Ingredients
- 1x Morgan’s Iron Bark Dark Ale kit
- 100gm Chocolate Malt grain
- 1kg Brew Enhancer (homebrew shop blend: dry malt extract, maltodextrin, dextrose)
- Kit yeast
Brewed & Bottled February 2007
ALC/VOL 4.8%
This batch was actually made at Flowery Twats (home of Merlin’s Socks) under the auspices of resident homebrew guru Damon (of Pwurg fame). Unfortunately, all the brewing notes are over at his place, so I can’t put down the details.
Basically, this was the batch that I learned how to brew, so it was very simple. The grain was steeped in water for about an hour, kept at a constant 67°C. Whilst all this was occurring, the kit wort and brew enhancer were boiled up together. The water from the grain was then strained into the fermenter, and the wort added in. Water was added to 23 litres, and the Original Gravity reading was taken before dry pitching the yeast.
Being February (and a particular hot one at that), the batch was done well within two weeks. Prior to bottling, the Final Gravity readng was taken, giving an approximate of 4.5% alc/vol. I primed the bottles (750ml) with a stubby amount of organic raw sugar, thus making a low carbonation factor, and adding only about 0.3% alc/vol.
Tasting Notes
It tasted fine after about 3 weeks in the bottle; it felt a bit rough however.
Five months later, it is tasting quite nice and a lot smoother than it was in the beginning. Mouthfeel, head and body are wonderful. The colour is exquisitely dark and could be mistaken for a Stout – except its not as thick and creamy.
This was named after our horse – Echo – who was ‘affectionately known in East Gippsland as “that black devil”. Let’s just say he had character, hence the name. He had one eye, and some horsemen feel nervous about a one-eyed horse with a mind of his own. Originally this was going to be Gardiners Creek Brown Ale – a play on Newcastle Brown, being that I thought a beer named after the oh-so murky waters of the local waterway would be funny. But this is more black than brown, and seeing as we gave this horse away just after the bushfires, I thought I would immortalise him by putting his beautiful side on the label.
