Wednesday, May 22, 2013

A Winter's Tale

A Winter's Tale:


  I have read that the more ABV a beer has the longer you should bottle condition it.  I had forgotten about this when after 2 weeks I popped open a bottle of a strong Winter ale I brewed.  It definitely proved to be true.  Just the other night I opened another bottle and there was a huge difference.

  I wanted to brew a Winter ale for last season and I found a recipe in a book I have.  I made a few small changes to the recipe that I think worked out well, but I didn't get around to starting the brew until after Christmas.  I have since decided to keep the brew around for the next Winter.  That will be the difficult part, not opening any more bottles for a few months.

  This was also my first time using Northerbrewer, or any online store, to purchase ingredients.  The experience was not bad, but now I am on their list so I always get catalogs from them.  I already have enough reading material in the bathroom next to the toilet, thanks guys.

  If you're interested in starting a winter ale give this a try.  I like to gather ideas I like and put them all together to make a brew.  Take what you want and make your own beer,  or follow all the details if you want.  I find that the particular yeast I used for this brew works well but because it is so floculant you need to mix it up once in a while or it will all drop out before it's done fermenting.  I just pick up the fermenter and shake it around a little to keep it going.  I may try a different yeast next time but I'm not sure how much that will change the beer.  I think I can get more ABV out of this with a different yeast.  I may also strain the grains using a rest schedule next time around.



Recipe
Volume:
5 gal
Yeast:
Irish Ale Yeast WLP004


Malts:
Amount
Type
1.
1/2 lbs.
Crystal (80L) grain
2.
1/2lbs.
black pattent grain
3.
½ lbs.
chocolate grain
4.
9 lbs.
dark liquid malt extract
5.
3 lbs.
honey


Original Gravity =1.084



Hops:
Amount
Time
Type
% Alpha Acid
1.
1 oz
60 min.
Northern brewer
10.6
2.
1 oz
5min.
Cascade
6.2



1 tsp (was supposed to be 1oz grated fresh)
powdered ginger
2, peeled quartered
oranges
3 sticks
cinnamon
2 whole
nutmegs
6 whole
cloves





Procedure:
Steep grains in 2 gal at 155 for 30 min.
rinse grains in w 1 gal 150 degree water
add honey, malt extract, and Norther Brewer Hops, boil 30 min.
Add Spices, boil another 30 min
Last 5 min add Irish Moss and Cascade hops.
Turn off heat, steep oranges for 30 min, then strain, add water up to 5 gal
cool and pitch yeast


Fermentation:

Fermentation was started the next morning, by afternoon it was very strong, by a few days later it slowed, I began swirling the fermenter around once a day as someone @ whitelabs told me this is a good practice since it is a very floclulant strain.  

After 15 days in the primary the gravity was 1.024 (down from 1.084) and I racked it to the secondary fermenter. Fermentation is slowed but continued.  There was a very deep yeast bed at the bottom of the primary.  I smell the spices in the airlock but I don’t taste them.

Day 16 I added 1 tsp of yeast nutrient, 4 whole cloves, 1 whole nutmeg, and 1 cinnamon stick.  I’m not noticing any of the orange.

botteling 3/11/2013 finished @ 1.022 with some nice spice aroma.  Primed with 4 cups water and 1 ¼ cups DME  

I'm going to call it 'Long December'

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