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**smokinghole** · 10-27-2012, 03:29 AM

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: Wyeast 9097
Yeast Starter: YES
Batch Size (Gallons): 8
Original Gravity: 1.117
Final Gravity: 1.026
IBU: 110
Boiling Time (Minutes): 200+
Color: 80
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 45 Days at 68
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 260 days at 68
Tasting Notes: Rich stout that develops into roasty dark fruit flavors.

Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
24 lbs Maris Otter (Thomas Fawcett) (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 70.6 %
5 lbs 8.0 oz Brown Malt (65.0 SRM) Grain 2 16.2 %
2 lbs 8.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 3 7.4 %
2 lbs Wheat, Midnight (550.0 SRM) Grain 4 5.9 %
5.00 oz Calypso [12.00 %] - First Wort 180.0 min Hop 5 116.5 IBUs
2.0 pkg SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) [23.66 ml] Yeast 6 -
1.5 pkg Old Ale Blend (Wyeast Labs #9097-PC) [50.00 ml] Yeast 7 -
1.0 pkg Edinburgh Ale (White Labs #WLP028) [35.49 ml] Yeast 8 -

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.120 SG Measured Original Gravity: 1.120 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.036 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.026 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 11.2 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 12.6 %
Bitterness: 116.5 IBUs Calories: 432.1 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 79.2 SRM
Mash Profile

Mash Name: Single Infusion, Full Body, No Mash Out Total Grain Weight: 34 lbs
Sparge Water: 7.63 gal Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F Tun Temperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE Mash PH: 5.20

Mash Steps
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Mash In Add 8.50 gal of water at 173.7 F 158.0 F 60 min

Sparge Step: Fly sparge with 7.63 gal water at 168.0 F
Mash Notes: Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).

I used a blend of yeast in this beer because I wanted the esters from the SO4, the fermentation and alcohol handling of the WLP028, and the brett from my small amount of very old slurry from the 11-11-11 Old Ale. The esters from the SO4 will be reduced and reused by the brett so I wanted the character contributed by SO4 in this high gravity beer. This beer has been an evolution from complex grist with some caramel malts, to this much simpler grist with no caramel malts. The boil is variable for me. I base my sparge volume on my refractometer. If I'm getting low numbers I sparge more (even at the end with this much grain I was getting just under 10 brix) and then just let it boil longer. I gave up adding hops at the end due to the extended fermenation using the brett. I used hops that I had available but any hops you like could be used for bittering due to the long boil not much flavor will remain. Please note the high mash temp. This coupled with the black malt and long boil should provide enough residual non-fermentable sugars to leave you a brett stout that drinks like a very thick full bodied stout.

Edit: If you cannot source any 9097 then I am told that the blend just contained what is basically a healthy English strain and brett lambicus.

guitarist_713 · 10-27-2012, 03:43 PM

I bet it's going to be thick and black. I personally would name it Charlie Murphy Stout

**smokinghole** · 10-27-2012, 04:01 PM

It is thick and black. My recipe two years ago was the last with caramel malts, this is the current brew that I am getting ready to dig into. The beer is very good, has a nice smooth roast flavor with a balanced bitterness. There are some pie cherry flavors from the brett but it just isn't 100% carbed (yep bottle conditioned, I love bottle conditioned beer).

guitarist_713 · 10-27-2012, 04:13 PM

I am just itching to brew a giant RIS. I like the idea of Brett mingling with the malt richness and nice warming sensation from the alcohol. How cold will you chill it before you pitch the yeast and how will you keep it from tasting "hot?" Every time I've tried to brew a beer with that high an alcohol percentage it's had a harsh alcohol burn.

**smokinghole** · 10-27-2012, 07:34 PM

I brew it and ferment it in fall through the winter. Then the high mash temp keeps the saccharomyces from going nuts on all the sugar. The vigorous initial fermentation is carried out starting at about 62 and after 7 days that is sitting at just 50% attenuation due to the mash temp. Then the remainder is slowly fermented via brett and the yeasts that can ferment maltotriose sugars and other more complex stuff that is longer than two glucose molecules.

The other thing is maybe I can't taste the hot alcohol flavor since I like to drink strong cocktails.

guitarist_713 · 10-28-2012, 03:28 PM

I was reading Jamil Zainasheff's column in Brew Your Own magazine on Barley Wine. He suggests using a lower mash temp on beers with higher gravities to produce a more fermentable wort. I suppose the solvent taste comes from fermenting the wort at too high a temperature, but I always use a temperature controlled fridge. I think my problem comes with the spike in temperature during the peak of fermentation

**smokinghole** · 10-28-2012, 04:57 PM

A lower mash temp on a high gravity is what I'd advise also if not using brettanomyces in the mix. However when using brettanomyces I got an additional 15%-20% attenuation. So if you mash for 70-75% attenuation only saccharomyces by using a lower mash temp you risk drying the beer out and greatly enhancing the alcohol flavor. The alcohol flavor is slightly masked by the residual extract from the high mash temp that leaves a relatively high terminal gravity even when using brett.

guitarist_713 · 10-28-2012, 06:04 PM

I wonder if the terminal gravity wasn't where u wanted it to be even after the Brett did its thing... Maybe if you pitched some lager yeast into it that would drop the terminal gravity even further. But in a beer that style maybe a higher terminal gravity isn't such a bad thing

**smokinghole** · 10-28-2012, 09:35 PM

I highly doubt that a lager yeast will take it any further than a brettanomyces strain. Typically speaking the lager yeast can ferment up to and including maltotriose sugars, and some brettanomyces can go futher and take down cellobiose or trehalose and in some cases lactose. Lager yeasts do not have the enzymes necessary to break those bonds and some brettanomyces species have those enzymes. This is a case of hope the brett doesn't take it too far, but this is third year I've been running with this yeast. I have become fairly familiar with the ability of the yeast. If it ends up low in gravity you could always make a small highish gravity 2 gal of wort and boil it down to a syrup to create caramelized sugars that the brettanomyces shouldn't be able to consume in order to bring up your terminal gravity. The issue with that wort addition is it adds like 5-6 months to your fermentation. If you don't want to wait that long you can guesstimate the sugar contribution a use it for bottle conditioning instead.

GuldTuborg · 05-03-2013, 08:06 PM

Any update on the progress of the crystal-less malt bill and how it compares to the older versions? How long do you generally leave the brett to work before bottling?

In case anyone is interested, I contacted Wyeast about the 9097 blend. Apparently, the blend changes a bit each time it's released, but it's basically just a mix of 1084 and 5526. Using a smack pack of each ought to get you, more or less, the same results as 9097.