Highland Brewing Co.’s Gaelic Ale
According to Highland Brewing Co.’s website, “A deep amber-colored American ale, featuring a rich malty body. Cascade and Willamette hops add a complex hop flavor and aroma. This ale is exceptionally balanced between malty sweetness and delicate hop bitterness. It has a universal appeal and is our workhorse, accounting for about half of our total production.”
Highland Brewing Co.’s Gaelic Ale clone, Partial Mash
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.056 FG = 1.014
IBU = 32 SRM = 24 ABV = 5.6%
Ingredients
2.25 lbs. (1 kg) Briess Light dried malt extract
3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) Briess Light liquid malt extract (late addition)
1.5 lbs. (0.7 kg) Briess Munich malt (10 °L)
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) Briess crystal malt (60 °L)
1 lb. (0.45 kg) Briess crystal malt (40 °L)
0.25 lb. (113 g) Briess Extra Special malt
9 AAU Chinook hops (60 min.) (0.75 oz./21 g of 12% alpha acids)
2.5 AAU Willamette hops (0 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g of 5.0% alpha acids)
2.9 AAU Cascade hops (0 min.) (0.5 oz. (14.7 g) of 5.8% alpha acids)
1 tsp. Irish moss
White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) yeast
O.75 cup of corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Steep the crushed specialty malts in 4.8 qts. (~4.8 L L) of water at 150 ºF (66 °C) for 30 min. Rinse grains with 2.4 qts. (~2.4 L) of 170 °F (77 °C) water. Add water to make 3 gallons (11 L). Add dried malt extract and bring to a boil. Add Chinook (bittering) hops and boil for 60 min. Add liquid malt extract and Irish moss with 15 minutes left in boil. Add Willamette and Cascade hops at the end of the boil, and let steep for 10 minutes.
When done, strain out the hops, add the wort to 2 gal. (7.6 L) of cool water in a sanitary fermenter and top off with cool water to 5.5 gal. (21 L). Cool the wort to 80 ºF (27 °C), heavily aerate the beer and pitch your yeast. Allow the beer to cool over the next few hours to 64-66 °F (18-19 °C), and hold at these cooler temperatures until the yeast has fermented completely. Bottle your beer, and age for two to three weeks.
All-grain version: Replace the light syrup and powder with 7.6 lbs. (3.4 kg) Briess pale malt and increase the Munich malt to 2.75 lbs. (1.25 kg). Mash all grains at 150º F (66° C) for 60 min. to achieve high fermentability. Collect enough wort to boil for 90 minutes.
