Dead End Brew Machine’s Curtis the Destroyer clone

Dead End Brew Machine’s Curtis the Destroyer clone

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.106  FG = 1.033
IBU = 55  SRM = 14  ABV = 9.6%

This big barleywine is boiled for two and a half hours to contribute toffee and caramel notes and is fermented with a custom blend of London III and Burlington yeast and aged in Jamaican rum barrels.

Ingredients
19.3 lbs. (8.75 kg) Crisp Maris Otter pale ale malt
1.46 lbs. (0.66 kg) Crisp flaked torrefied barley 
0.78 lbs. (0.35 kg) Chateau Belgian biscuit malt
3 AAU Magnum hops (60 min.) (0.3 oz./8.5 g at 10% alpha acids)
2.6 AAU Challenger hops (60 min.) (0.3 oz./8.5 g at 8.8% alpha acids)
8.8 AAU Challenger hops (30 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 8.8% alpha acids)
8.4 AAU Pioneer hops (30 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 8.4% alpha acids)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Challenger hops (whirlpool)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Pioneer hops (whirlpool)
1⁄2 Whirlfloc tablet (10 min.)
White Labs WLP095 (Burlington Ale) yeast 
Wyeast 1318 (London Ale III) yeast 
3.5 oz. (100 g) medium+ toasted oak cubes soaked in
Jamaican rum
2⁄3 cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by Step
Target your brewing water at approximately 70 ppm for chlorides and 45 ppm sulfate. This can be achieved using reverse osmosis (RO) water and adding 0.02 oz./gal (0.15 g/L) CaCl₂ and 0.01 oz./gal (0.08 g/L) gypsum.

A step mash process is employed for maximum fermentability. Dough-in at a 1.1 qts./lb. (2.3 L/kg) ratio using 5.9 gallons (22.3 L) of water for the mash targeting an initial temperature of 143 °F (62 °C). Rest for 30 minutes then raise temperature to 149 °F (65 °C) and hold for another 30 minutes. For the last step of the mash, raise temperature to 162 °F (72 °C) and hold for 15 minutes. In lieu of performing a step mash, a single infusion mash can be employed with a target temperature of 148 °F (64 °C). Hold at this temperature for 90 minutes to maximize enzymatic conversion. 

Sparge using 167 °F (75 °C) water to collect 9 gallons (34 L) of wort. Total boil time is 150 minutes. Add hops and Whirlfloc as indicated. Add the whirlpool hops at flameout, give the wort a vigorous stir, and then cover and let rest for 15 minutes.

Chill the wort to 63 °F (17 °C) and transfer to primary fermenter. Aerate thoroughly prior to pitching yeast blend. Allow fermentation temperatures to slowly rise by 1–2 °F (1 °C) per day up to a maximum of 73 °F (23 °C) to ensure complete fermentation and minimization of fusel alcohol production.

Once primary fermentation is complete (approximately two weeks), rack beer to a CO₂-purged first use rum barrel or a clean and sanitized secondary fermenter. If using a secondary fermenter, add rum-soaked oak cubes and age until a balanced rum character is achieved. Force carbonate to 1.8 volumes of CO₂ or prime and bottle. Additional aging will contribute a pleasant Sherry-like character to the beer.

Tips for Success:
Hitting the starting gravity for this beer has a dependency on your boil evaporation rate. This recipe assumes an evaporation rate of 15% per hour. Depending on the evaporation rate of your system, you may need to adjust the amount of wort collected to hit the target starting gravity with the prescribed boil time.

This is a big beer that requires plenty of healthy yeast to ensure complete fermentation. It is recommended to make a single 3-qt (3-L) starter using one pack of WLP095 and one pack of Wyeast 1318. Pitch yeast when yeast activity is strong

Partial Mash Version:
To brew a partial mash version of Dead End Brew Machine’s Curtis The Destroyer clone reduce the Crisp® Maris Otter pale ale malt to 8.5 lbs. (3.86 kg) and add 6 lbs. (2.72 kg) Briess CBW® pale ale dried malt extract. Heat 3.2 gallons (12.1 L) of water to 161 °F (72 °C) and submerge large steeping bag containing the crushed grains into water. Stir grains to ensure sufficient hydration and mash for 90 minutes targeting a mash temperature of 148 °F (64 °C). Remove bag from pot and sparge with 170 °F (77 °C) water to collect a total of 4.25 gallons (16 L) of wort.

Boil wort for 60 minutes, adding hops and Whirlfloc according to the schedule. Add the dried malt extract in the last 10 minutes of the boil. 

Follow the remainder of the all-grain recipe instructions, being sure to top your fermenter off to 5 gallons (19 L) prior to fermentation.