Elegant Bastard American Strong Ale Extract Beer Recipe Kit

$54.99
Eligible for Free Shipping.Details
Price Per BOTTLE: $1.14
+ -

Product details

This elegantly simple recipe translates into a deeply complex and brag-worthy American strong ale. The choice combination of pale malt, Belgian Special B, and Chinook hops create a medley of dark caramel, raisin, dried cherry, and plum and slight pine flavors all interlaced into a boastful deep copper color. Pouring with a medium-heavy body, Elegant Bastard is a smooth sipper meant to be enjoyed in moderation.

Brewing Notes

  • Style: American Strong Ale
  • Fermentation Range: 65-70 F
  • Original Gravity: 1.066
  • SRM: 16
  • IBUs: 81
  • ABV: 7.1%

Tasting Notes

  • Aroma: Malt aromas of dried fruits and caramel with medium-high pine resin and slight grapefruit hop nose.
  • Appearance: Deep copper color with ruby mahogany highlights. Firm off-white to nearly tan foam head with good persistence.
  • Flavor: Thick malt profile with fig, dried dark fruits, and moderate dark caramel. High bitterness with pine and subtle citrus fruit hop flavors.
  • Mouthfeel: Medium-full body with a smooth, creamy, and long finish on the palate. Slight alcohol warming. Medium carbonation with no astringency.

Brad’s Notes:

“Not quite a Barleywine and certainly stronger and bolder than an American Amber Ale, Elegant Bastard falls in that in-between territory belonging to American Strong Ale. This style is assertively malty and hoppy at the same time, and the hugely popular inspiration for this recipe certainly exemplifies these traits.

By starting with a big (yet simple!) malt bill consisting of only base malt and Belgian Special B would seem to be a little bit of a one-trick pony but fret not. The base malt creates a foundation of clean, bready malt flavors, and then the Special B ramps things up a bit by adding the characteristic color and complex flavor profile of dark fruit, caramel, and slight toffee.

For an equally robust punch in the hop department, sizeable doses of classic Chinook hops are added at four separate times throughout the boil to create bracing bitterness and prominent flavors and aromas of piney resin, slight spice, and noticeable nuances of grapefruit citrus. To keep things from being overly sweet and heavy-bodied, a relatively low mash temperature is used in the all-grain version, while a dose of simple sugars in the malt extract recipe helps the yeast to attenuate and contributes to the alcohol content while keeping the body and flavor from being too big or sweet.

While this recipe may be ready to drink in 6 weeks (fresh beer is always good!), it is substantial enough to stand up to aging well. If you have the self-control, try to (gasp!) hide a few bottles from yourself and then come back to them in 6 months, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Elegant Bastard is just that - A bit of an aggressive and rough-around-the-edges bastard when young, but morphs into a complexly elegant sipper with some age on it.”

 

Looking for the Extract Version?

Additional information

SKU

BK10330, BK10333, BK10334

Beer Color Amber
Original Gravity

1.066

Total Time to Make 6 weeks
Regional Style USA
Alcohol Content Medium
Yield 5 Gallons
Beer Style British/American Strong Ale
Fermentation Type Ale
Beer Recipe Kit Instructions Click here for recipe kit instructions

Customer Reviews

Based on 118 reviews
88%
(104)
10%
(12)
2%
(2)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
m
mark p.
tastes great...but, is this supposed to be the final gravity?

I really like the taste, bitterness, body, etc. My OG was @1.070, so I was expecting a very strong ale. The brew started out like gangbusters requiring a blow-out system to save my floor. After about 1 week, the bubbles slowed down to a stop. Checked the gravity and it was @1.016. Seemed too high to be done, so I racked to secondary for another 10 days. No bubble seen in the air lock during that time. Checked gravity again today and it was @1.015. I'm figuring that is it (@5% vs. expected 6-7%.) Is @1.015 the expected FG?
Thanks,
Mark

D
Dale M.
Need more time!

Like SO MANY reviews I've read on your site, I have to say I would submit a review however my batch is still in the secondary fermenter at the moment. Your review request must be automated but time should be allowed to actually brew and then sample the product!

J
Johnny O.
Elegant ****

2nd time brewing this recipe. It came out excellent just like the first one. A great transition from my summer lager to my upcoming holiday brew.

p
paul
Good Beer

A dark amber beer with a creamy white head and a crisp, clean finish I’ll make this one again.

J
John G.
Elegant ****

Easy brewing need to use overflow tube it ferment strong. Bottled and letting age a few months before trying.

You recently viewed

Clear recently viewed
Elegant Bastard American Strong Ale Extract Beer Recipe Kit

Elegant Bastard American Strong Ale Extract Beer Recipe Kit

Customer Reviews

Based on 118 reviews
88%
(104)
10%
(12)
2%
(2)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
m
mark p.
tastes great...but, is this supposed to be the final gravity?

I really like the taste, bitterness, body, etc. My OG was @1.070, so I was expecting a very strong ale. The brew started out like gangbusters requiring a blow-out system to save my floor. After about 1 week, the bubbles slowed down to a stop. Checked the gravity and it was @1.016. Seemed too high to be done, so I racked to secondary for another 10 days. No bubble seen in the air lock during that time. Checked gravity again today and it was @1.015. I'm figuring that is it (@5% vs. expected 6-7%.) Is @1.015 the expected FG?
Thanks,
Mark

D
Dale M.
Need more time!

Like SO MANY reviews I've read on your site, I have to say I would submit a review however my batch is still in the secondary fermenter at the moment. Your review request must be automated but time should be allowed to actually brew and then sample the product!

J
Johnny O.
Elegant ****

2nd time brewing this recipe. It came out excellent just like the first one. A great transition from my summer lager to my upcoming holiday brew.

p
paul
Good Beer

A dark amber beer with a creamy white head and a crisp, clean finish I’ll make this one again.

J
John G.
Elegant ****

Easy brewing need to use overflow tube it ferment strong. Bottled and letting age a few months before trying.