Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Fox Grande Reserve

My Blue-label Chimay-style brew, the Fox Grande Reserve, requires almost 8kg of light dry malt extract. I incrementally add malt to my new 20L brew-pot and weigh it using bathroom scales. This process is conducted outside now. The malt is a fine powder and wherever it lands, you may end up with a sticky, (probably tasty) surface.

From Chimay

My helpful assistant stirs the pot. Full power from the biggest element brings the pot to the boil. After this point, a rolling boil is maintained using 45% power.

From Chimay

Having removed the grain bag with its contents of spent chocolate malt and fuggles hops, I pour the contents of the pot into my 60L fermenter with a few ice-cubes and supplement the liquid with tap water to generate a total volume of 50L.

From Chimay

Having pitched the K-97 wheat-beer yeast, Jen inserts the airlock. This is one of our most elaborate brews; It incorporates almost a kilogram of honey and one-and-a-half kilograms of brown sugar. Thankfully, we are able to prepare this brew on a grand scale. With a carton of blue-label Chimay retailing at over $200 per case of 12 x 750mL longnecks,1 this brew represents over $1000 worth of high-quality hand-crafted beer!

From Chimay

1 comment:

McMaster said...

Hey Pinko, that is an impressive looking keg system and going to build up your arms with that many ingredients going in and lifiting that pot off the stove, good training for the rugby season, and I bet it filled your house with a nice malty smell