Homebrew Recipe
Troegs Brewing Co.'s Mad Elf Clone
- Method:
- Partial Mash
- Style:
- Fruit Beer
- Boil Time:
- 90 min.
- Batch Size:
- 5 gal.
- Boil Size:
- 4 gal.
- Efficiency:
- 0
- Rating:
- Source:
- Brew Your Own
- Source Notes:
- November 2019, Vol. 25, No. 7 page 44. Part of "Winter Warmer", Christmas Ale brew special. Back in 2002, Owners Chris and John Trogner decided to brew a special beer - a big Belgian-style ale with cherries and honey - for the holidays, and thus, a superstar named Mad Elf was born. The calculated SRM is the color prior to the cherry puree addition. The final color of the beer will be ruby red.
- Notes:
- Using a 5-gallon kettle, start by steeping all the specialty grains (placed in a muslin bag) in about 2 gallons of water at 152F for 15 minutes. Remove grain bag then add water bringing total volume in kettle to about 4 gallons. Bring liquid to or near a boil. Turn off the flame and slowly add half of the malt extract, stirring to avoid clumping or scorching. Adding just half of the extract maximizes hop isomerization. Turn flame back on and bring to boil. Boil 90 minutes, adding the hops per the instructions. With 15 minutes left in the boil, add the remaining malt extract. Add the cane sugar and honey at knockout, stirring well to dissolve. Chill rapidly to 65F, pitch plenty of yeast (at least two packs with a starter), and oxygenate thoroughly. After 24 hours of fermentation, add the cherry purees. After 12-14 days, drop the beer about 6F per day for four days to help the beer clear. Rack the beer into a keg and force carbonate to 2.7 volumes, or prime and bottle condition. If bottle conditioning, leave the beer at 70-75F for at least two weeks.
Brew Numbers
| OG | FG | ABV | SRM | IBU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.092 | 1.015 | 11 | 17 | 13 |
Fermentables
| Name | Amount | % Grain Bill |
|---|---|---|
| Pilsen Dry Malt Extract | 7 lbs. | 70.00 |
| Notes: Briess Pilsen dried malt extract | ||
| Munich Dry Malt Extract | 1.5 lbs. | 15.00 |
| Notes: Munich or Vienna dried malt extract | ||
| Munich Dark | 0.75 lbs. | 7.50 |
| Notes: Dark Munich malt (20L) | ||
| Caramel Malt 80 | 0.31 lbs. | 3.10 |
| Crystal Malt 300 | 0.31 lbs. | 3.10 |
| Notes: Calls for Special B malt. Guess this as substitute, high Crystal. | ||
| Chocolate Malt | 0.13 lbs. | 1.30 |
| Total: | 10.00 lbs. | |
Hops
| Name | Amount | Boil Time | Use | AA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galena | 0.2 oz. | 90 | Boil | 13.6 |
| Notes: 2.7 AAU | ||||
| Hersbruker | 0.5 oz. | 10 | Boil | 4.6 |
| Notes: 2.3 AAU | ||||
| Name | Amount |
|---|---|
| Galena | 0.2 oz. |
| Hersbruker | 0.5 oz. |
Yeast
| Name | Lab | Product |
|---|---|---|
| Abbaye Belgian Ale | Lallemand | |
| Abbey Ale | White Labs | WLP530 |
| Belgian High Gravity | Wyeast | 3787 |
Other Ingredients
| Name | Amount | Time | Use | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cane Sugar | 1 lb. | 0 min. | Boil | Flavor |
| Notes: Add at knockout. | ||||
| Honey | 0.25 lb. | 0 min. | Boil | Flavor |
| Notes: Add at knockout. | ||||
| Sweet Cherry Puree | 0.9 | 3 weeks | Primary | Flavor |
| Notes: After 24 hours of fermentation, add the cherry purees. | ||||
| Tart Cherry Puree | 1.25 | 3 weeks | Primary | Flavor |
| Notes: After 24 hours of fermentation, add the cherry purees. | ||||
Mash Steps
| Step | Name | Temp | Time | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Partial Mash | 152 | 15 | Partial |
| Notes: Using a 5-gallon kettle, start by steeping all the specialty grains (placed in a muslin bag) in about 2 gallons of water at 152F for 15 minutes. Remove grain bag. | ||||