DEFALCO'S SMOOTH HONEY BROWN ALE RECIPE

Brown hue with a smooth malt/honey finish. Medium strong.
O.G. - 1.051         F.G. - 1.011
 

INGREDIENTS:
 
  • 5 lbs. amber malt extract
  • 1/4 lb. Brown malt
  • 1 lb. dark crystal malt
  • 1/2 lb. Canadian Honey malt
  • 1/4 lb. Aromatic malt
  • 1/2 lb. German Dark Munich malt
  • 2 oz. Chocolate malt
  • 2 cups (~1.5 lbs.) light honey
  • 1 1/2 oz. Mt. Hood hops (bittering)
  • 1/2 oz. Mt. Hood hops (flavoring)
  • no finishing hops
  • Yeast: Dried - 1 pkg. Nottingham or Safale US-05 ale yeast
  • Liquid - Wyeast #1056, #1272 or White Labs California Ale or California V Ale Yeast
  • 1 pkg. Bru-Vigor (yeast food)
  • Priming: 3/4 cup brown sugar, or 1/2 cup honey  (dissolved thoroughly in boiling water!)

PROCEDURE:

Note: If you are using Wyeast liquid yeast, prepare the yeast 24 hours prior to brewing! Activate the yeast by “smacking” it to rupture the internal pouch, thereby mixing its contents with the other contents in the pouch.  Allow the yeast to remain at room temperature to swell. Check the packaging date on the pouch.  If it has been over two months since it was packaged, allow an extra day for the pouch to swell up. If you are using White Labs Pitchable Yeast, simply remove from refrigerator and allow to warm up to room temperature during the brew session.
  1. In a small saucepan, bring a gallon of water to 160º - 170º and turn off the heat. Add the bag of grains and steep 30 minutes. Now, gently sparge (rinse) the grains with hot tap water (ideal temperature 168º) and bring the total volume up to two or more gallons in a stainless steel or enameled kettle (avoid aluminum). As a rule, boiling as much of the full five gallons as possible is best. Bring to boil and resume step #2.
  2. Turn off heat and add malt extract and honey. Return to boil, taking care not to allow wort to overflow onto your stovetop. Start timing now, continuing the boil for 5 minutes. Add the bittering hops (1 1/2 oz. Mt. Hood) and boil 45 minutes. Now add the flavoring hops (1/2 oz. Mt. Hood) and boil 10 minutes. Turn off heat.  Note there are no finishing hops in this recipe.
  3. . To facilitate cooling, we suggest placing your brewing kettle in the sink with 5 or 6 inches of cold water (A tray or two of ice cubes in the cooling bath wouldn't hurt). Allow to stand for 20-30 minutes in the cooling bath.
  4. For best results, we recommend using Wyeast or White Labs liquid yeast.  If you are using dried yeast, we suggest you first rehydrate it while the wort is cooling. To do this, sprinkle the yeast into a cup of lukewarm (90º - 100ºF) water and cover with saran wrap or tin foil. Let stand for 10 - 20 minutes.
  5. Pour the cooled wort into the fermenter. Bring the total volume up to five gallons. Check and record the temperature and specific gravity at this time. Make the necessary gravity corrections for temperatures above 60º (Add .001 for every 7º above 60ºF).
  6. If the temperature is less than 80º, pour the yeast "slurry" and the packet of Bru-Vigor into the wort and place the lid and airlock over the fermenter. Although ideal fermentation temperatures are lower, it is very important to get the fermentation started as soon as possible to avoid contamination of the beer. In any case, be aware that temperatures over 110º will most likely kill your beer yeast.
  7. For best results, ferment at 60º - 75ºF.
  8. FERMENTATION: Double Stage - The beer will be ready to rack (syphon) when the rocky head subsides (2 - 4 days) and the gravity drops to approximately 1.016 or less. Syphon the beer into the secondary fermenter. As soon as the foaming allows, top up the secondary with water to within 2 - 3 inches of the fermentation lock if your volume is short. Allow to ferment and settle until action has virtually ceased and the beer has clarified.
    FERMENTATION: Single Stage - Allow wort to ferment for 7 days.  Assuming your fermentation lock has stopped bubbling proceed to step #9, bottling preparations.
  9. Check the specific gravity. This final gravity (F.G.) should read about 1.011 (or less). If it is more than 1.017, do not bottle until you call us!
  10. Prepare the priming sugar by making a simple syrup on the stove. Pour the sugar (or honey) into a small saucepan containing a cup of boiling water. Stir to dissolve thoroughly, reheating, if necessary. Pour this mixture into the finished beer as you are syphoning it into a sanitized priming container. Stir well, but avoid excess splashing. Immediately syphon the beer into sanitized bottles, leaving about an inch of head space. Use a bottle filler for ease in filling.
  11. Allow beer to age at room temperature for at least two weeks before chilling. Peak flavor should be reached about four to six weeks and lasts several months. Please note that if you are using honey to prime the beer, it may require additional time in the bottle to fully carbonate. 
  12. Chill and serve! Pour carefully so as not to disturb the small amount of sediment on the bottom of the bottles. Enjoy your homemade beer!
 
ALL-GRAIN RECIPE   
 
  • 8 lb. Domestic Special Pale malt
  • 1/2 lb. Medium Crystal
  • 1 lb. dark crystal malt
  • 1/4 lb. Brown malt
  • 1/2 lb. Canadian Honey malt
  • 1/4 lb. Aromatic malt
  • 1/2 lb. German Dark Munich malt
  • 2 oz. Chocolate malt
  • 2 cups (~1.5 lbs.) light honey
  • 1 1/2 oz. Mt. Hood hops (bittering)
  • 1/2 oz. Mt. Hood hops (flavoring)
  • 1 pkg. Burton Water Salts
  • no finishing hops
  • Yeast: Dried - 1 pkg. Nottingham or Safale US-05 ale yeast
  • Liquid - Wyeast #1056, #1272 or White Labs California Ale or California V Ale Yeast
  • Priming: 3/4 cup brown sugar, or 1/2 cup honey  (dissolved thoroughly in boiling water!)
 
Mashing Procedure:
 
Heat 3 1/2 gallons of water to 168º, mix in water salts and stir thoroughly, now dough your crushed grain in, making sure to stir constantly to avoid dry pockets of grain.  Once grain is thoroughly mixed in, cover.  Check temperature after approximately five minutes, it should be about 153º, plus or minus 4º.  If it is noticeably colder or hotter, add boiling water or ice cubes and stir to mix in to adjust temperature.  Stir mash every 10 - 15 minutes.  After an hour of mashing, recirculate wort back through grain bed until it begin to flow relatively clear, not a lot of cloudiness.  Now you may run this clear wort off into your kettle while you slowly sparge the grain with hot water at about 168º.  Try to collect a total of at least 6 1/2 - 7 gallons.  Bring to a boil for about 10 minutes, then add the honey and begin adding hops as outlined above.  Please note that when using all grain recipes, your original and final gravities may vary considerably from our predicted readings.