Fugmission (Easy, Surefire Recipe #5)

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Never mind other brown ale recipes, here’s Fugmission.

This is the final recipe in the Easy, Surefire Recipe series. The idea was to present a series of homebrew recipes that played to the strengths of malt extract, were easy to make, and made good beer. Fugmission is an English brown ale with a complex mix of malts. It is hopped a little more generously than most brown ales for a very balanced taste. Although an English brown ale, Cascade hops are used as a portion of the late hops. A bit rebellious for a brown ale, perhaps, but that fits with the name — Fugmission.

The name is a reference to the Fuggles hops that give this beer it’s earthy hop character and the song “Submission,” by the English band The Sex Pistols. Back in the mid-70s, the band’s manager (Malcolm McLaren) asked John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) to write a song called “Submission,” about sexual dominance and submission. McLaren thought the risqué topic would gain the band some notoriety. However, Lydon didn’t like being told what to do and instead wrote a song about a submarine mission — a sub mission — instead. The track ended up on the band’s only studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols, and, as it turned out, the band didn’t really need a lot of help generating notoriety.

 

Fugmission

English Brown ale

by Chris Colby

Extract; English units

 

DESCRIPTION

A rich brown ale with an earthy hop profile. This beer has nutty, biscuit-like and bready notes from the kilned malts, roasted flavor from the chocolate malt, and caramel, raisin and prune-like notes from the stewed (crystal) malts. The relatively light carbonation enhances the rich mouthfeel. The light citrus character from the small addition of Cascade hops contrasts the earthy character of the primary hop, Fuggles. With a moderately fruity nose, this beer is flavorful and complex, but — at 4.4% ABV — very “sessionable.”

INGREDIENTS (for 5 gallons)

 

Water

carbon-filtered tap water

Malts and Malt Extract (for an OG of 1.045 and 29 SRM)

1 lb. 1 oz. English pale ale malt

8.0 oz. wheat malt

5.0 oz. English biscuit malt

8.0 oz. crystal malt (60 °L)

4.0 oz. crystal malt (80–90 °L)

6.0 oz. chocolate malt

3 lb. 4 oz. light dried malt extract

Hops (for 31 IBUs total)

Fuggles hops (19 IBUs)

1.0 oz. (of 5% alpha acids), boiled for 60 minutes

Fuggles hops (7.1 IBUs)

0.50 oz. (of 5% alpha acids), boiled for 30 minutes

Fuggles hops (2.3 IBUs)

0.25oz. (of 5% alpha acids), boiled for 15 minutes

Cascade hops (2.3 IBUs)

0.25 oz. (of 5% alpha acids), boiled for 15 minutes

Fuggles hops (0 IBUs)

0.25 oz., boiled for 0 minutes

Cascade hops (0 IBUs)

0.25 oz., boiled for 0 minutes

Yeast (for an FG of 1.011 and 4.4% alcohol)

11 g Fermentis Safale S-04, Danstar Winsor, or Mangrove Jack Newcastle Dark Ale dried ale yeast

(no yeast starter required)

 or

any British ale liquid yeast that you like that is moderately estery

(1-qt. 1-L yeast starter)

Other

1/2 tsp. Irish moss

4.0 oz. corn sugar (for priming to 2.2 volumes of CO2)

 

PROCEDURES

In your brewpot, begin heating 2.0 gallons of water to a boil. Aim to reach boiling when small mash is done. In a separate, large (8 qts. or larger) pot, heat 1.0 gallon of water to 164 °F. Place crushed grains in a steeping bag and submerge in second pot. Hold temperature around 153 °F or 60 minutes. This is a small mash. In a third pot, heat 0.50 gallons of water to 170 °F to use as sparge water. After the grains have mashed, place a colander over your brewpot, set the grain bag in it and pour the wort through it (to filter out solid pieces of grain); then, rinse it with the sparge water. Stir in roughly half of the malt extract and bring wort to a boil. You should have about 3.0 gallons of wort. Do not let wort volume drop below 2.5 gallons during boil. (Top up with boiling water, if needed.) Once boil starts and the first bits of hot break show, add your hops and boil for 60 minutes. Add other hop additions at times indicated. Add Irish moss with 15 minutes left in boil. Stir in remaining malt extract in the last 10 minutes. (Dissolve sugars in a small amount of wort first to make it easier to stir in.) Chill wort to 68 °F and transfer to fermenter. Add water to make 5.0 gallons and aerate thoroughly. Pitch yeast and let ferment at 70 °F. Keg or bottle and carbonate to 2.2 volumes of CO2.

 

Fugmission

English Brown ale

by Chris Colby

Extract; metric units

 

INGREDIENTS (for 19 L)

 

Water

carbon-filtered tap water

Malts and Malt Extract (for an OG of 1.045 and 29 SRM)

480 g English pale ale malt

230 g wheat malt

140 g English biscuit malt

230 crystal malt (60 °L)

110 g crystal malt (80–90 °L)

170 g chocolate malt

1.5 kg light dried malt extract

Hops (for 31 IBUs total)

Fuggles hops (19 IBUs)

28 g (of 5% alpha acids), boiled for 60 minutes

Fuggles hops (7.1 IBUs)

14 g (of 5% alpha acids), boiled for 30 minutes

Fuggles hops (2.3 IBUs)

7.1 g (of 5% alpha acids), boiled for 15 minutes

Cascade hops (2.3 IBUs)

7.1 g (of 5% alpha acids), boiled for 15 minutes

Fuggles hops (0 IBUs)

7.1 g, boiled for 0 minutes

Cascade hops (0 IBUs)

7.1 g, boiled for 0 minutes

Yeast (for an FG of 1.011 and 4.4% alcohol)

11 g Fermentis Safale S-04, Danstar Winsor or Mangrove Jack Newcastle Dark Ale dried ale yeast

(no yeast starter required)

 or

any British ale yeast that you like that is moderately estery

( 1-L yeast starter)

Other

1/2 tsp. Irish moss

110 g corn sugar (for priming to 2.2 volumes of CO2)

 

PROCEDURES

In your brewpot, begin heating 7.6 L of water to a boil. Aim to reach boiling when small mash is done. In a separate, large (8 L or larger) pot, heat 3.8 L of water to 73 °C. Place crushed grains in a steeping bag and submerge in second pot. Hold temperature around 67 °C for 60 minutes. This is a small mash. In a third pot, heat 2 L of water to 77 °C to use as sparge water. After the grains have mashed, place a colander over your brewpot, set the grain bag in it and pour the wort through it (to filter out solid pieces of grain); then, rinse it with the sparge water. Stir in roughly half of the malt extract and bring wort to a boil. You should have about 11 L of wort. Do not let wort volume drop below 9.5 L  during boil. (Top up with boiling water, if needed.) Once boil starts and the first bits of hot break show, add your hops and boil for 60 minutes. Add other hop additions at times indicated. Irish moss with 15 minutes left in boil. Stir in remaining malt extract in the last 10 minutes. (Dissolve sugars  in a small amount of wort first to make it easier to stir in.) Chill wort to 20 °C and transfer to fermenter. Add water to make 19 L and aerate thoroughly. Pitch yeast and let ferment at 21 °C. Keg or bottle and carbonate to 2.2 volumes of CO2.

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