/2 teaspoon Irish moss Whitbread ale yeast Procedure: This recipe makes 5-1/2 gallons. Freeze cherries a couple days before brewing. Defrost in the fridge. While wort is boiling, remove stems and crush cherries. After boiling, pour wort over cherries in fermen- ter. Add cold water and pitch yeast. After a couple days, rack to secondary, straining out cherries. Comments: I decided to use lactose because several people thought Papazian's Cherries in the Snow was a bit dry. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: 2 days Secondary Ferment: 6-8 weeks 107 Blackberry Stout Author: Andy Wilcox ([a--y] at [mosquito.cis.ufl.edu]) Digest: May 9, 1990, Issue #415 Ingredients: 1 can Mount Mellick Famous Irish Stout extract 3 pounds M&F dark dry malt extract 4 pounds frozen blackberries 1 pound dark crystal malt 1/2 pound black patent malt 1/2 pound roasted barley 1-1/2 ounce Hallertauer hops 1/2 ounce Fuggles hops ale yeast corn sugar (priming) Procedure: Start grains in brewpot with cool water. Remove when boil commences. Add all malt and Hallertauer hops. Boil 1 hour. Add Fuggles and boil 5 more minutes. Remove from heat. Add thawed blackberries and steep 15 minutes. Cool. Dump whole mess into primary. After a couple rack to secondary, straining out berries. Comments: This stout reaches prime in 4-6 weeks and rapidly deteriorates from there, acquiring a winey flavor as the residual blackberry sweetness erodes. An amateur judge commented, "Good and black. Good mouth feel. Unbelievable finish---seems to last forever! Fruit? I want the recipe. Nice job." Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 108 Basic Fruit Beer Author: John Isenhour (LLUG_JI%DENISON.BITNET) Digest: June 14, 1989, Issue #177 Ingredients: 4-pound can Alexanders pale malt extract 1/2 pound light dry extract 10 HBU hops 1/4 teaspoon Irish moss 2 gallons fruit juice (such as apple, pineapple, cranberry, or raspberry) yeast Comments: This recipe was described in the Summer 1987 issue of Zymurgy. See the issue for procedural details. When I brew with fruit I do not add fruit to the boil, this will set the pectins to creating a haze. Instead add them after the boil and steep. I generally use a wheat malt extract to emulate a lambic frambozen. Try a Lindemann Framboise to see what you're shooting for. They use unmalted wheat in their beer. Method: N/A Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 109 Framboise Author: Cher Feinstein ([c r f] at [pine.circa.ufl.edu]) Digest: April 19, 1990, Issue #402 Ingredients: 6-7 pounds light malt extract 1/4 pound crystal malt 2-1/2 cups raspberry puree 1 ounce boiling hops (Hallertauer, Saaz, Tettnanger) yeast 10 cups raspberry puree Procedure: Crack, steep, and strain crystal malt before boiling. Add extract and hops. Boil. Strain into primary. Add 2-1/2 cups raspberry puree. Add enough cold water to make 5 gallons. Pitch yeast. When racking to secondary, add another 10 cups raspberry puree. Comments: I figured that I'll sterilize anything I use to add the puree, while taking my chances with the puree itself (rather than heating it up and risking setting the pectins). Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 110 Cranbeery Ale Author: Tim Phillips ([t c p] at [esl.ESL.com]) Digest: December 20, 1989, Issue #327 Ingredients: 5 pounds pale malt extract syrup 1 pound corn sugar 2 ounces Hallertauer hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Hallertauer hops (finish) 6 pounds cranberries ale yeast corn sugar (priming) Procedure: Crush cranberries. Boil wort. Add cranberries to wort at time fin- ishing hops are added. Turn off heat and steep at least 15 minutes. Pour wort into fermenter with enough water to make 5 gallons. Pitch yeast. After about 5 days, strain into secondary fermenter, avoiding sediment. Bottle after about 1 more week. Age bottles about 2 weeks. Comments: This isn't the best beer I've ever had, but the red color and mixture of cranberry, champagne, and beer tastes (in that order) together make wonderful conversation pieces. A perfect treat for the holidays. The cranberry taste is quite dominating: I might try just 2 or 3 pounds of cranberries in the future. This recipe is based on Papazian's Cherries in the Snow. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: 5 days Secondary Ferment: 1 week 111 Great Pumpkin Bitter Author: Barry Cunningham (abvax!calvin.icd.ab.com!bwc) Digest: November 9, 1989, Issue #299 Ingredients: 1 can Cooper's bitter hopped malt syrup 1-1/2 pound M&F dry malt extract 1/4 pound black patent malt 1 cup Brer Rabbit molasses 1/2 ounce Tettnanger hop pellets (boil 30 minutes) 1/2 ounce Tettnanger hops pellets (finish) 2 sticks cinnamon 2-3 ounces fresh grated ginger 10 pounds pumpkin mush 1/2 cup chopped cilantro 1-2 ounces fresh grated ginger 2 packs Pasteur champagne yeast Procedure: Steep black patent malt. Remove grain and add extracts. Boil wort 60 minutes with 2-3 ounces ginger, add boiling hops at 30 minutes. At 10 minutes add cinnamon. In last couple minutes, add finishing hops. Prepare pumpkin while wort is boiling: place pumpkin flesh in blender or food processor and mush. Mix chopped cilantro and 1-2 ounces fresh ginger in with mush. Place pumpkin mush, wort, and water to make 6- 1/2 gallons in primary fermenter. Let primary fermentation proceed 1 week. Remove pumpkin mush and strain remaining liquid into 5 gallon carboy. Rack again after 3 weeks. Bottle after another 2 months. Comments: This is quite aromatic and will make a good sipping beer for next halloween. It is definitely not for consuming in large quantity. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: 1 week Secondary Ferment: 2 weeks + 2 months 112 Washington Apple Ale Author: Joe Shirey ([j s hirey] at [jarthur.Claremont.edu]) Digest: March 2, 1990, Issue #370 Ingredients: 4 pounds Telford's Yorkshire nut brown ale hopped malt 1 pound honey 1/2 pound corn sugar 1/2 pound dark crystal malt 4 pounds red apples 2 teaspoons cinnamon ale yeast Procedure: In cold water, place crushed dark crystal malt in a cheesecloth. Bring water to boil. When boiling commences, remove grain and add Telford's. Boil 15-20 minutes. Add sugar and honey and boil another 10 minutes. Reduce heat so that boiling stops. Add cinnamon and sliced apples and steep 15 minutes. Remove apples with strainer and transfer wort to primary. Comments: This beer has a medium body with a hint of apple flavor. It is very smooth with little or no bitterness, but that can be changed by adding finishing hops. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 113 Raspberry Imperial Stout Author: Dan Miles ([m--l--s] at [cs.washington.edu]) Digest: August 28, 1990, Issue #483 Ingredients: 15-1/4 pounds bulk light extract 3/4 pound roasted barley 3/4 pound black patent malt 3/4 pound chocolate malt 2 pounds English crystal malt 3-3/4 ounces Bullion pellets (9.6 alpha) 1-1/4 ounces Northern Brewer pellets (6.7% alpha) 2 ounces Kent Goldings pellets 13 pounds fresh raspberries 4 teaspoons gypsum Sierra Nevada yeast 1 cup corn sugar (priming) Procedure: This makes 6-1/2 to 7 gallons. This is based on Papazian's recipe from the Summer 1990 issue of Zymurgy, except that I use more rasp- berries than Charlie. Follow his directions, or E-mail me for direc- tions. (Directions are pretty standard.) The Bullion hops and Northern Brewer are used for bittering and are added to the boil. The Kent Goldings pellets are used for dry- hopping. Comments: This had a very strong raspberry taste with a slightly coffee/dark malt and hoppy/bitter aftertaste. The raspberry taste is accompanied by a sort of astringency or acidity that will supposedly soften with age. It's still very young for an Imperial stout. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.087 Final Gravity: 1.022 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 114 My Framboise Recipe Author: Cher Feinstein ([c r f] at [pine.circa.ufl.edu]) Digest: August 22, 1990, Issue #479 Ingredients: 6.6 pounds wheat malt extract 1/2 pound crystal malt 1 ounce Hallertauer hops 1 pack Wyeast #3056, Bavarian wheat 5 or 6 bags frozen raspberries (12 ounce bags) Procedure: The wheat malt should ideally be a 60-40 mix of wheat and barley. The crystal malt is cracked and steeped in hot water for 20 minutes, then strained. The hops are then added and the mixture is boiled for 45 minutes. Chill and add yeast. Allow the beer to ferment for 7 days and then prepare raspberry mixture by defrosting berries and using blender to puree. Pitch in fermenter and after 48 hours, bottle. Next time I make this, I will modify the recipe to use 1 can (6.6#) of Ireks wheat malt, 3-4 pounds of light DME, 1 ounce of Hallertauer (35 minute boil), and again, Wyeast #3056. By using a 100% wheat extract, such as Ireks, I can control the amount of barley extract to assure 60% wheat to 40% barley. Comments: I've been getting a large head with good lace, and an enormous aroma of raspberries. The brew is also crystal clear, with a deep ruby color (which I consider to be just plain luck since wheat beers are characteristically cloudy). As aging continues, any hints of astrin- gency are disappearing. It will probably need 4P6 months aging time, quite possibly more. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: 7 days Secondary Ferment: 48 hours 115 CHAPTER 9: SPECIALTY ALE This is a catch-all chapter for various types of ale that don't fit neatly into a larger category,for example, Scotch ale, brown ale, or Kolsch. Scotch ales are typically dark brown strong beers brewed to a starting gravity of about 1.055. Brown ales were historically brewed in the U.K. as a lightly-hopped medium-bodied beer. They are usually brewed from pale malt with additional crystal, caramel, or roasted malts for coloring. These are not usually very heavy beers, and the English mild may be brewed to a gravity as low as 1.035 while other brown ales will hover around 1.050. For more information about brown ales, Scotch ales, or any other style in this chapter, see Fred Eckhardt's The Essentials of Beer Style, or Michael Jackson's World Guide to Beer. 116 My Own Scotch Ale Author: Todd Enders ([e--de--s] at [plains.NoDak.edu]) Digest: January 16, 1991, Issue #566 Ingredients: 6 pounds Klages 2-row malt 1 pound Munich malt (10L) 1 pound Dextrin (Cara-pils) malt 1/2 pound crystal malt (80L) 4 ounces black patent malt 1 cup dark molasses 3/4 ounce East Kent Goldings hops (6.2 alpha) 1 pack Wyeast #1028 London Ale 2/3 cup corn sugar (priming) Procedure: Mash in 2 gallons water at 138 degrees, adjust pH to 5.2 using Cal- cium Carbonate. Protein rest 30 minutes at 158 degrees. Conversion rest 30 minutes at 158 degrees. Mash out 5 minutes at 168 degrees. Sparge with 5 gallons water at 165 degrees. Boil 90 minutes, adding hops in last 30 minutes. Chill wort, pitch yeast and ferment 1-2 days. Rack to secondary for 5 more days and bottle. Comments: This is the first try at formulating my own recipe. It turned out quite nice, malty with just a touch of hops. You may not be able to drink just one! This is one of the smoothest batches I ever brewed. It is really smooth even after only 2 weeks in the bottle. The rather intense malt flavor and low hopping rate makes it a refreshing change of pace from my steady production of IPA. Method: Full mash (decoction) Original Gravity: 1.055 Final Gravity: 1.015 Primary Ferment: 2 days Secondary Ferment: 5 days 117 Sort of Nut Brown Ale Author: Todd Enders ([e--de--s] at [plains.NoDak.edu]) Digest: June 27, 1990, Issue #448 Ingredients: 2.4 pounds pale ale malt 0.4 pound crystal malt (80L) 1/4 pound pan roasted barley 1/2 cup dark molasses 1/2 ounce Willamette hops (5.5 alpha) Wyeast #1028 Procedure: This recipe makes 2 gallons. Raw unmalted barley was roasted in a pan over medium heat until the outside was quite dark but the inside was only tan---stir often to avoid scorching. Mashin in 132 degrees (5 quarts of water) at pH of 5.2 Mash 2 hours at 152-153 degrees. Mash out 5 minutes at 168 degrees. Sparge in 2-1/2 gallons of 165 degree water. Boil 90 minutes adding hops 30 minutes before end of boil. Chill and strain and pitch yeast. Comments: The toasted barley probably had a Lovibond rating around 80-100, the unfermented wort was delicious. This is similar to many stout recipes but the barley isn't roasted long enough to give it that much dark- ness. Method: Full mash Original Gravity: 1.051 Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 118 Full Moon Ale Author: David Haberman ([h--r--d] at [afal-edwards.af.mil]) Digest:March 22, 1989, Issue #106 Ingredients: 6 pounds dark Australian DME 1 pound caramel crystal malt 1-1/2 ounce Willamette hops 1-1/2 ounce Fuggles hops 1 pack Wyeast #1098: British Ale 3/4 cup corn sugar (priming) Procedure: Boil 2 gallons of water and turn off heat. Add crystal malt and steep about 15 minutes. Strain through muslin into kettle. Heat another gallon of water to 170 degrees. Pour through grain into pot. Heat to boiling and add DME and 1/3 of hops. After 45 minutes add another 1/3 of hops. Turn off heat after 15 minutes and add last 1/3 of hops. Steep. Cool wort and add 2 gallons of cold water. Pour in wort and pitch yeast. Rack to secondary after 4 days top off with enough water to make 5 gallons. After 4 weeks, prime and bottle. Comments: I thought that the final gravity of this beer was a bit high, but the beer came out tasting great and no bottles exploded. In order to call this a porter it needs more hops, therefore I think it is a Scotch ale. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.055 Final Gravity: 1.017 Primary Ferment: 4 days Secondary Ferment: 4 weeks 119 Cat's Paw Brown Ale Author: Doug Roberts (roberts%[s--g--y] at [lanl.gov]) Digest: March 15, 1990, Issue #378 Ingredients: 7 pounds Klages malt 1/4 pound chocolate malt 1/4 pound black patent malt 1/2 pound crystal malt (90L) 1 ounce Willamette hops (boil) 4/5 ounce Perle hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Willamette hops (finish) 1 teaspoon gypsum 1/2 teaspoon Irish moss Whitbread ale yeast Procedure: The mash was done using Papazian's temperature-controlled mash. The boiling hops (Willamette and Perle) equal 9.84 AAUs. The finishing hops are added after the boil (while chilling with an immersion chill- er). The ale yeast is rehydrated in 1/2 cup of 100 degree water. Comments: This batch was what my fond memories of drinking London Brown Ales in Canterbury, UK were all about. A classic. Method: Full mash Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 120 Geordie Brown Ale Author: Elaine May ([e--ai--e] at [hpmtlx.hp.com]) Digest: February 21, 1990, Issue #362 Ingredients: 2 cans Geordie Extra Strong ale 1 cup dark brown sugar 2 cups corn sugar 1/2 pound crystal malt 1/2 cup maltodextrin 1/2 teaspoon Irish moss 1 ounce Willamette leaf hops Procedure: Bring grain to boil in 1 gallon water; remove grain when water starts to boil. Add another 1/2 gallon of water and bring to boil again. Add extract and sugars, boil for 15 minutes. Add Irish moss and hops for last 5 minutes of boil. Put it in fermenter with enough water to make 5 gallons. Add ale yeast and wait. Comments: The beer is a brown ale with sweetness from the sugars and crystal malt; not much hop flavor. The maltodextrin contributes a strange slightly syrupy quality (I think)---I might leave it out next time. Anyway, I thought it was a nice, drinkable brown ale. Method: Extract Original Gravity: 1.057 Final Gravity: 1.018 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 121 Boonesburger Winterale Author: Florian Bell ([f--ri--b] at [tekred.cna.tek.com]) Digest: December 15, 1989, Issue #324 Ingredients: 5 pounds light dry extract 3 pounds 2-row pale malt 1/2 pound crystal malt (40L) 2 ounces roasted barley 4 ounces wheat malt 2 ounces dextrin malt 2 ounces Cascade hops (5.2% alpha) 1/2 ounce Tettnanger hops (4.9% alpha) 1/2 ounce Perle hops (7.2% alpha) 1/2 ounce Kent Goldings hops (5.2% alpha) 1 teaspoon Irish moss 1 pack Wyeast Irish Procedure: I used Papazian's partial mash method, except used 2 gallons of sparge water. I got 18 pints of sparge and added two pints of water to the boil, along with the dry extract. Boil 60 minutes. Add 1 ounce Cas- cade, 1/4 ounce Perle, and 1/4 ounce Tettnanger at 40 minutes. Add 1/2 ounce Cascade, 1/4 ounce Perle, and 1/4 ounce Tettnanger at 30 minutes. Add 1/2 ounce Cascade, and 1/2 ounce Kent Goldings in hop bag at 3 minutes. Strain into primary fermenter. Transfer hops bag to primary. Comments: Twelve days in the bottle was sufficient. I prefer this over Widmer Festbier, after which it was patterned. It's also a lot cheaper. Method: Partial mash Original Gravity: 1.060 Final Gravity: 1.012 Primary Ferment: 3 days Secondary Ferment: 9 days 122 Barrel Bottom Black Bitter Author: Ted Manahan ([t--m] at [hpldola.hp.com]) Digest: November 23, 1989, Issue #309 Ingredients: 6 pounds Australian dark malt extract syrup 2/3 pounds chocolate malt 1/3 pound crystal malt 2 ounces Perle hops 1-1/2 ounces Cascade hops Burton liquid ale yeast Procedure: Soak malt in a pot of hot water for 1 hour. While soaking, begin boiling Australian dark malt with the Perle hops. After 1 hour, add Cascade hops and turn off heat. Steep about 30 minutes. Strain everything into primary and add cold water to bring volume to 5 gallons. Pitch yeast when cool. Comments: Barrel Bottom is a very dark, rich and bitter brew with a full head of tan foam. It could pass as a stout. The only bad part is that my 5 gallons is almost gone, in less than two months. Ingredients were obtained from William's Brewing, the Australian extract is their dark- er variety. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 123 Chimight (Chimay Light) Author: Chuck Cox (bose!synchro![c--u--k] at [uunet.UU.NET]) Digest: December 18, 1990, Issue #556 Ingredients: 15 pounds pale unhopped extract 3/4 pound brown sugar 1 pound crystal malt 1 pound flaked barley 1 pound pale malt 1/2 pound wheat malt 1/4 teaspoon gypsum 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon Irish moss 7 HBUs Northern Brewer hops (boil) 14 HBUs Chinook hops (boil) 1 ounce Saaz hops (finish) 1/2 ounce Tettnanger hops (finish) Chimay yeast Procedure: This is a 9-gallon partial mash recipe. Use standard procedures, brewing about 7 gallons of wort in a 10-gallon kettle, followed by a 7-gallon primary and 2 5-gallon secondaries. Then keg (or bottle). The yeast was cultured from a bottle of Chimay. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 124 Chimay Trippel Author: Chuck Cox (bose!synchro![c--u--k] at [uunet.UU.NET]) Digest: December 18, 1990, Issue #556 Ingredients: 3.3 pounds pale unhopped extract syrup 12 pounds pale dry extract 1 pound 6-row pale malt 1 pound wheat malt 1 pound Vienna malt 2 pounds light brown sugar 1/2 pound corn sugar 10 grams coriander 8 grams orange peel 4 HBUs Saaz hops (boil) 4 HBUs Hallertauer hops (boil) 4-1/2 HBUs Fuggles hops (boil) handful hops (finish) 1 teaspoon Irish moss Chimay yeast culture Procedure: This is a 7-gallon partial mash recipe. Use standard procedures, brewing about 7 gallons of wort in a 10-gallon kettle, followed by a 7-gallon primary and 2 5-gallon secondaries or a 7-gallon secondary. Then keg (or bottle). The yeast was cultured from a bottle of Chimay. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 125 Old Peculiar Author: Mike Fertsch ([FERTS C H] at [adcl.RAY.COM]) Digest: August 11, 1989, Issue #225 Ingredients: 4 pounds dark malt extract 1/2 pound roast barley 1/2 pound crystal malt 2 pounds dark brown sugar 2 ounces Fuggles hops 5 saccharin tablets yeast Procedure: This recipe uses saccharin, but I will not use this in my beer; in- stead I may add brewer's licorice or lactose for sweetness. The amount of fermentables also seems low; I would add a pound or two of light extract to increase the gravity to the mid-fifties. The recipe also calls for priming with 3 ounces of black treacle, which is molas- ses. This seems low, and it also seems that different brands would contain different amounts of fermentable sugar. Comments: This recipe is for one of my favorite old ales---Old Peculiar. It comes from Dave Line's book Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 126 Scottish Steamy Ale Author: Ken Ellinwood (!sun!suntzu!aimla!ken) Digest: November 9, 1989, Issue #299 Ingredients: 6 pounds M&F light dry extract 1 pound Scottish crystal malt (40L) 1 ounce Northern Brewer leaf hops (boil) 1/2 ounce Northern Brewer (finish) Brewers Choice American ale yeast Procedure: Boiling hops are put in kettle for a 55 minute boil. The finishing hops are put in for an additional 5 minutes. Comments: My last batch came out too light because I added only 1/2 pound of the crystal malt---I was convinced it was in the 90 Lovibond range. I also used 6.6 pounds of canned extract. The resulting beer was about 1/3 as dark as the original. Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 127 CHAPTER 10: MEAD AND OTHER BEVERAGES Meadmakers will bend your ear for hours about the rich long tradition surrounding their honey-based brew. Mead is a sublime elixir, favored by many homebrewers for its variety and subtlety. It is, however, much stronger than typical beers, and also takes months or years to properly ferment and age. Mead flavored with apple juice is called a cyser; if flavored with grape juices, it's called pyment; if it uses other fruit juices, it's called melomel; it it draws it' s flavor from herbs and spices, it's called metheglin. There are several books available on mead, the one used by most digest subscribers seems to be Acton & Duncan's Making Mead. Other beverages included in this chapter are easy recipes for making hard cider and a couple recipes for making liqueurs. 128 Basic Small Mead Author: Cher Feinstein ([c r f] at [pine.circa.ufl.edu]) Digest: September 30, 1989, Issue #267 Ingredients: 2-3 cloves 2 sticks cinnamon 2 thin slices ginger 2-4 teaspoons orange peel 2 pounds honey yeast 1/4 cup vodka or grain alcohol Procedure: In a 1-gallon pot, simmer cloves (lightly cracked), cinnamon (broken), and ginger. Add orange peel. The amount of orange peel will vary depending on type of honey used. Use less orange peel with orange blossom honey, for example. Simmer. Add water to bring volume to 3 quarts. Return to simmer. Add honey, stirring constantly. Do not boil! Skim off any white scum. If scum is yellow, reduce heat. When no more scum forms, remove from heat, cover pot, and leave overnight. The next day, strain to remove as much spice particles as possible. Pitch yeast. Replace pot cover. Twelve hours later, rack mead to 1-gallon jug, leaving dregs of yeast. Top off jug, bringing to base of neck. Take a piece of clean paper towel, fold into quarters, and put over mouth of jug. Seal with rub- ber band. Ferment for 36 hours, replacing paper towel whenever it becomes fouled. Refrigerate 8-12 hours. Rack to new jug and put back in refrigerator for 12 hours. Add 1/4 cup vodka to kill yeast. Rack to fresh jug. Refrigerate 3-4 days. Bottle. Comments: This is a quickie mead, drinkable in 2 weeks, however, it does improve with age. Aging at least a couple months is recommended. This mead is excellent chilled. Method: N/A Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: 2 days Secondary Ferment: 2 weeks 129 Hard Cider Author: ([j w hite] at [anovax.enet.dec.com]) Digest: October 2, 1990, Issue #508 Ingredients: 5 gallons sweet cider 3 pounds brown sugar 3 pounds honey 2 packs champagne yeast Procedure: Strain 3 gallons of cider into a 5-gallon carboy. Strain 1/2 gallon into pot and heat enough to allow sugar and honey to thoroughly dis- solve. Pour into carboy and finish filling to neck. Pitch yeast and seal with airlock. When fermentation stops, bottle. Prime with sugar to add carbonation. Comments: For this recipe to turn out well, do not use pasteurized apple juice. My last batch took 3 weeks to ferment. If you notice unpleasant smells during this time, you can ignore them. Boy, does this turn out great! Method: N/A Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: 3 weeks Secondary Ferment: N/A 130 Blueberry Mead Author: Jonathan Corbet (gaia![j--n] at [handies.ucar.edu]) Digest: November 28, 1988 Ingredients: 7-10 pounds fresh blueberries 1-2 pounds corn sugar 1-2 ounces hops (Cascades is fine) 10 pounds honey Procedure: To make 6-1/2 gallons of mead, Boil the honey, sugar, and hops for at least an hour (although boiling honey is not favored by most digest subscribers, it works fine and is the method used by Papazian). Clean berries and mash well. Put mashed berries, hot wort, and enough water to make 6-1/2 gallons into a fermenter. Pitch yeast. After one week, strain out berries and rack to secondary. Ferment at least one more month and then bottle, priming with corn sugar and perhaps some lemon grass tea. Age 6 months to a year. Comments: This mead usually comes out quite dry. This recipe makes 6-1/2 gallons. Method: N/A Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: 1 week Secondary Ferment: 4 weeks+ 131 Peach Melomel Author: Michael Bergman (bergman%[odin m 2 c org] at [RELAY.CS.NET]) Digest: March 1, 1989, Issue #90 Ingredients: 6 pounds peaches 3/4 pint elderflowers 2-1/2 pounds acacia honey 1/30 ounce tannin Graves yeast 1/4 ounce tartaric acid 1/4 ounce malic acid Procedure: Press peaches (after removing pits). Dissolve honey in 4 pints warm water, blend in peach juice along with acid, tannin, and nutrients. Add 100 ppm sulfite (2 campden tablets). After 24 hours, add yeast starter, allow to ferment 7 days before adding elderflowers. Ferment on flowers for 3 days then strain off lowers and top off to 1 gallon with cold water. Ferment until specific gravity drops to 10, then rack. Rack again when gravity drops to 5, and add 1 tablet campden. Rack again when when a heavy deposit forms, or after 3 months, which- ever comes first. Add another campden tablet. Rack again every 3-4 months, adding a tablet after every second racking. Comments: This recipe is based on procedures outlined in Making Mead, by Bryan Acton and Peter Duncan. They advocate the use of campden rather than boiling because they feel that after boiling for a long time most of the essences of the honey are gone. Read the "Basic Procedures" sec- tion of Acton & Duncan for more info. Method: N/A Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 132 Riesling Pyment Author: Jackie Brown ([B--O--N] at [MSUKBS.BITNET]) Digest: June 24, 1989, Issue #184 Ingredients: 4-1/2 pounds wildflower honey 5-1/2 pounds partial blueberry honey 2 tablespoons acid blend 1 tablespoon pectic enzyme 4 pounds Alexander's Johanissberg Riesling extract 1 pack Red Star champagne yeast Procedure: Boil honey, acid, enzyme and Riesling extract for 1 hour (I have since learned that honey is best not boiled; subsequent batches have been made by holding the mixture for 2 hours). Cool and pitch yeast. Rack to secondary after 8 days. Bottle after 4 months. Comments: This is more winey than your straight mead, but very pleasant. Medium dry and spritzig---very nice as a table wine. Those of you set up to crush your own grapes might try a grape honey mix. A drink of noble history! Method: N/A Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: 8 days Secondary Ferment: 4 months 133 Rice Wine---Saki Author: David Herron (mailrus!ukma!davids.UUCP!david) Digest: January 10, 1989, Issue #48 Ingredients: 2-1/2 pounds rice (husked or raw) 1/2 pint grape concentrate 7 pints hot water 2-1/2 pounds corn sugar or honey 3 teaspoons acid blend 3/4 teaspoon yeast energizer 1 tablet Campden 1 pack sherry yeast Procedure: Wash and crush rice. Place rice in nylon straining bag and place in primary. Pour hot water over rice and stir in all ingredients except yeast and engergizer. Wait 48 hours. Add yeast and energizer and cover primary. Stir daily, checking gravity and pressing pulp light- ly. When gravity reaches 1.050 (2-3 days), add another 1/4 pound dissolved sugar or honey per gallon. When gravity drops to 1.030 (6-7 days) strain any juice from bag. Rack to secondary. Attach airlock. Rack again in 2 months, if necessary. Bottle when ready. It is possible to continue building up alcohol by adding additional sugar until fermentation ceases. For a sweeter drink, add 1/2 teaspoon stabilizer and 1/4 pound dissolved sugar. NOTE: Any additional sugar added should be corn sugar, not cane sugar. Comments: This recipe came from a collection of wine recipes by Raymond Massaccesi titled Winemakers Recipe Handbook. Various digest sub- scribers question the authenticity of this recipe. Sake should con- tain only rice---no corn sugar, grape concentrate, or honey. Authen- tic sake should also be inoculated with koji. There is a sake brewery in Berkeley, California, that will conduct tours for those interested in learning more about sake. Sake is discussed by Fred Eckhardt in Best of Beer and Brewing Vol. 1-5, available from the AHA. Koji is available from Great Fermentations of Santa Rosa. Method: N/A Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 134 Glog Author: A.E. Mossberg ([a--m] at [mthvax.miami.edu]) Digest: December 25, 1988 Ingredients: 1 quart cheap red port 1 quart cheap vodka 1-1/2 cups sugar 4 cups water 8 pods cardamom 20 cloves 1 peel of orange 2 sticks cinnamon broken 1 handful raisins 4 almonds Procedure: Dissolve sugar in water and add the last 6 ingredients. Boil 15 min- utes then add vodka and port. Bring back to boil and remove from heat. Serve warm. Comments: This is a traditional Swedish holiday drink. It cures the common cold. Method: N/A Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 135 Hard Cider Author: A.E. Mossberg ([a--m] at [mthvax.miami.edu]) Digest: December 23, 1988 Ingredients: 1 gallon unfiltered apple juice 1/3 packet yeast Procedure: Remove 1 pint of juice to allow room for yeast activity. Add yeast. Let sit 4-10 days. Replace pint of juice. Place in refrigerator and enjoy. Comments: Sometimes I rack the cider before placing in refrigerator because there is a heavy build up of dead yeast and particulate matter from the apple juice. Method: N/A Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: 4-10 days Secondary Ferment: N/A 136 Berry Liqueur Author: Nicolette Bonhomme ([bb 13093] at [pbn33.prime.com]) Digest: December 21, 1988 Ingredients: 1 quart frozen raspberries 1 quart frozen blueberries 1 can frozen grape juice concentrate 1 quart brandy sugar Procedure: Soak berries, grape juice and brandy for at least one week. Strain into a jar, being sure to squeeze all juice out of fruit. Increase volume by 25-50% with a sugar syrup made from half water and half sugar. Cool syrup to room temperature before adding to liqueur mix. Method: N/A Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 137 Prickly Pear Cactus Mead Author:John Isenhour (LLUG_JI.DENISON.BITNET) Digest: June 15, 1989, Issue #177 Ingredients: 20 pounds Mesquite honey 75-100 ripe prickly pear cactus fruits 2 packs sherry wine yeast Procedure: See Papazian's book. This recipe was based on it. Comments: This is Dave Spaulding's version that won the grand prize at the 1986 Arizona State Fair. Method: N/A Original Gravity: 1.158 Final Gravity: 1.050 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: 5 months 138 Chuck's Homemade Ozark Rootbeer Author: Chuck Cox (bose![c--u--k] at [uunet.UU.NET]) Digest: January 9, 1990, Issue #338 Ingredients: 2 ounces birch beer extract 10 ounces root beer extract 1 pound honey 1 cup blackstrap molasses 1 cup grade B maple syrup 1 gallon sugar (about 8 pounds) Procedure: This recipe makes 15 gallons. Mix all ingredients in a standard keg. Add water to fill keg. Carbonate. Drink. Comments: I thought the molasses taste was a bit harsh and will try either reg- ular molasses, or use less. I will also try substituting 2 ounces of sarsaparilla extract for 2 ounces of the rootbeer extract. This recipe makes a strong tasting rootbeer with about half the sweetness of commercial rootbeers. This was made with artificial carbonation, but it could be adapted to make alcoholic rootbeer by substituting malt extract for some of the sugar. Method: N/A Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 139 Nathan's Ginger Beer Author: Bill Crick Digest: December 1, 1989, Issue #314 Ingredients: 1/2 pound fresh ginger, peeled and grated 1 lemon 5 teaspoons cream of tarter 5 cups white sugar 2-1/2 gallons water Procedure: This stuff is dangerous---do not make it. WARNINGS: Use only real champagne bottles, beer bottles will explode. If left out of fridge more than 4 weeks, bottles will explode. Do not leave in fridge more than 4 weeks after bottles start to scare you, otherwise, bottles will explode. Set off outside---corks go 60-70'. Do not let bottles sit around too long---I'm not kidding! Peel and grate ginger. Grate lemon, squeeze, and cut remainder into slices. Boil all ingredients, mixing. Cool to 80 degrees or less and add lager yeast. Ferment 3-7 days, then bottle in champagne bottles. Wire down plastic corks. Leave out 1 week, then move to cool area. Chill and test open 1 bottle each week until they start to scare you, then put all bottles in fridge and drink within 2 weeks. Comments: I've been making this for many years. It is very carbonated, and quite refreshing. Also, because it has a limited shelf life (after which it explodes), it prompts lots of impromptu ginger beer parties. I call several friends to say "I'm setting off a dozen ginger beers tomorrow afternoon. Wanna come?" Method: N/A Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: 3-7 days Secondary Ferment: Couple weeks 140 My Daddy's Beer Recipe Author: Stephen Hansen ([h--ns--n] at [gloworm.Stanford.edu]) Digest: July 18, 1990, Issue #462 Ingredients: 1 can Blue Ribbon malt 1 pack Fleishmann's yeast 1 cup rice 1 tablespoon salt 5 pounds powdered cane sugar Procedure: In a large (3 gallon) porcelain pan, add 3 quarts water and bring to boil. Add sugar, stirring. Bring back up to boil and add 1 can of malt. Return to boil again and let simmer for 15 minutes. Fill large glass 1/2 full of luke warm water (not over 130 degrees) and add rice, yeast, and salt. Clean crock and fill 1/3 full of warm water. Pour in wort. Add cold water to within 3 inches of top. Add yeast solution and cover. After 6-10 hours remove foam with wire strainer. Let sit until hydrometer says "bottle." Fill bottles, adding 1/2 teaspoon sugar to each. Cap and let stand 21 days. Comments: Back when I first started making beer (about 20 years ago now) I ac- tually made several batches using this recipe. The results varied from barely drinkable to snail bait. I especially like his comparison in the last line of the original---"This should make 5 cases of pint bottles of beer equal to or superior to Millers High Life." Method: Extract Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 141 Romulan Ale Author: Karl Wolff (1st recipe), Robert N. (2nd recipe) ([wol f f] at [aqm.ssc.af.mil]) ([rober t n] at [fml.intel.com]) Digest: November 6, 1990 and November 7, 1990, Issues #531 and #532 Ingredients: Karl's Recipe: 1 fifth Bacardi 151 1 fifth Blue Curaco 2 liters Sprite or 7-Up Robert's Recipe: 1 fifth Bacardi 151 1 fifth Everclear 1 fifth Blue Curaco Procedure: Mix all ingredients. Chill for approximately 3 hours and serve. Comments: Robert comments that this is done in shots because the average human cannot stand up to a tall cool glass of Romulan ale; he suggests that Karl's recipe may be fit for human consumption. Method: N/A Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 142 Cyser Author: Arun Welch ([wel c h] at [cis.ohio-state.edu]) Digest: November 14, 1990, Issue #537 Ingredients: 4 gallons fresh cider (no Pot.Sorb) 5 to 6 pounds honey 1 gallon water 1 large stick cinnamon 5 cloves 2 pods cardamom 2 packs Red Star Pasteur champagne yeast Procedure: Simmer the spices in the water for 10 minutes. Dissolve honey. Sim- mer and strain crud until there isn't any more. Transfer to primary, along with cider (this should bring primary to a good pitching temper- ature). Pitch yeast and wait 1 to 2 weeks for the foam to die down. Transfer to secondary. Ferment in secondary 3-6 months. Bottle and age another 3 or more months. Comments: I made up this recipe as I went along. Method: N/A Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: 1-1/2 weeks Secondary Ferment: 3 to 6 months 143 Wassail Mead Author:Mal Card [c--d] at [apollo.hp.com] Digest: November 15, 1990, Issue #538 Ingredients: 12-1/2 pounds light clover honey 4 teaspoons acid blend 5 teaspoons yeast nutrient wine yeast Procedure: Add honey, acid blend, and yeast nutrient to 2 gallons of water and boil for 1/2 hour. Add this to 1-1/2 gallons of cold water in the primary fermenter. Pitch yeast when the temperature reaches 70-75 degrees. Use a blow off tube if you use a carboy. Allow fermentation to proceed for 3 weeks or more (up to several months). When the mead becomes fairly clear, rack to secondary. Attack air-lock. Leave the mead to sit at least 3 weeks. When yeast settles to bottom and is clear, it is ready to bottle. Adding 3/4 cup of corn sugar at bottling will produce a sparkling mead. Sparkling meads should not be made with an original gravity higher than 1.090. Method: N/A Original Gravity: 1.100 Final Gravity: 1.000 Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 144 Quick Mead Author: Kevin Karplus ([k--p--s] at [ararat.ucsc.edu]) Digest: November 16, 1990, Issue #538 Ingredients: 3 gallons water 5 pounds honey 1/3 cup jasmine tea 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg ale yeast Procedure: Boil water, adding tea and spices. Remove from heat and stir in honey. (Some mead makers boil the honey, skimming the scum as it forms). Cover boiled water, and set aside to cool (this usually takes a long time, so start on the next step). Make a yeast starter solu- tion by boiling a cup of water and a tablespoon or two of honey. Add starter to cooled liquid. Cover and ferment using blow tube or fer- mentation lock. Rack two or three times to get rid of sediment. The less honey, the lighter the drink, and the quicker it can be made. 1 pound per gallon is the minimum, 5 pounds per gallon is about the maximum for a sweet dessert wine. This mead is a metheglin because of the tea. The yeast is pitched one day after starting the batch, the crud skimmed about 10 days later, then wait 3 days and rack to second- ary. Wait 2 more weeks and bottle---about 4 weeks from start to fin- ish. Comments: Yield is 3.1 gallons. Excellent clarity, fairly sweet flavor, slight sediment, light gold color. An excellent batch. Method: N/A Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 145 Sack Mead Author: Kevin Karplus ([k--p--s] at [ararat.ucsc.edu]) Digest: November 16, 1990, Issue #538 Ingredients: 3 gallons water 16 pounds honey 1/4 cup keemun tea 1/4 cup oolong tea 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon whole anise seed 18 clusters cardamom, crushed 20 allspice, crushed 1 inch galingale root, crushed yeast unflavored gelatin (fining) Procedure: Boil water, adding tea and spices. Remove from heat and stir in honey. (Some mead makers boil the honey, skimming the scum as it forms). Cover boiled water, and set aside to cool (this usually takes a long time, so start on the next step). Make a yeast starter solu- tion by boiling a cup of water and a tablespoon or two of honey. Add starter to cooled liquid. Cover and ferment using blow tube or fer- mentation lock. Rack two or three times to get rid of sediment. This recipe took about 6-1/2 months from brewing to bottling. First rack took place 15 days after brewing. 2nd rack 3 weeks later. 3rd rack 3 months later. Gelatin added 1 month later. Bottled about 2- 1/2 months later. Yield 3.7 gallons. Comments: Sweet, smooth, potent. A dessert wine. This is perhaps the best of my 20 or more batches of mead. Method: N/A Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 146 Roses for Arthur Author: Ye Olde Batte (mhalley%mun.BITNET) Digest: November 31, 1988 Ingredients: rose petals water sugar dry yeast Procedure: Fill a glass container with rose petals. Cover with water and let set, covered by a clean cloth, for 3 days. Strain water through a cloth and measure. Add to it, one quarter of its volume of white sugar. Set in a glass jar or crock, add a pinch of dry yeast and stir well. When it is sparkling (3 days to a week), put into beer or cham- pagne bottles and cap. Age 1-6 months. Comments: This recipe comes from a booklet called The Delicious Rose by Geraldine Duncann. It was called Rose Melemell, although it has no honey. This is an effervescent brew with a hint of summer roses. Method: N/A Original Gravity: N/A Final Gravity: N/A Primary Ferment: N/A Secondary Ferment: N/A 147 APPENDIX A: BIBLIOGRAPHY The following books are generally available from the Association of Brewers at (303) 447-0816. Quite a few may also be available from various homebrew shops or mail order sources. Beach, David. Homegrown Hops. 1988, David Beach, 103 pages. A complete guide on growing hops geared toward the homebrewer. Covers everything from hop selection and cultivation through harvesting and drying. Burch, Byron. Brewing Quality Beers. 1986, 50 pages. This is a good, basic text on homebrewing geared toward the beginner. Eckhardt, Fred. Essentials of Beer Style. 1989, Fred Eckhardt Associates, Portland Oregon, 224 pages. Parts of this book are rehash of material covered better elsewhere, such as the basic brewing process and how to serve beer, but the sec- tions that describe the characteristics that define beer styles have more than enough value to justify buying this book. If you have ever wondered what exactly makes a porter a porter rather than a stout, or what the difference is between a Vienna-style lager and a Maerzen beer, then this book is for you. Fix, George. Principles of Brewing Science. 1989, Brewers Publica- tions, Boulder Colorado, 246 pages. This is an interesting book for the advanced brewer with some back- ground in chemistry, but would have little value to the beginner. Describes chemical process that take place in the fermentation pro- cess, water chemistry, proteins, enzymes, carbohydrates, etc. Foster, Terry. Pale Ale. 1990, Brewers Publications, Boulder Colorado, 134 pages. Largely geared toward the consumer who wants a knowledge of the his- tory, evolution, culture, and techniques that make pale ale such a revered style in Britain. Some sections describe the ingredients and procedures for making pale ales. 148 Gayre, Lt. Col. Robert. Brewing Mead. 1986, Brewers Publications, Boulder Colorado, 200 pages. Most of this book is a historical look at the place of mead in his- tory. Not a great deal of practical information, but interesting. Guinard, Jean-Xavier. Lambic. Brewers Publications, Boulder Colorado, 169 pages. Discussion of the history and evolution of lambic ales, includes directory of breweries making lambic ales and recipes for homebrewers. Hough, J.S., D.E. Briggs, R. Stevens, and T.W. Young. Malting and Brewing Science. 1982, Chapman and Hall Publishing, 914 pages. Two-volumes detailing every step in the brewing process, from agricul- tural techniques used in producing malt and barley through packaging and marketing. This book is geared to the commercial brewer and assumes a good knowledge of chemistry and microbiology. Jackson, Michael. Pocket Guide to Beer. 1982, 1989, 1991, Simon and Schuster, New York, 138 pages. Short, concise descriptions of breweries throughout the world along with descriptions of the beers they make and ratings (5-star scale). One of the few sources for original gravity and alcohol content infor- mation on commercial beers. Great for the traveler. Jackson, Michael. World Guide to Beer. 1977, 1988, Running Press, Philadelphia, 255 pages. Probably the single most important book on beer available today. Accurate and complete. Describes the history, culture, and techniques used in the beer industry throughout the world. Describes styles of beer that predominate in various geographic areas along with their heritage and commercial examples. Leistad, Roger. Yeast Culturing for the Homebrewer. 1983, G.W. Kent Co., 40 pages. Short, but detailed discussion of how yeast can be cultured. Probably not of interest to the beginner. Line, Dave. Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy. A somewhat dated text from Britain that tries to emulate such note- worthy commercial beers as Mackeson Triple Stout. Some of the recipes can try your patience as you try to figure out what "treacle" is or whether you should really brew with saccharine. 149 Mares, William. Making Beer. 1988, Alfred Knopf Publishing Co., New York, 178 pages. Invaluable for its advice on why not to become a commercial brewer, this is a fascinating look at one homebrewer's life of beer. Witty and insightful descriptions of such wondrous homebrewing experiences as bottles bursting in the middle of the night. Master Brewers Association. The Practical Brewer. 1977, Master Brew- ers Association of the Americas, 475 pages. Advanced, comprehensive text covering various aspects of brewing. Geared toward the commercial brewer, but much of the information is useful to homebrewers as well. Miller, David. The Complete Handbook of Homebrewing. 1988, Garden Way Publishing, Pownall Vermont, 248 pages. Comprehensive homebrewing text that is often preferred by more advanced brewers because it is somewhat more technical and detailed than Papazian and better organized with a comprehensive index. Miller, David. Continental Pilsner. 1990, Brewers Publications, Boulder Colorado, 102 pages. Story of pilsner and similar lagers, explored through its history and evolution. Describes how to brew pale lagers at home. Moore, William. Home Beermaking. 72 pages. Good basic homebrewing text---for the beginner. Morse, Roger A. Making Mead---History, Recipes, Methods, and Equip- ment. 1980, Wicwas Press, 127 pages. In-depth look at brewing techniques, troubleshooting, and analysis of mead. Written by beekeeper and horticulturist. Noonan, Greg. Brewing Lager Beer. 1986, Brewers Publications, Boul- der Colorado, 293 pages. Somewhat advanced text geared to the advanced brewer who wants to try bottom-fermented beers. A must if you want to try a decoction mash. Excellent discussion of water treatment and quality by geographic area. 150 Papazian, Charlie. The Complete Joy of Home Brewing. 1984, Avon Books, New York, 352 pages. The most universally accepted reference among homebrewers. Excellent selection of recipes. Good choice as a general text, especially if you can only afford one. This book will hold your hand as you begin brewing and will take you gradually through progressively more diffi- cult steps. Desperately cries out for an index. Priest, F.G. and I. Campbell. Brewing Microbiology. 1987, Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam. Reese, M.R. Better Beer and How to Brew It. 1981, Garden Way Pub- lishing, Pownall Vermont. Zymurgy. Magazine of the American Homebrewers Association, Boulder Colorado. Quarterly magazine covering all aspects of homebrewing. The annual special issues alone are worth the cost of the subscription. Past topics have included troubleshooting, hops, and yeast. 151 APPENDIX B: SUPPLIERS The following list of suppliers was compiled by Chris Shenton ([c h ris] at [asylum.gsfc.nasa.gov]) and originally appeared in the Homebrew Digest Feb 16, 1990. We extend our heartiest thanks to Chris for the effort he put into this list. According to Chris, there was once an updated list, but one hungry tape later, and all his work was gone. Fortunately the following work has been saved in the archives for all to enjoy. INTRODUCTION The following lists unit prices for a sample of supplies from a number of vendors. These are only representative data points on some of the more common items and should help in deciding where to shop. Some vendors sell in small quantities, and some only in large quantities, but give bulk prices. Consult the notes following the table for ad- dresses and information about quantities. Please send me any other vendors you have information about so I can keep this list current. Thanks for your support.---Chris Shenton SELECTION PHILOSOPHY I didn't include most specialty grains (or specialty items) because they are ordered in small quantities. Prices selected are for low- est-cost variety available; for example, if US and German Munich malt is available, I quote the cheaper US variety. When price or amount depends on quantity ordered, I've tried to select an amount suitable for a couple of batches, because that's the way I would order by mail. For example, if there are 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 Lb bags of grain, I used the 20 Lb price because that seems like a realistic purchase quantity --- enough for about two batches. Likewise, if there's a 6-can dis- count on a case of extract, I quote that price, rather than the higher per-can price. With hops, same deal: if there were 1, 2, 5, 10 oz packs, I'd quote the 5 oz pack price. OTHER SUPPLIERS There are a couple suppliers which do not fit in the chart because they specialize in only one item, or sell somewhat unusual items. They are included separately from the chart and its addresses. (Freshops is force-fit into the chart below, however). PERUSAL My guinea pig said he found the raw data too overwhelming and would prefer a more iconic style. Therefore, I've taken my numbers (price per quantity), and broken things into intervals, then marked them using the familiar $, $$, $$$, $$$$ notation. Then, for each suppli- er, I averaged the interval-measure of each available ingredient to get an average value for all that supplier's merchandise. Presented in an iconic form at the extreme right, this shows at a glance which dealers are expensive (e.g.: Wine & Brew By You) and which are cheap 152 (e.g.: Green Acres and Brew For Less [I would hope so with a name like that! :-]). Note that this ignores unavailable ingredients, and therefore variety/selection; companies with only a couple inexpensive items (e.g.: Freshops) come out looking good, too. After the body of the chart, I list the minimum, average, and maximum prices for the items, in dollars per the quantity-measure specified in the column heading. FEEDBACK I would be willing to maintain a list of user reports for each vendor. Send me any comments on ones you have dealt with: price, knowledge, quality, freshness, turn-around time, etc. I'll compile and send out updates every now and then. If you have other vendors I didn't in- clude, send me a line or two with the prices calculated for the ingre- dients in this table. (I can't afford to keep current on all the deal- ers!) DISCLAIMER Some suppliers will have inevitably been omitted. These include places with no catalog (eg. Col. John's), places which charge for catalogs (eg: Brass Corkscrew / Brewer's Warehouse), and places I am not aware of. I apologize for any omissions. (The obligatory null-statement indicating my opinions are no one else's.) 153 SUPPLIERS COMPARISON CHART Comp Extract $/Lb Malt $/Lb Hops $/oz Yeast $/pk any St --------- --------- ---- ---- Soda Abbr at Edme M&F Dry Klag Pale Crys Muni Casc Saaz Liqu Whit Caps ev. e Bulk DMS Plai Ligh es tal ch Flwr Pell Cult Dry $/gr ==== == ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== AmBr NC $$$ ____ ____ ____ $ $ $$$ $$ $$ $$ $$ ____ ____ | $$ AmWo PA ____ $ $$ $$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ ____ ____ $$$ ____ ____ $$$$ | $$$ BAWH MA ____ $ $$ $$ $$$ $$ $$ $$$ $$ $$ $$$ $$$$ $$$ | $$ BBM WI $$ ____ $ $ $ $$ $ $ $$ $$ $ ____ $ | $$ BFL IL $ $ $ $ $ $ $ ____ $$ $ $ ____ $$ | $ BM&V MA ____ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$$ $$$ | $$ BrHa TN $$$ $$ $$ $$ $ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $ ____ $ | $$ CW PA $$$ $$ $$ $$ $$$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$$ ____ $$$ $$$ | $$ Cell WA $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ ____ $$ $$ $ $$ $$ ____ $$$$ | $$ Cros CT ____ $$ $$ $$ ____ $$$ $$$ $$$ $$ $$ $$$$ $$$ $$$ | $$$ ECK MO ____ ____ $$ $$ ____ $$$ $$$ ____ $ $$ ____ ____ $$$$ | $$ FH OR ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ $ ____ $ ____ ____ | $ FHSC OR $ $ $$ $ $ $ $ $ $$ $$$ $ ____ ____ | $ GFM CA $$ $$ $$ $$ $ $$ $$ $$ $ $$ $ $$$$ $$$ | $$ GFSR CA $$$ $$$ $$ $$ $ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $ $$$$ $$$ | $$ GrAc MN $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ ____ $$ | $ HBII FL $$$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$$ $$$ $$ $$$ ____ ____ $ | $$ HHS PA ____ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ ____ ____ $$ | $$ HSH PA ____ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $ $$ ____ ____ $$$ | $$ Henn NY $$$$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$$ $$$ | $$ JHBS NH ____ $$ $$ $$ $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$ $$ $ ____ $ $$ | $$ Joe OH ____ $$ $$ $$ $$$ $$$$ $$ $$ $$ $$ ____ ____ $$ | $$ KMB IL ____ ____ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$$$ $$ ____ ____ $ | $$ LOWS IL ____ $ $ $ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ $ ____ ____ $ | $ MMHS OK ____ ____ ____ $$ $$ ____ $$ $$ $$ $$ ____ ____ $ | $$ Mark OH ____ ____ $ $ $$ $$ $ $ ____ $ ____ ____ $ | $ Maye NY ____ $$ $$ $ $$ $$ $$ $$ $ $$ $ ____ $$$ | $$ OBW CA $$ ____ ____ $ ____ $ $ $$$ ____ $ ____ ____ $$$ | $$ PF WI ____ $$ $$ $$ $$$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $ ____ ____ $$$ | $$ S&R NY ____ $ $$ $ $$ $$ $$ $$ $ $$ ____ ____ $$$ | $$ SBS FL ____ ____ $$ $$ ____ $$$ $$$ $$$ $$ $$ $$ ____ $$ | $$ THB CA ____ $$ $$ $ $ $$$ $$$ $$$ $$ $$ $ ____ $$$ | $$ TMBC MA ____ $$ $$ $$ ____ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $ $$$ $$$ | $$ WBBY FL ____ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$ $$$$ ____ ____ $$$ | $$$$ WM MO ____ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $ $ $ ____ ____ $ | $$ WiBr CA $$$$ ____ ____ $$ $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$ $ $ $$ ____ $$$ | $$ Min == 1.11 1.82 1.50 1.81 0.60 0.70 0.70 0.65 0.48 0.83 3.25 1.40 0.85 Avg == 1.58 2.47 2.32 2.60 1.01 1.15 1.17 1.11 0.81 1.37 3.81 1.87 1.37 Max == 2.08 4.28 4.54 5.00 1.75 1.90 1.90 1.90 1.85 2.49 5.45 2.10 1.99 154 ADDRESSES AND COMMENTS Note: `$' indicates quantity used for the quoted price below, `_' indicates not available or information not given AmBr American Brewmaster 2940-6 Trawick Road Raleigh, NC 27604 919-850-0095 Extract: American Classic malt in 1.65# and 3.3# $ boilable pouches Malt: Klages/Pale 1#, 3#, 25# $, 50#; Crystal and Munich 1# $ Hop Flower: 2oz $, 1#, 2#, 4# Hop Pellets: 1oz $, 1#, 2#, 4# Discounts: %5 @ 13.2# $, 10% @ 26.4# extract & applies to other thing's too! Comments: Yeast culturing supplies; good discounts; quality malt P & H: extra Use Note: Fast service, knowledgeable staff. AmWo Ambler Woodstove Bethelehem and Butler Pikes Ambler, PA 19002 215-643-3565 Extract: Dry is M&F 1# $ Malt: 1# $ amounts Hop Flower: _ Hop Pellets: 1oz $ Discounts: Malt --- 10% 10-25#, 25% for 55#; Hops discounted for 8oz Comments: Brewing is not their main business; limited selection. P & H: extra Use Note: ?? BAWH Beer and Wine Hobby PO Box 3104 Wakefield, MA 01880 617-933-8818 Extract: Dry 1#, 3# $, 55#; 1 can, 6 can case $ Malt: 1#, 5#, 10#, 55# Hop Flower: 4oz $, 8oz, 1# Hop Pellets: 1oz Discounts: _ Comments: Good selection beer and wine; yeast propagation kit, keg system P & H: extra Use Note: ?? 155 BBM Basement Brewmaster 4280 N. 160th St Brookfield, WI 53005 414-781-BREW Extract: Bulk is 3# $ heat-sealed bags of Wisconsin extract Malt: 1# $ Hop Flower: 4oz $ Hop Pellets: 1oz $ Discounts: _ Comments: New company, not a large selection yet P & H: extra Use Note: ?? BFL Brew for Less P.O. Box 32 195 Chicago, IL 60632-0195 312-581-BEER Extract: Bulk is M&F 55# $; Edme 2# $; M&F 3.3# $; M&F dry 3# $ Malt: M&F 2-row in 5#, 20# $, 55# Hop Flower: 0.5# $ and 1.0# bags Hop Pellets: 0.25# $ and 1.0# bags Discounts: _ Comments: Decent selection P & H: UPS extra, Handling $1 Use Note: ?? BM&V Barleymalt & Vine 4 Corey St W. Roxbury, MA 02132 617-327-0089 Extract: Dry is M&F 3# $ Malt: 1#, 10# $, 55# Hop Flower: 4oz $, 1# Hop Pellets: 1oz, 4oz $, 1# Discounts: _ Comments: Cornelius system for $179!, kegs for $25!; fairly comp- lete P & H: Free for orders more than $30 Use Note: ?? 156 BrHa Brewhaus 4955 Ball Camp Pike Knoxville, TN 37921 615-523-4615 Extract: Bulk is M&F 55# $; Dry is Laaglander 3# $, 55#, M&F 3, 55# Malt: Klages 1# $, 55#; others in 50# bags Hop Flower: 1oz $ Hop Pellets: 1oz $, 1# Discounts: 10% case extract Comments: Solid catalog; wide selection; Klages 55# bag for $0.55/#! P & H: extra Use Note: Knowledgeable staff, reasonably fast turnaround. Good prices. CW Country Wines 3333 Babcock Blvd Pittsburgh, PA 15237 412-366-0151 Extract: Bulk is EDME 55# $ DMS or SFX; dry: M&F 1#, 3# $, 55# Malt: _ Hop Flower: 2oz, 4oz $ Hop Pellets: 10 g, 1oz $ Discounts: _ Comments: Good wine selection P & H: UPS extra; handling $1 on orders < $8 Use Note: ?? Cell The Cellar P.O. Box 33525 14411 Greenwood Ave, N. Seattle, WA 98133 206-365-7660 Extract: 1 can, 6 can case $; Bulk is 58# $ Alexanders Malt: 3# $, 55# Hop Flower: 2oz $, 1# Hop Pellets: 2oz $, 1# Discounts: Extract cans 10% case discount Comments: Good selection, lots of equipment and other toys P & H: UPS extra Use Note: ?? 157 Cros Crossfire PO Box 530 Somersville, CT 06072 203-623-6537 Extract: 1 can, 6 can case $; 1#, 3# $, 55# Malt: 1# $, 55# Hop Flower: 1oz $ Hop Pellets: 1oz $ Discounts: extract can case above Comments: Good selection of wine and beer P & H: extra Use Note: ?? ECK E.C. Kraus 9001 East 24 Highway P.O. Box 7850 Independence, MO 64053 816-254-7448 Extract: 4 3.3# cans $ Malt: 10 1# bags $ Hop Flower: 4oz $ Hop Pellets: 3oz $ Discounts: _ Comments: Mostly wine (though not extensive), not much beer P & H: $0.75 handling, most items postpaid Use Note: ?? FH Freshops 36180 Kings Valley Hwy Philomath, OR 97370 503-929-2736 Extract: _ Malt: _ Hop Flower: 4oz, 8oz $, 12oz, 1#, 2#, 3#, 4#, 5-10#,11+# Hop Pellets: _ Discounts: based on quantity Comments: Rhizomes! N. Brewer, Chinook, Willamette, Perle, CFJ90, Hallertauer, Tettnanger P & H: included Use Note: ?? 158 FHSC F.H. Steinbart Co 602 SE Salmon Portland, OR 97214 503-232-8793 Extract: Bulk 7# $; Dry is domestic 5# $, 55# Malt: 1#, 10#, 25# $, 50#, 80# at various discounts Hop Flower: 2oz $, 1# Hop Pellets: 1oz $, 1# Discounts: Extract case discount Comments: Good wine selection too; lots of variety. P & H: extra Use Note: ?? GFM Great Fermentations of Marin 87 Larkspur St San Rafael, CA 94901 415-459-2420 Extract: Bulk 1# $; Dry 5# $, 55# Malt: 1#, 5# $ Hop Flower: 4oz $ Hop Pellets: 2oz $ Discounts: _ Comments: Complete: hop rhizomes! 7gal carboys, kegging, lots of books P & H: handling $1 ($3 for orders < $20); postage extra Use Note: ?? GFSR Great Fermentations of Santa Rosa PO Box 428 Fulton, CA 800-544-1867 Extract: Bulk generic, and the usual cans Malt: 1# $; Munich is US --- German available Hop Flower: 4oz $; Cascade and Northern Brewer Hop Pellets: 2oz $; domestic @ $1.95, imported @ $2.95 Discounts: order > $100 10%, > $250 25% Comments: Very well produced catalog, descriptive 159 GrAc Green Acres 216 Vork Rd Esko, MN 55733 218-879-2465 Extract: Bulk is Breiss unhopped (5 gal, 58# pail) for $72 Malt: 1#, 4#, 20# $, 50#, 55# Hop Flower: 1oz, 2oz, 4oz $, 8oz, 1# Hop Pellets: 1oz, 2oz, 4oz $, 8oz, 1# Discounts: per ingredient, varies Comments: Selection not extensive but they have all the essentials P & H: UPS extra; Handling --- order <$25 $3, <$50 $1, >$50 $none Use Note: ?? HBII Home Brew Intl, Inc 1126 S. Federal Hwy Suite 182 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 305-764-1527 Extract: Bulk is M&F 55# $; Dry is M&F 1#, 3# $, 55# Malt: Klages and Pale 1#, 55# $; others 1# $, 55# Hop Flower: 4oz $ Hop Pellets: 1oz $, 1# Discounts: _ Comments: Good selection beer/wine; kegging; cheese, sourdough, et al P & H: extra Use Note: Slow service (still waiting --- about 3 weeks) HHS Hayes Homebrew Supply Suite 117 311 S. Allen St State College, PA 16801 Extract: Dry is Laaglander 3.0# $ Malt: Klages 1#, 5# $, 50#; others 1#, 5# $; pale is English Hop Flower: 1oz, 2oz, 4oz $, 1# Hop Pellets: 1oz, 2oz, 4oz $, 1# Discounts: _ Comments: Decent selection of the basics P & H: Handling $1.50 for orders < $20; postage extra Use Note: ?? 160 HSW Home Sweet Homebrew 2008 Sansom St Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-569-9469 Extract: Dry is M&F 3# $ Malt: Klages and Pale 1#, 5# $, 50#; others 1#, 5# Hop Flower: 2oz $, 1# Hop Pellets: 2oz $, 1# Discounts: _ Comments: Reasonable selection P & H: Handling $2 for orders <$15; postage extra Use Note: ?? Henn Hennessy Homebrew 470 North Greenbush Road Rensselaer, NY 12144 518-283-7094 Extract: Bulk is 55# $ dry M&F; Diastatic is by M&F, not Edme Malt: 1#, 5# $, 50# Hop Flower: 4oz $ Hop Pellets: 2oz $ Discounts: _ Comments: Fairly good selection of beer and wine P & H: Handling $1.50; postage included for states northeast US Use Note: ?? JHBS Jaspers Home Brew Supply 116 Page Road Litchfield, NH 03051 603-881-3052 Extract: Dry is M&F, 1#, 3# $, 6#, 12# Malt: 1# $ Hop Flower: 1oz $, 1# Hop Pellets: 1oz $, 1# Discounts: _ Comments: Limited selection P & H: $7.50 (unless paying by VISA), excess refunded; >$50 UPS split Use Note: ?? 161 Joe Joe and Sons P.O. Box 11276 Cincinnati, OH 45211 513-662-2326 Extract: Dry is M&F 3# $ Malt: 1# $ Hop Flower: 1oz $ Hop Pellets: 1oz $ Discounts: _ Comments: Mostly wine, reasonably extensive P & H: extra Use Note: ?? KMB Koeppl's Master Brewing 2311 George St Rolling Meadows, IL 60008 312-255-4478 Extract: _ Malt: 1#, 5# $ Hop Flower: 2oz $ (price doesn't seem right) Hop Pellets: 2oz $ Discounts: _ Comments: Large selection, very good draft component/system selection P & H: handling $1.50 for orders < $10; postage extra Use Note: ?? LOWS Lil' Olde Winemaking Shoppe 4S245 Wiltshire Ln Sugar Grove, IL 60554 708-557-2523 Extract: Dry is M&F 3# $ Malt: _ Hop Flower: _ Hop Pellets: 2oz $ Discounts: _ Comments: Large extract selection, but limited otherwise P & H: extra Use Note: ?? 162 MMHS Marbull's Malt & Hop Shop 709 Highland Lawton, OK 73501 405-355-6690 Extract: Dry 3# $ Malt: 1# $ Hop Flower: 1oz $ Hop Pellets: 1oz $ Discounts: _ Comments: Did not give quantity for caps; small selection P & H: extra Use Note: ?? Mark Mark's Malts 14 Tonkin Ct Kent, OH 44240 Extract: 1 can, 6 can case $; dry is M&F 3# $ Malt: 1#, 15# $, 35#, 50# Hop Flower: _ Hop Pellets: 1oz $ Discounts: Hops 10% @ 8oz Comments: Not a large selection P & H: postage extra; $1.50 extra for orders under $20 Use Note: ?? Maye Mayer's 699 Five Mile Line Rd Webster, NY 14580 800-543-0043 Extract: Dry is Telford's 1#, 3# $, 56# Malt: 1#, 5# $, 55#, 110# Hop Flower: 1oz $ Hop Pellets: 1oz $ Discounts: _ Comments: Reasonable beer/wine selection P & H: $2 when weight >25#; postage extra Use Note: ?? 163 OBW Oak Barrel Winecraft 1443 San Pablo Ave Berkeley, CA 94702 415-849-0400 Extract: Bulk syrup 0-5, 6-10 11-20# $, 21-40, 41-60; dry 3, 6# $, 44 Malt: 3#, 7# $, 50# Hop Flower: Flower/Pellet not specified --- only pellets assumed Hop Pellets: 2oz, 4oz $, 1#, 5# Discounts: _ Comments: Somewhat chaotic catalog, not very complete P & H: extra Use Note: ?? PF Purple Foot 3167 S. 92nd St Milwaukee, WI 53227 414-327-2130 Extract: Dry is M&F 3# $ Malt: 1# $ Hop Flower: 1.5oz $ Hop Pellets: 2oz $ Discounts: _ Comments: Decent selection P & H: postage/UPS extra Use Note: ?? S&R S & R Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies P.O. Box 544 Union Station Endicott, NY 13760 607-748-1877 Extract: Dry 3# $ bags Malt: 1--10#, 11--20# $, 21+# bags Hop Flower: 2oz $ Hop Pellets: 4oz $ Discounts: _ Comments: Decent though not mind-blowing selection of beer, wine P & H: postage extra; $1 handling for orders < $10 Use Note: ?? 164 SBS Sebastian Brewers Supply 1762 Sunrise Lane Sebastian, FL 32958 Extract: 1 can, 6 can case $; Malt: 1#, 5+# $ Hop Flower: 1oz $ Hop Pellets: 1oz $ Discounts: 10% for 5 hops, and extract/malt given above Comments: Good selection; keg system for $200 P & H: extra Use Note: ?? THB The Home Brewery 16490 Jurupa Ave Fontana, CA 92335 714-822-3010 Extract: Dry is Brewmaster 3# $; also Telford's, Laaglander Malt: Klages 1#, 10# $, 50#; others 1#, 5# $ Hop Flower: 2oz $ Hop Pellets: 2oz $ Discounts: 10% on 6 or more cans extract Comments: Good selection P & H: extra Use Note: ?? TMBC The Modern Brewer Company P.O. Box 511 Cambridge, MA 02140 800-SEND-ALE Extract: Dry is M&F 1#, 3# $ Malt: 1#, 10# $, 55# Hop Flower: 1oz $ Hop Pellets: 1oz $ Discounts: _ Comments: Beer selection is fairly complete. P & H: extra Use Note: ?? 165 WBBY Wine & Brew By You 5760 Bird Rd Miami, FL 33155 305-666-5757 Extract: Dry is M&F 3# $ Malt: Klages is `Brewer's Pale' 10# $; others 1#, 5# $ Hop Flower: 1oz $ Hop Pellets: 1oz $ Discounts: _ Comments: Used kegs $23, float conversions $3 P & H: extra Use Note: ?? WM Winemaker's Market 4249 N. Essex Ave Springfield, MO 65803 417-833-4145 Extract: Dry is 3# $ M&F Malt: 1#, 10# $ Hop Flower: 1oz, 8oz $ Hop Pellets: 1oz, 8oz $ Discounts: _ Comments: Good beer/wine selection (except yeasts) P & H: extra Use Note: ?? WiBr William's Brewing 14310 Wicks Blvd P.O. Box 2195 San Leandro, CA 94577 415-895-2739 Extract: Bulk in variety of styles in 6# $ boilable bags; Dry 5# $, 55# Malt: Klages and English Pale, 1#, 50# $; others 1# $9 Hop Flower: 6oz $ Hop Pellets: 2oz, 6oz $ Discounts: Available on extract Comments: Very informative catalog, good selection P & H: extra Use Note: ?? 166 ADDRESSES AND DESCRIPTIONS OF OTHER SUPPLIERS Hauge Enterprises P.O. Box 17170 Portland, OR 97217 Brewing equipment and gadgets. Gas burner, wort chiller, stainless brewpot (5 gal), copper siphon tube, sparge water sprayer. Brew Co P.O. Box 1063 Boon, NC 28607 Brewing gadgets. Bru Heat, BrewCap, improved sparge bag, brew chiller (modified counterflow). Braukunst 55 Lakeview Drive Carlton, MN 55718 Kegging and tapping using systems using soda kegs. Complete system: $250; includes 5 gallon Cornelius keg, 5# CO2 tank, two-gauge regula- tor, fridge-mounted faucet, drip pan, hoses and connectors. Foxx 421 Southwest Blvd Kansas City, MO 800-821-2254. Kegging system: $152; includes 5 gallon Cornelius keg, 1 gauge regula- tor, CO2 tank, hoses, connectors, picnic tap. Two gauge regulator: add $6. All they sell is beer and soda kegging stuff, and they know what they sell. Extensive catalog. Rapids Inc 1011 2nd Ave SW P.O. Box 396 Cedar Rapids, IA 52406 800-553-7906. Restaurant wholesale equipment. Most interesting: 10 gal 20 gauge stainless pot: $80; matching lid: $20. The pot is quality, and it's a good company with which to do business. 167 Stew's Brew R.R. 4 Box 243 River Falls, WI 54022 715-425-2525 Sells only malt ("various strains blended to a brewmaster specs"). His prices are very good, and one user (John Freeman, aka [j l f] at [earth.cray.com]) said it was of high quality. Stew has an informa- tive (lots of low-cost technique and speed-up tips) and somewhat odd `catalog'. Prices are 32# @ $0.55/Lb; discounts are 5% on 2-3 68 Lb parcels, 10% on 4+ 68 Lb parcels. Postage extra. 168 APPENDIX C: BEGINNERS GUIDE I hope that the following guide can help some beginners with their first batches. I obviously can't cover every little detail of home- brewing here, but I have tried to give an easily followed outline of the process, along with most of the common pitfalls faced by begin- ners. I would welcome any comments or criticism on this section, as it will probably appear again, in hopefully better form. -Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator 1. The first thing I recommend to the new brewer is to find a source of brewing supplies. It may be a local brew shop or a mail order store. Check out books on homebrew either at a library or bookstore. The book I recommend getting is Charlie Papazian's "Complete Joy of Homebrewing." This is easily one of the best homebrewing books around, and it is very useful for both beginners and experienced brewers. There are lots of other good books around, so don't worry if you can't find this one. One caveat: stay away from books published in the UK, as these can be confusing and/or misleading for the beginner. They specify ingredients that aren't found in the US, and generally give poor advice, like adding lots of sugar. 2. The next thing to do is buy a kit. Most brew stores sell kits that contain everything you need to make your first batch, except for bottles. They'll cost anywhere from $35-$60 depending on how fancy they are. I'd recommend getting a kit that includes a 5 gallon glass carboy as well as a plastic pail. Other useful items that the kit might not include are thermometer and hydrometer. The kit should include: 10 gallon plastic pail, siphon equipment, bottle filler, bottle brush, bottle caps, bottle capper, fermentation lock, chlorine cleaner, and perhaps ingredients. If the kit includes a carboy, it should also include a short length of plastic hose for the "blow-by," and a funnel. There might be some other odd items, such as a stirring spoon. The major difference between one kit and another will be the presence of a glass carboy, so in this article I will indicate when a difference in technique is called for. If the kit does not include ingredients, there are usually several kinds of malt extract to choose from. Try to pick something not too heavy for the first time; a light or amber ale is a very good choice. Also try to get a hopped malt extract the first time to keep it simple. If none is available, then get 2 ounces of fresh hops if available. Failing that, get 2 ounces of hop pellets. 3. Relax, don't worry, and have a homebrew. Now you are about ready to start brewing. If possible, it is extraordinarily helpful at this point to find somebody who's done it before, and have them help you. Doing this will greatly improve your chances of success the first time, but don't worry if you can't swing it, your chances are still pretty good. Remember to tell yourself, "Relax, don't worry, and have a homebrew." The first time, ordinary beer will have to do, but do try to drink homebrew whenever you brew---it will help you to not worry. (Worrying can ruin the taste of your homebrew.) 169 4. To begin, you'll need a large pot to boil the malt extract in. The pot should be large enough to hold at least 2 gallons of water---the bigger the better. Fill the pot up about half way (whatever that happens to be) with water and boil it. The idea is to boil as much water as possible, but to have room in the pot for foam that will be produced by boiling. While the water is heating up, remove the label from the can(s) of malt extract, and put the can(s) in some hot water to soften the extract. When the water boils, put in the extract and let it boil again, stirring frequently so the extract doesn't burn. When it comes to a second boil, watch out---it has a strong tendency to foam up and make a legendary mess on your stove. When the foam rises, remove the pot from the fire and let it settle down a minute. When you put it back, it will have (slightly) less tendency to boil over, but it needs watching. 5. If you have hops or hop pellets, add them now, and boil the wort (wort == unfermented beer) for at least a half hour (an hour is bet- ter.) If you're not using hops, but instead, hopped malt extract, then it is not necessary to boil very long---15 minutes is sufficient. 6. While the wort is boiling, you should sanitize everything that will come in contact with the beer. This includes the fermentation container, fermentation lock, utensils, everything. Sanitizing is done by soaking in a solution of water and the sanitizing chemical that came with your kit. A few teaspoons of household bleach in a gallon of water is quite effective also. I generally fill a large bowl with bleach solution and throw in everything to be sanitized. After sanitizing, rinse well with clean water at least 3 times. No- tice I keep saying "sanitize" and not "sterilize." Well, it would be nice if you could sterilize, but you can't. Sterilization is very difficult, i.e., boiling under pressure for an hour, so sanitizing is the best we can do. Needless to say, be careful not to breath the fumes or get any sanitizing solution in your eyes. Sanitizing might sound like a pain, but that's only because it is. However, it's abso- lutely the most important thing you can do to make your beer a suc- cess. You can screw up a dozen other things, but if you keep every- thing clean, you'll still liable to brew a good beer. But if you're not sanitary, the finest ingredients and techniques won't help - you'll brew quite undrinkable beer. 7. Now put about 2 gallons of cold water into your fermenter, and add the boiled wort. A funnel is handy at this point if you are using a carboy. If your boiling pot is very large, use less than 2 gallons--- remember, we're eventually making 5 gallons. (Do not pour the hot wort directly into a carboy without cold water in it---you are likely to crack the glass!) If you added hops, you'll want to use a strainer to remove them, but don't worry if you don't get them all. Now fill your fermenter up to 5 gallons with cold water. If you're using the plastic pail, it helps if you've previously marked where 5 gallons occurs---a magic marker works well. If you're using a carboy, fill it up to several inches from the top. Depending on how much water you boiled, the temperature of the wort might be too high to add the yeast. If so, let it cool until it is below 90 degrees F. 170 8. Now the packet of yeast may be added to the wort. If you like, you can "start" the yeast. I usually do this to give it a "running start" and also simply to be sure that the yeast is good. To start the yeast, sanitize a bottle, and mix 2 teaspoons of corn sugar with a half cup of 80 degree water, and add the yeast. Stick a fermentation lock on top and let it sit while the wort cools. By the time the wort is cooled, the yeast starter should be busy fermenting, and you should see bubbles percolating through the fermentation lock. Now just dump the yeast mixture into the wort. If you're using a carboy, be careful when filling it with water to leave room in it for the yeast mixture. 9. After the yeast is added, put the lid on the plastic fermenter and attach the fermentation lock. Don't forget to put some water in the lock. If you're using a carboy, force the short piece of plastic tubing through the stopper a little bit, and put it on the carboy. Place the other end of the tube in a bucket of water. This type of fermentation lock is known as a "blow-by," and is necessary because the fermentation will produce lots of foam and sludge, and it has no place to go except out. If you used an ordinary lock, it would quick- ly fill up with garbage. In a plastic pail, there is plenty of space for the foam to grow. 10. Now put the whole thing into a cool, dark, place to let it fer- ment. Dark is important because sunlight can damage the beer. Cool is important because beer-fouling organisms don't thrive as well at lower temperatures. Room temperature is usually fine---about 70 de- grees F. If you can get it to 65 or 60, that would be better. Don't make it colder than 60, however, because then the yeast won't work very well. (Most beginners will be using top fermenting yeast, which works best at 60 degrees and above. Bottom fermenting yeast works fine all the way down to freezing.) If you can't get the temperature below 80, then you should look for a better place to keep your beer. If you are using the carboy method, check the bucket daily for over- flow. Signs of fermentation should appear within a couple of hours, and by the next morning, it should be fermenting madly. 11. After a few days, it will start to slow down, and will finish sometime between 4 and 10 days after you began. If you are using the carboy and blow-by, replace the blow-by with a fermentation lock when it stops blowing out garbage and starts blowing only bubbles. How will you know when it's done fermenting? If you like, you can take hydrometer readings, and wait until it stabilizes (same reading on 3 consecutive days.) However, I've found it works just as well to ob- serve the frequency of the bubbles in the airlock. When you watch it, but don't see any bubbles for a few minutes, it's quite ready to be bottled. When it finishes fermenting, you don't have to bottle it immediately, but it's best to bottle it within 3-4 weeks of beginning. 12. The first step in bottling is to acquire bottles. Go to a liquor store or bar and pay $2.50 for 2 cases of empty deposit bottles. Do not use the throwaway kind with the screw-off tops, as these are not strong enough. Chances are the bottles will be pretty scummy, so pour an inch or two of strong bleach solution into each, and let them sit for an hour. Then rinse them well, using your bottle brush if neces- sary, and your bottle washer if you have one (see issue #1.) 171 A simple time saver is to go to your favorite drinking establishment and find out from the barkeep when the distributor picks up the empty bottles and then show up the day after to pick up the cases of emp- ties. You will have less crud in the bottom of the bottles if you do this. Also ask for bottles with paper labels. Soak the bottles in a bleach solution and the labels will be floating in 12 to 24 hours. Load your dishwasher up with your bottles, turn on the sanitize set- ting (or `HEAT WATER'), and let run through two or three rinse cycles. PLEASE DO NOT USE ANY SOAP. It clings to the glass. ---Ed. 13. If you fermented your beer in a carboy, siphon(*) the beer into the sanitized plastic pail, and add a boiled solution of 3/4 cup corn sugar and water. If you used the pail to ferment, then you must "prime" the bottles with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of sugar each. This added sugar is what produces the carbonation in the bottles. Do not use more than 1 cup per 5 gallons or 1 teaspoon per bottle, or you risk the danger (and social embarrassment) of exploding bottles. 14. Now fill the bottles with the siphon and bottle filler, and cap them. Store at room temperature for at least a week, then try to move the beer someplace a little cooler. (I keep mine underneath a window.) The beer should be drinkable 3 weeks after bottling, depend- ing on ingredients. You might want to try a bottle every week after bottling just to taste the changes that occur. * siphoning: don't suck on the tube to start it, that will introduce lots of bacteria into the beer. A good trick is to fill the siphon with water to start it. Remember that the level of liquid in the source container must be higher off the ground than the top of the destination container in order for the siphon to work. Now don't rush to brew the second batch quite yet. Why not wait a few weeks and see how the first turned out? That way, if you really did something wrong, you have a chance to find out what, and avoid the problem in the second batch. Good luck! - Rob Gardner, Somewhere in HP 172