Wood-Aged Beer Pirate Strong Ale

[Davedrinksbeer]

With vanilla beans it depends if you can actually find some good plump vanilla beans, seems all I can find are dried up skinny ones so I have to use 2 but 2 beans seems to be the norm for 5 gallon beer batches. Vanilla Beans are expensive so you could use a 2 ounce bottle of pure vanilla extract instead.
If you don’t want a “woody” taste just don’t soak it that long in your rum, cut the time in half from the recipe.
I used fresh pineapple and I think that’s better, definitely more pineapple flavor than can.

 

[Snuffy]

With vanilla beans it depends if you can actually find some good plump vanilla beans, seems all I can find are dried up skinny ones so I have to use 2 but 2 beans seems to be the norm for 5 gallon beer batches. Vanilla Beans are expensive so you could use a 2 ounce bottle of pure vanilla extract instead.
If you don’t want a “woody” taste just don’t soak it that long in your rum, cut the time in half from the recipe.
I used fresh pineapple and I think that’s better, definitely more pineapple flavor than can.

I have 2 vanilla beans and I'm not sure when I will get around to brewing this recipe again - or any that uses vanilla. I may just split and scrape both and then toss them into the secondary. Pineapple flavor is not going to be my primary concern with this beer. Or cinnamon either. I just want a smooth blend in there somewhere. With that oaky rum hint. Hoping the hops aren't too in-your-face either.

 

[AntDoctor]

Dumb question, but since there are thirteen pages of comments, I didn't read through every one.

Are people still primarily using the original first-post recipe or has there been a shift to a newer version of the recipe? I'm wondering if the original (8+ years later) is still the agreed-upon option.

 

[Snuffy]

Dumb question, but since there are thirteen pages of comments, I didn't read through every one.

Are people still primarily using the original first-post recipe or has there been a shift to a newer version of the recipe? I'm wondering if the original (8+ years later) is still the agreed-upon option.

I think the original is the tried and true method and still stands. Variation in some components but the core recipe is proclaimed solid.

 

[pwortiz]

Dumb question, but since there are thirteen pages of comments, I didn't read through every one.

Are people still primarily using the original first-post recipe or has there been a shift to a newer version of the recipe? I'm wondering if the original (8+ years later) is still the agreed-upon option.

Agree with Snuffy. I still make this using the original recipe overall. The only other variant I've done is with mango (2 mangos worth of fruit vs the pineapple) and messed with the vanilla amounts here and there. But the grain bill and base? Leave that alone

 

[Davedrinksbeer]

Dumb question, but since there are thirteen pages of comments, I didn't read through every one.

Are people still primarily using the original first-post recipe or has there been a shift to a newer version of the recipe? I'm wondering if the original (8+ years later) is still the agreed-upon option.

I used the original recipe, came out great.

 

[TwelveEighteenBrewing]

I have sat and read, re-read, and talked myself into and out of making this beer for the past 6 months since I stumbled upon this thread. Ingredients are bought and this weekend starts the journey to see what all the fuss is about. I kept thinking that if there's a 9 year old recipe thread that people are still raving over, it has to be tried. And who doesn't like the taste of pineapple and rum reminding you of clear Caribbean waters!

 

[Davedrinksbeer]

I have sat and read, re-read, and talked myself into and out of making this beer for the past 6 months since I stumbled upon this thread. Ingredients are bought and this weekend starts the journey to see what all the fuss is about. I kept thinking that if there's a 9 year old recipe thread that people are still raving over, it has to be tried. And who doesn't like the taste of pineapple and rum reminding you of clear Caribbean waters!

I made this beer last year per direction and it’s a solid beer plus it has a different taste than probably any other beer you’ve made. When I made mine I remember month 2-3 it had a nice pineapple taste and as it aged more the pineapple faded some and the wood/rum flavors became more dominant. It’s a very good beer, my friends liked it and I’m thinking about making it again.

 

[TwelveEighteenBrewing]

I made this beer last year per direction and it’s a solid beer plus it has a different taste than probably any other beer you’ve made. When I made mine I remember month 2-3 it had a nice pineapple taste and as it aged more the pineapple faded some and the wood/rum flavors became more dominant. It’s a very good beer, my friends liked it and I’m thinking about making it again.

I guess my biggest concern is how intense the cinnamon is. Throwing in sticks instead of a measured amount makes it a little harder to guesstimate. I think I am going to go pretty sparingly this time and ramp up on the next batch if necessary. How prevalent is the cinnamon flavor?

 

[Knightshade]

This is my dad's favorite beer that I've made, even though I feel like I missed the mark a bit. I don't think the cinnamon is intense at all, it melds nicely w/all the other flavors. Think I've got about 25% left in the keg, so I need to brew this again too.

 

[TwelveEighteenBrewing]

Brew day went smoothly. OG ended up at 1.070, so about 18ish points from what the recipe is supposed to come to. I dont have a large enough kettle yet for full volume batches, so I mashed with 3.5 gal, sparged with another .5 gal, and then topped up to 5 gal when throwing it in the fermenter. I am wondering if I didn't mix the top up water in well enough when I took the reading? I've noticed that with extract batches quite a bit. Hopefully that's it and it will end up being full strength like the recipe suggests. Oak chips are now soaking in some Kill Devil Pecan Rum from Outer Banks Distilling.

 

[pwortiz]

Did you mash or steep? The extract should have been a 100% win on final gravity based on my experience. This would be a LOT of grain in a 3.5 gal of water mash. .5 gal, I don't think, would have pulled all your available sugars out. Also, this batch with extract is just as awesome. Pecan rum really sounds awesome!

 

[TwelveEighteenBrewing]

Did you mash or steep? The extract should have been a 100% win on final gravity based on my experience. This would be a LOT of grain in a 3.5 gal of water mash. .5 gal, I don't think, would have pulled all your available sugars out. Also, this batch with extract is just as awesome. Pecan rum really sounds awesome!

I mashed the 6.5# of grain in the 3.5 gal of water for 60 min based on Brewfather. Added the DME after and brought to a boil. May go all DME next time for simplicity since I don't have a pot big enough for full volume. Still excited to see how it comes out.

 

[AntDoctor]

Did you mash or steep? The extract should have been a 100% win on final gravity based on my experience. ... Also, this batch with extract is just as awesome.

When going for an extract version, do you mini-mash the cara-aroma and torrified wheat?

 

[Knightshade]

When going for an extract version, do you mini-mash the cara-aroma and torrified wheat?

Look back at the very first post. It was originally posted as an extract brew.

 

[j1laskey]

When going for an extract version, do you mini-mash the cara-aroma and torrified wheat?

It was so long ago that I mini mashed it. But I think I did steep for 30 in the extract version of this !

 

[j1laskey]

I have to make this beer again

 

[Knightshade]

I have whole grains sitting in my garage already measured out for this in a sealed HD bucket. Just need to wait for space in fermenter to clear up...couple of weeks out.

 

[AntDoctor]

Look back at the very first post. It was originally posted as an extract brew.

It looks like the original had 5 lb of 2-row? I thought the "extract version" had NO base malt. I didn't realize that malt was just there to convert the other malts!

I think I'll be making some for Xmas gifts this year, quite excited.

ALSO! Isn't Galena an aroma hop, only used for late additions and dry hopping? Why is it boiled for 60 min?

 

[Knightshade]

I’d defer to @j1laskey as it is his beer. This is the only recipe I’ve come across that uses Galena, so I’m not certain.

Although it may be a multipurpose one, based on some of the substitutes for Galena, seems like it is more commonly used as a bittering hop,

/shrug

 

[AntDoctor]

I’d defer to @j1laskey as it is his beer. This is the only recipe I’ve come across that uses Galena, so I’m not certain.

Although it may be a multipurpose one, based on some of the substitutes for Galena, seems like it is more commonly used as a bittering hop,

/shrug

If it works, it works! EDIT: But I've ONLY seen it listed as an aroma hop, not even dual purpose!

Huh, other sources say it's DEFINITELY a bittering hop. Weird, but whatever! I was going to use galena regardless...

 

[Knightshade]

I usually go off of whatever hopslist or YVH descriptions say. Me thinks another bud light hop experiment might be in order personally.

@j1laskey Question about wlp060. Just wondering if that is still your yeast of choice for this beer. I’ve only very recently started using liquid yeast so have only used US-05 for the two batches of this that I’ve done.

 

[j1laskey]

I usually go off of whatever hopslist or YVH descriptions say. Me thinks another bud light hop experiment might be in order personally.

@j1laskey Question about wlp060. Just wondering if that is still your yeast of choice for this beer. I’ve only very recently started using liquid yeast so have only used US-05 for the two batches of this that I’ve done.

The last few batches I've made of this I have been using WLP090. San Diego Super Yeast.

 

[Knightshade]

Brewed this Saturday. I've been sitting on the grains for at least a month, just couldn't find time to do it. Something fell through, so I found myself sitting at the kitchen table around 9 and said...oh dang. I guess I can brew now. Didn't finish cleaning equipment until 4 in the afternoon, the draining just took forever....pitched yeast around 630.

Had to use canned pineapple, which I upped to around 14 oz vs. 10. Soaked some medium toasted French oak chips in water for a hour, drained, then put into a bag with 2 split open vanilla beans which I also cut into smaller pieces, a couple of glass marbles and covered with Zaya rum.

If this had been planned, I would have used WLP001, but..it wasn't. So I threw in 2 packets of US-05. Briefly considered using S-04, or doing one of each with idea that esters might be desirable but decided against it. Was bubbling gently yesterday morning, then activity just went into turbo mode yesterday evening. Purged a 5G keg of Star San in about 2 hours.

 

[Knightshade]

and....I just realized that I put in 1 lb of CaraAroma vs. 1/2. Put the whole bag into the grain mill vs. measuring it out. Dang it.

3rd time making this...I just can't seem to not mess it up at some level or another.

 

[j1laskey]

I’m sure it will still taste great !

 

[AntDoctor]

I'm bottling my first batch for Xmas: it's the first brew I've made and designed vinyl labels for! Sorry for the bad photo quality, but they all have one metallic gold tooth. My picnic tap broke after the first tiny pour from the keg, but it seems good!

Vaguely wish I added more hops, but since I don't have a wort chiller, I generally tend to back off IBUs to be safe. I also added about 5-10oz pineapple juice, which comes through nicely.

 

[pwortiz]

and....I just realized that I put in 1 lb of CaraAroma vs. 1/2. Put the whole bag into the grain mill vs. measuring it out. Dang it.

3rd time making this...I just can't seem to not mess it up at some level or another.

I think we all have that one recipe where consistency means always messing it up...my recipe is called All Jacked Up as something always goes wrong (usually me - it's a FW Double Jack clone and I have never made it right yet. But it always turns out great!) So maybe this is your beer. FWIW, this would be a forgiving beer for that to happen. Let us know how it turns out

 

[evolutionary]

Followed the original recipe in early November, except swapped out hop to warrior and used some captain morgan rum as that's all I have here. Made on a robobrew system and ended up with a 7.2% brew. Just opened the first one after bottling two weeks ago, and although would benefit from a bit more bottle conditioning time, the oak and pineapple are there and already a decent mix. Thanks for posting this recipe - have a full 5+ gallons bottled and labeled.

 

[Knightshade]

I think we all have that one recipe where consistency means always messing it up...my recipe is called All Jacked Up as something always goes wrong (usually me - it's a FW Double Jack clone and I have never made it right yet. But it always turns out great!) So maybe this is your beer. FWIW, this would be a forgiving beer for that to happen. Let us know how it turns out

So on point with this. It is indeed my “Chasing Neverland” brew. Racked it today..which just didn’t go smoothly. Ended up having to use CO2 to actually keep it going..which was frustrating which led to forgetting to grab a sample for check ABV, as well as (more importantly) taste.

Tilt measured at 10.1%, it is carbonating low and slow so I’ll report back in about a month or so.