MysticMead

The life experience or memory triggering effect of a beer is what is missing in most American beers and that’s a shame really. America has a great history of beer until it was destroyed by prohibition. In order to recapture those roots, we must first look at the Classics.

When thinking of real beer, you have to think about the classic English Pale Ale. The English Pale Ale is medium bodied and slightly on the hoppy side.  When I think of an English Pale Ale I think of a beer that is not overly hopped but has a more pronounced hop flavor and bitterness.  I think of the classic Bass Pale Ale or a Fuller ESB. I think of Fish and Chips and sitting in a Pub throwing darts til the wee hours of the morning.  I also think of the friends I made while in the military and on Holiday in London. A great beer will trigger memories that you have forgotten and bring them back into focus like it happened yesterday. That’s the whole point to brewing great beer isn’t it? To create new and relive old life experiences.

now, onto a recipe that produces a fair English Pale Ale. I’m sure that once I move up to All Grain, that it will be even better.

Ingredients:

• 6.00 lbs Extra Light DME
• 1.00lb Amber DME
• 2.00lbs Crystal Malt 40L
• 1.00 lb Cara-Pils
• 1.00 Oz Brewers Gold
• 1.00 Oz East Kent Goldings
• 1 vial White Labs British Ale Yeast (WLP005)

Procedure:

• Bring 2 gallons of water to 155F
• place crushed grain in a grain bag and steep for 45-60 minutes
• remove grain and rise with 2 quarts 160F water
• Add DME and enough water to make 6.50 Gallons. Bring to a rolling boil
• Once at a rolling boil, add 1.00 Oz of Brewers Gold Hops start timer
• After 15 minutes add 1.00 Oz East Kent Goldings Hops and boil for an additional 45 minutes.
• After 1 hour (60 minutes) has passed remove heat source and cool Wort to fermentation temperatures
• Transfer to Primary, take a Hydrometer reading, aerate and pitch yeast.
• attach airlock or if using glass for the primary attach a blow off tube .

there you have it. It may not be perfect, but it is pretty darn close…

Enjoy!

continuing my trip around Europe, I have to mention those wonderful beers from Belgium. If you want to look at a country that has a huge variety of beers, this is it. They have it all from Wheat Bears (Wits) to the Trappist Ales brewed for centuries by the Trappist Monks. Belgian beers use a lot of ingredients not found in German beers which in return allow for an almost unlimited number of variations. Belgian beers tend to be a little on the strong side, but that’s OK with me. They also tend to be Malty and fruity, with a unique flavor profile that can only come from a true Belgian yeast strain.

Here is a recipe I have included for a Belgian Pale Ale (Extract version). It reflects MY interpretation of a good Belgian Ale which, based on the huge number of variations, is within that very wide ballpark of the style.

Ingredients:

• 5.00lbs Light Dry Malt Extract
• 1.00lb Munich Malt
• 0.50lb Belgian Candi Sugar
• 1.00Oz East Kent Goldings
• 1.00Oz Fuggles
• 1 vial White Labs Belgian Ale Yeast (WLP 550)

Procedure:

• heat gallons of water to 155F.
• Place crushed grains in a steeping bag and place into 155F water.
• Maintain heat at 154-155F for 45 minutes.
• remove grains and rinse with 2 quarts of 155F water.
• add DME and Candi sugar and enough water to make 6.5 gallons. Bring to a boil
• Once at a rolling boil, add 1.00 Oz of East Kent Golding.  Start timer
• After 40 minutes add 1.00 Oz  Fuggles and boil an additional 20 minutes.
• After a 60 Minute Boil remove from heat and cool to fermentation temps
• transfer to Primary, measure SG with a hydrometer,  aerate and pitch yeast.
• Attach Airlock or Blow off tube. Ferment in primary for 7 days then rack to secondary for 4-7 days.  Measure FG
• Prime and bottle or Keg. Let beer condition for 2-4 weeks, chill and enjoy.

there you have it.. again this is MY interpretation of a Belgian Pale Ale. If you try this and like it, please let me know.

Red Ales are one of my favorites. They go great with just about any type of food and have plenty of flavor on their own. While stationed in Germany I spent many a nights partying with friends at an Irish Pub near our base. The wait staff as well as the bartender (a cute red head named Wendy) were all from Ireland which added to its appeal.  It was at that pub I was introduced to a beer that called to me. It dug deep into my own Celtic roots and I knew I was drinking a beer that was right for me. The beer I was introduced to was the  Irish Red Ale.

Now I fully credit Germany for teaching me that commercial American beers were tasteless watered down poor excuses for beer (I’m referring to BudMillerCoors), but Irish Beers called to my soul.  Since returning to the States, I have searched for the perfect Irish Red. While this may not be perfect, it’s still a good beer and once I make it from All Grain, maybe my search will be over.  I give to you, the Sweet Irish Lass, an Irish Red Ale with a touch of honey

Ingredients:

• 5.00lbs Light Dry Extract
• 2.00lbs Crystal 60L
• 0.5lb Biscuit Malt
• 1.00lb Honey
• 2.00 Oz Fuggles Hops
• 1 vial White Labs Irish Ale yeast (WLP004)

Procedure:

• place crushed grains in a grain bag and heat 2 gallons water to 155F steep for 30-45 minutes
• remove grains and rinse with 2 quarts warm water.
• add water, honey and DME to a volume of 6.5 gallons and bring to a rolling boil
• Once at a boil add 1.00Oz Fuggles hops and boil for 55 minutes.
• after 55 minutes add remaining 1.00Oz of Fuggles and boil an additional 5 minutes.
• cool to 70F by either an immersion chiller or a counter flow chiller.
• once cooled transfer to Primary, aerate and then pitch yeast.
• attach airlock (if using a glass carboy as the Primary use a blow off tube)
• Ferment 7 days and transfer to secondary for an additional 3-4 days.
• prime and bottle or Keg and force carbonate.

There you go a simple recipe for a pretty tasty Irish Red Ale.  I hope that anyone that makes this beer enjoys it as much as I do…

One of my favorite memories of Germany during the summer time was drinking a nice cold Hefeweizen (with a slice of lemon). It truly is one of the most refreshing beers I have found. A Hefeweizen is has a smooth gentle mouth feel. It is low on the hops bitterness and has banana and clove overtones. A true Hefeweizen cloudy since it’s bottled conditioned and it’s traditional to swirl the yeast sediment and pour it into the glass. There is a version of a German Wheat beer that is free of yeast sediment and is clear in the glass. That is called Krystal Weizen. I do however, prefer the cloudy Hefeweizen besides, the yeast is good for you. Now, onto the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 5.5lbs Dry Wheat Extract
• 1OZ  Hallertauer Mittelfrueh
• 1 vial  White Labs Hefeweizen Ale yeast (WLP300)

Procedure:

• add water and Dry Wheat Extract to boil kettle to a level of 6.5 gallons
• Bring to a boil
• Once at a rolling boil, add 1OZ Hallertauer Mittelfrueh hops and boil for 60 minutes.
• remove heat and cool to 70F with either an immersion chiller or counter flow chiller.
• transfer to primary and take hydrometer reading
• aerate and pitch yeast.
• ferment for 7-9 days and rack to bottling bucket
• prime and bottle. Let condition at room temps for at least 2 weeks.
• cool and sample, if not enough carbonation, let condition an additional week

there you have it.. simple yet taste great.

When I think Brown Ale, I think of London. A nice malty low alcohol, brown ale that is more on the sweet side rather than the bitter side. That can only be one thing, a Southern English Brown Ale. Unlike the Northern Brown Ale that is drier and has a pronounced hops flavor, the Southern Brown Ale is sweet and malty. It is also low on the alcohol scale which means you can drink more and still walk home (no drinking and driving please). Enough rambling, now for the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4.50lbs Light DME
• 2.00lbs Crystal 60L
• 1.00lbs Cara-Pils
• 0.25lbs Chocolate Malt
• 1.0OZ Fuggles (60 minutes)
• 1.0 OZ Fuggles (5 minutes)
• 1 vial White Labs British Ale Yeast (WLP005)

Procedure:

• Place crushed grain into a steep bag
• bring 2 gallons of water to 155F. place steep bag into water and steep for 45 minutes
• remove grain bag and rinse with 2-4 quarts of warm water.
• add DME and water to bring volume to 6.5 gallons.
• Bring to a full rolling boil
• Once at a full boil, add 1.0 OZ of hops and start timer.
• once 55 minutes has passed, add remaining hops. Boil another 5 minutes.
• remove from heat and chill using either an immersion chiller or counter flow chiller.
• transfer to primary and aerate. take temp reading and Hydrometer reading.
• If Wort is below 70F pitch the yeast and attach airlock (or blow off if using a carboy)
• Ferment in primary for 1 week and transfer to secondary.
• bottle or keg and enjoy.