Black

I originally was planning this as a coffee stout. Then I looked at how much roast malt is in here - this recipe maxes out the color calculators, since anything beyond about 40 SRM is just slightly darker black.

Batch #85
Extra stout

10 lbs Maris Otter
~1 lb Golden Promise (end of the sack)
1.5 lbs British black roasted barley
1 lb Flaked barley
1 lb Flaked oats
12 oz British chocolate malt
10 oz British crystal 70/80
4 oz British pale chocolate malt
1 oz Magnum/Apollo mix @ 15.1%AA, 60min
1 oz El Dorado @ 15.3%AA, 5min
4 oz Lactose, 5min
1 tab whirlfloc
11.5g dry yeast, US-05
OG: 1.075
FG:
ABV:
IBU: ~55


Mash in with 5 gallons water to 148~150F, hold for 75 min. Fly sparge with 4 gallons water at 170F. Extracted 7 gallons at 16P (~1.064). Boil 1 hour, chill, ferment at 68F.

Episode II

Trying again. Expecting this one to turn out a little sweeter... and carbonated at the end.

Batch #84
Helldorado Clone Second Attempt, for 3 gallons

8lbs Golden Promise
1lb German Pilsner
4 oz American Crystal 15L
2 oz American Victory
1.5lbs Buckwheat Honey (sourced locally in CA Central Valley)
0.25 oz El Dorado, 15.3%AA (60m)
0.25 oz El Dorado, 15.3%AA (15m)
0.5 oz El Dorado, 15.3%AA (1m)
Whirlfloc, 10m
1/4 tsp CaCl2, in mash
WLP090 - San Diego Super Yeast, 1.5L starter
OG: 1.085

Mashed in with 11qts spring water at 150F for 60min. Initial mash pH ~5.7 (thanks, Jay!). Batch sparge with 9qts to collect 4 gallons at ~14P. Boiled 90min, chill to 66F, oxygenate using compressed O2 for ~1min. Pitch yeast and ferment between 66 and 70F.

Mead again

Update 6/27/14 - Spiked with metabisulfite, backsweetened with 3 oz of buckwheat honey (what I had,...wish it were orange here), added a tannin tincture (over-steeped Peet's Osmanthus Fancy), and bottled. Who wants some?
--

Made some more mead. Yaaaaay. I'm still kind of just playing when making mead. One of these days I'll have more time to plan it out and take it more seriously. There was talk of making a pyment (Sauv blanc juice and orange blossom honey? yum) today, but that was more thought than I wanted to put in just now.

Mead Batch #05
Pluot Melomel
-5lbs Orange Blossom honey
-10lbs Macerated Pluots
-Water to 3 gallons
-1tsp pectic enzyme
~3g BA-11 dry yeast, rehydrated with GoFerm
OG: 1.090ish (calculated from honey and estimated sugar content of pluots)
FG: 1.008
ABV: 10.7%

Macerated/pitted pluots, stuck them in the freezer for a month or two. Thawed yesterday. Mixed honey and water, poured pluots into mesh bag, stirred in with must and pectic enzyme. Mixed in rehydrated yeast.