Beer Forum

I brewed this 27 Dec and will age for about 6 months and save some for next winter holiday season.
8.3% ABV?

Pale Ale malt 6 lbs
Rauchmalt 3 lbs
Pils- German 5 lbs
Caramunich 1 lb
Morris Otter 5 lbs
Flaked Oats .5 lbs
Pure cane sugar .5 lb in boil last 20 min; 1 lb after 3 days in primary
OG 1.082 at 68 degrees, FG 1.022
Mashed at 149 for 90 min., 60 min boil
1/2 oz. German halleur. for stability; 1 tbls. liquid hop extract at secondary
Wyeast Trappist Ale reused 4th

7th attempt at a strong Ale. Tasted very different at secondary as this is the first time I've used Morris Otter. Smoke is barely noticeable and will likely fade completely by the time it's aged nicely; I needed to use as these were getting old. The mash tun copper tubing came apart so I had to take everything out and start over. This probably had a negative effect on efficiency.

Wow I bet that is pretty sweet, only 1/2 oz of hops. Were you just trying to use up what you had laying around or did you formulate this recipe after trying a number of other strong ales?

Ziggy, I have some liquid hops that I bought late last year from the homebrew store in Belgium and I added about 1 or 1 1/2 tablespoons. It doesn't take much of this stuff to make alot of bittering and you put it in at bottling only, no boiling it is necessary. I used the 1/2oz just for keeping the bugs at bay. As far as the recipe, I have yet to brew someone else's recipe except for a Pumpkin Ale that was really good that I got off the Cat's Meow a few years back. I do try quite a few belgian ales from the industry plus mine. I've made 7 so far. I guess it's yes to were the ingrediants just laying around. What I tend to do is to buy grains that I've had good look with in the past and a few I've never used before. The Morris Otter is new to me and I'm liking the results so far in my first Imperial Stout I bottled last week.

I bought some "whiskey" malt too in Belgium. Has anyone used this before? I have done some searches, but I'm not getting back any info on this malt. I guess I could try the homebrew store website too since it is in English.

I do like to formulate my own recipes. The very first Belgium style I brewed back in about 2003 was stated by the brewer and owner of Elmwood brewery in Illinois and being the best homebrew he had ever tasted. That beer had 6 row, 2 row, crystal, Belgian aromatic, caramalt, special "b" and vienna. I can post that one too if anyone's interested. I think the next beer I'll make will go against my normal brewing and try something from this forum. I want to start using this vast library of knowledge and see where it leads.

I have seen whiskey kits here in NZ where it is legal to distill at home. Whiskey is basically distilled beer so I guess it is whatever malts they use to make whiskey.

I'm finally home from Afgahnistan and wanted to say this beer was worth the wait after no beer for 4 months. That didn't sound right did it? Practically any beer would be enjoyable, but anyway... if you want something different, then give this recipe a try. The Morris otter was probably the one ingredient that makes this beer really good. The oak is medium on the taste and I think more would be better. I made a second runnings beer from the mash and it still looks fine in the carboy. Just need to empty one of the kegs to make room. Some things are worth the wait and this beer should be much better cold and I had about 5 at room temp the other day and was pleasantly smiling.