A while ago, somebody asked for a suggestion for a beer for an English autumn hunt.  Which naturally, got my brain whirring.

Because you would be dealing with any kind of weather condition--but mainly cold and wet, it should probably be on the malty and warming side (so higher ABV), rather than bitter.  I wanted something which could also be drank warm, mulled or as butterbeer--bitter also precludes this.  On the other hand, it couldn't be sweet, since the beer also needed to be thirst quenching.  For some reason--not sure why--I decided to make it a wheat beer; possibly contrariness, since there are no English wheat styles.

Then I had another thought--the tradition of the stirrup cup, which is a beverage drank to warm during a hunt on horseback.  Often, this was a gin based liqueur flavoured with "hedge-fruits".  Which brings me to the flavourings--gin based, with locally harvested fruits; raspberry since I know it goes quite well with gin, highbush cranberries to fill out the raspberries, and a small amount of crabapples for tannins.

Originally, white sugar was going to be added as well to boost the ABV while keeping it from being sweeter, but I decided to leave it out--the fruits added enough sugar as well.

Stirrup Cup Wheat

British Strong Ale (17 A)

Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 4.00 gal
Boil Size: 5.18 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
End of Boil Vol: 4.43 gal
Final Bottling Vol: 4.00 gal
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage

Date: 05 Oct 2016
Brewer: Brann
Asst Brewer:
Equipment: BIAB Full batch
Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 74.4 %

Ingredients

Amt	Name	Type	#	%/IBU
4 lbs 8.0 oz	White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM)	Grain	1	44.4 %
4 lbs	Optic Malt (2.8 SRM)	Grain	2	39.5 %
8.0 oz	Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM)	Grain	3	4.9 %
8.0 oz	Crystal 50/60 (55.0 SRM)	Grain	4	4.9 %
6.0 oz	Acid Malt (3.0 SRM)	Grain	5	3.7 %
4.0 oz	Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM)	Grain	6	2.5 %
0.30 oz	Sorachi Ace [12.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min	Hop	7	15.4 IBUs
0.20 oz	Fuggle [4.50 %] - Boil 25.0 min	Hop	8	2.7 IBUs
0.20 oz	Sorachi Ace [12.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min	Hop	9	5.1 IBUs
0.15 oz	Licorice Root (Boil 10.0 mins)	Spice	10	-
0.40 oz	Fuggle [4.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min	Hop	11	1.5 IBUs
0.10 oz	Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 5.0 mins)	Spice	12	-
30.30 oz	Cranberries, Highbush (Boil 0.0 mins)	Flavor	13	-
20.00 oz	Raspberries (Boil 0.0 mins)	Flavor	14	-
10.00 oz	Crabapple (Boil 0.0 mins)	Other	15	-
1.0 pkg	London ESB Ale (Wyeast Labs #1968) [124.21 ml]	Yeast	16	-

Gravity, Alcohol Content and Color

Est Original Gravity: 1.067 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.021 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.0 %
Bitterness: 24.7 IBUs
Est Color: 9.5 SRM

Measured Original Gravity: 1.076 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 8.7 %
Calories: 256.6 kcal/12oz

Mash Profile

Mash Name: English Clarity Step
Sparge Water: 1.39 gal
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE
Est Mash PH: 5.62
Measured Mash PH: 5.20

Total Grain Weight: 10 lbs 2.0 oz
Grain Temperature: 68.0 F
Tun Temperature: 72.0 F
Target Mash PH: 5.20
Mash Acid Addition:
Sparge Acid Addition:

Mash Steps

Name	Description	Step Temperature	Step Time
Proteinase	Add 12.15 qt of water at 145.4 F	133.0 F	20 min
Mash Step	Add 3.65 qt of water at 208.0 F	148.0 F	20 min
Sacc 2	Decoct 1.84 qt of mash and boil it	154.0 F	40 min
Sacc 3	Decoct 2.03 qt of mash and boil it	160.0 F	15 min

Sparge: Fly sparge with 1.39 gal water at 168.0 F

Mash Notes:

Carbonation and Storage

Carbonation Type: Bottle
Pressure/Weight: 2.76 oz
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 70.0 F
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage

Volumes of CO2: 2.0
Carbonation Used: Bottle with 2.76 oz Honey
Age for: 30.00 days
Storage Temperature: 65.0 F

Notes

Created with BeerSmith

The fruits were cooked slightly in wort to cover, with a couple spoonfulls of pectinase, then run through a chinois to remove all the solids.  The juice was added to the wort at flameout.

10-8-16; OG 1.076.
Next day:  Good gods.  The krausen has filled the remaining headspace and is trying to escape.  Airlock has been removed, and the top loosely covered with foil for an open fermentation.

11-6-16; FG: 1.013.  Flavour is nice, with a slight tartness from the apple.  Racked.







© John Frey, 2016. The Author of this work retains full copyright for this material.  The recipes and other contents therein may not be used for any commercial purposes.