Rather than open an old thread and necropost I'm starting another.
Without wanting to be morbid I'm not getting any younger [ mores the pity] and I am writing a new will and pre-planning my funeral.
As part of that I am chasing a recipe for a very strong dark beer to drink on the day.
I'm not of a religious persuasion and if asked I always tell folk I'm a pagan and believe in the dark artz.
Anybody got any good recipes for a bitter-sweet stout of as strong a strength as possible?
Something like Theakstons Old Peculier but sweeter and stronger approaching 12% or better, a "**** & Raisin Ale" perhaps?
Without wanting to be morbid I'm not getting any younger [ mores the pity] and I am writing a new will and pre-planning my funeral.
As part of that I am chasing a recipe for a very strong dark beer to drink on the day.
I'm not of a religious persuasion and if asked I always tell folk I'm a pagan and believe in the dark artz.
Anybody got any good recipes for a bitter-sweet stout of as strong a strength as possible?
Something like Theakstons Old Peculier but sweeter and stronger approaching 12% or better, a "**** & Raisin Ale" perhaps?
try this one had some that had been aged in bourbon cask fantastic
https://www.seriouseats.com/homebrewing-how-to-make-russian-imperial-stout-all-grain-brewing
https://www.seriouseats.com/homebrewing-how-to-make-russian-imperial-stout-all-grain-brewing
Sounds like the goods.
I wonder if using oak smoking chips would work if I can't fine a clean small barrel?
I wonder if using oak smoking chips would work if I can't fine a clean small barrel?
I don't think there are recipes. but there were two English beers which were very high alcohol: "Bazz's Bonce Bonker", 14% and "Uncle Igor's Famous Falling Over Water" which was 17.3%, I think a record level for a beer.
Geoff
Geoff
Did some googling WOW!
Google says both brews are 23%
I'm not sure that I can get to that strength and still have it drinkable. I'll settle for champagne strength at 17%
Meanwhile the ginger beer is coming along nicely, I'll be bottling that cloudy with all the "bits" in it. It's only going to be Lite Ale strength less than 3%
Google says both brews are 23%
I'm not sure that I can get to that strength and still have it drinkable. I'll settle for champagne strength at 17%
Meanwhile the ginger beer is coming along nicely, I'll be bottling that cloudy with all the "bits" in it. It's only going to be Lite Ale strength less than 3%
At that strength its usually called barley wine, not beer. To make wine-strength brew you simply need more sugar, which for beer means more malt - or equivalently less water. And picking a yeast strain that tolerates high alcohol levels is important too - use a wine yeast perhaps?
Yes A good strain of Champagne yeast will ferment out to about 20% if given the right conditions, apparently it's nitrogen limited so needs some sort of yeast nutrient adjunct if using simple sugars like glucose.
If you can't hit your desired ABV mark in the brew simply fortify it with a nice bourbon, either mixed in or served alongside in a separate glass.
In '80, Byron and I bought a bunch of Raineer and went down to Olympia, jumped the gate to the park and peed in full sight of the brewery.
In '82, Byron and I bought a bunch of Bud and went up to Golden, jumped the gate to the park and peed in full sight of the brewery.
It's the water, they say, so we figured we'd help out.
Then we grew up.
In '82, Byron and I bought a bunch of Bud and went up to Golden, jumped the gate to the park and peed in full sight of the brewery.
It's the water, they say, so we figured we'd help out.
Then we grew up.
Oak chips, sprials or cubes work great, you just need to test for flavor quicker. They have more beer to surface area contact so they pick up the flavor WAY faster. The other trick when brewing a high gravity beer is to add liquid malt extract or DME to the boil kettle after mashing. I just finished a big imperial stout, all-grain. To get the sugar out of the mash you have to rinse with quite a bit of water, meaning the boil times are WAY higher. I had to boil for about 3 hours to gravity I was looking for.
I once did a sour mash high ABV brew and strained after the initial fermentation, racking into a secondary with extra glucose and champagne yeast. Turned out really well but a right PITA to clean up and it took weeks to ferment out initially due to the high starch levels and slow conversion of the roasted barley.
I have plenty of time [ well I hope so] and could toss in some roasted oak chips on the primary ferment
I have plenty of time [ well I hope so] and could toss in some roasted oak chips on the primary ferment
World Wide Stout is up there, but not as high as Utopias by Samuel Adams. It clocks in at 28% ABV (holding the world record). Any beer over about 12% is probably incrementally feed to minimize osmotic stress on the yeast. It takes years to ferment a big beer like that.
That said, you can do a mild (with a high alcohol tolerant yeast) to generate a great yeast cake and pitch a big beer on the yeast cake. That will get you in the 12% ABV range. With incremental feeding, you can probably hit 14%. You can then push it higher by pitching wine yeast to finish it.
WWS varies but ranges between 15% to 20%ABV.
That said, you can do a mild (with a high alcohol tolerant yeast) to generate a great yeast cake and pitch a big beer on the yeast cake. That will get you in the 12% ABV range. With incremental feeding, you can probably hit 14%. You can then push it higher by pitching wine yeast to finish it.
WWS varies but ranges between 15% to 20%ABV.
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I had to google that brew, ridiculous pricing on some releases. Somebody is asking $1300USd a bottle but the SA site says $240- each.
That makes some 100YO bottles of Scotch look cheap
That makes some 100YO bottles of Scotch look cheap