Intro
I’ve done this beer twice before. I’m still tweaking it but it’s one of my more dialled recipes and processes. It’s done alright in comps (1st Westgate, 2nd Vicbrew, 2nd AABC) scoring anywhere from 32 to 42 points. It’s a good one to bottle and then age. A real “wow” beer that goes down well at events. I think of it like a more drinkable imperial stout.
Stats
OG: 1.086
FG: 1.032
ABV: 7.1%
Boil: 60 mins
IBU: 37
BU/GU: 0.43
Colour: 70.5 EBC
Mash
67 for 60 minutes
Malt Bill
Maris Otter (62%)
Munich (24.5%)
Special B (3.1%)
Chocolate Malt (3%)
Medium Crystal (3%)
Rice Hulls (3%)
Black Malt (1.4%)
Try and get low EBC Chocolate malt. Crisp is my favourite but Voyager is good too. You don’t want too much bitterness from it. The Black Malt I’ve used is 1665 EBC (Simpsons). The rest you should be able to sub pretty easily.
Hops
Magnum 31 IBU at 60 mins
Hallertauer Mittelfrüh 6 IBU at 15 mins
This isn’t really a hop forward beer. I like what HM adds but it’s pretty subtle. Sub here as you like
Yeast
Bluestone Stuttgart
Water
Calcium: 50-100ppm
Sodium: I had 32ppm. Not super important but don’t be scared to have a little in there
Sulphate to Chloride ratio of 1.0
pH 5.4
Fermentation
I fermented for five weeks
I started at 14 degrees and after two and a half it was really slowing down so I gradually increased it to 18 degrees
It hit FG after 3 weeks and a couple of days
I then left it to condition on the yeast for 2 weeks
Keys to brewing this beer
The keys to this beer are getting the malt balance right. It’s easy to go too roasty and bitter. You want some sweetness from the crystal, the fruitiness from the Spec B and a really solid malt backing from the MO and Munich. Use the black malt really sparingly. You can look at adding the black and chocolate at the end of the mash or cold steeping but I found this took too much roast away.
The next thing is fermentation. This is a big beer and you’re fermenting with a lager yeast so you need:
1) fresh yeast
2) a big starter
3) use yeast nurtient
4) nail your fermentation temp
5) have patients and let it condition on the yeast for a good while after it hits FG.
I didn’t do a cold crash as I was bottle conditioning but you do you.
The final consideration is packaging. I think this beer needs some age. It certainly scored better in comps after a year. You can do this in the keg but I like to bottle condition it. Given the strain and the ABV I add a little fresh yeast to each bottle. I’m keen to try bottling from the keg and then aging that way but I haven’t done this yet so I can’t comment.
Comps
I’ve found this one gets interesting judging notes. Different judging groups seem to really focus on the “rich, complex, fruity” part and don’t like roast to get in its way. Some seem to focus more on the coffee and roast flavours and don’t like it too fruity. It’s also described as being relatively dry in the guidelines which is interesting for a beer that has an FG range of 1.020 to 1.035.
Let me know if you try it.