Brooklyn Brewery: Brooklyn Monster Ale clone
Discontinued in 2013, Brooklyn Monster Ale was first brewed in 1997 and was a legend in its time as one of the early American-brewed barleywines. It was midway between the old British barleywine style and more modern variants. Much of this beer’s essential character comes from the use of Maris Otter floor malts, but the residual sugar was relatively low.
Brooklyn Brewery: Brooklyn Monster Ale
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.100 FG = 1.020
IBU = 47 SRM = 15 ABV= 10.2%
Ingredients
13 lb. 4 oz. (6 kg) GlenEagles Maris Otter malt
3 lb. 12 oz. (1.7 kg) Crisp pale ale malt
8 oz. (0.23 kg) caramel malt (60 °L)
3 oz. (85 g) chocolate malt
14 oz. (0.40 kg) cane sugar
9.2 AAU Willamette hops (120 min.)
(2 oz./56 g at 4.6% alpha acids)
6.25 AAU Cascade hops (60 min.)
(0.9 oz./26 g at 7% alpha acids)
3.5 oz. (99 g) English Fuggle hops (3 min.)
1 tsp. Irish moss (10 min.)
White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) yeast
5/8 cups (125 g) dextrose (if priming)
Step by Step
Mash the grains at 154 °F (68 °C) and hold for 90 minutes. Bring mash to 168 °F (76 °C) to mash off. Sparge slowly and carefully. Collect 5 gallons (19 L) wort at 1.092 SG. Heat to 205 °F (96 °C), stir in cane sugar, to reach 1.100.
Boil ends at 120 minutes. Adjust volume, if necessary, to 5 gallons (19 L). Cool to 58 °F (14 °C), aerate well, and pitch yeast at twice the rate that you would for pale ale.
Ferment at 67 °F (19 °C). After fermentation is complete, cool if possible. If beer must wait more than one week after active fermentation has ceased before packaging, transfer to secondary. Age in bottle or keg for not less than three months before serving.
Partial mash option
Reduce the Maris Otter malt in the all-grain version to 2.5 lbs. (1.1 kg) and pale ale malt to 13 oz. (0.37 kg). This recipe also uses 3 lbs. (1.4 kg) Muntons light dried malt extract and 7 lbs. (3.2 kg) Muntons light liquid malt extract. Place the crushed grains in a large steeping bag. Place bag inside a 2-gallon (~8 L) beverage cooler. Stir 5.5 qts. (5.2 L) of water at 167 °F (75 °C) into the grains. Let rest for 60 minutes. The temperature should drop to 154 °F (68 °C) at the end of the rest. After the mash, vorlauf, and then sparge at 170 °F (77 °C). Collect 4 gallons (15 L) or as much volume as your brewpot will handle. Stir in dried malt extract and boil wort for 120 minutes. Add the hops at times indicated in the recipe. Add the table sugar and liquid malt extract in last 15 minutes of the boil. If boil volume dips below 3.5 gallons (13 L), bring volume back up with boiling water. Follow the remaining portion of the all-grain recipe.
