This is so much like a malt based strong ale I can't think of any way to improve it other than head retention.
For brewing method see the recipe Red Diesel. Date syrup added straight to brewing bin, bovril boiled with tea bags.
Ingredients for 5 Gallons
Abbreviations: Dsp Desert Spoon (level)
Tsp Teaspoon (level)
Redbush (Rooibos) tea bags 30
Liquorice tea bags 10
Muscovado Sugar (Dark) 0.2 Kg
Lyles Black Treacle 4 Dsp
Bovril(beef) 6 Tsp
Northern Brewer Hops 25g
Irish Moss 0.5 Tsp
Vanilla Extract 2 Tsp
Chocolate Essence 2 Tsp
Prune Juice 2 Litre
Date Syrup (Meridian) 0.5 Litre
Tamari Soy Sauce 6 Dsp
Yeast Nutrient (as recommended by manufacturer)
Billingtons Golden Granulated Sugar 0.8 Kg
Maltodextrin (Body Bru) 0.5 Kg
Isomerised Hop Extract 5 Tsp
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 Tea Bags - Clipper brand - available in Tesco. I guess you
could alternatively use the liquorice some home brew suppliers
sell. Haven't tried that yet but will do some day.
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. Its
usually made from corn starch and should therefore be gluten free.
I'm not coeliac so am not too sensitive to gluten, but half a slice of
toast contains enough to upset my system. The Maltodextrin from Youngs
doesn't upset me so if it does contain gluten there's not much.
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.
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.
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 - this is a replacement for gravy browning or caramel both
of which may contain gluten. 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 10% 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 4fl.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. Somewhere out there I once saw a
recipe for cock ale. It involved a whole rooster and raisins. I may
try an 'extract' version with chicken bovril soon.
