Gruit-Style Spiced Ale

5 gallons, extract with grain; OG = 1.058; FG = 1.015; IBU = 28

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. U.S. crystal malt (60° Lovibond)
• 4 oz. torrified wheat
• 3.5 oz. British chocolate malt
• 6.5 lbs. Muntons extra light dry malt extract (DME)
• 2 oz. malto dextrin
• 8.5 AAUs Northern Brewer (1 oz. at 8.5% alpha acid) (bittering)
• 1 tsp. Irish moss

Gruit Mixture:

• 1-inch vanilla bean (chopped), 1/2 tsp. sweet gale, 1-inch piece broken licorice stick, 2 tsp. anise seeds (crushed), 1-inch of fresh ginger (grated)
• London ESB Ale (Wyeast 1968) or English Ale (White Labs WLP002)
• 1-1/4 cup Muntons extra light dry malt extract for priming

Step by Step:   

Bring one gallon of water to 155° F, add crushed grain and hold for 30 min. at 150° F. Strain the grain into the brewpot and sparge with one gallon of 168° F water. Add the dry malt, malto dextrin and bittering hops. Bring the total volume in the brewpot to 2.5 gallons.   

Boil for 45 min., then add 1/2 of the gruit mixture and Irish moss. Boil for 10 min., then add 1/2 of the gruit mixture. Boil for 5 min., then remove pot from stove. Cool wort for 15 min. in an ice bath or chill with wort chiller. Strain into the primary fermenter and add water to obtain 5-1/8 gallons.    

Add yeast when wort has cooled to below 80° F. Oxygenate-aerate well. Ferment at 68° F for 7 days then rack into secondary (glass carboy). Ferment until target gravity has been reached and beer has cleared (approximately 3 weeks). Prime and bottle. Carbonate at 70° to 72° F. for 2 to 3 weeks. Store at cellar temperature.

Partial-mash option:

Mash 1.75 lbs. U.S. two-row pale malt and the specialty grains in 1 gallon water at 150° F for 90 min. Sparge with 2 gallons water at 168° F. Then follow the extract recipe, omitting 1.75 lb. of Muntons extra light dry malt extract (DME) from the boil.

All-grain option:

Mash 9.67 lbs. U.S. two-row pale malt and the specialty grains in 3 gallons of water at 152° F for 90 minutes. Sparge with 5 gallons of water at 168° F. The total boil time is 90 minutes. Add 6.8 AAU of bittering hops for the last 60 minutes of the boil. Add the spices and Irish moss as indicated by the extract recipe.