Fallen Viking warriors feasting in Valhalla. (Art in the public domain.)
One great thing about homebrewing is the flexibility. There are a lot of combinations of equipment and techniques that can be used to brew a batch of beer. For example, here I have devised a way to brew a very strong (11% ABV) ale, almost entirely from grains, with a full-wort boil, on your stovetop. The catch is that wort production is spread out over three brewing sessions. Although three brewing sessions might seem like a lot, the first amount of wort you produce doubles as your yeast starter, so you don’t have to do that. Secondly, because only a bit over 1.5 gallons (6 L) of wort is produced in each session, the heating and cooling times are quick and the amount of grain you are handling is manageable.
In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve brewed this beer before (twice) the “normal” way. And, I’ve used this technique (multiple lots of wort to fill a fermenter) on stovetop brews (double IPAs) before. However, I haven’t brewed this beer using these procedures. In the procedures, I give an option to use the brew-in-a-bag (BIAB) method or a mash with a sparging option.
Einherjar ale is very strong and malty, but well-balanced. Several things contribute to a low FG (considering the OG) and the hopping rate is just high enough to keep this from being too sweet. If you use nice honey (I’ve used orange blossom), the aromatics blend nicely with the malty aroma from the Vienna and Munich malts.
In case you’re wondering about the name, in Old Norse mythology, the Vikings who reside in Valhalla after dying in battle are the einherjar. (And who needs a strong one more than a dude who just died in battle?)
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