Lawson’s Finest Liquids’ Toast clone, All-Grain

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.059 FG = 1.013
IBU = 70 SRM = 33 ABV = 5.9%

Ingredients

11 lbs. (5 kg) 2-row pale malt
8 oz. (0.23 kg) toasted barley flakes
8 oz. (0.23 kg) toasted rye flakes
6 oz. (0.17 kg) Weyermann CarafaSpecial III malt
6 oz. (0.17 kg) Briess Midnight Wheat
7 AAU Magnum hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 14% alpha acids)
11.6 AAU Columbus hops (20 min.) (0.75 oz./21 g at 15.5% alpha acids)
15.5 AAU Columbus hops (0 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 15.5% alpha acids)
13 AAU Chinook hops (0 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 13% alpha acids)
13 AAU Simcoe® hops (0 min.) (1 oz./28g at 13% alpha acids)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Columbus hops (dry hop)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Chinook hops (dry hop)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Simcoe® hops (dry hop)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White Labs WLP001 (California Ale), Safale US-05, or Lallemand BRY-97 yeast 3
⁄4 cup priming sugar (if priming)

Step by Step

If your brew shop does not stock toasted barley and rye flakes then you can toast them yourself. Before brew day begins, pre-heat your oven up to 350 °F (177 °C). Place the flaked barley and rye spread out on baking sheets. Toast the flakes for about 20 minutes shaking the sheet every couple of minutes. Use your nose as a guide to know when they are finished.

Achieve a target mash temperature of 150 °F (66 °C). Boil for 60 minutes, adding the hops as instructed. After boil is complete, begin a whirlpool in the kettle and let the knockout hops rest in the hot wort for at least 30 minutes before chilling.  

Lawson’s Finest Liquids’ Toast clone, Partial Mash

(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.059 FG = 1.013
IBU = 70 SRM = 33 ABV = 5.9%

Ingredients

6.6 lbs. (3 kg) light liquid malt extract
2 lbs. (0.91 kg) 2-row pale malt
8 oz. (0.23 kg) toasted barley flakes
8 oz. (0.23 kg) toasted rye flakes
6 oz. (0.17 kg) Weyermann CarafaSpecial III malt
6 oz. (0.17 kg) Briess Midnight Wheat
7 AAU Magnum hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 14% alpha acids)
11.6 AAU Columbus hops (20 min.) (0.75 oz./21 g at 15.5% alpha acids)
15.5 AAU Columbus hops (0 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 15.5% alpha acids)
13 AAU Chinook hops (0 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 13% alpha acids)
13 AAU Simcoe® hops (0 min.) (1 oz./28g at 13% alpha acids)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Columbus hops (dry hop)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Chinook hops (dry hop)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Simcoe® hops (dry hop)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White Labs WLP001 (California Ale), Safale US-05, or Lallemand BRY-97 yeast 3
⁄4 cup priming sugar (if priming)

Step by Step

If your brew shop does not stock toasted barley and rye flakes then you can toast them yourself. Before brew day begins, pre-heat your oven up to 350 °F (177 °C). Place the flaked barley and rye spread out on baking sheets. Toast the flakes for about 20 minutes shaking the sheet every couple of minutes. Use your nose as a guide to know when they are finished.

Place crushed and flaked grains in a grain bag and add to 1 gal (3.8 L) water to achieve a mash temperature of 150 °F (66 °C) for 45 minutes. Rinse the grains with 2 qts. (1.9 L) hot water, and top off kettle to 6 gal. (23 L). Add extract off heat then bring to a boil. After boil is complete, begin a whirlpool in the kettle and let the knockout hops rest in the hot wort for at least 30 minutes before chilling.

Chill the wort rapidly to 68 °F (20 °C). Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C) for one week. Cool to 55 °F (13 °C) to settle yeast from beer. Dump the yeast or rack the beer to a clean, sanitized vessel. Add the dry hops and let the beer sit on the dry hops for an additional four to seven days at 55–57 °F (13–14 °C). Your beer is now ready to rack into a keg, or into bottles with priming sugar.

Tips for Success: When toasting flaked grains at home the key is getting the flaked grains to a point where your entire kitchen is smelling of wonderfully toasted bread. It will add a layer of complexity to the final beer, which is a fundamental part of this impeccably-brewed black IPA. Experimenting with toasting the flaked grains is probably a good idea to get this process down pat before brew day. Do this by trying out different toasting levels and tasting them in small test batches to find the color and corresponding flavor that tastes best.

If you find that your flaked grains make your mash a little gummy, try adding a handful of rice hulls to break things up a bit. Also make sure to use Carafa® Special, or similarly de-husked malted barley, as this is the de-husked version of Weyermann’s Carafa® malt. Using de-husked malts reduces astringency in the beer, which is common when brewing with highly-roasted grains. This is a key to producing the dark color of the beer without also getting the bite found in other darker beers.

Don’t skimp on the hops when brewing a black IPA. A common mantra is to hop a black IPA like it were an imperial IPA. This will allow the hop characteristics to shine above the roasted aspects of this beer style.