Beginners Luck

A great beer to warm the soul. A little sweet but with age mellows out nicely. Be patient and let it sit the bottle for a month.

Brewer:	Josh		Email:	jrexpaver@hotmail.com
Beer:	Beginners Luck		Style:	English Old/Strong Ale
Type:	Extract w/grain		Size:	4.5 gallons
Color:	30 HCU (~15 SRM)		Bitterness:	39 IBU
OG:	1.081		FG:	1.018
Alcohol:	8.2% v/v (6.4% w/w)
Grain:	.5 lb. American crystal 60L
Steep:	Steep'm in a bag till 170
Boil:	65 minutes	SG 1.104	3.5 gallons
	7 lb. Amber malt extract 8 oz. Brown sugar 1 lb. Belgian candi sugar 7 oz. Maple syrup 8 oz. Molasses
	1 teaspoon irish moss at 20min
Hops:	1 oz. Northern Brewer (8.5% AA, 60 min.) 1 oz. Cluster (7% AA, 30 min.) 1 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 15 min.)
Yeast:	slap pack american ale yeast
Log:	add maple syrup 2-3 days into fermentation
Carbonation:	5oz priming sugar
Tasting:	My first go around I used less hops and more maple. 3 weeks of bottle conditioning and the sweetness mellowed out. This go around I added more malt, more hops, less maple. I will bottle in 3-4 days so we'll see. I feel good about the changes and can't wait.

Recipe posted 03/01/09.