HOME BREW RECIPES - SOMETHING SOMETHING SOMETHING DARK BEER

We all enjoy the occasional trip to the dark side and this rich, malt-driven, yet sessionable ale will leave you questioning which side of the force has the greater influence on you.

This is a simple method of creating a little more depth and body to your brew by steeping some grain, including some roasted Carafa II and complements the aromatic lift of the Cascade hops to enhance the floral notes of this beer.

The S-04 yeast backs up the fruity esters and will have you shooting lighting from your fingertips in no time. A dry hop addition at the end of fermentation will leave this Something Something Something Dark Ale, something something something complete…

Ingredients


Method

Make up a ‘hop tea’ with some recently boiled water and allow 25g of the Cascade hops to steep for about 30 minutes. Put the grain in a grain bag and steep in a separate vessel for the same duration. While you’re waiting, sit the Ironbark Dark Ale tin in some hot water to make it a bit runnier and easy to pour out.

Add the Blend #20 and Dextrose to your fermenter and pour in some warm water and give it a stir to dissolve. Lift up the grain bag and rinse with some warm water. Discard the grain and pour the liquid from the grain steep into the fermenter. Pour the hop tea through a fine sieve into the fermenter and add the Ironbark Dark Ale before topping up the fermenter to the 23L mark.

Give it all a good stir and once the temperature is below 20°, pitch the yeast and ferment

away! Once airlock activity has ceased and gravity is stable for 2 days, it’s time to dry hop. Take the remaining 25g of Cascade hops and throw them into the fermenter. You can use the grain bag to contain the hops for a clearer final product. After 2 days of dry hop, proceed to bottle/keg as normal.