Bruin Bear Oud Bruin

This recipe has some built-in guardrails, but even if you blow past them and get a brightly acidic beer with lots of oak and a dry finish despite lots of malt flavor, you’ll still have a beer that’s fun to serve and drink and talk about. Start off well, and the rest should work itself out.

ALL-GRAIN

Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)

Brewhouse efficiency: 72%

OG: 1.072

FG: 1.015

IBUS: 21

ABV: 7.6%

MALT/GRAIN BILL

7 lb (3.2 kg) pilsner 5 lb (2.3 kg) Munich 8 oz (227 g) biscuit 8 oz (227 g) wheat malt 8 oz (227 g) British crystal 65L 8 oz (227 g) Special B

4 oz (113 g) Weyermann Carafa Special III

HOPS SCHEDULE

1.4 oz (40 g) Styrian Golding at 60 minutes [21 IBUS]

YEAST

Wyeast 1007 German Ale and Wyeast 3763 Roeselare Ale Blend

DIRECTIONS

Mill the grains and mash at 152°F (67°C) for 60 minutes. Vorlauf until the runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle.

Sparge and top up as necessary to get about 6 gallons (23 liters) of wort—or more, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil 60 minutes, adding hops according to the schedule. After the boil, chill to about 60°F (16°C), aerate well, and pitch the German Ale yeast. Ferment at 65°F (18°C) for 7 days, then allow the temperature to rise to 70°F (21°C). When fermentation is complete, transfer to a glass or stainless-steel secondary vessel. Purge with CO2 and pitch the Roeselare blend. Store in a cool spot for about 12 weeks and taste. When the acidity is where you like it, package and carbonate to about 2.5 volumes.

BREWER’S NOTES

Optionally, add oak chips (medium-plus toast) for 1 week before packaging.