Simple, Delicious Stock Ales

I remember the moment I caught it. I had just emptied the contents of a packet of dried yeast into the fermenter and was sealing the lid firmly around the white, five-gallon bucket. It invaded my mind like a lone bacterium in a sea of agar medium. I was infected with the homebrew bug. That was my first batch. Apparently the beer was contaminated also. It turned out awful even though I had tried to convince myself (and others) that it was wonderful. Several bad batches followed, but my dream kept me going: I would drink only beer from my own fermenters. At first, this was impossible. The beer was easy to brew but wretched to drink. Over time, however, those “open a can of malt extract” recipes evolved into extensive brewing sessions complete with water treatment, decoction mashes, and long lagering periods. The beer became immensely better. But the brewing process grew interminably longer. I found my brewing dreams still out of reach. Brewing became difficult and long. I needed something easy. Something quick to mature. A beer to have on stock while I was waiting for that special pilsner to finish lagering. Something to drink when I wasn’t in the mood for one of those fantastic but heavy ales I was aging. I needed a stock beer. I didn’t have to look far for inspiration. There is that particular Irish stout I am especially fond of. I’ve enjoyed ales at brewpubs across the country that seem almost too easy to drink — especially since they are always on tap. There’s also that one American-style pilsner that just seems to quench my thirst when nothing else can. While these beers are certainly all very different in style, they share at least three things in common:

1. They are relatively low in alcohol;
2. they are easy to drink (this is directly related to number one);
3. they are economical or easy to brew.

Speed and Quality All the megabrewers share one philosophy: Save money without compromising quality. As homebrewers brewing stock beers, we can live by a similar creed: Save time without compromising quality. Your time is the most expensive ingredient you add to homebrew. Fortunately, stock beers lend themselves to economy. Being lighter in alcohol, they don’t require huge malt bills. They rarely benefit from extended aging. Their lighter flavor may benefit from the use of adjunct sugars that are cheap and easy to use. And for homebrewers and microbrewers, quality malt extracts are available that make good beer in almost no time. But are we comfortable just opening a can of malt extract to make our stock beer? For all-grain and partial-mash brewers the trick is to find a happy medium between extract brewing and the use of grains. All-grain brewers have loosened themselves from the heavy bindings of canned and dried extracts. They control 100 percent of what goes in their beer. They rely on their own brewing skills, not the skills of a brewer in a malt plant, to collect their wort. They can honestly say, “Hey, I made this from scratch.” The problem is that all-grain brewing can take upward of eight hours. Handling 10-plus pounds of heavy, sticky mash can cause myriad problems and delays. The large mash takes longer to heat, longer to sparge, longer to grind. The list goes on. A partial mash, by comparison, is a joy to work with. A three- to five-pound mash responds instantly to bottom heat. It mixes easier, sparges in less than 25 minutes, and grinds in almost no time. With the smaller mash, the brewer can still design his beer with specialty grains and target the temperature at which to convert up to (or more than) half of his starches. Extra-light extracts and adjuncts can then be used to finish the wort, boosting the sugars to necessary levels. If you are an all-grain brewer who is reluctant to use extracts in your stock beer, think about this: Sure your all-grain beer is better than your partial-mash beer ever was. Don’t forget, however, all of the other skills you’ve learned along your progression. The best all-grain recipe with poor sanitation control suffers compared with the meticulously clean extract recipe. A good extract recipe fermented with a healthy dose of fresh, active yeast will most likely be a better beer compared with the all-grain recipe fermented without a yeast starter. Stock beers also lend themselves to adjuncts: honey, rice extracts, brewing sugars, candi sugars — take your pick. Adjuncts lighten the flavor of stock beer while still supplying fermentables. They are cheap and easy to use. Use them in moderation, though, because they may cause off- or unusual flavors. Time Savers Using the partial-mash approach to brewing stock beers saves time, but only if you use the time effectively. This means taking little time-saving steps that add up big. You should be able to complete a good stock beer recipe — from turning on the stove to sealing the fermenter — in three to three and a half hours (or less). The way to do this is to organize your time so that when you finish each step, the next step is ready to go. For instance while your grains are mashing, you can slowly start heating your extracts and adjuncts to close to boiling temperatures. Then, while sparging, turn up the heat under the extract to high, but don’t boil yet. You can keep the temperature on the stove to just below boiling by adding the runnings from your mash into the extract pot. As the runnings are collected, the boiling pot continues to heat. By the time your runoff collection is complete, the entire volume of wort will be at or just below boiling temperatures. A time-saving method that works for extract brews done on the stove top is to split the entire volume of wort into three separate boiling vessels: two gallons of wort on one large burner, two gallons of wort on the second large burner, and one gallon of wort on one of the smaller burners. You can then blend them together in one vessel as they begin to boil. When brewing stock beers a long boil is not always necessary and in some cases is undesired. Remember that extract worts caramelize quicker than all-grain worts, which causes them to darken and sweeten when boiled too long. For paler brews keep the boil time less than 45 minutes. Darker stock beers needn’t be boiled longer than an hour. Another step that can save a lot of time, no matter what kind of beer you’re brewing, is to fill the largest bucket you have with ice water. Then, while your heat-transfer system (wort chiller) warms the water in your sink, you can clamp the exit hose and drain the warmer water. Instead of waiting what seems like an eternity for the kitchen sink to fill with tap water, scoop out gallons of ice water at a time and fill ’er up. Man, is it easy. If your chilling system is like mine and does not efficiently chill five gallons of wort to 70° F or below, just immerse your carboy in the remaining water — more time saved. Finings and Lagering Ales make ideal stock beers because they ferment out quicker than lagers. Depending on the quantity (and quality) of yeast you use, it may be possible to have a stock ale ready to drink in just more than two weeks. Maybe sooner! A large ale slurry will usually finish fermenting completely in seven to 10 days. The use of finings and a quick “lagering” at close to freezing temperatures can further hasten its maturation. After the fermentation is finished (and a hydrometer test proves it), transfer the beer off the yeast and into the secondary fermenter or keg. Gently add the finings to the surface of the beer (one-eighth teaspoon unflavored gelatin in one-fourth cup preboiled, 160° F water allowed to sit for 30 minutes for the gelatin to dissolve). Then cool the beer to as close to freezing as possible (without freezing). The gelatin will work within a week, during which time (if the beer is kegged) you may force carbonate by keeping the pressure of the keg at 25 psi to 30 psi for three to four days. After seven days, the beer should be ready to drink. If you choose to dry hop your beer, add the hops at the same time you add the finings. Use only whole flower hops for dry hopping because they’re easier than pellets to use. Add the hop flowers to a sanitized mesh bag weighted down with a few sanitized marbles. Drop them in the secondary fermenter or keg. A piece of dental floss or fishing line can be tied to the bag for easy retrieval. If you bottle condition your beer, use the finings as mentioned, chilling the beer as cold as possible for one week. Depending on how comfortable you feel about the remaining viable yeast cells available to naturally carbonate your beer, you might want to rehydrate a quarter packet of dried yeast just before bottling time and add it to your beer once it’s back to room temperature. Condition the bottles as you normally would. The beer should be ready to drink after 10 days. Preserving Quality The goal of brewing stock beer is to brew a fantastic session beer in as little time as possible. But some things should never be skimped on. Sanitization methods should be strictly adhered to. Perhaps even more important is the proper care of yeast. A healthy slurry or large starter (up to one gallon of starter in high kraeusen) of clean, fresh yeast almost always guarantees a good beer. If you brew with dried yeast or liquid yeast minus the starter and have experienced inconsistent beers, you might want to concentrate more on the care of your yeast. Caring for yeast should be a top priority for all brewers. Once you develop a great stock beer recipe, you may find that, in some ways, this recipe will become your favorite. You can offer homebrew to all your friends and not worry about that entire Saturday afternoon you spent slaving over a hot stove instead of working in the yard. Brewing your stock recipe will become like an old shoe — something you can easily slip into. And you’ll want to slip into a good stock beer as often as possible, too, because you’ll always have some around somewhere. Note: The recipe below includes the “streamlined” directions. The following recipes include the ingredients, hopping schedule, and any other information pertinent to that particular recipe only. Follow the directions (which are universal) for the remaining recipes. Basic (Stock) Bitter (5 gallons, partial mash) This is a basic, easy stock ale recipe. It can be ready to drink in two to three weeks and brewed in a few simple hours. Play with this recipe until you discover your “house” stock. The right bitter for you is the bitter that can be quaffed one after the other. Depending on your taste, you may want to add more hops. The corn sugar adds a lightness to this brew characteristic of an English pub bitter, but corn sugar may be completely discarded if you prefer. For a slightly sweeter beer, add a half-pound of 40° Lovibond crystal malt to your grains. For a more American bitter, use Cascade hops for bittering and finishing. Ingredients:

• 3.5 lbs. English two-row malt
• 2.5 lbs. extra light dry malt extract
• 0.25 to 0.5 lb. corn sugar (or honey)
• 2 oz. East Kent Goldings hop pellets
  • (5% alpha acid): 1.5 oz. for 40 min., 0.5 oz. for 10 min.
• 0.5 oz. East Kent Goldings whole hop flowers
  • (5% alpha acid) for dry hop in secondary fermenter
• 1 tsp. Irish moss for 2 min.
• 2 tsp. gypsum
• American or London ale yeast starter
• 2/3 cup corn sugar
• OG = 1.030 to 1.035

Step by Step: Thoroughly clean all buckets, brew pots and/or carboys the night before brewing. Heat 2.5 gal. of chlorine-free water to 165° to 170° F. In a second pot (this will be called your boiling pot throughout the recipe to illiminate confusion), preferably 5-plus gal., heat 2 gal. of chlorine-free water to 170° to 200° F. Don’t boil yet! While all water is heating, sanitize all buckets, carboys, hoses — anything that will come in contact with the cooled wort. Once the first pot of water has reached 165° to 170° F, gently knead it into your grains and gypsum, mixing well, until mash is a medium-thick consistency (like a bowl of oatmeal). You probably won’t use all the water. Top remaining water off to 4 gal. of chlorine-free water for sparging. Begin heating sparge water to 170° F. Stabilize mash around 155° F, cover, and wrap with towels, blankets, or jackets to insulate. Let rest for 40 min. While the mash is resting, add malt extracts and corn sugars, honey, or other adjuncts to boiling pot (with the 2 gal. of water at 170° to 200° F). Turn heat to medium and monitor casually to make sure it doesn’t boil. If it does begin to boil, turn heat off temporarily. After 40 min., check mash for conversion with iodine test. If conversion is complete, transfer mash to mash tun and begin sparging with 168° to 170° F water (sparge water should be at appropriate temperature by now). Recirculate the first few quarts of runnings to settle the grain bed, then start collecting runnings in 1-gal. pitcher. Once 0.5 gal. is captured, transfer to the brewpot. Turn heat on boiling pot to high, but don’t boil yet. Your additions of runoff should keep the temperature just below 190° F, but if a boil does occur, simply turn the heat down. Collect 2 to 2.5 gal. of wort from the runnings, transferring to the boil pot after each 0.5 gal. Allow boil pot to come to full boil and add first addition of hops. Bring 1 gal. of water to boil (could be remains of sparge water) on back burner and add your wort chiller to sanitize. Cover this pot to prevent evaporation. After first addition of hops, allow wort to boil aggressively for 10 min. Then turn temperature down to gentle boil. Boil wort chiller for 10 min., then transfer to oven heated to 250° F until use (but save water!). This ensures sanitization. While wort boils, rinse your buckets, carboys, and hoses thoroughly with hot tap water. Seal and bring into brew area. Entire boil time for wort should not exceed 45 min. for light beers, up to an hour for dark beers. Near last 10 to 15 min. of boil, turn heat up to high once more and boil aggressively. Top pot off with boiling water to 5 gal. (this should be the same water you used to sanitize your wort chiller). Remove entire volume of wort from heat and cover with aluminum foil or lid. Allow hops and trub to settle for 5 min. Gently decant wort off surface of trub. Don’t worry if some trub escapes. This is only to separate the thickest majority of the trub. There should be less than 0.5 gal. of trub left in the bottom of the pot. If trub really bothers you, then siphon carefully into chilling vessel. (Don’t put boiling wort into a glass carboy. Chill it partially first.) Chill to 70° F as quickly as possible and pitch yeast. Ferment at 65° to 70° F until primary fermentation is complete, about seven to 10 days. Transfer to secondary and dry hop. Force carbonate for seven days, or wait seven days and then prime and bottle. Note: You’ll probably notice that this method does not collect a full 5 gal. of wort. The additional volume should be completed with your yeast starter. Be sure to put the entire volume of yeast starter into your fermenter, even if you need to remove (god forbid) some of the wort. Take advantage of this added head space to aerate wort as much as possible. Chlorine-free water can be obtained by boiling 10 gal. of water for 30 min. and then cooling the night before brewing, or you could buy bottled water. Mellow Brown Ale (5 gallons, partial mash) This is the kind of session beer you’ll always want to have in your refrigerator. A hodgepodge of specialty grains makes this a great clean-out-your-brewing-drawer beer. Don’t overpower this beer with hops if you can help it. It should be mild enough for an everyday session beer. The wheat malt gives this beer a subtle nutty-spice taste. Ingredients:

• 3.3 lbs. light malt extract syrup
• 1 lb. wheat malt extract
• 2 lbs. English two-row malt
• 1 lb. crystal malt, 40° Lovibond
• 0.5 lb. carapils malt
• 0.5 lb. Munich malt (optional)
• 0.5 lb. quick oats (optional)
• 0.25 lb. chocolate malt
• 2 oz. East Kent Goldings pellets
  •  (5% alpha acid): 1.5 oz. for 50 min., 0.5 oz. for 10 min.
• 1 tsp. Irish moss for 2 min.
• American ale yeast starter
• OG = 1.047 to 1.052

Poor Man’s Porter (5 gallons, partial mash) Even though it’s called “Poor Man’s Porter” you’ll feel like a rich man with a refrigerator stocked with a couple cases of this. The honey adds a touch of dryness. Ingredients:

• 3.5 lbs. two-row English malt
• 3.3 lbs. amber malt extract syrup
• 0.5 to 1 lb. clover honey or 0.5 lb. corn sugar
• 0.5 lb. crystal malt
• 0.5 lb. black patent malt
• 0.25 lb. chocolate malt
• 2 oz. East Kent Goldings hop pellets
  • (5% alpha acid): 1.5 oz. for 60 min., 0.5 oz. at end of boil
• 2 tsp. gypsum
• American lager yeast or American ale yeast starter (If using ale yeast, ferment at 65° to 70° F; for lager yeast, ferment at 60° to 65° F.)
• OG = 1.045 to 1.050

All-Grain Lover’s Stock (lager or ale) (5 gallons, partial mash) This recipe is for those who just can’t let go of their all-grain convictions. But it’s easy to brew, too, though maybe slightly longer because of the acid rest. You might disregard the acid rest (some professional brewers debate its usefulness), but I like to be safe. You might add just a bit of extra-light dry malt extract if the original gravity does not meet your expectations. The instructions are slightly different. Ingredients:

• 5 lbs. pilsner malt
• 2 lbs. honey or rice extract
• 0.5 lb. carapils malt (optional for slightly sweeter beer)
• 1 oz. Hallertauer hop pellets
  • (4% alpha acid) for 40 min.
• 0.5 oz. Saaz hop pellets
  • (3.5% alpha acid) for 10 min.
• American lager or ale yeast
• OG = 1.035 to 1.040

Step by Step: Before mashing grains, add 1.5 to 1.75 gal. 130° F water to grains, stabilize at 122° F and rest for 20 min. Raise temperature then as quickly as possible to 153° F and rest an additional 60 min. Use honey or rice extract as you would malt extract, except add them to smaller volume of water in boiling pot (about 0.5 to 0.75 gal. water). Add runoff to boil pot and bring to full boil throughout boil time (because you don’t have to worry about any extract). Don’t boil longer than 45 min. If using lager yeast, ferment at 55° F for two weeks. You might want to start fermentation at 65° F and slowly lower temperature over 48 hours to 55° F to kickstart yeast. After two weeks in primary fermenter, add to secondary fermenter and let stand at room temperature for 48 hours. Lower to as close to freezing as possible. Lager two weeks, transfer to keg, add finings, and lager one more week with keg pressurized to 30 psi to force carbonate. Beer should be ready to drink.