This a nice, very dark brown beer with a distinct liquorice note and a
good head. You can even get a Guinness head on it by sucking a couple
of milliletres into a syringe and blasting it back out while still
below the surface. I have a syringe that came with some 'bottled
draft guinness' which I picked up in Ireland 20 years ago, but the
sort the nurse at my doc's surgery uses for blood samples also works -
without the needle of course.
For brewing method see the recipe Red Diesel. Date syrup added
straight to brewing bin, bovril, rice syrup and gravy browning boiled
with tea bags.
Ingredients for 5 Gallons
Abbreviations: Dsp Desert Spoon (level)
Tsp Teaspoon (level)
Redbush (Rooibos) tea bags 20
Liquorice pellets 12g
Muscovado Sugar (Dark) 0.3 Kg
Lyles Black Treacle 454g
Bovril(beef) 10 Tsp
Northern Brewer Hops 25g
Irish Moss 0.5 Tsp
Vanilla Extract 2 Tsp
Chocolate Essence 2 Tsp
Prune Juice 1 Litre
Date Syrup (Meridian) 0.75 Litre
Tamari Soy Sauce 150ml
Yeast Nutrient (as recommended by manufacturer)
Billingtons Golden Granulated Sugar 0.4 Kg
Maltodextrin (Body Bru) 0.5 Kg
Isomerised Hop Extract 5 Tsp
Rice Syrup 330g
Gravy Browning (Optional) 2 Dsp
Dried Ale Yeast 1Pkt
Gelatine for fining 10-12g
Sugar for priming 40 Tsp
Notes on Ingredients
Redbush Tea Bags - I have used 'TicToc', Twinings and 'Redbush Tea
Company' tea bags successfully. All are available at large Tesco
Stores.
Liquorice Pellets - Tufty brand - available in my local health-food
shop. The quantity used both adds to the colour of the beer and gives
a distinct liquorice taste. Could be left out/reduced. Or use
liquorice tea bags. If omitted the stout has a distinct treacley note.
Golden Sugar - some brands seem to make the beer cloudy and difficult
to clear. Billingtons dissolves completely and gives a clear solution.
Maltodextrin (Body Bru, Brew Body) - available from Home Brew Stores
makes a big difference to the feel of the beer on the palate.
Irish Moss - available from Home Brew Stores. This is supposed to help
the beer to clear after bottling. I haven't tried making a batch
without it so it may be an unneccessary precaution.
Northern Brewer Hops - dried and vacuum packed from Home Brew
Stores. These add a very pleasant beery aroma. You may prefer a
different hop. Hop Aroma tablets also work well.
Yeast - from Home Brew Stores. I am currently using Youngs Beer Yeast
which comes in a foil packet and can be sprinkled directly onto the
wort.
Yeast nutrient - Some yeast nutrients contain albumen (beware
egg-intolerant folks ie me ). I use Yeast Vit Nutrient by Brupaks
purchased online from http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/
Gelatine - just the ordinary type found in the baking section of a
supermarket. It generally comes in sachets containing sufficient
gelatine to make a pint of Jelly. This is the amount I use for 5
gallons of beer. Sometimes its not quite enough so if you have loose
gelatine I'd use 2 heaped teaspoons.
Isomerised Hop Extract - This is a time saver. If you use real hops to
add bitterness they need to be boiled for at least an hour. I use the
liquid extract produced by Ritchie Products Ltd.
Soy Sauce - It is important to have 'tamari' soy. This is not a brand
name, but indicates it is not made with wheat.... most soy sauce
contains gluten.
Prune Juice - Don't panic! its less than 5% of the wort and most of
the fibre drops out as bottom break (unfortunate term)
during theconditioning. Besides this is not a session beer. Stop at 2 pints and
you have had at most 2fl.oz of prune juice. Quite Safe
Date Syrup - nice, rich, but surprisingly not fruity adjunct.
Bovril - Good range of nutrients for the yeast and bags of protein to
help head formation and retention.
Rice Syrup - Helps head retention. Available from healthfood and
wholefood shops and online from http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk
Gravy browning - added purely to increase colour. I haven't managed to
verify it is gluten free, but it doesn't do me any harm.
