Description:

This is the all grain version. I also just posted the extract version of this recipe under the same name.

First off is using a grain bill that has enough malt backbone to balance the hops, without creating too much alcohol. For this, I am relying on Maris Otter malt as the base, with a few pounds of Dark Munich malt. Maris Otter is bready, malty, rich, and used in a lot of English style ales. However, I feel like it will be an ideal base for this sessionable hoppy beer. Dark Munich adds yet more bread and malt, with nice aromatics that are almost honey-like. Rounding out the bill is a decent portion of crystal 60 malt for sweetness, body and head retention. We’ll try a mash temperature of 154F (for the all-grain version) that is a little on the high side for a more dextrinous, less fermentable wort that will add more body to the final beer. For yeast we’ll keep things simple, using any of three similar neutral American Ale strains, though it has been suggested to use a less attenuative yeast, such as an English strain, to add body and complexity.

Now, onto the hops! In this recipe I’m using first wort hopping, where hops are added before the wort is brought to a boil. This will hopefully mellow out the bitterness somewhat, paving the way for hop-bombing near the end of the boil and the nice aromatics that come from a blend of dry hops. I plan on dry hopping for only 4 days, in order to reduce contact time that can lead to grassy notes lingering on the tongue.

Ingredients:

• 6 lbs. Maris Otter
• 2 lbs. Dark Munich (Munich II)
• 0.5 lb. Crystal 60L
• 0.5 oz Warrior (15.7% AA) added as a first wort hop when draining into the brew kettle
• 0.5 oz Amarillo added at 15 minutes left in the boil
• 0.5 oz Columbus added at 10 minutes left in the boil
• 0.5 oz Amarillo added at 5 minutes left in the boil
• 1 oz each Amarillo and Chinook added at the end of the boil, during knockout
• 1 oz each Amarillo, Chinook and Columbus, added as dry hops after primary fermentation is complete, leaving in contact for 4-7 days
• 1 pack Wyeast 1056 American Ale, White Labs WLP001 California Ale, or Safale S-05 American Ale

Additional Instructions

Boil: 60 Minutes
Secondary Ferment: 2 Weeks

Beer Profile

Original Gravity: 1.042
Final Gravity: 1.011
Alcohol by Vol: 4.1%
Bitterness IBU: 50
Recipe Type: all-grain
Yield: 5.50 US Gallons

Procedure:

Source: Mike