Mental Brew - Juledrikke II
December 20, 2019
Every year, I brew a Christmas beer to give away to friends and family. This year, I came up with the idea of creating a “chocolate orange” beer, reminiscent of the holiday sweet that my grandma always had on hand. I soon decided that a dark ale with prominent citrus flavor and aroma would be my best bet. I considered brewing a stout or porter, but ultimately settled on a Cascadian Dark Ale (aka Black IPA).
In keeping with the beer style, I incorporated a small amount of dark malts into the recipe for some roastiness and I added a bit of lactose to make the beer smoother and sweeter. (I anticipated that some people would find the typically dry and bitter character of a CDA off-putting.) I also decided to forego the chocolate flavor and primarily focus on the hops.
I purchased a number of hops in bulk from Puterbaugh Farms in Washington, including some recently harvested Amarillo and Idaho #7 hops. I experimented with adding smaller amounts of hops in stages toward the end of the boil, and since I had a large quantity of hops, I opted to dry-hop, as well.
I was really pleased with how the beer turned out. More than a few people told me that they enjoyed it even though they don’t typically like IPAs.
Recipe
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Time: 90 min
Ingredients
| Amount / AA (%) | Weight | Name | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62.6 | 11.50 lb | 2-Row Pale Malt | Grain |
| 10.9 | 2.00 lb | Munich II | Grain |
| 4.1 | 12.00 oz | Carafa Special III | Grain |
| 4.1 | 12.00 oz | Dark Wheat Malt | Grain |
| 2.7 | 8.00 oz | Caramunich II | Grain |
| 2.0 | 6.00 oz | Carafa Special II | Grain |
| 1.4 | 4.00 oz | Caramunich III | Grain |
| 1.4 | 4.00 oz | Roasted Barley | Grain |
| 5.5 | 1.00 lb | Rice Hulls | Adjunct |
| 5.5 | 1.00 lb | Lactose | Adjunct |
| 7.8 | 1.00 oz | Centennial | Hop (60 min) |
| 8.2 | 0.50 oz | Amarillo | Hop (15 min) |
| 11.5 | 0.50 oz | Idaho #7 | Hop (15 min) |
| 8.2 | 0.50 oz | Amarillo | Hop (10 min) |
| 11.5 | 0.50 oz | Idaho #7 | Hop (10 min) |
| 8.2 | 0.50 oz | Amarillo | Hop (5 min) |
| 11.5 | 0.50 oz | Idaho #7 | Hop (5 min) |
| 7.8 | 1.00 oz | Centennial | Hop (0 min) |
| 8.2 | 1.00 oz | Amarillo | Hop (0 min) |
| 11.5 | 1.00 oz | Idaho #7 | Hop (0 min) |
| N/A | 0.25 tsp | Coriander | Spice (0 min) |
| N/A | 2.00 ct | Orange Peel | Fruit (0 min) |
| 8.2 | 2.00 oz | Amarillo | Hop (Dry-hop for 1 week) |
| 11.5 | 2.00 oz | Idaho #7 | Hop (Dry-hop for 1 week) |
| N/A | 4.00 oz | Orange Peel Tincture | Fruit Extract (Add before packaging) |
Yeast: American Ale II (Wyeast Labs #1272)
Fermentation
- Ferment at 65.0 °F for 3 days
- Raise temp to 69.0 °F and maintain for 2-3 weeks.
- Dry-hop for last week of fermentation
- Crash the beer
Statistics
| --- | ABV | OG | FG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expected | 8.46% | 1.085 | 1.021 |
| Actual | 7.10% | 1.076 | 1.022 |
“I made my family disappear.” - Kevin McCallister