Beer Style: Specialty Beer Family
Cyser Apple Honey Mead
A cyser is traditionally a “sack mead,” or a sweet mead, that’s made with honey and apples. This cyser is quite like a wine, and will have a wine’s higher alcohol content when it’s finished. An important note: When buying the apple juice or cider, be sure it doesn’t contain any preservatives — like potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate or sulfites — which would kill the yeast. Check at a health-food store or find a cider producer who’ll sell you juice right off the press.
Raspberry Melomel
This raspberry melomel is perfect for summer brewing. It’s even more perfect for conjuring up memories of summer when it’s opened and enjoyed later.
Fall Spice Metheglin
If you like pumpkin pie, then you may want to try this Fall-spiced metheglin. This is meant to brew up a 1-gallon (3.8 L) batch, but feel free to scale the recipe up.
Royal Metheglin
We’re not sure if the metheglin served to royalty was any better than a peasant’s variety, but we’re sure the spices make this mead fit for a king.
Holiday Ale
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains) OG = 1.063 FG = 1.015 IBU = 35 SRM = 10 ABV = 6.6% Ingredients: 12 oz. (0.34 kg) British crystal malt (55° L) 1
Gruit-Style Spiced Ale
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains) OG = 1.063 FG = 1.015 IBU = 28 SRM = 14 ABV = 6.5% Ingredients: 12 oz. (0.34 kg) crystal malt (60° L) 4 oz.
Gruit-Style Spiced Ale
OG, FG, IBUs and SRM will vary. Before the use of hops in beer, European beers were often flavored with gruit (rhymes with fruit). Gruit is a blend of herbs and spices,
Sleepy Bear Wassail
A spiced Christmas punch of sorts.
Old Smoky Scots Ale
OG = 1.052 FG = 1.015 IBU = 18 SRM = 18 ABV = 5% Ingredients: 1/2 lb. (0.23 kg) dark crystal malt (80 °L) 1/4 lb. (113 g) peat-smoked malt 1/4
Orange Lager
OG = 1.047 FG = 1.014 IBU = 21 SRM = 3 ABV = 4.4% Ingredients: 1 lb. (0.45 kg) dextrine malt 5 lbs. (2.27 kg) extra-light dried malt extract 4 AAU
Winter Solstice Red Ale
OG = 1.064 FG = 1.013 IBU = 36 SRM = 12 ABV = 6.9% Ingredients: 4 oz. (113 g) crystal malt (50 °L) 2 oz. (57 g) roasted barley (300 °L)
Gordon Strong’s German Gose
Gose (pronounced GOH-zeh, not GOES) is a historical beer style that is typically associated with the city of Leipzig in the mid-east part of Germany.
