Smokey Old Ale

[torilen]

I was stuck at home with a sick kid today, and not much to do....SO, I brewed that beer I've been wanting to brew but haven't had the time.
I originally wanted to try brewing a pale or amber beer with coffee flavor in it.

Based on the grains I had available for steeping, though, I decided to put a twist on my old ale recipe. I added some peat smoked grain and some tangerine peels (peeled two for the other kids this morning and saved them).

Something in this beer is spicy - it is either a bit too much hops (I'm not a real big fan of strong hops) or the smoked grain. Still tastes good after brewing. We'll see how it turns out after fermentation.

1.5 gallon batch
2# amber LME
8oz sugar
2oz honey

Steeping Grains
4oz crystal 60
2oz UK chocolate
2oz biscuit
pinch of peat smoked (maybe a tablespoon)

Hops
Simcoe pellets
- Maybe 8 pellets at start, 8 more 50 minutes in

**With the steeping grains, I tried to do a step steeping to allow
different enzymes to come out well. Kept the temp around 115F
for 10 minutes, then tried to keep it around 125F-130F for 10
minutes, then move it up to 140F for 10 minutes.
I'm almost positive I didn't do it right...but I tried.

I also used a bit of amylase enzyme with the steeping grains, to
try and ensure they convert a little better.

 

[torilen]

OH - and based on the online calculator, this batch should be around
8-8.25 ABV, at least...perhaps up to 8.43 ABV.