Friday Random...Brew?
Friday, March 09, 2007
Rather than another ber review, like every day I'm alive, this week is a little different. I am divulging a secret: the recipe for my award-winning Russian Imperial Stout, Anastasia's Assassination. This is my thrid batch of this beer in a row. As soon as I uncap the first one, demand for it rom people who drink my beer has it off of my cellar shelves in a matter of weeks. Which sucks, because 1) it's good; and 2) it takes 5 or 6 months to ferment appropriately.
At any rate, the recipe:
3 lb. Dark Malt Ext.
2 lb. Amber Malt Ext.
4 lb. Irish Stout Malt
1 lb. Crystal, 60L
1 lb. Black Patent
2 ½ oz. Perle (90 M)
1 ¼ oz. Styrian Golding (15 M)
1 ½ oz. Cascade (end)
4 T Gypsum
Irish Ale Yeast (Wyeast 1084)
Brew
1) Crush Crystal, Black Patent; put in steeping bag.
2) Bring 2 Q water to 150º, hold for 30M
3) Remove grain; sparge with 1 Q hot water
4) Add wort to boiling pot with water for 1 ½ G
5) Turn off heat; stir in Dark malt, Amber malt, Irish Stout malt
6) Add Perle and Gypsum, bring to boil for 60M
7) Add Styrian, boil for 15 M
8) Turn off heat, add Cascade, steep for 10 – 15
9) Add 3 ½ G cold water to Fermenter, add wort
10) Cool to 70 º, pitch yeast
Ferment
1) 2 weeks at 70º
2) Transfer to secondary
3) 2 – 3 weeks in secondary
4) Add sugar, bottle
5) Bottle ferment 4 – 6 mos.
O.G.: 1.078 – 1.082
F.G.: 1.014 – 1.018
It's at Step 1 of the "fermentation" part right now. Ugh. Soooo long to wait, but very very worth it.
If I had more readers that actually commented on my blog rather than just read the damn thing (you know who you are)(but hey...at least I got Mike), I am sure they would add testimonial about how wonderful or not this beer is.
Take this recipe. Use it. Amaze your friends. Viva la Homebrew!
7 comments:
Not sure if that was a compliment or not.
But I'm a glass half full sorta' guy, so . . .
Anyhoo, this post is nothing but gibberish to me. While I respect a good craftsman in any field, I'm a beer expert only on the drinking side of the ledger.
But I'm sure it'll taste good. And, on that note, it's Friday at 5:15, and I had a busy week.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhh, yeah.
Definitely a compliment, Mike. And an admonishment to the 5 other people who read my blog but don't post comments.
If you're interested in brewing, I'll happily explain some of the Greek in this post!
Brewing is one of those things that I plan to do at some point. But limited physical space, and even more limited time right now, leave it on the back burner. Like everything else, I want to save it for a time when I can be somewhat dedicated.
It's one of the best hobbies I've ever picked up.
And thanks, as always, for posting on my little blog!
I think I had a couple bottles of Russian Imperial coming to me.
Man, 4-6 months of bottle fermenting. That's a very long time. Must be hard to resist cracking one open ahead of schedule.
Well ya see... I would LOVE to post about how great this beer is! About How wonderful the inerplay between the rough and smokey Black Patent and the sweet and slightly caramelly Crystal malt is... How perfectly the combination of the three extracts supplies all of the necessary malt richness, while simultaneously allowing a dry enough ferment to avoid cloying... How perfectly the slightly fruity bittering of the Perle leads into the citrus aromas of Sty. Gold and Cascade...
BUT I HAVEN'T HAD ANY YET!!!!
We gotta get together man, I'm pretty sure I still have the KBS, and it's exactly a year to the day that I bought it! (I think...)
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