Following Wolf's Eye Brewery's tradition of naming brews after notorious historical figures, I named my first beer "Doc Holliday's Steam Ale." This dentist-turned gunslinger is famous for his skills in gambling, drinking, and killing. Doc was an educated man, however, and certainly would have preferred a higher quality beverage than the cheap swill known as "steam ale" sold out west in th 1800s.
Unlike the historical steam ales that were often made with adjuncts for the thirsty masses, this recipe is all-malt. I decided to go with a mix of German and American hops, since the original steam ales were an attempt to re-create the European lagers using the peculiar shallow-pan fermenting method at ale temperatures.
I used the California Lager yeast years ago when I first attempted a steam ale, but my house temperature was a little too warm (64-65 degrees) and I ended up with a fruity tasting beer that I eagerly gave away.
This beer should turn out much better. Wolf's Eye brewers lucked out in that we were able to ferment this beer in JP's garage in the dead of winter at an excellent lager-fermenting temperature of 40-50 degrees. JP reported that the brew fermented slowly and steadily- an encouraging sign. I am predicting this will be more like an all-malt American lager than a steam ale. It should turn out a strong, smooth, clean-tasting lager bursting with hop flavor and caramel - just the sort of classy brew that Doc would perhaps have ordered up between a hand of cards.
Recipe for Doc Holliday's Steam Ale, brewed 26 Jan 08:
0.5 lb Crystal 40
0.5 lb Victory malt
3 lb Light DME (1 hour)
4 lb Allexander's Pale LME (15 min)
1 tbs Irish Moss (15 min)
Hop bill:
1 oz Cluster (8.5%) 1 hour
0.5 oz Challenger (7%) 15 min
0.5 oz Challenger (7%) 5 min
1 oz Mt Hood (3.4%) 0 min
Yeast: California Lager Wyeast W2112
OG: 1.072 (!)
3 comments:
FG was 1.017- perfect. It tasted smooth and clean at bottling, after about 6 weeks aging in the primary. I forgot to transfer to a secondary but since it sat in cold temps it is probably OK. Best if aged another month in cool temps before drinking.
March 25 - Controlled tasting by Mulvenon, JP, Quade: Malty aroma, light carbonation. Strong citrusy taste, had lambic character or fruit juice reminders. Middle of malt and suspended yeast. Virtually no aftertaste.
Can't really call it a 'steam ale'- its more like a straight up lager. BA style review:
A: Crazy HUGE head that lingers forever! Slightly cloudy, nice pale gold color. Intriguing...
S: Sweet, malty, clean with little detectable hop scent.
T: Delicious. Sweet malt balanced with bitterness but little hop flavor. No yeast character- which makes it a successful lager. A great first try at a lager. I think it will improve with aging but not sure I will have any around to find out...
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