American Strong Ale (extract) Recipe

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by stella77artois, Nov 12, 2013.

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  1. stella77artois

    stella77artois Initiate (0) Nov 4, 2010 New York

    Planning on brewing an American Strong Ale / Barleywine for my next batch. Created this recipe based on personal preferences (I like hoppy strong ales with fruity notes, slight notes of chocolate, and aren't overly sweet) and researching Arrogant Bastard/Double Bastard ingredients. Doing 3 gallons rather than the standard 5 to save some $, and the fact that my stove is electric makes it tough (but not impossible) to keep a large boil going.

    Recipe Type: Extract
    Batch Size (gallons): 3
    Original Gravity: 1.107 (if Dextrose added near end of ferment, 1.115 if Dextrose added post-boil)
    Final Gravity: 1.032
    Expected ABV: 10.8%
    IBU: 95
    Boiling time (minutes): 60

    LME
    9 lbs Pilsen Light LME
    8 oz. Dextrose (post boil/during boil or at end of fermentation?)
    Steeping Grains
    .25 lbs American Chocolate Malt
    .25 lbs Special B Malt

    Yeast
    11.5 g US Safale-05 (according to the Mr Malty calculator, I only need one package. Should I grab another one, and maybe add a few more grams, just to be sure? Or, I was thinking I could clean the yeast from the Pale Ale I'm fermenting, and use some of that.)

    Hop Schedule
    .5 Magnum @ 60m
    .25 Chinook @ 30m
    .5 Citra @ 15m
    .25 Chinook @ 10m
    .5 Chinook @ 5m
    1 Citra @ 5m
    .5 Citra @ Flameout
    1 oz. Chinook (Dry Hop)
    2 oz Citra (Dry Hop)

    Thoughts/comments/suggestions? Thanks in advance!
     
    #1 stella77artois, Nov 12, 2013
  2. ipas-for-life

    ipas-for-life Savant (1,041) Feb 28, 2012 Virginia

    I would probably use another half pack of us-05 just to be safe. I would also up the special B to at least 1/2 a LB if you are trying to get something close to double bastard. I think the single bastard clone on the "can you brew it" podcast used 1 lb of special b for a 6 gallon batch. So to get closer to the double you might need even more.
     
    #2 ipas-for-life, Nov 12, 2013
  3. stella77artois

    stella77artois Initiate (0) Nov 4, 2010 New York

    That's what I was thinking on the yeast. I know according to the calculator, only 1 pack was needed, but I might as well drop the huge $3.29 on another packet to be sure! I will fiddle around with the recipe and add the extra Special B. Thanks for you input!
     
    #3 stella77artois, Nov 12, 2013
  4. AlCaponeJunior

    AlCaponeJunior Grand Pooh-Bah (3,452) May 21, 2010 Texas
    Society Pooh-Bah

    just a comment, that's a lot of citra for a barleywine or strong ale, should be interesting. but don't look at me if you're looking for someone to talk you OUT of putting a butt-load of hops (even citra) in your beer. All I could do for you would be to bring over a shovel so you could scoop them easier. :astonished:
     
    #4 AlCaponeJunior, Nov 12, 2013
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  5. stella77artois

    stella77artois Initiate (0) Nov 4, 2010 New York

    I'm all about the Citra! I was considering maybe dropping the dry hop Citra to 1 oz. I agree, it'll be interesting! If it turns out I don't like it, I'll live and learn, and just not brew it again.
     
    #5 stella77artois, Nov 12, 2013
  6. billandsuz

    billandsuz Pooh-Bah (2,097) Sep 1, 2004 New York
    Pooh-Bah

    hold off adding the dextrose until the end of the boil. maybe 5 minutes. you might want to hold some of the LME too, a pound or two, until the last 5 minutes.

    hop utilization increases as wort density decreases. if your goal is to achieve a lot of hop character then late boil extract addition will help.

    11g of US-05 into 3 gallons should be fine, but two packages isn't going to hurt. be sure to rehydrate, don't just toss into the wort in this instance. you need a lot of yeast cells going into battle. and aerate well.

    good luck.
     
    #6 billandsuz, Nov 12, 2013
  7. stella77artois

    stella77artois Initiate (0) Nov 4, 2010 New York

    Yes, I typically only add ~25% of my extract at the beginning, and then the rest between 15 and 10 remaining. Had some carmelization by adding all my extract at the beginning of my first batch (didn't know any better). And thanks for the good luck!
     
    #7 stella77artois, Nov 12, 2013
  8. AlCaponeJunior

    AlCaponeJunior Grand Pooh-Bah (3,452) May 21, 2010 Texas
    Society Pooh-Bah

    it'll still be plenty drinkable even if it's not a recipe you'd brew again without alterations. Heck, even the ones I say I'd brew again as-is often get modified anyway, just because (more frequently it's from having different hops choices available next time around).

    With the cooler weather, I've been in a stouty-er mood myself. Luckily there are some commercial stouts and stuff around lately, because I've been making creme ales and IPAs, and suddenly it's cold outside! I have two bombers of the oatmeal stout turned milk-stout left tho, it's a pretty good beer, and is certainly stouty!

    Speaking of stouts, I think I'll pop open a Yeti... :sunglasses:
     
    #8 AlCaponeJunior, Nov 13, 2013
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  9. stella77artois

    stella77artois Initiate (0) Nov 4, 2010 New York

    Question - with a big beer like this, will there be an issue with bottle carbing? My DIPA (8.3%) came out fine as far as carbonation, even though I undercalculated my priming sugar - but this is a little bigger. I don't currently keg (nor do I plan on it in the future - don't want to spend the $). I happened across a thread where the brewer had severe issues with a big beer like this not carbing, even after months. Is this common?

    One brewer suggested to add a small amount of dry yeast (I'm assuming maybe 2-3 grams, as more would almost certainly cause bottle bombs) to the priming sugar prior to bottling. Is this something I should do, or am I just worrying too much? Any help is appreciated!
     
    #9 stella77artois, Nov 13, 2013
  10. ipas-for-life

    ipas-for-life Savant (1,041) Feb 28, 2012 Virginia

    It's probably a good idea to add dry yeast at bottling. As long as the beer is completely done with fermentation you won't have to worry about bottle bombs. The priming sugar should be the only thing left for the yeast to eat.
     
    #10 ipas-for-life, Nov 13, 2013
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  11. AlCaponeJunior

    AlCaponeJunior Grand Pooh-Bah (3,452) May 21, 2010 Texas
    Society Pooh-Bah

    I've discussed this before with others, and I don't think the yeast will cause bottle bombs, as the primary limiting factor will be priming sugar, not yeast quantity. All the yeast in the world can only make so much CO2 out of a given amount of sugar. I primed a batch that had been in primary for five weeks and used my standard amount of sugar with no issues. n=1 and all, but still, you may want to prime with a little extra yeast upon bottling. Perhaps other with more knowledge of the subject could elaborate more.
     
    #11 AlCaponeJunior, Nov 13, 2013
  12. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    For a strong beer like 10.8% I would strongly recommend that you add some yeast for bottling. You really don't want to take the chance that the original yeast is pooped out from fermenting such a high gravity beer that there is little left for bottle conditioning properly.

    Cheers!
     
    #12 JackHorzempa, Nov 13, 2013
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  13. stella77artois

    stella77artois Initiate (0) Nov 4, 2010 New York

    Thank you all for your suggestions! I will add a few grams of yeast before bottling to be sure.
     
    #13 stella77artois, Nov 13, 2013
  14. MrOH

    MrOH Grand Pooh-Bah (3,995) Jul 5, 2010 Virginia
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    For bottling purposes, I like to use the Red Star Pasteur Champagne yeast 5g packets. They're pretty cheap, have a high alcohol tolerance, neutral in flavor, and can only eat simple sugars (i.e. the priming sugar). However, you do need to have a successful fermentation prior to packaging, because if there are any simple sugars left in the beer at bottling, it will eat those as well, leading to overcarbonation/bombs.
     
    #14 MrOH, Nov 13, 2013
  15. stella77artois

    stella77artois Initiate (0) Nov 4, 2010 New York

    Gonna fire this batch up tonight or tomorrow. Here's what my final recipe chat looks like:

    Recipe Type: Extract
    Batch Size (gallons): 3
    Original Gravity: 1.112
    Final Gravity: 1.031
    Expected ABV: 10.56%
    IBU: 100
    Boiling time (minutes): 60

    Fermentables
    9 lbs Pilsen Light LME
    8 oz. Dextrose (post boil)

    Steeping Grains
    .25 lbs American Chocolate Malt
    .50 lbs Special B Malt

    Hop Schedule
    5 oz Magnum – 60 minutes
    .25 oz Chinook – 30 minutes (add 1 teaspoon Irish Moss at this time)
    .5 oz Citra – 15 minutes
    .5 oz Mosaic – 10 minutes
    .5 oz Chinook – 10 minutes
    .5 oz Citra – 5 minutes
    .5 oz Citra – flame out (ghetto hand whirlpool after)

    Dry Hop
    .5 oz Mosaic
    1.25 oz. Chinook
    1.5 oz Citra

    Am going to add a few grams of US-05 prior to bottling, as well.

    Will keep the thread updated. Many thanks to all who helped.
     
    #15 stella77artois, Nov 21, 2013
  16. premierpro

    premierpro Savant (1,060) Mar 21, 2009 Michigan

    I have never had to add more yeast to carbinate bottles. There seems to always be enough to eat the sugar. (Even at 11% ) It may take 3 weeks or more but most big beers you do not want to drink before that anyway. Take care.
     
    #16 premierpro, Nov 21, 2013
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  17. premierpro

    premierpro Savant (1,060) Mar 21, 2009 Michigan

    I recomend that you pitch on the yeast cake.
     
    #17 premierpro, Nov 21, 2013
  18. stella77artois

    stella77artois Initiate (0) Nov 4, 2010 New York

    Brewed this last Thursday. Went well for the most part, but miscalculated how much boil off I'd get from a smaller batch (dumb ass move, but you live in learn!), so I ended up w/ a larger than expected batch size (3.5 gallons, as opposed to the expected 3.1), hence lower OG and final ABV. Did some research, decided to add 12 oz of honey about a day after peak fermentation was done. This should bump the final ABV to approximately 10.2%, close to what I originally expected. I chose this time frame as I didn't want to open my fermenter during peak fermentation, but wanted to add the honey when the yeast weren't quite tired.

    Usually I'd have just rolled with it, knowing it will still probably be a good beer, but I've brewed a batch near the OG I got, and really wanted a big beer. Will have to see how it turns out!
     
    #18 stella77artois, Nov 27, 2013
  19. stella77artois

    stella77artois Initiate (0) Nov 4, 2010 New York

    Added the dry hops last night. Smells and looks solid, but it was slightly weaker in the aroma department, so I decided to add .25 oz more of each of the 3 hop varieties to the dry hop bag.
     
    #19 stella77artois, Dec 4, 2013
  20. stella77artois

    stella77artois Initiate (0) Nov 4, 2010 New York

    UPDATE:

    Been bottled for 4 weeks now, cracked one last night. Not bad, but it's still a little young tasting. Not suprising considering it's such a high gravity beer. Tough to get a lot of the flavors when the beer is still green. We all know the flavor I'm talking about. Kind of overtakes everything.

    Carbonation is very low. I know that can take time w/ a big beer, but I didn't think it would be this low after being bottled this long. Will crack another one next week and see how she is!
     
    #20 stella77artois, Jan 16, 2014
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