Born To Be Mild - Charity Brew Kit in Memorial of Christina Burbadge

Born To Be Mild

June 2021  -  $39.99

English Mild – 20L (5ish Gallons) - OG 1.042 – FG 1.015 – ABV 3.6% - IBU 30 – SRM 18

Born To Be Mild, a recipe kit in Memorial of Christina Burbadge. This is a True Grist Homebrew Club initiative with assistance from BSG Canada, Escarpment Labs, us at KJ, and Shortfinger Brewing. All proceeds donated to Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. 

• Distribution and Sales by KJ Urban Winery & Craft Brewing Supplies
• Donation of all yeast by Escarpment Labs
• Donation of all hops and malt by BSG Canada

Purchase this Recipe | Printable Instructions

Ingredients

Grains

• Golden Promise x 6.75lbs
• Rye Malt x 14oz
• Crystal Medium x 8oz 
• Crystal Dark (120 or 90) x 6oz
• Brown Malt x 3oz
• Carafa Special De-Husked I x 3oz

Hops 

• St. Golding Celeia - 1.25oz @ 60 minutes
• St. Golding Celeia - 0.75oz @ 15 minutes

Yeast

• English II (Escarpment Labs)

Extras (Must be purchased separately)

• Irish Moss - 1 tsp at final 15 minutes of the boil 
• DME/Dextrose - 150g at bottling for priming

Important Tips on Brewing

• Be extra cautious when it comes to cleaning! Once you have stopped boiling your wort everything that gets in contact with the beer MUST be sanitary.
• Always let your beer ferment for 10 days! Do not disturb it, do not open the lid. It is absolutely natural for the airlock to stop bubbling after a few days, it is still fermenting though.
• Oxidization: Airspace is always something to consider. When undergoing primary fermentation airspace is needed so that the beer can bubble up and ferment vigoursley without leaking out of the container. The fermentation creates a layer of CO2 that remains in the pail due to the airlock. Once primary fermentation is over, and the lid has been opened, the layer of CO2 dissipates, and oxygen replaces it. At this point airspace can ruin your beer. When racking into carboys make sure they are filled to the top, or you blast CO2 inside to prevent oxidization. Ask us for details on this!
• Before bottling, make sure you use a priming calculator (many can be found online) to verify the amount of sugar that needs to be added.

Instructions

Mashing -> converting the grain into a fermentable liquid.

• Bring 6 gallons of water in your brew pot to 158°F. This is our strike temperature. Turn off the heat to the pot.
• Wrap the muslin/nylon bag around the brew pot and slowly pour all the milled grains into the bag. Stir them in while adding to prevent clumps. The addition of grain should drop the temperature down to 150-158°F.
• We want to mash the grain at 158°F for 60 minutes. It is very important to hold the temperature at 158°F. Christina designed this recipe to be mashed at 158°F instead of the standard 150-155°F range. This adds body and leaves a little residual sugar in the beer which will balance out the hop and sharp malt character. Hold the temp at 158°F throughout the mashing process.
  1. The first 15-30 minutes are essential for the success of your brew. The temperature HAS TO BE IN THE RANGE OF 155-158°F. Cover the pot with your lid and let it sit.
  2. Most brew pots will be able to maintain 158°F without adding heat for 20 minutes, we recommend checking the temperature every 15 minutes, and if it drops add more heat to bring it up. We recommend opening the lid and using a thermometer in the liquid.
• After 60 minutes, bring the temperature of the mashing grain up to 170°F and hold for 10 minutes. This is our mash out.
• Time to remove the grain. Lift the bag full of grain out of the brew pot. Let the liquid in the bag dribble into your wort. Once that is done, put the bag inside of a brewing pail, or another empty pot. There will be about 4 gallons of wort in the brewpot, we need to get it to 6 gallons before we can begin the next stage.
• Run warm water through the grains in the bag, aim for 170°f – let it run through the grains and add to the brewpot. Add until you reach 5.75 gallons.
  1. PSA: It is natural to think that the grains need to be squeezed to get all of the liquid out of them, DO NOT DO THIS. Aggressively squeezing the grains will lead to tannin extraction and a doughy taste in your beer. Lightly pressing the bag is fine, but do not try to squeeze every last drop out.

Boiling -> Hop addition time

• Bring 6 gallons of your wort to a rolling boil, and let it boil for 5 minutes, this is called the hot break.
• Add 1.25 ounces of St. Golding Celeia and set a timer for 60 minutes, keep the wort boiling (212°f) and uncovered.
• With 15 minutes left, add 0.75 oz of St. Golding Celeia, 1 tsp of Irish Moss, and if you’re using a wort chiller add that too.
• When your timer goes off, turn off the heat and proceed to the cooling stage.
• Now it’s time to cool the beer down to 75°f (20-25°c) as quickly as possible.
  1. We love using a wort chiller for this, it can get the beer down to temperature in 20-30 minutes. Otherwise, you can immerse the brew pot in an ice bath or wait it out. The longer it takes, the greater the risk of infection

Fermentation -> Turning the wort into beer

• After the boil is done it is time to be extra careful in regard to sanitation. We recommend using a no-rinse sanitizer called Starsan. Mix ¼ tsp of it with water in a 500ml spray bottle. Before we touch any part of the beer we spray it with Starsan.
• Transfer the cooled wort into your fermenting pail or carboy. Run it though a strainer to catch any hop or grain residue.
  1. It is also an important time to take a hydrometer reading. It should be around 1.042 give or take a few points.
• Your choice of fermentation vessel is important. During primary fermentation, it will bubble up quite a bit, you want to be sure there is airspace for it to work away. Otherwise, the pressure of it will push out the airlock.
• Make sure the wort has been cooled to at least 25c!!! Adding yeast at a higher temperature will likely kill it.
• Once the beer is in the fermenter, pour in the entire package of English Ale II yeast from Escarpment Labs.
• Put the bung and airlock in the hole (make sure there is water filled up to the line in the airlock). If using a pail, make sure the lid is sealed tight. Put the pail in a room that is in the range of 17-21°C°
• Let the beer ferment untouched for 10 days. After the 10 days are up; it is time to proceed to the bottling stage. First, take a hydrometer reading. It should be somewhere between 1.010-1.015
• Lately, we have been of the opinion that secondary is an unnecessary step. Unless you are kegging, we recommend skipping secondary and going straight to the bottling process. Clarification can occur in the bottle rather than in a carboy, and the risk of oxidization is greatly reduced.

Bottling -> We’re getting close to Beer Time now.

• Rack the now fermented beer into a bucket.
• At the same time, mix the priming sugar with 300ml of boiling water and add to the beer. Stir it in VERY gently.
  1. Make sure to check out a priming calculator to verify the correct amount of sugar. Too much sugar and your beer will end up foamy, or even start blowing the caps off! Too little and the beer won’t be fully carbonated.
• Rack the beer into your bottles or growlers. Then, let them sit for 2-3 weeks at room temperature. Chill and enjoy!