Christmas Cake Ale - Brew Day

Recipe for 60 pints of Christmas Cake Ale

 - somewhat made up as the day progressed

3kg of Light DME Malt
3kg of Amber DME Malt
9 oz Crystal Malt 60L
18 oz Chocolate Malt
6 oz Special B malt
6 oz Biscuit Malt
10 oz mixed dried fruit
4 1/2 oz Hallertau hops added throughout the boil gradually
1 stick cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cloves
citrus peel
bit of grated nutmeg
Irish Moss
T58 Safbrew Yeast
1 kg molasses sugar, to be added a few days later

The boil was done with 22 litres water initially and then diluted. The hops were added throughout the boil gradually. The dried mixed fruit was mixed with some boiling wort and pureed and then added 10 minutes before the end. The spices and Irish Moss were also added 10 minutes before the end of the boil.The Safbrew T58 has a peppery spicy flavour which I thought would go well with the ingredients; it also will ferment up to 11.5% ABV.

 

 

 

 After recent experience with the previous two brews completely foaming over, I drilled a bung hole in the middle of a large grain bin to provide a greatly increased head room - it worked and didn't foam over. I think the weight of the foaming head squashes the foam structure back down again and stops it getting too big.

 As it was only 2˚C outside, it seemed a good idea to rapidly cool the wort outside with the hose in it.

 

 The yeast starter was done with half malt wort and half water with the T58 yeast. When it was fermenting like mad and the wort was cool, I tipped it in.