Ingredients
- 1 pound (454 g) 60°L British crystal malt
- 2 pounds (908 g) Munich malt
- 5-1/2 pounds (2.5 kg) light dry malt extract
- 4-1/2 pounds (2 kg) wildflower honey
- 2 ounces (55 g) powdered dextrin
- 1/2 teaspoon (14 g) Irish moss
- 1/2 ounce (14 g) Chinook hops, AA 12.7 percent, HBU 6.35
- 1/2 ounce (14 g) homegrown Cascade whole hops
- 1/2 ounce (14 g) homegrown Cascade whole hops
- Wyeast 1098 British ale yeast
- 1/2 cup (160 ml) corn sugar for priming
Directions
- Raise 3-1/2 gallons (13 L) water to 153 degrees F (67 degrees C). Mash-in grains, staÂbilize at 150 degrees F (67 degrees C), and hold 60 minutes. Sparge at 170 degrees F (77 degrees C) and collect 5-1/2 gallons (21 L) runoff.
- Add extract and honey to runoff. Bring to a boil and add Irish moss and maltodextrine powder. Boil 40 minutes and add Chinook bitÂtering hops. Boil 20 minutes. Add 1/2 ounce (14 g) Cascade flavoring hops to final 2 minutes of boil. Turn off heat and add 1/2 ounce (14 g) Cascade aroma hops. Steep 15 minutes.
- Chill wort, strain out hops, and transfer to carboy. Pitch yeast when wort cools to 70 degrees F (21 degrees C).
- Ferment at ale temperatures (65–70 degrees F/18–21 degrees C).
- Bottle with priming sugar when fermentation ceases (1 to 2 weeks). Age 3 weeks before drinking.
This honey ale recipe is full of the unique tastes of wild hops, wildflower honey, and a mix of tasty malts.
Wild hops are a brewing resource worthy of wider attention. Nameless feral cultivars escaped from gardens and gone to seed can be a source of subtle aromas and bracing bitterness. We grow a variÂety of wild Fuggles descended from a bootlegger’s private stock. Our brewing friend Brad Hunter found an unknown high-alpha hop growÂing up the side of an abandoned schoolhouse on Matinicus Island in Maine. Here’s what he has to say about this recipe: “A house-builder friend of mine was doing a renovation in Rockland, and when one of his crew ripped open the trim on this old house they discovered a huge honeybee nest. He collected all the comb and painstakingly extracted the honey, then didn’t know what to do with it, so knowing I brewed, he gave it to me. He got a couple of six-packs in return and it was a really tasty blend of honey, Munich malt toastiness, and a nice hop balance from my Matinicus hops.”
Initial Gravity: 1.078-1.082
Final Gravity: 1.016-1.020
More from The Homebrewer’s Garden
• Grow the Ingredients and Homebrew the Beer
• B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Beets) Farmhouse Ale Recipe
Reprinted with permission from The Homebrewer’s Garden, 2nd Edition by Joe Fisher and Dennis Fisher, published by Storey Publishing, 2016.
