Pissed Parrot Pale Ale
Specifications: Type/Style: Pale Ale Brew: all-grain, infusion mash Batch size: 6 gallons Original Gravity: 1.057 Finishing Gravity: 1.012 Bittering: 30 IBU Alcohol (w/w): 4.5%	Ingredients: 10 lbs Marris Otter 2-row malt barley 1 lb Briess 60L Crystal 8 ozs DWC Carapils (dextrin malt) 1 oz Northern Brewer hops 8.0% AA 2 oz Cascade hops 5.7% AA Coopers Ale yeast (pint starter) 5.5 ozs corn sugar (for priming) 8 gallons fresh filtered water
Brewing: Heat 3 gals water to 170 deg F. Thoroughly mix this strike water with the grains, and mash at 152 deg for 60 minutes. Then heat 1.5 gallons of runoff to boiling, and slowly stir this into the mash tun for a final temperature of 170 deg. Mash-out for 10 minutes. During the mash, heat 6 gallons of rinse (sparge) water to 175 deg. Vorlauf (re-circulate) a couple gallons of sweet wort until the runoff is clear, then slowly sparge the mash over 60 minutes until 7.5 gallons of wort have been collected. Bring this to the boil, then add the Northern Brewer bittering hops. Maintain a rolling boil for 55 minutes, then add 1 oz Cascade hops and continue boiling for another 5 minutes. Remove the kettle from the stove, and cool the wort to 75 deg using a chiller or water bath. Strain (remove hops and trub) into the primary fermenter, aerate vigorously, then pitch the yeast starter. Ferment under an airlock for 3-4 days at 65 deg F, until the foam head collapses. When primary fermentation has finished (airlock activity stops), siphon the raw beer off the yeast sediment and allow it to clarify for 5-7 days in another carboy. During secondary, dry-hop the beer with 1oz Cascades in a weighted mesh bag. Rack the brew into a bottling tub, leaving the yeast sediment undisturbed. Dissolve the priming sugar in a pint of boiling water, then mix this thoroughly into the bottling bucket. Bottle (or keg) the brew in the usual manner. Etcetera: Named after a certain pet cockatiel, who frequently "helped" me brew by munching on stray morsels of grain, furniture, walls, books, and anything else she could get her little beak onto. She also enjoyed tasting the finished product. This ale is eminently drinkable at 3-4 weeks, and will continue to improve with a few months bottle conditioning. It isn't exactly a "hophead" brew, but exhibits a very pleasing balance of warm malt flavors, caramel, medium bitterness, plus a light floral aroma and citrus flavor notes from the finishing and aroma hops. Best served at around 50 degrees (i.e. not seriously chilled) to bring out the marvelous malts. The mash temperature can be raised to 158 deg if more malty-sweetness and viscosity is desired (use a shorter mash time). The bittering could be boosted up to 40-45 IBU without unbalancing the base malts. I have tried Perle, Centennial, Australian Pride of Ringwood and NZ Sticklebracht hops in this recipe at various times. They all work, but I prefer the NB with this particular malt/yeast combination. Any clean ale yeast will work (e.g. Chico American Ale), but I love the faint earthy flavors from Coopers yeast. Dry-hopping with Willamettes or English Fuggles provides an interesting variation.
Honey Steam Beer
Specifications: Type/Style: California Common All-grain, stepped infusion mash Batch size: 5.5 gallons Original Gravity: 1.050 Finishing Gravity: 1.017 Bittering: 35 IBU Alcohol (w/w): 3%	Ingredients: 6 lbs Marris Otter 2-row malt barley 2 lbs Gambrinus Honey Malt 24L 1 lb Briess 60L Crystal 1 lb DWC Carapils (dextrin malt) 1.5 oz Hallertau Northern Brewer hops 6.7% AA 3 oz Willamette hops 4.9% AA Wyeast 2112 California Common yeast 5 ozs corn sugar (for priming) 7.5 gallons fresh filtered water
Brewing: Heat 2 gals water to 170 deg F. Mix the strike water with the grains, and mash at 150 deg for 15 minutes. Raise the mash temperature to 158 deg over 10 minutes, then hold for 15 minutes. Raise the temperature to 170 deg and mash-out for 10 minutes. During the mash, heat 5.5 gallons of acidified water to 170 deg. Re-circulate a gallon or two of wort until the runoff is clear, then sparge the mash over 60 minutes to collect 6.5 gallons of sweet wort. Bring this to a rolling boil, then add 1 oz of Northern Brewer bittering hops. A further addition of 0.5 oz is made 30 minutes later. At 50 minutes, add 1 oz of Willamette hops, then another 1 oz is added at knock-out. Remove the kettle from the stove, and cool the wort to 75 deg using a chiller or water bath. Strain (remove hops and trub) into the primary fermenter, aerate vigorously, then pitch the yeast starter. Ferment under an airlock for 5 days at 55-60 deg F. When primary fermentation has finished, siphon the raw beer off the yeast sediment and allow it to clarify for 7-10 days in a secondary carboy. At this stage, dry-hop the brew by immersing 1 oz of Willamette hops (inside a weighted mesh bag) into the beer. Finally, remove the dry-hops and rack the brew into a bottling tub, leaving the yeast sediment undisturbed. Dissolve the priming sugar in a pint of boiling water, then mix this thoroughly into the bottling bucket. Bottle (or keg) the brew in the usual manner. Notes: The malt flavors in this beer are superb! Gambrinus Honey malt is a real favorite, contributing a delightful nutty and toasted complexity to the base flavor. These lovely malts are perfectly balanced by the somewhat assertive hopping. This beer displays the most perfect lace head I've ever seen, and got rave reviews from friends for flavor and drinkability!
Black Hole Stout
Specifications: Type/Style: Export Stout All-grain, infusion mash Batch size: 5.5 gallons Original Gravity: 1.065 Finishing Gravity: 1.022 Bittering: 55 IBU Alcohol (w/w): 4.4%	Ingredients: 9 lbs Marris Otter 2-row malt barley 1 lb English Crystal 70/90L 1 lb Flaked barley 8 ozs Roast barley 8 oz Chocolate malt 6 ozs Barbados Molasses 4 ozs Black Patent malt 2 oz NZ Green Bullet hops 9.5% AA 1 oz UK Progress hops 6.3% AA 2 tspns 88% Lactic Acid YCKC A06 Irish Stout yeast (pint starter) 5.5 ozs corn sugar (priming)
Brewing: Heat 3 gals water to 175 deg F. Thoroughly mix this strike water with the grains, and mash at 155 deg for 60 minutes. [no mash-out] During the mash, heat 6 gallons of sparge water to 170 deg, adding 2 tspns of lactic acid. Vorlauf a couple gallons until the runoff is clear, then slowly sparge the mash over 60 minutes until 7.5 gallons of sweet wort have been collected. Bring this to the boil, then add the Green Bullet bittering hops. Maintain a rolling boil for 50 minutes, then add the Progress hops and continue boiling for another 10 minutes. Finally, add the molasses, stirring continuously to prevent scorching. Remove the kettle from the stove, and cool the wort to 75 deg using a chiller or water bath. Strain into the primary fermenter, aerate vigorously, then pitch the yeast starter. Ferment under an airlock for 5 days at 70-75 deg. When primary fermentation has finished (airlock activity stops), siphon the raw beer off the yeast sediment and allow it to clarify for 5-7 days in a secondary carboy. Rack the brew into a bottling tub, leaving the yeast sediment undisturbed. Dissolve the priming sugar in a pint of boiling water, then mix this thoroughly into the bottling bucket. Bottle (or keg) the brew in the usual manner. Yadda Yadda: This is the stout I brewed for my wedding, which Wende and I celebrated on the Ka'iulani, a beautiful 85 foot gaff-rigged schooner, while sailing around San Francisco Bay at sunset. In the middle of winter. Can you say cold? How about bloody freezing??? This big black brew really HIT THE SPOT!!! The crew were also very appreciative... This particular brew needs plenty of time to condition in the bottle, at least a couple months, else the molasses is a tad prominent. Dropping the pH is quite important for the flavor profile, so make sure you add a fair dollop of lactic acid. That flaked barley brings up a really nice head, and seems to soften the flavor somewhat. Use your favorite bittering hops: I just happened to have some Bullets on hand from my native New Zealand, and reckoned they'd add an appropriately international touch to this recipe... Cheers!