Christopher's Biere de Garde

I love the biere de Gardes from Jenlain and Castlain of France. They
are rich and malty with nice esters similar to some Belgian beers.
The french can brew good beer!
I hope to capture the spirit of these beers with this recipe. Biere de
Garde is made in Blonde, Amber and Brune (brown). I have chosen to
make the dark one since I want a little chocolate along with the spicy,
rich malt character.

Brewer:	Christopher McMath		Email:	jcmcmath@hotmail.com
Beer:	Christopher's Biere de Garde		Style:	Bière de Garde (brune)
Type:	All grain		Size:	5.5 gallons
Color:	107 HCU (~37 SRM)		Bitterness:	25 IBU
OG:	1.067		FG:	1.015
Alcohol:	6.7% v/v (5.2% w/w)
Water:	Softened well water with a little gypsum added.
Grain:	2.5 lb. Belgian pale .5 lb. Wheat malt 5 lb. German Munich 1 lb. Belgian aromatic 1 lb. Belgian biscuit 1 lb. Belgian CaraMunich 1 lb. Belgian Special B .25 lb. Belgian chocolate .12 lb. British black patent
Mash:	78% efficiency
	Step Infusion mash: 90° F for 20 min 135° F for 30 min 154° for 60 min mashout at 170 for 20 min. Sparge with 6 gallons of water to collect 7 gallons of wort.
Boil:	90 minutes	SG 1.052	7 gallons
	.5 lb. Brown sugar
	Irish moss last 20 minutes of boil.
Hops:	1.09 oz. Styrian Goldings (5.5% AA, 90 min.) 0.55 oz. Tettnanger (4.5% AA, 25 min.) .5 oz. Tettnanger (aroma)
Yeast:	Wyeast Abbey II from a previous batch of tripel. 1/2 pint+ of thick yeast slurry. Added to a small starter six hours before pitching to wake up the yeast.
Log:	Brewed 11-6-98 ferment two weeks and age 2 months.
Carbonation:	8/10 cup of corn sugar for medium high carbonation typical of this style.

Recipe posted 12/04/98.