Two Brews Certainly Make a Right

Again, Chief Assistant Brew Demon Joel was up to the challenge. This time, instead of simply one beer, we brewed two, simultaneously. Careful attention had to be paid to not mix the ingredients between the two. This vigilant attention was hampered somewhat by the sheer amount of beer consumed during the brewing process.

The good news is, the beer we drank was the Russian Imperial Stout we brewed together last time. It is very drinkable. It has a roasted nut and chocolate taste up front, and finishes with a really prevalent molasses flavor (though no molasses was used). It pours a severe black, with a chocolate milk-colored head. Tons of carbonation puts a bite on the tongue, and cleared the 2” head quite quickly. Weighing in at 8.4% ABV, the beer quickly leaves a buzz if you have no food in your stomach, which we didn’t. A success!

This two brew extravaganza included a total of 7 different malts, 3 types of hops and 2 flavorful adjuncts. Further, an aggressive yeast was used to get the most out of our beers.

The recipes:

Southern British Brown Ale

1.25 lbs. American 6-row Pale
1.25 lbs. English Mild Ale
0.50 lbs. American Chocolate
0.25 lbs. British Black Patent
0.25 lbs. Black Roasted Barley
2.5 lbs. Dry Extra Light Extract
0.25 lbs. Molasses
0.25 lbs. Oats Flaked
0.3 oz. Admiral (60 m)
0.50 oz. Fuggle (15 m)
0.50 oz. East Kent Goldings (1m)
Yeast: WYeast 1332 Northwest Ale

Target OG: 1.041
Actual OG: 1.043
Target ABV: 3.6%

Sweet Stout

1.5 lbs. American 6-row Pale
1.5 lbs. English Mild Ale
0.5 0lbs. American Chocolate
0.5 lbs. British Black Patent
0.75 lbs. Black Roasted Barley
0.25 lbs. German Light Crystal
3.25 lbs. Dry Extra Light Extract
0.25 lbs. Molasses
0.25 lbs. Oats Flaked
0.25 lbs. Dark Candi Sugar
0.8 oz. Admiral (60m)
0.50 oz. Fuggle (15m)
0.50 oz. East Kent Goldings (1m)
Yeast: WYeast 1338 European Ale

Target OG: 1.056
Actual OG: 1.052
Target ABV: 5%

The beers are close to one another, which is appropriate, given that many British Brown Ales are a dark enough brown to be nearly black (think Tom Payne Brown Ale).

So here’s hoping that our beers are a success. We pitched the yeast finally at about 7:00pm EST last evening, and by about 8:00 this morning, a fine foam had already appeared on the top of the beers in the fermenters, and the blow-off tubes were bubbling steadily. So far, so good.

I welcome comments on my recipes, as I strive to perfect them!