The Competition Recipe: Midnight Cowboy

This year's competition recipe is a heavy homage to Siren's Broken Dream Breakfast Stout, the Camra Supreme Champion Beer of Britain 2018, which was described by the judges as "dangerously drinkable". And it is astonishingly good. 

Tasting notes are often bollocks, but this tall, dark, handsome stranger lives up to its billing, delivering smoke, coffee, chocolate, milk and oat aromas wrapped in a velvety, thick and smooth finish that is positively indecent. 

The competition 'clone' recipe was devised by the sainted Mr Hugo Anderson - our longstanding beer judge and a man soon to be elevated to the peerage for services to brewing - who went to all the trouble of making a batch to ensure it's more Joe-Buck-night-with-a-hot-New-York-socialiate than Ratso-the-oily-pimp-dead-on-a-bus-to-Florida.

Without further a-do, here's Midnight Cowboy for your delectation and pleasure.


INGREDIENTS

There are two versions of this recipe. The Extract Version for beginners and the All Grain Version for those who like that sort of thing.

To make 18 litres.

MALTS, OATS and SUGARS (ALL GRAIN VERSION)

Pale Malt                   3.41kg
Roast Barley                 260g
Chocolate Malt              260g
Flaked Oats                  640g
Dark Crystal Malt          130g
Carapils/Dextrin Malt     260g
Lactose                        400g

White cane sugar            1.75g per litre in the fermenter

MALTS and SUGARS (EXTRACT VERSION)

Light Malt Extract           3.32kg (Muntons)
Roast Barley (crushed)      290g
Chocolate Malt (crushed)   290g
Dark Crystal Malt (crushed) 70g
Demerara sugar                130g

Lactose                            340g

White cane sugar                1.75g per litre in the fermenter

HOPS  

Magnum                       8.9g

YEAST (ALL GRAIN VERSION)

  

US05 - Safeale 1 (half sachet)
Safeale 4            (half sachet)        

YEAST (EXTRACT VERSION)

Safeale 4                  (sachet)    

OTHER THINGS

Espresso coffee (liquid)    450ml (using 45g of ground espresso)
Calcium chloride  (mash salt) 4g
Irish Moss                      1/2 tsp
Salt                                      2g

                 

METHOD

The method below is all quite 'top level'. For help with the general stuff of brewing, read: The Principles of Brewing: Ingredients, Kit and Method first.

1. Do the mash.

(If you're brewing the Extract Version, skip this stage.)

Heat your 11 litres of strike water to 76-77C (this will allow for heat loss when adding the water to the grains.)

Add 4g calcium chloride. This will "promote palate fullness, sweetness, or mellowness within the flavour profile of your beer" apparently.

Mash your malts and oats at 69-70C for 60 mins.


2. Do the sparge.


(If you're brewing the Extract Version, skip this stage.)

You need 26 litres of sparge water at 70-80C with a little salt (2g) added.

Sparge that sucker good.

3. Do the boil.  

You're going to boil for an hour. At the start of the boil (once it's actually bubbling) add your 8.9g of Magnum hops.

45 mins into the boil, add your 400g of lactose and your half teaspoon of Irish Moss. 

In the Extract Version, you should add your grains (put them in a hop bag first) at the start of the boil along with your hops.

45 mins into the boil, add your 340g of lactose and your half teaspoon of Irish Moss. 

4. Do the yeast.

This recipe calls for two types of yeast, detailed in the ingredients. Use a half sachet of each. You can 'pitch' your yeast in any number of ways. Here are two.

1. Just bang it on top of the cooled wort (the hoppy malty pre-beer stuff you have after the boil), whack on the lid and walk away. Low effort, but will give you mixed results.

2. Rehydrate the yeast by adding it to room temperature sterile water in a sterile jug. Leave for 15 mins to do its thing, then vigorously stir into the wort using a sterile spoon to get a good mix with lots of oxygen in it.

Recommended fermentation temperature is a steady 19-20C.

For those who understand this sort of thing, your fermenter specific gravity is 1072. Your end fermentation specific gravity should be 1025-1030.

If you're brewing the Extract Version, you add your demerara sugar to the fermenter at this stage also.

5.  Do the bottling.

For bottle priming, the best instructions I could find were these:

- Use 1.75g of white sugar per litre of wort.
- Add your sugar to 250 ml of water
- Bring to a simmer for 5 mins (this sterilises the sugar)
- Add to your wort and stir in.

You'll also need to add your espresso to the wort and stir in. 

This is preferable to adding a quantity of sugar to each bottle because a) it's easier and b) it ensures an even distribution across the batch.

Crown cap those mothers and stash them somewhere relatively warm (min 19C) for two to three weeks, or until they are as clear as a completely black drink can be. 

5.  Do the drinking.

You don't need my help with this bit, but I'm obviously happy to oblige.