Introduction
Are you a beer lover who enjoys trying out new and unique brews? If so, then this recipe might be just what you’re looking for! The Northern Lights Honey Ale is a delicious beer that offers a perfect blend of sweet and bitter flavors. The use of honey adds a luxurious texture to the beer while also giving it a touch of sweetness. This is a fantastic brew that you don’t want to miss out on!
Ingredients
To prepare Northern Lights Honey Ale, you will need the following ingredients:
Malts
- Pale malt (9 lbs)
- Honey malt (1 lb)
- Crystal malt (0.5 lbs)
- Munich malt (0.5 lbs)
Hops
- Chinook hops (0.6 oz) – bittering
- Willamette hops (0.5 oz) – flavor
- Fuggle hops (0.5 oz) – aroma
Yeast
- American ale yeast (Wyeast 1056)
Others
- Honey (1 lb)
- Irish moss (1 tsp)
- Water (4 gallons)
- Priming sugar (3/4 cup)
Instructions
Once you have gathered all the ingredients, you can begin making your Northern Lights Honey Ale. Follow these instructions:
Step 1 – Mashing
Begin the process by mashing the grains. Take a large kettle and fill it with 3 gallons of water. Heat it up to 165°F. Stir in all the mashed grains and stir thoroughly. Make sure there are no lumps. Maintain the temperature at 152-155°F for an hour.
Step 2 – Sparging
Next, transfer the liquid to another kettle. Rinse the grains with hot water at 170°F. Collect the runoff into a kettle. You should have 4 gallons of wort.
Step 3 – Boiling
Bring the wort to a boil and add Chinook hops. Boil it for 60 minutes. In the last 10 minutes, add Irish moss. Add Willamette hops in the last 5 minutes of boiling. In the last few seconds, add Fuggle hops.
Step 4 – Fermentation
Once boiling is complete, cool the wort to 70°F. Transfer it into a fermenter and add the yeast. Ferment it for one week in the primary fermenter and another week in the secondary fermenter.
Step 5 – Adding Honey and Carbonation
Once the fermentation process is complete, it is time to add honey. Dissolve honey in 1 cup of hot water. Add it to the beer and let it sit for two days. After the two days, you need to bottle the beer with priming sugar to carbonate it. Leave the bottles at room temperature for about 2 weeks.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You have just brewed your very own Northern Lights Honey Ale that will offer you a unique blend of sweet and bitter flavors. Follow these instructions next time you want to impress your guests with a homemade, delicious beer that will leave them asking for more!