Corsendonk Monk’s Brown Ale clone

OG = 1.066; FG = 1.012; IBU = 26

Ingredients:

• 4.25 lbs. pale malt
• 0.5 lb. dark caramel malt (90° Lovibond)
• 0.5 lb. Special B malt
• 0.25 lb. kilncoffee malt
• 4 lbs. unhopped amber dry malt extract (DME)
• 4 AAU Styrian Goldings hops (1.33 oz. at 3% alpha acid)
• 4 AAU Saaz hops (1 oz. at 4% alpha acid)
• Belgian abbey yeast slurry (White Labs WLP530 or Wyeast 1214)
• 1 cup unhopped light dry malt extract (DME) to prime

Step by Step:

Heat 8 quarts water to 163° F. Crush grains and add to liquor. Hold mash at 152° F for 90 minutes. Runoff and sparge with 12 quarts water at 170° F. Add DME, stir well, bring to a boil. Add Styrian Goldings hops, boil 60 minutes. Add Saaz hops, boil 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Add to fermenter along with enough pre-boiled and chilled water to make up 5.25 gallons. Cool to 70° F, pitch yeast. Ferment at 68° F for two weeks, rack to secondary and condition cool (50° F) for three to four weeks. Prime with DME, bottle and age three to four weeks at 45° to 50° F. Serve at 50° F in a tall, fluted, stemmed glass.

All-grain option:

Replace the DME with another 5 lbs. pale malt and 1 lb. medium caramel malt (60° Lovibond). Increase mash water to 16 quarts and sparge water to 18 quarts. Mash time and temperatures will be the same. Proceed as above from boiling.

All-extract option:

Omit pale malt. Steep caramel, Special B and kilncoffee as above in 3 gallons at 150° F for 30 minutes. Remove grains. Increase DME to 7 lbs., and proceed as above from boiling.