Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales: Biere de Mars clone

Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales: Biere de Mars clone

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.059   FG = 1.006
IBU = 30   SRM = 10   ABV = 7%

This amber ale features a fluffy white head, medium body, and crisp dry mouthfeel.

Ingredients
5 lbs. (2.3 kg) Pilsner malt
3.5 lbs. (1.6 kg) wheat malt
14 oz. (0.4 kg) Munich malt (10 °L)
14 oz. (0.4 kg) flaked corn
8 oz. (0.23 kg) caramel malt (40 °L)
1.3 oz. (37 g) black patent malt
1.3 oz. (37 g) acidulated malt
14 oz. (0.4 kg) dextrose sugar (15 min.)
1.9 AAU Styrian Golding pellet hops (60 min.) (0.36 oz./10 g at 5.4% alpha acids)
2 AAU Saaz pellet hops (60 min.) (0.52 oz./15 g at 3.75% alpha acids)
5.2 AAU UK Fuggle pellet hops (30 min.) (1.15 oz./33 g at 4.5% alpha acids)
2 oz. (57 g) medium toasted oak cubes
White Labs WLP550 (Belgian Ale), Wyeast 3722 (Belgian Ardennes), or White Labs WLP515 (Antwerp Ale) yeast
A wild yeast/souring bacteria mixed culture of your choosing (see “Tips for Success”)
2/3 cup (133 g) dextrose (if priming)

Step by Step
Mill the grains (flaked corn doesn’t need to be milled) and mix with 4.25 gallons (16 L) of 160 °F (71 °C) strike water to reach a mash temperature of 150 °F (65.5 °C). Hold at this temperature for 60 minutes. Vorlauf until the runnings are clear. Sparge the grains with 3.25 gallons (12.3 L) of 169 °F (76 °C) water until 6.5 gallons (24.6 L) of 1.041 SG wort is collected in the boil kettle. Boil for 60 minutes adding hops and dextrose according to the ingredients list. Recommended pitch rate is 204 billion yeast cells which can be obtained by using either 1 vial after making a 1-L stir plate starter, a 2 L non-stir plate starter, or simply by pitching 2 fresh vials without making a starter.

After the boil, turn off the heat and whirlpool the kettle by gently stirring for 2 minutes and then let it rest for an additional 8 minutes. Next, chill the wort to 64 °F (18 °C) and transfer the wort into a fermenter. Pitch the yeast, let the temperature free rise up to 67 °F (19.5 °C), and hold it there for 14 days. Rack to a secondary fermenter and pitch the wild yeast and souring bacteria mixed culture as per the ingredients list. Allow the beer to condition for 4–14 months, depending on how much wild and/or sour character you desire. Regardless of the conditioning time you opt for, the oak cubes should be added 4 months prior to bottling. After secondary conditioning, crash cool the fermenter at the rate of 5° F (2.7 °C) per day for 7 days until you reach 32 °F (0 °C) and then bottle or keg the beer. Carbonate to 2.5 volumes of CO₂ and enjoy!

Extract with grains option:
Substitute the flaked corn, Pilsner, wheat, Munich and acidulated malts in the all-grain recipe with 1.75 lbs. (0.8 kg) Pilsen liquid malt extract, 2.5 lbs. (1.14 kg) wheat liquid malt extract, and 3 lbs. (1.36 kg) amber liquid malt extract. Place the grains in a grain bag and then add to 2 gallons (7.6 L) of 150 °F (66 °C) water. Allow the grain to steep for 20–30 minutes while you continue to heat the water up to no hotter than 170 °F (77 ° C) in order to avoid extracting tannins. Remove the grain bag, top the kettle up with enough pre-heated water to reach a total pre-boil volume of 6.5 gallons (24.6 L), and turn the heat back on. Once you reach a boil, add the malt extract and hops according to the ingredients list. Follow the remaining portion of the all-grain recipe.

Tips for Success:
Jolly Pumpkin makes two batches for this beer; one fermented in a steel fermenter for a week with ale yeast, the other with a lager yeast. The batches are then transferred into the same oak foeder, innoculated with house yeasts and bacterias, and conditioned for one month. The beer is then racked into standard sized oak barrels for three months of additional aging before being re-blended just prior to packaging. On a homebrew scale, if you have two separate temperature controlled fermentation environments and want to brew twice, then by all means use two different strains of yeast. If you don’t, then the lager-like characteristics of the White Labs WLP515 (Antwerp Ale) offers a good compromise. If you have access to a Biere de Mars, then you can try to utilize the bottle dregs (building them up with a multi-stage stir plate starter is recommended) to gain some of JP’s house wild profile. If not, pitch a mixed culture blend into your secondary, such as White Labs WLP655 (Belgian Sour Mix), Wyeast 3278 (Lambic Blend), Wyeast 3763 (Roeselare Blend), East Coast Yeast’s ECY03-B Farmhouse Blend Isolate, or East Coast Yeast’s ECY01 Bug Farm Blend.