Free Beer (Vores Øl)
Photo: Quentin THEURET, CC BY 2.0
Free Beer, or Vores Øl, is an all-grain brown ale whose recipe is openly licensed under Creative Commons, so anyone may brew it, change it and share it. This version, codenamed Skands, finishes around 5.1 percent alcohol. Five malts give it a dark, roasty body, and guaraná berries steeped and added to the boil lend a distinctive twist. It suits brewers ready to move beyond kits.
Instructions
Crush the guaraná berries and steep them in 1 quart of hot boiled water that has cooled to no more than 78 °C. Strain the liquid and set it aside for the boil.
Mash the crushed grains at 66 °C in 135 L of water and hold for 60 minutes. Raise the mash to 72 °C for 5 minutes, then to 78 °C for 10 minutes.
Add the Northern Brewer hops at the start of the sparge as first wort hops. Sparge with 15.5 L of 78 °C water and collect 22.7 L of wort.
Boil the wort for 60 minutes. Add the strained guaraná liquid for the last 15 minutes and the Willamette hops for the last 7 minutes.
Cool the wort to 19.5 °C and move it to a clean, disinfected fermenter. Aerate it well so plenty of oxygen dissolves, then pitch the yeast.
Ferment at 19.5 °C until fermentation has finished, about 7 to 10 days.
Dissolve 90 g of sugar in a little boiling water and pour it into a clean, disinfected container. Transfer the beer on top of it, leaving the trub behind and avoiding splashing, so the sugar mixes evenly without aerating the beer.
Bottle the beer and keep it at 19.5 °C for 7 to 10 days to carbonate. Move the bottles to 4 to 8 °C for another 14 to 30 days, then serve cold.
Make it personal.
Custom engraved cutting boards, utensils, and kitchen accessories. Great gifts for anyone who cooks.
Shop Custom Chef →Affiliate link · PicksByRecipe may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
