6.6 lbs Breiss Golden Light Malt Syrup
1 lb M&F Plain Amber Dry Malt
3.5 lbs John Bull Light Malt Extract
4 oz chocolate rye malt
.5 lb 20L crystal
2 oz 2L white wheat malt
4 oz special B malt, 100L
8 oz Hershey's cocoa
1 vanilla bean
1 oz Columbus pellets (12.4% AA) 90 min.
.25 oz Centennial pellets (9.9% AA) 60 min. & 2 min.
4 peppermint candy canes, crushed
1 tube Wyeast #1084 Irish Ale
Steeped grains 30 min @ 150F. Added malt to 4 gal water, included sparged grain liquor. Brought to boil. Added cocoa (incredible aroma!) vanilla bean, candy canes and hopped per schedule above. Bottled with 10 candy canes, 2 tsp. instant coffee, 1.5 cups Kahlua. O.S.G = 1.082 F.S.G. = 1.028
The inspiration for this brew was a York Peppermint Pattie. We wanted to create a big beer with serious chocolate flavor and a hint of peppermint. When it came to the end of the fermentation, we knew we didn't achieve that lofty profile: the chocolate did not come through well, and the peppermint was absent. While bottling we decided to add coffee to flavor, which added some nice complexity. What would we do differently? We would use less aggressive hops, add cocoa more toward end of boil, augment chocolate flavor with more grain, and definitely make this brew a lot earlier than October! This brew ages well and tastes a lot more chocolaty now than in December--and the peppermint is now perceptible.
Page maintained by Scott Graham. Last updated January 22, 2002.