St. Seraphim Belgian-Style Strong Ale

10 gallons, extract/specialty grains; OG = 1.072; FG = 1.016; ABV= 7-8

Ingredients:

• 7 lbs. Light malt extract
• 6 lbs. Amber dry malt extract
• 1 lb. Belgian cara-Vienne malt
• 8 oz. aromatic malt
• 4 oz. extra dark crystal malt, caramel, 120° Lovibond
• 4 oz. Belgian Special B malt
• 2 lbs. Rice extract powder
• 1 lb. Belgian amber candi sugar
• 1 lb. Belgian dark candi sugar
• 1 tsp. gypsum
• 1.25 tsp. salt
• 1.5 tsp. chalk
• 9/10 oz. Eroica hop pellets (23.4% alpha acid), for 60 min.
• 1 pint Wyeast 1388 and 1 pint 3787 ale yeast starters
• 1.5 cups corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Steep cracked grains in 150° F water for 45 minutes. Place grains in strainer or collander lined with cheesecloth and rinse with 150° to 160° F water, collecting runoff in the boiling kettle. When runoff is reasonably clear, discard grain. Add malt extracts, gypsum, salt, chalk, and enough water to bring the volume up to about 6 gals. Heat to boiling. When boil begins, add hop pellets and boil for an hour.

Quick-chill the wort. Move the wort to fermenting vessels, filling them no more than 2/3 full, and add yeast starters. Ferment between 60° and 70° F. When fermentation appears to be complete, siphon to settling vessels, top them up, and let them stand for three to four days. Siphon to bottling containers, prime, bottle, and let the bottles stand for 10 days to two weeks to carbonate.