When I decided to start brewing beer, I set out not exactly knowing precisely what I was going for, other than to brew great beer and experiment a little. I've been brewing about a year and a half now and I've learned a lot - about brewing, and about what I want do with my beer. Some brewers prefer to primarily brew experimental, off-style beers with unique combinations of ingredients. Other brewers prefer to brew beers that are classic examples of traditional styles. I prefer to produce a mix of both philosophies in my homebrewery. The main reason I like this mix of philosophies is because I love drinking beers that are produced out of both schools of thought. I also believe that a brewer should be measured on how well they can execute a traditional style, as well as how far they can further the perception of beer with new, fresh approaches to unique styles of beer. Out of this approach, comes Black Walnut Brewing Co. - a homebrewery focused on producing modern examples of classical styles, as well as unique, experimental off-style ales.
Recipes:
A couple notes/disclaimers:
-These are typically the most recent iterations of these recipes. Many of the recipes that I have repeated, have had slight updates with new iterations. If you are interested in older iterations, just let me know, and I would be happy to dig through my brewing notes to give you the older version.
-Any time you see the abbreviation “NB”, it stands for Northern Brewer. I tend to put larger orders in with Northern Brewer because I like their extracts (they are a great value) and I like to support Brewing TV. However, any comparable brand of extract or grain can be substituted in.
-These are not in BeerSmith format. These were written using BrewR on my Droid phone. I tend to like to write recipes when I am out and about and this tool is really user-friendly and effective for recipe writing. I believe the recipe format is compatible with QBrew, which is a free brewing software package (which I haven’t used before). I do, however, also have BeerSmith and would be happy to convert any of these recipes to BeerSmith format (if I don’t already have it in BeerSmith format), if you are interested in any of the recipes and want to be able to just pop them into BeerSmith.
-Please take note of the batch size. Some of these recipes are written for standard 5 gallon sizes, while others are written as half-batches (2.5 gallons).
-This is not a complete list of all of my recipes – just the more interesting and/or successful ones. If there are any that are not shown here that you want, just let me know.
Core Brews:
Theresa's Ale (Hefeweizen)
Batch size: 5.2 gal
Boil volume: 3.0 gal
OG: 1.046
FG: 1.012
Bitterness (IBU): 10.0
Color (SRM): 4.6
ABV: 4.5%
[Grains]
NB Wheat LME 3.150lb Extract 38.7%
Wheat (US) 3.000lb Grain 36.8%
Munich (US) 1.000lb Grain 12.3%
Two-row (US) 1.000lb Grain 12.3%
[Hops]
Tettnanger 1.00oz 4.0% AA Pellet @ 60 min, 10.0 IBU
[Yeast/Other]
Weihenstephan Weizen yeast 1.0 unit(s), Yeast
Orange Zest 4.0 unit(s), Flavor Zest of 4 oranges in secondary
Irish Moss 1.0 unit(s), Fining 1 tsp at 15 min
[Recipe Notes]
Open fermented for 3 - 4 days then racked to closed secondary for a week and a half with Orange zest.
Fork 'N Knife Oatmeal Stout
Batch size: 5.2 gal
Boil volume: 3.0 gal
OG: 1.040
FG: 1.010
Bitterness (IBU): 36.4
Color (SRM): 34.2
ABV: 3.9%
[Grains]
NB Dark LME 3.150lb Extract 44.1%
Maris Otter Malt 2.000lb Grain 28.0%
Flaked Oats 1.000lb Adjunct 14.0%
Roasted Barley 0.500lb Grain 7.0%
Chocolate Malt (US) 0.500lb Grain 7.0%
[Hops]
Centennial 1.00oz 9.0% AA Pellet @ 60 min, 24.8 IBU
Glacier 1.00oz 5.5% AA Pellet @ 30 min, 11.6 IBU
[Yeast/Other]
Irish Moss 1.0 unit(s), Fining 1 tsp at 15 min
Irish Ale yeast 1.0 unit(s), Yeast
Angry Rhino Black IPA
Batch size: 5.2 gal
Boil volume: 3.5 gal
OG: 1.106
FG: 1.027
Bitterness (IBU): 87.9
Color (SRM): 40.1
ABV: 10.4%
[Grains]
NB Organic Light LME 12.000lb Extract 75.0%
Light DME 2.000lb Extract 12.5%
Crystal 60L 1.000lb Grain 6.2%
Carafa III malt 1.000lb Grain 6.2%
[Hops]
Chinook 5.00oz 13.0% AA Pellet @ 60 min, 80.2 IBU
Centennial 2.00oz 10.0% AA Pellet @ 5 min, 4.9 IBU
Ahtanum 2.00oz 5.7% AA Pellet @ 5 min, 2.8 IBU
Centennial 2.00oz 10.0% AA Pellet @ Dry Hop
Ahtanum 2.00oz 5.7% AA Pellet @ Dry Hop
[Yeast/Other]
American Ale yeast 1.0 unit(s), Yeast 1272
Irish Moss 1.0 unit(s), Fining 1 tsp at 15 min
Bulldog Brew
Batch size: 5.2 gal
Boil volume: 3.5 gal
OG: 1.058
FG: 1.014
Bitterness (IBU): 37.2
Color (SRM): 17.0
ABV: 5.7%
[Grains]
NB Gold LME 6.000lb Extract 53.3%
Rye Malt 2.000lb Grain 17.8%
Two-row (US) 2.000lb Grain 17.8%
Crystal 60L 1.000lb Grain 8.9%
Chocolate Malt (US) 0.250lb Grain 2.2%
[Hops]
Calypso 1.00oz 12.0% AA Pellet @ 60 min, 28.4 IBU
Sterling 1.00oz 7.5% AA Pellet @ 15 min, 8.8 IBU
[Yeast/Other]
American Ale yeast 1.0 unit(s), Yeast
Irish Moss 1.0 unit(s), Fining 1 tsp at 15 min
Liquid Music Series:
Moment Of Violence
Batch size: 5.2 gal
Boil volume: 3.5 gal
OG: 1.065
FG: 1.016
Bitterness (IBU): 49.4
Color (SRM): 8.9
ABV: 6.4%
[Grains]
NB Gold LME 6.000lb Extract 54.5%
Two-row (US) 4.000lb Grain 36.4%
Crystal 40L 1.000lb Grain 9.1%
[Hops]
Cluster 1.00oz 7.7% AA Pellet @ 60 min, 16.4 IBU
Cascade 1.00oz 6.6% AA Pellet @ 15 min, 7.0 IBU
Amarillo 1.00oz 8.0% AA Pellet @ 15 min, 8.5 IBU
Amarillo 1.00oz 8.0% AA Pellet @ 10 min, 6.2 IBU
Cascade 1.00oz 6.6% AA Pellet @ 10 min, 5.1 IBU
Cascade 1.00oz 6.6% AA Pellet @ 5 min, 2.8 IBU
Amarillo 1.00oz 8.0% AA Pellet @ 5 min, 3.4 IBU
Cascade 1.00oz 6.6% AA Pellet @ 0 min, 0.0 IBU
Amarillo 1.00oz 8.0% AA Pellet @ 0 min, 0.0 IBU
[Yeast/Other]
Irish Moss 1.0 unit(s), Fining 1 tsp at 15 min
American Ale yeast 1.0 unit(s), Yeast
Moment Of Silence
Batch size: 5.2 gal
Boil volume: 3.5 gal
OG: 1.069
FG: 1.017
Bitterness (IBU): 35.8
Color (SRM): 34.9
ABV: 6.8%
[Grains]
NB Gold LME 6.000lb Extract 50.0%
Smoked Malt 2.000lb Grain 16.7%
Maris Otter Malt 2.000lb Grain 16.7%
Chocolate Malt (US) 1.000lb Grain 8.3%
Crystal 120L 1.000lb Grain 8.3%
[Hops]
Calypso 1.00oz 12.0% AA Pellet @ 60 min, 24.3 IBU
Willamette 1.00oz 4.5% AA Pellet @ 30 min, 7.0 IBU
Willamette 1.00oz 4.5% AA Pellet @ 15 min, 4.5 IBU
[Yeast/Other]
Irish Moss 1.0 unit(s), Fining 1 tsp at 15 min
English Ale yeast 1.0 unit(s), Yeast
Clones:
Ruination IPA
Batch size: 5.2 gal
Boil volume: 3.5 gal
OG: 1.078
FG: 1.020
Bitterness (IBU): 97.0
Color (SRM): 9.4
ABV: 7.7%
[Grains]
NB Organic Light LME 9.150lb Extract 75.3%
Two-row (US) 1.000lb Grain 8.2%
Crystal 40L 1.000lb Grain 8.2%
Light DME 1.000lb Extract 8.2%
[Hops]
Columbus 3.50oz 15.4% AA Pellet @ 60 min, 97.0 IBU
Centennial 2.00oz 9.0% AA Pellet @ 0 min, 0.0 IBU
Columbus 0.50oz 15.4% AA Pellet @ 0 min, 0.0 IBU
Centennial 2.00oz 9.0% AA Pellet @ Dry Hop
[Yeast/Other]
Irish Moss 1.0 unit(s), Fining 1 tsp at 15 min
American Ale yeast 1.0 unit(s), Yeast
*Note: I am also doing a version of this where I “double dry hop” the Ruination with Citra hops. I did this with half of the batch (and did the other half as standard Ruination) by doing a tertiary fermentation in a smaller (3 gal.) carboy for a week with 1oz of Citra hops.
Others:
Chipotle Ale AG 2.5 Gal
Batch size: 2.5 gal
Boil volume: 3.5 gal
OG: 1.063
FG: 1.016
Bitterness (IBU): 31.9
Color (SRM): 17.2
ABV: 6.2%
[Grains]
Two-row (US) 5.000lb Grain 80.8%
Crystal 40L 0.500lb Grain 8.1%
Crystal 120L 0.250lb Grain 4.0%
Victory Malt 0.250lb Grain 4.0%
Munich (German) 0.125lb Grain 2.0%
Chocolate Malt (US) 0.062lb Grain 1.0%
[Hops]
Cascade 0.50oz 6.6% AA Pellet @ 60 min, 23.8 IBU
Willamette 0.50oz 4.5% AA Pellet @ 15 min, 8.1 IBU
[Yeast/Other]
California Ale yeast 1.0 unit(s), Yeast
Irish Moss 1.0 unit(s), Fining 1 tsp at 15 min
Chipotle Pepper 4.0 unit(s), Flavor Chipotle pepper added at flameout and left in the primary fermenter
*Note: I used homegrown roasted/smoked red jalapenos in my version. Commercially purchased peppers may vary. The recipe I based this off of recommended using 6 chipotles per 5 gallons. They also recommend to de-seed the peppers and to leave a few of the chipotles in the primary.
Wedding Ale (Oak Aged Cherries In The Snow)
Batch size: 5.2 gal
Boil volume: 3.0 gal
OG: 1.063
FG: 1.016
Bitterness (IBU): 18.5
Color (SRM): 5.7
ABV: 6.2%
[Grains]
NB Gold LME 9.150lb Extract 100.0%
[Hops]
Santiam 1.50oz 6.0% AA Pellet @ 60 min, 17.3 IBU
Santiam 0.50oz 6.0% AA Pellet @ 5 min, 1.1 IBU
[Yeast/Other]
American Ale yeast 1.0 unit(s), Yeast
Irish Moss 1.0 unit(s), Fining 1 tsp at 15 min
Tart Cherries 10.0 unit(s), Other 1 unit = 1lb, steeped at end of boil and put in fermenter for 5 days
*Note: This is based off of Charlie Papazian’s recipe “Cherries in the Snow” from The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. My version has a bit more extract and it is oak aged for around three weeks on American Oak chips. Also, when I brewed my version, tart cherries were out of season, so I went with a little more than 10 pounds of canned tart cherries that were packed in water (no sugar or syrup added). It came out awesome, but I do want to try brewing this with fresh tart cherries next time.
Banana Bread Ale
Batch size: 5.2 gal
Boil volume: 3.0 gal
OG: 1.057
FG: 1.014
Bitterness (IBU): 33.7
Color (SRM): 16.1
ABV: 5.6%
[Grains]
NB Organic Light LME 3.150lb Extract 33.0%
NB Gold LME 3.150lb Extract 33.0%
Flaked Oats 1.000lb Adjunct 10.5%
Two-row (US) 1.000lb Grain 10.5%
Brown Sugar, Dark 0.500lb Sugar 5.2%
Crystal 60L 0.500lb Grain 5.2%
Chocolate Malt (US) 0.250lb Grain 2.6%
[Hops]
Centennial 1.00oz 9.0% AA Pellet @ 60 min, 19.1 IBU
Centennial 1.00oz 9.0% AA Pellet @ 30 min, 14.7 IBU
[Yeast/Other]
Irish Moss 1.0 unit(s), Fining 1 tsp at 15 min
American Ale yeast 1.0 unit(s), Yeast
Bananas 6.0 unit(s), Flavor 6lbs in the steep
Cinnamon 2.0 unit(s), Other 2Tbsn with 10 min left
