I LOVE 1554!!
I lived in CO for a year and fell in love with this beer. Now I am back in PA and I miss it ohhhhh so much
Anyway, when I started brewing, this was the first recipe I went HUNTING for. I found a few, like some of the ones above that use Ale yeast, and roasted malts... the list goes on and on....
But WHAT makes 1554 so good?? Consider the words of Michael Jackson:
"...The emphasis is on malts that are dark, but not necessarily rich or luscious." Godbye roasted malts..
"...The beer is lightly hopped, but quite assertively spiced. A yeast that creates some sourness is used....The Aroma is malty and slightly medicinal....There is a lot of flavor development, with pronounced notes of licorice-toffee, becoming SPICY, rooty and peppery. Finally comes a very late, lingering passion fruit acidity." From Beerhunter.com
Now, I also e-mailed the brewery and they were kind enough to tell me two things:
1 - they use the same LAGER yeast that they use in their Blue Paddle Pilsner, but at high temperatures (room temp? HIGHER?)
2 - There are NO flavor or aroma hops used, only bittering hops. Furthermore, they add a spice at the end of the boil.
#1 is easy. Use a lager yeast and ferment at 65 or higher if you can. The higher the better as you want to minimize the sulfur production and maximize the fruity ester production (according to the brewer).
#2 is a bit trickier, but not much. Just keep in mind that the style is a Brussels Black" and that it originated in the 15th century (1447 actually, but you can ready about that on Beer Hunter if you like...) A spice that was widely used in the 15th century in Brussels.... Grains of Paradise.
As for the malt, I chose to stay away from overly flavorfull malts, since the lack of hops woudl let the malt flavor shine right through:
1447 Brussels Black:
for 5gal
7.5lbs Belgian Pale Malt
0.75lbs Aromatic
0.50lbs Crystal 60
0.50lbs Dingman's Debittered Black
Simple 1 step infusion mash at 152f will do nicely (don't want too much body)
1.0 OZ Czech Saaz Hops for 60min.
1tsp Grains of Paradise at the end of the boil (crush em GOOD).
Now, it was REALLY good, but it still tasted a little too malty to me. When I go again I will remove the Crystal entirely, reduce the aromatic to 0.5lbs, and increase the Debittered Black to 0.75lbs to try and dial it in. I will also add 1.5tsp of Grains of Paradise as it was a little on the light side before. Remember that in modern beers Prardise seeds supplement the flavors. In this one it was used INSTEAD of hops for the most part.
I hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoyed telling the story...
