Browniewine
Browniewine
(40th Anniversary Collaboration with Firestone Walker Brewing Co.)
by Firestone Walker Brewing Co. and Steve Cook
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.120 FG = 1.019
IBU = 68 SRM = 40 ABV = 13.6%
Ingredients
10 lbs. (4.5 kg) domestic 2-row malt
3.25 lbs. (1.5 kg) Crisp brown malt
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) Simpsons crystal malt (30/37 °L)
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) Great Western crystal malt (75 °L)
4 oz. (113 g) wheat malt
2 oz. (54 g) Briess chocolate malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) brown sugar
1 lb. (0.45 kg) buckwheat honey
4 lbs. (1.8 kg) light liquid malt extract (or as needed, to reach gravity)
10 AAU Columbus hops (90 min.) (0.67 oz./19 g at 15% alpha acids)
11 AAU (Centennial hops) (60 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 11.1% alpha acids)
1.25 oz. (35 g) Cascade hops (whirlpool)
2 oz. (57 g) French oak cubes, soaked in rum for 1 month
White Labs WLP005 (British Ale), Wyeast 1187 (Ringwood Ale), or SafAle S-33 yeast
Step by step
One month prior to brew day add oak cubes and just enough rum to cover them to a Mason jar and store in a cabinet.
This recipe uses a balanced water profile with equal parts chloride-to-sulfate. Mash all of the grains at 155 °F (68 °C) for 60 minutes. Increase the temperature to 169 °F (76 °C) for 5 minutes and then begin lautering. Collect enough wort to finish with 5.5 gallons (21 L) in the fermenter following a two-hour boil.
Boil for two hours, adding the hops as indicated. Add the brown sugar and buckwheat honey in the last 15 minutes. Take a gravity sample and add enough malt extract to bring the gravity up to 1.120. Add the whirlpool hop addition at the end of the boil, give the kettle a vigorous swirl to form a whirlpool, then cover and let sit for 20 minutes.
Chill the wort to 62 °F (17 °C), aerate if using liquid yeast, and pitch yeast. When fermentation is complete, add the rum-infused oak cubes during secondary and age to taste.
Bottle or keg and force carbonate as usual.
Browniewine
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.120 FG = 1.019
IBU = 68 SRM = 40 ABV = 13.6%
Ingredients
8.4 lbs. (3.8 kg) light liquid malt extract
3.5 lbs. (1.6 kg) domestic 2-row malt
3.25 lbs. (1.5 kg) Crisp brown malt
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) Simpsons crystal malt (30/37 °L)
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) Great Western crystal malt (75 °L)
4 oz. (113 g) wheat malt
2 oz. (54 g) Briess chocolate malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) brown sugar
1 lb. (0.45 kg) buckwheat honey
10 AAU Columbus hops (60 min.) 0.67 oz./19 g at 15% alpha acids)
11 AAU (Centennial hops) (60 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 11.1% alpha acids)
1.25 oz. (35 g) Cascade hops (whirlpool)
2 oz. (57 g) French oak cubes, soaked in rum for 1 month
White Labs WLP005 (British Ale), Wyeast 1187 (Ringwood Ale), or SafAle S-33 yeast
Step by step
One month prior to brew day add oak cubes and just enough rum to cover them to a Mason jar and store in a cabinet.
Add the 2-row, brown, and wheat malts to a steeping bag (or two, you want them loosely packed after tying off the bag) and mash in 3 gallons (11.5 L) of water at 155 °F (68 °C) for 45 minutes. Pull the grains and top off kettle to 6 gallons (23 L). In a separate bag, add the crystal and chocolate malts and steep about 15 minutes as the temperature is brought up to 170 °F (77 °C). Remove grains and turn off heat. Carefully stir in the malt extract. Once dissolved, return to heat and bring to a boil. Boil for 60 minutes. Follow the remainder of the all-grain recipe.
Written by Drew Beechum
Volume-wise, booze-wise, and holy crap-wise, this still remains our “biggest” collaboration to date (only Sierra Nevada brews more beer per year in terms of our collabs). This one all happened on a whim as Allen Tracy, a member with family in the Paso Robles area, stopped in at the brewery and had a palaver with Brewmaster Matt Brynildson about brewing a special beer. Matt said, “whatever you want to make” and this crazy thing came about from two suggestions “a really big brown ale” and “rum barrels.” The recipe design was created by Steve Cook and then brewed by a large crowd of Falcons. (We say brewed, but really the whole place is computer-controlled so they mostly ran around like barely trained monkeys after eating partially fermented bananas.)
This beer went on to be a surprising hit with the beer ticket crowd who would clamber for a chance to get a taste whenever Firestone rolled it out for things like their Firestone Walker Invitational.
