Hi all, I have been brewing beer for a while, and been making mead and wine longer, but never made beer from “scratch” so to speak, and not sure where to start.
I am wondering if anyone has a good recipe or reccomendation where to start. I am looking at a strong (High ABV) brew, and more malty than hoppy. I am a big fan of russian stouts, or baltic porters. I recently made the Kit for the Saisson de Noel and it turned out great, if short lived.
My 5 gal batches of Wee Heavy weigh in at OG1.080 to 1.090.
Grain bill is a very simple 40% Munich #1 and 60% Pale or Pale Ale 2-row, mashed at 152°F.
Resist using any crystal/caramel malts here. They really don’t belong there. If you feel compelled to use some (it is, after all, your beer) use just a bit of CaraAroma (but trust me… really you don’t need it). Use your preferred ale yeast, preferably a repitch from another batch…any good ale yeast will give a great result.
For the hops, a mere 4AAUs of the hops of your choice does the trick (I like Fuggles for this). If it seems like you’re not using enough, then that’s about right. :mrgreen:
A nice malty ale is truly a welcome relief from the overabundance of hop heavy ales that seem to be the fad these days (and something of a flavor revelation…this, coming from a 40 year hop-head). Hoppy ales are easy (that’s why they’re so prevalent).
A simple malty one is a rich experience that reveals the art that brewing can be.
Yep, my first thought was a wee heavy or strong scotch ale (not really sure what the difference is there, if there is one) or the English Barleywine would be a good choice. Since it is currently the heart of winter and I could do this in my basement I’ll also through out a doppelbock as a potential option. However, that is only an option if you ferment in the lower 50s at a steady temp which for me is possible with our temp controlled chest freezer or just a corner in our Minnesota winter basement.
[quote=“Rookie L A”]A wee heavy?[/quote]We’re filling our group barrel with a Wee Heavy this Saturday - it’s a new barrel this round, bourbon. We used the classic skotrat recipe ( http://www.skotrat.com/skotrat/recipes/ale/scottish/recipes/10.html
) and I made a 10-gal batch, half for the barrel and half for blending later - I figure the oak and bourbon character are going to be pretty strong with a first run.
Used 1728 for the first time and was really impressed - took a 1.095 OG down to 1.015 in five days at 62F! I’m not usually a fan of big malty beers, but this one tasted really good at racking, with no hot alcohol despite the 10+% ABV and malty sweet but not cloying even with the low IBUs.
If you want a bit of a challenge, either buy several packets of dry lager yeast or start building a large starter and brew a bock or doppelbock. As a previous poster said, a really good malt-focused beer is a real treat and nice to have around.
Try Tallgrass Oasis, which is billed as a “double ESB.” I liked it, and NB has a clone recipe. It’s strong but malty, and also fairly hoppy, but the English hops are less in-your-face.
I’ve also recently brewed Duder’s Abrasive Ale clone, which is really good. It’s a hoppy IIPA, but the hops are not bracingly bitter and the malt background is excellent.
I’ve also been really pleased with a Left Hand Milk Stout clone that I recently brewed. :cheers:
Thanks all, I am going to have to decide between the Wee Heavy and a Barley Wine. Having never down one from scratch, I am thinking of picking up a book or two first, though. And update my equipment.
I like Ray Daniel’s Designing Great Beers for recipe ideas. Gets you the basics and has nifty little charts. Covers pretty much everything outside of beligians and sours.
[quote=“VVinter”]Thanks all, I am going to have to decide between the Wee Heavy and a Barley Wine. Having never down one from scratch, I am thinking of picking up a book or two first, though. And update my equipment.
Looks like a trip out to hwy 100 is in order.[/quote]
I plan on bottling a barleywine tomorrow that’s been bulk aging since 1/1/13.
It’s been a while since I’ve done a wee heavy, maybe for my big beer at the end of this year.
