That beer stuck with me so much that it was the first thing I thought of when I started brewing. I knew that someday I would make a delicious apple ale. Well, I had no idea I would progress so fast. In the mean time I've learned to appreciate dozens of different beer styles, become a hop head and moved onto all grain brewing.
That doesn't mean I left behind my 'dream' of brewing an apple ale. This type of fruit beer is really rare. Seriously, try searching for advice on brewing an apple beer. I'll wait.
...
Back yet? You either found a bunch of terrible recipes that are more like a cider than a beer, a bunch of advice on making fruit beers with everything BUT apple, or you found this thread. Can you tell me what the SG of apple juice is, or what the best apple juice to use is? Hop levels? Beer style (please, not an American Wheat with apple flavor added)? The Graff thread is probably the single best resource for making an apple beer, if you can stand to read all of it. It is a great starting point, though.
So, it took me a while to craft what I thought would be the right balance. Most 'graff'' recipes are ciders with a slight bit of malt - I didn't want that. This needed to be a beer drinker's beer that just happened to also taste like apple. I knew I'd want lots of apple flavor, so I had to use at least a gallon of juice. However, I knew I'd want some residual sweetness, body and lots of malt flavor, which apple just wouldn't give me. To counteract the dryness of the juice, I went with lots of crystal malt, a little CaraPils, and the WLP002 English Ale, which leaves residual sugar and gives a good ester profile.
Perhaps most importantly, I was going on a camping trip that weekend and needed something that would be quick to make. Conveniently, I had a Mr. Beer Englishman's Nut Brown Ale
HME can sitting around. I picked up a couple pounds of DME to finish it off.Fermentation was absurdly active. FermCap wasn't enough to keep at least half a quart of beer goop from spilling out through the top, even when fermenting at a cool temp. Krausen didn't drop for a week. FG hit a perfect 1.013, though - not too low, not too high.
It has definite apple flavor, but it is smooth and subtle and blends well with the malts. Hop presence is subtle and also blends well - I was definitely worried about having hops that conflicted with the apple flavor. Also, tannin level started out high (from the apple juice) but seems to have settled out. I assume it was because I used unfiltered apple juice - if they were extracted from the grain, they would probably have been permanent.
When making this beer, remember this advice:
- Use pasteurized juice, with NO added flavor or sugar.
- Don't boil the juice; keep it sealed until it is ready to top off.
- Watch out for high krausen, overflow or exploding fermentors.
- Don't use aroma or flavor hops; stick with bittering, and no more than 10-20 IBUs. You can use late additions in a future recipe if you're feeling adventurous.
- Go for a dark, rich style with lots of maltiness but no roasty character. No porters, no stouts. An American Amber or a Nut Brown Ale are both good choices.
- Use a dark crystal for a complementary flavor along with wheat or CaraPils for body & head retention.
- Don't use too much apple juice, or you will end up closer to a cider; two gallons of juice per 5 gallon batch is a good amount, but you can adjust to your taste.
Here's my recipe. I aimed for 11 quarts but ended up with 11.1 quarts. I also added some Crystal 15 which I *normally wouldn't have added*. However, I had it sitting in the freezer and wanted to get rid of it. I've since discovered that I'm not a huge fan of Crystal 15, and would leave it out in the future.
If this turns out decent, I'll probably refine it and maybe create an all grain version, or at the very least an extract + hops boil.
If this turns out decent, I'll probably refine it and maybe create an all grain version, or at the very least an extract + hops boil.
| Apple Brown Ale / Graff |
| Fruit Beer |
| Type: Extract | Date: 5/13/2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batch Size: 11.10 qt | Boil Size: 8.20 qt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boil Time: 15 min | Equipment: Brew Pot, Full Boil All Grain (5 Gallon) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ingredients
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Beer Profile
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Est Original Gravity: 1.070 SG | Measured Original Gravity: 1.070 SG | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Est Final Gravity: 1.013 SG | Measured Final Gravity: 1.013 SG | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 7.37 % | Actual Alcohol by Vol: 7.45 % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bitterness: 17.1 IBU | Calories: 315 cal/pint | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Est Color: 14.0 SRM | Color:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Carbonation and Storage
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Carbonation Type: Corn Sugar | Volumes of CO2: 2.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pressure/Weight: 70.2 gm | Carbonation Used: 67g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Keg/Bottling Temperature: 70.0 F | Age for: 28.0 days | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Storage Temperature: 70.0 F | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I'm trying your recipe out in my 2 gallon kit. I've also tried that Moose's tooth hard Apple ale. I MUST HAVE MORE lol!
ReplyDeleteMy wife was a huge fan of the hard apple ale from Mooses Tooth when we lived in Achorage and now that I have started brewing I want to try and replicate it. Do you have any tips before I try this recipe?
DeleteMy wife was a huge fan of the hard apple ale from Mooses Tooth when we lived in Achorage and now that I have started brewing I want to try and replicate it. Do you have any tips before I try this recipe?
DeleteWhen I made this recipe, I was still 'gitting gud' at brewing, and it came out mildly off. Maybe even infected. So, my best advice is to really bring your technical A-game. This is more complicated than a regular beer, with more chances for problems. If you aren't ready, practice with regular beer first.
DeleteUse the bare minimum of hops (like I said). Try Cal Ale instead of the english yeast that I used. Don't use cans of Mr. Beer extract - I was just getting started and had that around to use up, but it wasn't the best choice.
In fact, keep it simple. Try making it with a characterful base grain like Maris Otter if you are AG, or try an amber extract if you brew that way. Try it without any extra grains. Keep it simple, and if you like it you can try tweaking the recipe.
One last thing - the juice itself can cause problems. It will affect clarity by adding pectin, and if there's a lot of much at the bottom of your juice bottle, there could be some additional tannins and other crud that needs to fall out in the fridge. If I had to do it over again, I would put the juice in at the end of the boil. Only let it boil for less than a minute. That will ensure good mixing and no infections.
I'm trying your recipe out in my 2 gallon kit. I've also tried that Moose's tooth hard Apple ale. I MUST HAVE MORE lol!
ReplyDeleteHas anyone been able to replicate moose's tooth hard apple ale? It sounds like this recipe didnt was a didnt deliver. I also lived in Anchorage for 20 years and miss this ale.
ReplyDeleteI did try a variation of this, its aged 4 weeks and planning on kegging next week. Will most likely back sweeten with concentrate