Watch this video to learn more about Harper’s inspiration. Then brew your own version of the Tudor Ale from the recipe below.

Recipe reprinted with permission by Summit Brewing Company and Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

5 Gallon Batch Size (scaled for 70% efficiency)
O.G: 1.046
F.G: 1.012
BUs: 15

MASH INGREDIENTS
7.25 lbs. Crisp Maltings Floor Malted Organic Pale Malt
1.2 lbs Simpson’s Crystal Medium
0.5 oz Simpson’s Black

MASH SCHEDULE: SINGLE INFUSION
Sacch’ Rest: 154° F for 45 minutes
Mashout: 172° F for 5 minutes

BOIL ADDITIONS & TIMES
60-minute boil
0.5 oz East Kent Goldings (55 min)
2.5 oz Honey (50 min)
0.1 oz Fresh Sage, chopped (5 min)

YEAST
Wyeast 1028 London Ale
Fermentation Temp: 68° F

FERMENTATION SCHEDULE:
One week primary fermentation
“Dry-hop” with 0.5 oz dried sage for one week.
Two weeks bottle conditioning

Liquid extract can be stored in the fridge, but watch for mold formation. Cool, dry places also work well (extract can be stored in the same places as grain). Dry extract should be stored somewhere dry.

Hops are fine in the fridge, but should be kept in the freezer for long-term storage.

Store your yeast in the fridge. The yeast packs can survive a few days at room temperature, but should be put in the refrigerator as soon as they are received. Dry yeast is fine without refrigeration much longer than liquid yeast, but keeping it cold will extend its life.

Check your order as soon as it arrives. Stash your yeast in the refrigerator and hops in the freezer—make sure everything is accounted for. Please report any potential damage or order issue to us right away, as we don’t want anything to delay your carefully planned brew day.

Cheers!

Dan Boody, NB Customer Service Manager

And if you don’t want to taste along. Just enjoy the video!

The information below is copyrighted by Tim Vandergrift and Winexpert. Reprinted here with permission.

Component Tasting Program

Component tasting solutions are made in one-litre volumes, using any commercial bottled water that is free of flavour or minerals. Generic store brands work very well. Solutions are made for oak, tannin, alcohol, sugar, and acid. When making them up, be sure to taste them as you go. The flavours should be detectable, but not overpowering. Be sure and label your mixtures, some will look similar.

Oak: bring one litre of the bottled water to a boil and add sixty grams of American oak chips (two packages) and remove from heat. Allow to cool and soak for two hours, pour through a coffee filter, and top up to one litre with more bottled water

Tannin: approximately 2 grams (1/2 teaspoon) of winemaking tannin in one litre of water. Mix very well (tannin is difficult to dissolve) and taste: it should resemble the aftertaste of strong black tea. If it is unpleasantly puckering, or if it is difficult to detect, adjust to taste.

Alcohol: replace approximately 150 ml of the water in the bottle with regular 80-proof vodka. The flavour should be vaguely sweet and slightly metallic. If you find it overpoweringly ‘boozy’ or
undetectable, adjust to taste.

Sugar: purchase fructose (fruit sugar) from a health-food store, or the health section of the supermarket. Add approximately one and one-half teaspoons (ten grams) of sugar to the litre of water. The taste should be very gently sweet.

Acid: add one-quarter teaspoon (about 1.5 grams) of tartaric acid to the litre of water. The flavour should be definitely, but faintly acidic.

These components are then tasted against a fruity, unoaked white wine, such as a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and a fruity, oaky red—Australian Shiraz works well.[The video above uses Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc for the white wine and Yellow Tail Shiraz for the red wine.]

First, everyone should taste both the red and the white wine, and discuss their character—open forum style. Clear the palate with water afterwards. After this the process is:

Taste the white, taste the component solution, taste the white again

Discuss

Clear the palate with water

Taste the red, taste the component solution, taste the red again

Discuss

Clear the palate with water

Repeat for next component solution

Today’s Beer Nerd Book Club meeting is hereby called to order! We’re here to discuss the new, hotly anticipated book, “IPA: Brewing Techniques, Recipes, and the Evolution of India Pale Ale,” written by Mitch Steele. Mitch Steele is a household name in IPA-brewing circles, as he’s the brewmaster at Stone Brewing Company. Pile on top of that instant cred the foreword by Matt Brynildson of Firestone Walker, and this book is a power-tome of West Coast IPA knowledge.

Steele begins by discussing the history of IPA, starting with English restoration-era “October” beers and ales, London’s influence on the India trade, and the launching point upon which it all sprung: Burton ale. In a nutshell, October beers led to Hodgson’s London pale ale, which led to Burton pale ale, which led to Burton IPA, which got watered down around the World Wars, which got a rebirth with American craft brewers.

However, such a summary is a gross oversimplification of the brilliantly interesting steps along the way. For example, Scottish brewers had a huge influence on advances in brewing technology, such as inventing the practice of sparging, that then influenced Burton brewers. Advances in malting technology, understandings about the influence of yeast and bacteria, and the aging of beers to promote clarity, all had a considerable effect on IPA as we know it today. Perhaps most memorably, though modern brewers are in an arms race to cram the most IBUs into a batch of IPA, they’re barely approaching Burton ale levels, which at times was hopped as high as 3.2 ounces of hops per gallon!

The latter half of the book covers recipes, both historical and modern, as well as modern brewing techniques to make a great IPA. All the old touchstones are there: use a clean yeast strain, use fresh ingredients, treat your yeast well. Steele also brings us 48 recipes, for everything from Burton ale and modern English IPA, to White IPA and Black IPA. This book is an excellent addition to the library of any brewer interested in making hoppy beers. I highly recommend this well-written, thoroughly researched and entirely engrossing book.

- Vaughn Stewart, Northern Brewer Merchandising Manager

Here at Northern Brewer, there is one question we get asked A LOT during the fall and winter months – and that’s how to incorporate real pumpkin in our Smashing Pumpkin Ale Beer Kits. In this video we’ll show you how to use canned and real pumpkin in our extract and all-grain kits.

Extract w/ Specialty Grains
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/smashing-pumpkin-ale-extract-kit.html

All-Grain:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/smashing-pumpkin-ale-all-grain-kit.html

Then come the recipes. And, man, are there some recipes! Sure, you get rad recipes for Dogfish Head beers like India Brown Ale and Midas Touch. You also get Sam’s original recipes, many of which I have tried and have gone over amazingly well – the Peppercorn Rye Bock is incredible! On top of all that, this deluxe edition also includes more than a dozen new recipes from Dogfish Head collaboration beers with breweries like Stone, Victory and Russian River.

I highly suggest it to anyone who loves Dogfish Head’s beers and brew philosophy… especially for anyone interested in brewing outside of the lines.

For an inside look at Dogfish Head and its roots in homebrewing see Brewing TV – Episode 63.

Chip Walton
Northern Brewer Video Dude

For the first time ever, homebrewing is happening on a regular basis at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. A few days ago (and after much popular demand), the White House released two of its recipes to the public – a Honey Ale and Honey Porter. Now you can brew these White House Ales in your own home using recipe kits exclusively from Northern Brewer.

We at Northern Brewer are excited to see homebrewing in the national spotlight. This act inspired us to create the Northern Brewer’s White House Recipe Kits so that every American can try their hand at crafting the same recipes.

Built on a big foundation of malt with strong tones of biscuit and toffee, White House Honey Ale plays down hop bitterness and plays up the fruity and caramelly aspect of English malt and yeast. A late addition of pure honey is the signature calling card of this recipe, imbuing a floral aroma and lightening the body.

White House Honey Porter is not only roasty, but it also builds consensus with generous applications of sweet caramel and toasty Munich malts, while moderate bitterness and a pound of honey lets us all find common ground.

In a year of divisive politics, we think it’s especially important to remember what we have in common: homebrewing! Political leanings aside, we hope you’ll raise a glass to the community that is homebrewing. We have come a long way in the three decades since homebrewing was made legal in this country. We hope more people will want to get into this amazing hobby.