Keith's Old Ale

My 1st Brew...And it turned out very well, This is probably my favorite
of the three brews I have bottled so far. The Alcohol Content is about 8%
and it has a nice brown color Very similar to Newcastle Brown Ale.
In Fact it tastes like a slightly stronger version of Newcastle.
I did (on a whim) add a "secret ingredient" of two Cinnamon Sticks and
one whole nutmeg. I like this one :)So do my Friends...

Brewer:	Keith Aschinger		Email:	kheldarstl@yahoo.com
Beer:	Keith's Old Ale		Style:	English Old/Strong Ale
Type:	Extract w/grain		Size:	5.5 gallons
Color:	64 HCU (~26 SRM)		Bitterness:	17 IBU
OG:	1.074		FG:	1.008
Alcohol:	8.5% v/v (6.6% w/w)
Grain:	1 lb. American crystal 40L .25 lb. British chocolate
Steep:	I steeped the 1/4 lb of choclate malt, and the 1 lb of Crystal malt for 20 minutes at 165° F
Boil:	60 minutes	SG 1.202	2 gallons
	3 lb. 3 oz. Amber malt extract 6 lb. Amber dry malt extract
	Added the Amber Extract (DME and LIquid) and brought to a boil, Added 1oz Williamette Hops 5mins into the boil, and added the remaining 1oz at 45 mins into the boil.
Hops:	1 oz. Willamette (5% AA, 60 min.) 1 oz. Willamette (5% AA, 15 min.)
Yeast:	That Old Standby Wyeat 1215 - Thames Valley - 16 oz starter.
Log:	Primary Fermentation at 68° F for THREE DAYS, Yes three days and the Fermentation had ened, I racked to a secondary and let it sit for 10 days, Bottled it and drank some a week later...See notes below....
Carbonation:	priming sugar
Tasting:	at 1st tasting, Not very impressed (1st tasting was 1 week after bottling) very weak carbonation but very good taste, It reminded my Best friend of Newcastle Brown Ale. After 4 weeks in the bottle I gave it another shot, WOW, the carbonation has DRASTICALLY improved, as has the flavour. I bottle in 22oz bottles and ONE bottle had me quite tipsy, My best friend at this tasting ended up crashing on my couch after two bottles of this one, Definatly not a guzzlin' beer... As always Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated...

Recipe posted 03/28/99.