 Wee heavies are malty/sweet big ales, but don’t smell fruity as most big ales do. You need to use a yeast strain that won’t overattenuate the beer, pitch a large yeast starter and hold the fermentation temperature lower than with most ales. A Golden Promise malt for your base malt is a good choice.
Groundskeeper Willie’s Wee Heavy
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.100 FG = 1.030
IBU = 22 SRM = 14+ ABV = 9.0%
Ingredients
12.75 lbs. (5.8 kg) Alexander’s Pale liquid malt extract
3.0 lbs. (9.1 kg) Simpson’s Golden Promise malt
3.0 oz. (85 g) crystal malt (60 °L)
0.75 oz. (21 g) roasted barley (300 °L)
6 AAU First Gold hops (60 min)
(0.8 oz./23 g of 7.5% alpha acids)
1 tsp. Irish moss (15 mins)
1/4 tsp yeast nutrient (15 mins)
Wyeast 1728 (Scottish Ale) or White
Labs WLP028 (Edinburgh Ale)
yeast (4 qt./~4 L yeast starter)
0.75 cups corn sugar (for priming)
Step by Step
Steep crushed grains for 45 minutes at 158 °F (70 °C) in 1.2 gallons (4.6 L) of water. Add water to “grain tea” to make 3 gallons (11 L) of wort. Add about 5 lbs. (2.3 kg) of malt extract to wort and bring to a boil. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at beginning of the boil. Add Irish moss and yeast nutrients with 15 minutes left in boil. Add remainder of liquid malt extract at end of boil and let steep 15 minutes before cooling. Ferment at 62 °F (17 °C).
All-grain option:
Replace malt extract and base grains with 20 lbs. (9.1 kg) Simpson’s Golden Promise malt. Mash at 158 °F (70 °C). Collect about 10 gallons of wort and boil to reduce to 5 gallons (19 L), as long as 5 hours.
Posted by
Bens Stuff |
6:51 PM
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Ales,
Fruit Beers
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Ingredients:- 6 pounds, Laaglander light dry extract
- 1/4 pound, crystal malt
- 1/4 pound, lactose
- 7-8 pounds, fresh sweet cherries (or if not in season frozen cherries)
- 1/2 ounce, Chinook hops (boil)
- 1/2 ounce, Chinook hops (finish)
- 1/2 ounce, Hallertauer hops (dry)
- 1/2 teaspoon, Irish moss
- Whitbread ale yeast
Procedure:This recipe makes 5-1/2 gallons. Freeze cherries a couple days before brewing. Defrost in the fridge. While wort is boiling, remove stems and crush cherries. After boiling, pour wort over cherries in fermenter. Add cold water and pitch yeast. After a couple days, rack to secondary, straining out cherries. Secondary ferment for 6 - 8 weeks.
Posted by
Bens Stuff |
8:34 PM
|
Ales,
Fruit Beers
|
Here's an idea for a holiday beer since cranberries are usually abundant in the next couple of months. Ingredients:5 pounds, pale malt extract syrup
1 pound, corn sugar
2 ounces, Hallertauer hops (boil)
1/2 ounce, Hallertauer hops (finish)
6 pounds, cranberries
ale yeast
corn sugar (priming) Procedure:Crush cranberries. Boil wort. Add cranberries to wort at time finishing hops are added. Turn off heat and steep at least 15 minutes. Pour wort into fermenter with enough water to make 5 gallons. Pitch yeast. After about 5 days, strain into secondary fermenter, avoiding sediment. Bottle after about 1 more week. Age bottles about 2 weeks. Specifics:Primary Ferment: 5 days
Secondary Ferment: 1 week
Posted by
Bens Stuff |
9:14 PM
|
Ales,
Clone Recipes
|
Fat Tire Amber Ale
(5 gallons, extract with grains)
Ingredients:
5 lbs. Laaglander plain extra-light DME
.50 lb. crystal malt (20° Lovibond)
.50 lb. crystal malt (40° Lovibond)
.50 lb. carapils malt
.50 lb. Munich malt
.50 lb. biscuit malt
.50 lb. chocolate malt
3 AAUs Willamette pellet hops (0.66 oz. at 4.5% alpha acid)
1.33 AAUs Fuggle pellet hops (0.33 oz. at 4% alpha acid)
2 AAUs Fuggle pellet hops (0.50 oz. at 4% alpha acid)
1 tsp. Irish moss
2/3 to 3/4 cup corn sugar to prime
Wyeast 1056 or BrewTek CL-10
Step by step:
Steep specialty grains in 3 gallons of water at 154° F for 45 minutes. Remove grains and add dried malt extract. Bring to boil and add 0.66 oz. Willamette pellet hops. Boil for 60 minutes and add Irish moss. Boil 10 minutes and then add 0.50 oz. Fuggle hops. Boil another 20 minutes, add remaining Fuggles and remove from heat. Cool to about 70° F and transfer to fermenting vessel with yeast. Ferment at 64° to 68° F until complete (7 to 10 days), then transfer to a secondary vessel, or rack into bottles or keg with corn sugar. (Try lowering the amount of priming sugar to mimic the low carbonation level of Fat Tire.) Lay the beer down for at least a few months to mellow and mature for best results.
All-grain option: Omit extract and mash 6 lbs. pale malt with specialty malts in 9 quarts of water to get a single infusion mash temperature of 154° F for 45 minutes. Sparge with hot water of 170° F or more to get 5.5 gallons of wort. Bring to boil and use above hopping and fermentation schedule.
OG = 1.050
FG = 1.011
IBUs = 16
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