Okay, so I brewed a strong dark ale and used the recipe from the book Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers. Very cool book if you want to make some crazy brews. So here is what I did:
5 Gallon Batch:
11# 2 Row (Uk)
2# munich 20L
1.75 C-10
1# carapils
.75# c-120
.50 # special roast
Mash @ 149 for 75 min.
mash out 168 for 15 min.
sparge @170 for 45 min.
boil for 90 min.
pre-boil gravity 1.078
No hop additions
10 left in boil add:
1 oz. Wormwood
1 tblsp Gentian powder
1 tblsp horseradish
1 tblsp orange peel
1 oz. calamus root (coffee grinder)
1 oz. juniper berries(coffee grinder)
1 oz. Galangal Root (coffee grinder)
Post boil gravity 1.094
3 mil starter with 3 viles of WL London Ale Yeast
Dry secondary additions:
1 oz. wormwood
1 tblsp horseradish
1 oz. orange peel
1 tblsp black peppercorn (coffee grinder)
This truly is a unique beer unlike anything I have ever tried. It will sit for the next 4.5 months with small additttions of spices to create subtle layers of flavor. The beer is very "Green" and It is a very sweet beer, which is why I am choosing to add small amounts of bittering spices over the next several months to balance it out. It should be perfect for a Christmas tasting!
Peace
Eastside