Black Mountain Recipe

Apr 26, 2017

Black Mountain (23 Litres)

This medium bodied dark beer is the pinnacle of American style stout making. With lofty aromas of chocolate and toffee, its hints of orange float down like a light mist. As it rolls along the tongue it reveals a range of roasted malt and dark chocolate flavours. The firm bitter finish is as refreshing as a cool gully breeze. This is one summit of beer-making worth climbing, and when you get to the top there is one stunning vista to drink in with all your senses.

Ingredients

1 x 1.7kg Thomas Coopers Devil's Half Ruby Porter
1 x 1.7kg Thomas Coopers Family Secret Amber Ale
1 x 300g Chocolate Malt grain
1 x 25g US Cascade Hop Pellets
1 x 11.5g Safale US-05 Dry Yeast
1 x 250g Dextrose Corn Sugar or Carbonation Drops

Features:

Colour: Brown/Black
Body: Med
Bitterness: Med/High
Approx. Alcohol Level: 5.6%
Naturally Carbonated: Natural

Instructions:

Step 1 : Mix

The day before: Line a pot (at least 4 litres) with a mesh cleaning cloth (pulled straight from the pack), then add the cracked grain and 2 litres of cold water. Fit the lid and sit in the fridge for 24hrs. Remove from the fridge then gather up the corners of the mesh cloth and lift, allowing the liquid to drain from the grains back into the pot. Place the strained liquid onto the stovetop, bring to the boil. Add the US Cascade Hops and boil for 5mins. Remove from the heat and cool the liquid by placing pot in a bath of cold water for about 15mins. Strain the cooled hop/malt liquid into the Fermenting Vessel (FV). Add the Devil’s Half Ruby Porter and Family Secret Amber Ale to the FV then stir to dissolve. Top up with cold tap water to the 20 litre mark, stir thoroughly. Check the temperature and top up to the 23 litre mark with warm or cool water (refrigerated if necessary) to start the brew at 20C- 22C. Sprinkle the Safale US-05 dry yeast and the included yeast from the brew cans, fit the lid and try to ferment at 20C.

Step 2 : Brew

Fermentation has finished once the specific gravity is stable over 2 days. It should finish around the 1008 – 1012 mark.

Step 3 : Bottle

Bottle the brew with a priming rate of 8g per litre (2 carbonation drops per 750ml bottle).

Step 4 : Enjoy

Allow to condition for at least 2 weeks in the bottle. Expect the alcohol content to be around 5.6% ABV.