Bills Raspberry Tart Ale Recipes

BILL'S RASPBERRY TART ALE

Steps:

• If using liquid yeast,"smack-pack", pop inner seal and let yeast activate per package directions.
• Sanitize a 5 gallon fermenter and airlock.
• Steep the specialty grains (crystal and biscuit malts) in a fine-mesh grain bag in one gallon of water at 155F for 20 minutes.
• Raise temperature to 175F, removing grains after 10 additional minutes (30 minutes total steep time).
• Add malt extract and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
• Add 1 ounce bittering hops in a cheesecloth hop bag.
• Continue to boil, adjusting heat as necessary, for 25 minutes (no further stirring).
• Add approximately 1/8 ounce of hops to boiling wort in another hop bag.
• Continue boiling for 10 more minutes.
• Add Irish moss and stir in gently.
• Add remaining hops in a hop bag.
• Boil for a final 10 minutes (total boil time 45 minutes).
• Add honey and let sit for 10 minutes.
• Remove brew pot from stove and chill wort using your preferred method (you may opt to set the pot in an ice water bath).
• If using dry yeast, proof it per package directions.
• When wort temperature reaches 100F, top up with cool water to just over 2 1/2 gallons.
• Stir to swirl, cover, and let sit on stove or counter for 30 minutes.
• Pour yeast slurry into fermenter.
• Transfer wort to fermenter, using a racking cane and hose (one method to start to siphon is to fill hose with water, keeping cane and free tube end both elevated; cover tube end, place cane into brewpot, and release tube in fermenter).
• Try to avoid the material settled in the bottom of the brewpot (this stuff is called trub).
• Allow the wort to splash and aerate.
• Put on cover or install drilled stopper and affix airlock, filling airlock halfway with distiller water or grain alcohol.
• Set fermenter in a safe area.
• Room temperature should be in the range of 60-70F.
• Avoid sunlight on your fermenter.
• Fermentation should be evident within a day or so; monitor activity.
• When activity is slowing, sanitize a 3 or 5 gallon fermenter (preferably glass) and racking cane and hose.
• Place raspberries in secondary fermenter (do not boil fruit- it will set the pectin and create a bad haze in the finished beer; if you're concerned about wild yeast on fresh berries, steep them at 165F for 10 minutes, then drain and cool).
• Rack beer onto fruit.
• Affix airlock.
• Allow to sit again.
• Secondary fermantation will be slower and less vigorous.
• Be careful and watch the fermentation- if the fermentation is vigorous,a piece of fruit could possibly block the airlock (if this happens, remove the airlock and use a blow-off tube).
• Leave on berries for 2-4 weeks, until they appear pale pink.
• Fruit may sink when beer is ready to bottle.
• Sanitize bottles (and bottling equipment) or kegging equipment.
• Boil corn sugar in a cup of water for 10 minutes, then cool to room temperature.
• Pour corn sugar solution into bottling bucket.
• Rack beer into bucket, avoiding yeast sediment in fermenter.
• Stir gently to mix well.
• Fill bottles and cap.
• Allow to condition and age for at least one month.
• For any further information on homebrewing, a good reference is"The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing" by Charlie papazian; it has a good intro to basic techniques and processes.

RASPBERRY ALE

Steps:

• Measure out all grains using a scale. Run the grain through a mill to crack the husk and release the starch; a supplier can do this. In a 6 to 10 gallon boiling pot, with screen in bottom, also known as a false bottom, add the gypsum to 2 1/2 gallons of water preheated to 168 degrees F. Pour crushed grains and wheat into the water and stir until mixed thoroughly. Cover the pot and let stand for about one hour periodically checking the to be sure it stays between 146 to 152 degrees F.
• Have available another 6 to 10 gallon pot of water heated to 180 to 190 degrees F also on the stove, about 7 gallons worth.
• Remove grain pots' cover, sparging [spraying], and gently sprinkle the hot water over the grain mixture until you get 2 to 3 inches of water on top of the mixture. Then attach a flexible tube to the outflow of the grain pot (masher) and turn the spigot on. This opens a valve that allows drainage of the sweet liquid (wort) from the bottom. Keep a steady stream of hot water sprinkling over the mixture while allowing a third pot to be filled with the drainage (this takes about 20 minutes).
• Once you have collected about 6 1/2 gallons close the spigot and stop the sprinkling then place this pot on the stove. Bring to a boil (this takes about 25 to 30 minutes). Once brought to a boiling, start a timer, and boil for a total of 10 minutes without any hops.
• Add Willamette hops and 1/2 ounce Fuggles hops; for bittering, continue to boil. After an additional 45 minutes add remaining Fuggles hops for flavor, add the copper chilling coil to sterilize it and continue to boil.
• After an additional 14 minutes add Kent Goldings hops for aroma, stir, and immediately switch off the heat. Remove the pot containing the wort to the sink, attach one plastic tube to faucet and the copper inflow and another to the copper outflow, the other end runs into the sink, and turn on the cold water. Cool it down to fermentation temperature of 75-degrees F. This takes about 20 to 25 minutes.
• Next, the wort is transferred into a 5 gallon sterilized fermenter. Shake the container to add air to the wort. Finally the yeast is added to the fermenter and an airlock is attached. This fermenter is allowed to stand for 1 week prior to the addition of the raspberries.
• At the end of the week, take a large stockpot and add the raspberries and 1 to 2 quarts water. Bring ingredients to 140-degrees F. and allow to stay at this temperature for 30 minutes.
• Set aside and let cool. Once cooled, add this into a 6 gallon sanitized fermenter through a sterilized funnel. Siphon the beer from the previous week into the same fermenter once the raspberries have cooled. If you do not let it cool, you could kill the yeast. Attach airlock and allow it to ferment an additional week.
• At the end of the week siphon the beer off the raspberries into a third fermenter and allow to finish fermentation for 1 to 2 more weeks.