Homebrew Recipe
Gnoel de Abbey Imperial Stout Blending Beer
- Method:
- All Grain
- Style:
- Imperial Stout
- Boil Time:
- 90 min.
- Batch Size:
- 5 gal.
- Boil Size:
- 7 gal.
- Efficiency:
- 0
- Rating:
- Source:
- Brew Your Own
- Source Notes:
- November 2019, Vol. 25, No. 7 page 47. Part of "Winter Warmer", Christmas Ale brew special. The Lost Abbey Brewing Co.'s Gnoel de Abbey clone is a blend of two different beers. To re-create Gnoel de Abbey at home, brew both base beer styles, then blend in a 70/30 blonde-to-stout ratio. Bottle or keg what you don't blend as standalone beers.
- Notes:
- On brew day, target a mash temperature of 148F and mash for at least 60 minutes or until conversion is complete. Recirculate enough wort to achieve wort clarity and set the grain bed for sparging. Target a sparge water temperature of 170F and collect 7 gallons of wort. Boil the wort for 90 minutes, adding hops after hot break has ensued. Add Irish moss and Cascade hops 15 minutes before flameout. Whirlpool and chill to 68F for fermentation. Ferment using both yeast strains at 68F until 70-75% of the attenuation is reached, then allow to free rise to 72F to ensure beer finishes fermentation. (The English strain should produce some esters and enhance the malt in a way that the American ale strain cannot.) Add Bourbon-soaked oak chips or cubes to beer. Cold condition the beer by dropping temperature from 72 to 67F on day one and 10F per day thereafter until reaching 32F. Hold for one week and ensure all yeast and trub has been removed from the beer. Once both beers are complete, rack into a 70/30 blonde-to-stout ratio. Package beer to your preferred methods targeting carbonation levels between 2.5-2.7 volumes of CO2.
Brew Numbers
| OG | FG | ABV | SRM | IBU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.094 | 1.015 | 10.5 | 52 | 65 |
Fermentables
| Name | Amount | % Grain Bill |
|---|---|---|
| Pale Malt - 2-Row | 13.4 lbs. | 69.97 |
| Notes: American 2-row pale malt | ||
| Dextrose (Corn) Sugar | 1.75 lbs. | 9.14 |
| Chocolate Malt | 0.8 lbs. | 4.18 |
| Notes: Calls for 0.4 lb chocolate and 0.4 lb Weyerman Carafa II malt | ||
| Roasted Barley | 0.8 lbs. | 4.18 |
| Flaked Barley | 0.8 lbs. | 4.18 |
| Honey Malt | 0.4 lbs. | 2.09 |
| Notes: Gambrinus honey malt | ||
| Crystal Malt 120 | 0.4 lbs. | 2.09 |
| Crystal Malt 70 | 0.4 lbs. | 2.09 |
| Notes: Crystal malt 70-80L | ||
| Crystal Malt 165 | 0.4 lbs. | 2.09 |
| Total: | 19.15 lbs. | |
Hops
| Name | Amount | Boil Time | Use | AA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnum (US) | 1.1 oz. | 90 | Boil | 14.9 |
| Notes: 16.4 AAU | ||||
| Cascade | 0.65 oz. | 15 | Boil | 7.6 |
| Notes: 4.9 AAU | ||||
| Name | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cascade | 0.65 oz. |
| Magnum (US) | 1.1 oz. |
Yeast
| Name | Lab | Product |
|---|---|---|
| American Ale | Wyeast | 1056 |
| Notes: Choice for yeast 1 | ||
| British Ale | Wyeast | 1098 |
| Notes: Choice for yeast 2 | ||
| California Ale | White Labs | WLP001 |
| Notes: Choice for yeast 1 | ||
| Dry English Ale Yeast | White Labs | WLP007 |
| Notes: Choice for yeast 2 | ||
| Nottingham | Lallemand | |
| Notes: Choice for yeast 2 | ||
| SafAle | Fermentis | US-05 |
| Notes: Choice for yeast 1 | ||
Other Ingredients
| Name | Amount | Time | Use | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irish Moss | 0.5 tsp. | 15 minutes | Boil | Clarifying |
| Bourbon-soaked Oak Chips | 4 oz. | 2 weeks | Secondary | Flavor |
| Notes: Soak two weeks before brew day to better absorb Bourbon character. Use American oak if possible. | ||||
Mash Steps
| Step | Name | Temp | Time | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Single Infusion Mash | 148 | 60 | All Grain |
| Notes: On brew day, target a mash temperature of 148F and mash for at least 60 minutes or until conversion is complete. | ||||