Recipe

Collision Bend Brewing Co.’s 8 Crazy Nights clone

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.078  FG = 1.018 
IBU = 25  SRM = 13  ABV= 8.2%

8 Crazy nights is a full-bodied spiced winter ale brewed with cinnamon, honey, and apples.

Ingredients
13 lbs. (5.9 kg) 2-row pale malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) Munich malt (8 °L) 
13.5 oz. (0.38 kg) Gambrinus honey malt
5 oz. (0.14 kg) crystal malt (45 °L) 
5 oz. (0.14 kg) Briess Victory® malt
2 oz. (0.06 kg) chocolate malt
8.5 oz. (0.24 kg) honey 
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) crushed apples (or 1 pint/0.5 L apple cider) (60 min.)
5.4 AAU Simcoe® hops (60 min.) (0.4 oz./11.3 g at 13.5% alpha acids) 
4.6 AAU Tradition hops (15 min.) (0.7 oz./20 g at 6.2% alpha acids) 
0.02 oz. (0.57 g) cinnamon stick (60 min.)
Wyeast 1028 (London Ale) or White Labs WLP0013 (London Ale) or SafAle S-04 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by Step
With a somewhat thick mash, and a fairly hard water profile featuring at least 50 ppm of calcium, target a mash temperature of 148 °F (64 °C) and mash for 90 minutes or until conversion is complete. Recirculate (vorlauf) 2 gallons (7.6 L) of wort from the bottom to the top of your mash tun to set the grain bed, then sparge with 5 gallons (19 L) of water at 170 °F (77 °C) and collect about 7 gallons (26 L) of runoff to your boil kettle. 

Boil for 90 minutes and add the hops, apples (in a muslin bag if using fresh apples), and spices at the times indicated in the ingredients list. At flameout, rapidly chill the wort to 60 °F (16 °C) and transfer the wort to your fermenter. 

Pitch the yeast, oxygenate thoroughly, and ferment at about 65 °F (18 °C). Once fermentation is near completion after two weeks, raise the temperature to 70 °F (21 °C) to perform a diacetyl rest for two days. Then cool the beer about 6 °F (3 °C) per day for four days to help clear the beer. Rack the beer into a keg and force carbonate to 2.5 volumes (or prime and bottle condition). If bottle conditioning, leave the beer at 70–75 °F (21–24 °C) for a week or two. Lager at 35 °F (2 °C) for two weeks to a month. Serve at 40–45 °F (4–7 °C).

Collision Bend Brewing Co.’s 8 Crazy Nights clone

(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.077  FG = 1.018 
IBU = 25  SRM = 13  ABV= 8.2%

Ingredients
7 lbs. (3.18 kg) extra light dried malt extract
1 lb. (0.45 kg) Munich malt (8 °L) 
13.5 oz. (0.38 kg) Gambrinus honey malt
5 oz. (0.14 kg) crystal malt (45 °L) 
5 oz. (0.14 kg) Briess Victory® malt
2 oz. (0.06 kg) chocolate malt
8.5 oz. (0.24 kg) honey 
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) crushed apples (or 1 pint/0.5 L apple cider) (60 min.)
5.4 AAU Simcoe® hops (60 min.) (0.4 oz./11.3 g at 13.5% alpha acids) 
4.6 AAU Tradition hops (15 min.) (0.7 oz./20 g at 6.2% alpha acids) 
0.02 oz. (0.57 g) cinnamon stick (60 min.)
Wyeast 1028 (London Ale) or White Labs WLP0013 (London Ale) or SafAle S-04 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by Step
Using a 5-gallon (19-L) kettle, start by raising about 2 gallons (7.6 L) of water to 148 °F (64 °C). In a muslin bag, mash the Munich, honey, and Victory® malts for at least 60 minutes or until converted. Once mash is complete, add the crystal and chocolate malts to the bag and allow to steep for another 10 minutes. Remove grain bag then add more water to your boil kettle to bring it to about 4 gallons (15 L). Once liquid is at or near boil, turn off the flame and slowly add half of the malt extract, stirring to avoid clumping or scorching. Turn flame back on and bring to boil, adding the rest of the malt extract with 15 minutes left in the boil. 

Follow the remainder of the all-grain recipe. Remember to top up with water to 5 gallons (19 L) before pitching yeast.

Issue: November 2019