King Ruddager Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 So SWMBO of all people came across the following recipe for "Viking Ale", which I've roughly converted from imperial measurements to metric: 3kg Pilsen LME (they ask for 8lbs, which is more like 3.6kg) 450g dark brown sugar 225g crystal 225g smoked rye malt (huh? wtf?) 30g crushed juniper berries 30g hallertau hops 1 six-inch juniper branch European ale yeast The original recipe (image) can be found here, including all-grain version Looks like the grains and branch are steeped then the hops and berries are boiled for an hour. Think it'd be worth doing? It's fairly straightforward but looks like it might be quite sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I think you should give it a go; it's worth a shot. As for the sweetness I guess it depends on how much bitterness you get from the juniper branch. There was an issue of Brew Your Own magazine a while ago that covered this topic with articles and recipes. If you are interested you can buy back issues on their website. And once you drink it you can go pillaging and conquering other nations. England would be a good place to start; they're used to it [innocent] Below is a link to the magazine. Brew Your Own - Viking Edition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Eh!L Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Hey KR, This recipe sounds great! In fact I've put it into my notes to try myself down the line.[cool] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 HAGAR's ale, yum!! I'd be making it as close as possible to the recipe. Be aware that the link has it making 5 US gallons = 19 litres You should be able to get rye from your local brewing store - if you don't have a smoker, you could roast it. Apart from the hop bitterness (pellets will impart more bitterness than flowers), the juniper berries will add a kind of bitter/astringent character. I use just 5g for 15min in the boil with a Lemon Myrtle Witbier recipe and the juniper character is noticeable in the finished beer. Not sure what a Juniper twig will impart - more tannins maybe?? Can you get a twig? If not, maybe up the juniper berries another 10g. Keen to hear how this turns out.[biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordEoin Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I like beer, I like gin. Juniper Beer sounds like a winner to me [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Eh!L Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 European Ale yeast?! How about US-05 or S-04? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted February 23, 2013 Author Share Posted February 23, 2013 Ok so I went to AHB with this question as well and I think what I've decided to do is try and make a "Juniper Ale", more like a juniper flavoured and bittered beer than a traditional sahti. Got a cider ready to bottle at the moment and then everything I need for a wheat beer, so that gives me two or three weeks to work out the recipe. Should be enough time for me to change my mind about things a dozen or so times [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted March 20, 2013 Author Share Posted March 20, 2013 Righto, it's recipe time for this bad boy [bandit] 3kg Coopers light LME 200g light dry malt 200g dark crystal 200g rye 100g brown sugar 40g Hallertauer @60 10g Hallertauer @20 30g Juniper berries @15 (I have no idea how much bitterness this will impart) 10g Hallertauer @10 10g Hallertauer dry hopped, whenever I remember to do it 10L boil, 23 litres total What do you think? My only concern is the juniper - how much and for how long? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted March 20, 2013 Author Share Posted March 20, 2013 Oh ... OG 1.048 FG 1.012 IBU 22.8 EBC 17.6 ABV 5.1% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Eh!L Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Righto' date=' it's recipe time for this bad boy [bandit'] 3kg Coopers light LME 200g light dry malt 200g dark crystal 200g rye 100g brown sugar 40g Hallertauer @60 10g Hallertauer @20 30g Juniper berries @15 (I have no idea how much bitterness this will impart) 10g Hallertauer @10 10g Hallertauer dry hopped, whenever I remember to do it 10L boil, 23 litres total What do you think? My only concern is the juniper - how much and for how long? Hey KR, I think you are a bit conservative with your juniper additions The recipe in you OP has a lot more "juniper" going on in it than what you are proposing in yours. They have juniper smoked rye, and branches in the brew and 30g of berries boiled for 30mins... Come on[roll] ! Take a chance[biggrin] ! BTW, I think your recipe looks great for a trial run. And will most likely make a great beer. What yeast? I have plans to put something like this down in the future. We should compare notes[cool] . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted March 23, 2013 Author Share Posted March 23, 2013 I've looked at lots of juniper recipes now and that was the only one that used fresh berries and the only one that boiled them for even close to that long. The others all seem to recommend an ounce of crushed, dried berries for varying amounts of time. 15 minute steep seemed to be the minimum and a 15 minute boil was the maximum. Who knows what will happen. I actually got my hands on my dried juniper berries today though, so I'm all ready to go next weekend [smile] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted March 23, 2013 Author Share Posted March 23, 2013 Oh, and "Nottingham Ale Yeast" is the answer to your other question. That was on advice from the lady at the LHBS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Eh!L Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 Is juniper a native plant Downunder? Up here in the GWN I can gather all my juniper ingredients around the neighbourhood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted March 24, 2013 Author Share Posted March 24, 2013 Nope, not native. Actually it was quite difficult to find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Eh!L Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 Next time you are looking for some juniper let me know and I'll send you some! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamH1525226084 Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 I made Heston's braised pork belly last weekend and the recipe called for Juniper berries. I couldn't find any so just added some Gin instead [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Eh!L Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 I made Heston's braised pork belly last weekend and the recipe called for Juniper berries. I couldn't find any so just added some Gin instead [lol] How did the pork belly turn out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted March 24, 2013 Author Share Posted March 24, 2013 Next time you are looking for some juniper let me know and I'll send you some! Heh, I dunno what your customs and quarantine laws are like but you can barely get a chocolate bar into Australia, let alone some berries and a piece of tree [biggrin] The packet of dried ones only cost $2.80 or something anyway [wink] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamH1525226084 Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 I made Heston's braised pork belly last weekend and the recipe called for Juniper berries. I couldn't find any so just added some Gin instead [lol] How did the pork belly turn out? It was yummo - but, i didn't cook it for the 18 hours that Heston's recipe calls for, as I thought "that's ridiculous" [joyful] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted March 31, 2013 Author Share Posted March 31, 2013 Just brewed this thing and ... dunno how it's going to turn out. I had a taste of the first 100mL from the tap (you know, the worst bit) and it wasn't great. Couldn't taste the juniper at all [sad] Will just have to see what happens with this one over time I suppose. Might taste the hydrometer sample later ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Eh!L Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Well, we'll all cross our fingers.[biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Hopefully the flavour comes out once the sweetness has been fermented. Let us know how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted March 31, 2013 Author Share Posted March 31, 2013 Fingers crossed indeed. Thanks guys [smile] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted April 3, 2013 Author Share Posted April 3, 2013 Well bugger, I just realised (three days later) that I forgot to add the brown sugar. Never used brown sugar before so don't know what affect it would have had on the taste. Ah well. Speaking of taste, I am very tempted to have a try to see whether the juniper has emerged, but of course it's too early for that. Stupid waiting game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 You could still add the brown sugar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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