I’m going to stop by and see Mark to get this beer going. Cause of Death is a recipe from Johnny Max of the Brewcrazy podcast. It’s going to be a monster. If you’re interested in helping out, let me know and I’ll nail down the dates.

Style: Old Ale ABV: 21% OG: 1.212 (calculated with starter)

Ingredients

  • 31 lbs Maris Otter Pale
  • 2 oz Warrior pellets (16.3% AA), 60 min
  • 2 oz Amarillo pellets (9% AA), 60 min
  • Yeast: White Labs WLP099 Super High Gravity Ale (ferments to 25% ABV)

Note: the recipe itself is not special. The procedure is what gets you to 21%.

Procedure

This process is all about keeping the yeast alive well past where it would normally quit.

Starter and mash:

  1. Build a 1-gallon starter at 1.066 gravity in a 6.5-gallon carboy using WLP099. Track volume and gravity carefully since it factors into your final OG calculation.
  2. Mash 31 lbs Maris Otter at 146°F overnight or until conversion is complete.
  3. Sparge slowly until all sugar is extracted. Expect around 18 gallons across two kettles.
  4. Boil down to 4 gallons. Boil slow to reduce caramelization. A clip-on fan blowing across the surface of each pot prevents boilovers and speeds evaporation significantly by blowing steam away. Highly recommended.
  5. Add hops at 60 minutes remaining.

Final wort OG: 1.246. Combined with starter: calculated OG of 1.212.

Fermentation:

  1. Add 1 gallon of wort to the 2-gallon starter.
  2. Oxygenate for at least 15 minutes with O2 (or 40+ minutes if using air). Affix airlock.
  3. Can the remaining 3 gallons of wort in 1-quart mason jars: siphon wort into jars, set lids loosely, water bath boil for 15 minutes, then tighten.
  4. Ferment until activity slows.
  5. Add one quart of canned wort per day and oxygenate 3-5 minutes with O2 (or 9-15 min with air). Oxygenation is essential to keep yeast viable past 20% ABV.
  6. Ferment out.

Pushing past 20%:

When fermentation stalls (and it will), add 8 crushed Beano tablets to convert non-fermentable sugars into fermentable ones. If activity slows again, add 5 more. Next time I’d add Beano sooner, probably one day after the last quart of wort goes in.

IBUs: 184 according to Beertools. With that much alcohol and residual sweetness, it doesn’t taste nearly as bitter as that number suggests. Age helps a lot.

What I’d Do Differently

  • Add Beano earlier in the process
  • Use some roastier grains for more flavor depth