The Apartment Homebrewer

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

To commemorate the possible 2012 Mayan apocalypse, I planned a last-minute brew night.  Whether it was zombies or a comet, I figured if the world was ending, I might as well go down while brewing some beer (with a good baseball bat in short range, just in case). Fortunately, the world did not end, and I was left with this awesome brew. My thoughts for this brew were to make a malty, strong ale of sorts (close to an English strong ale style or a winter warmer without spices), to reflect the magnitude of the coming apocalypse, but keep it “sessionable” around 7% ABV with relatively low final gravity (because I intend to drink heavily in a REAL apocalyptic setting). Below are the pics of the brew night, as well as the recipe used (mileage may vary given your brew setup). Once packaged, I plan to save a few of these to be enjoyed on the 2013 winter and summer solstices.  Tasting notes coming soon, stay tuned!

Update Feb 2013: tasting notes, fresh ~2 months old

Update Mar 2014: tasting notes, ~1 year later

Recipe: 2012 Mayan Apocalypse Strong Ale
2.5 gallon batch, all-grain
Stats: OG 1.071, FG 1.015, ABV ~7%, IBU ~40

Malt
82% 2-row malt
8% Crystal 60L
4% Munich malt
4% Table sugar (added at beginning of boil)
2% Black Patent malt

Single infusion mash @ 148F for 60 minutes, mash-out 170F for 10 minutes

Hops
0.5 oz Centennial @ 45 min, 0.5 oz Centennial @ 15 min

Yeast
11.5 grams (1 packet) of S-04

Water
Good clean water