Chai Spiced Brown Ale

After being a major slacker on this blog for the last two months, I'm happy to be posting a recipe again.  I may not have been posting, but I definitely kept brewing over the holiday season.  I'm going to try to keep things more consistent in 2014.  Here's a recipe that I brewed towards the end of 2013 (exact dates unknown).  This has turned out to be one of the more enjoyable recipes I brewed last year and I'd definitely recommend this batch to anyone who enjoys a smooth brown ale with a hint of spice!

I found this recipe inspiration in Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher (see page 170).  I didn't follow Gordon Strong's recipe exactly since I want my brown ale to be a little stronger than the recipe in the book, though I did use chai spices as directed.

BJCP Style Category: 11C Northern English Brown Ale or 21A Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer

Batch Size: 5 gallons

Grains:
4.75 lbs UK 2-Row
2.50 lbs Vienna Malt
1.25 lbs Munich Malt
1.00 lbs Caravienne Malt
0.75 lbs Crystal 80
0.25 lbs Chocolate Malt
0.25 lbs Flaked Oats

Hops:
1.50 oz Saaz - 60 minutes remaining in boil


Yeast:
British Ale Yeast - White Labs WLP 005

Chai Tea Spices:
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2" ginger, peeled, sliced
1 star anise
1 black cardamom pod, split
1/2 whole nutmeg, roughly chopped
2 cinnamon sticks
5 whole cloves
18 green cardamom pods, split
2 tsp black peppercorns
0.25 tsp fennel seeds

I mashed 3.6 gallons of water with the grains at 147 deg F (strike temp 163 deg F) for 60 minutes.  Sparge with 4.2 gallons of water at 170 deg F for about 60 minutes.

Sparging beautiful brown ale...

Once you've collected your wort, bring the batch to a boil and add the Saaz hops once you reach boiling.  Boil for 60 minutes.  Cool and transfer your wort to the primary fermenter, pitch yeast, and ferment for one week.

After the primary fermentation is complete you're ready to add the spices.  Gather all your spices ahead of time and prepare as noted above.  

Chai Tea Spice Blend!

Bring one quart of water to a boil and pour the water over your spices.  Allow the spices to steep for 15 minutes in the water.  Strain to remove the spices and chill until you are ready to use.

Transfer your fermented beer to the secondary fermenter.  Add the chai tea to your taste.  I ended up adding the entire tea blend and did not find it to be overwhelming.  Leave the batch in the secondary fermenter until you're ready to bottle or keg.  The final product is delicious.  Enjoy!