MadTree Blacktart Clone

The following recipe comes from MadTree Brewing directly, so it should be close to the original beer.

The Recipe

Specifications

BJCP Style: 13-E American Stout
Batch Size: 5 gallons
Efficiency: 89.78%
Attenuation: 82.5%
Original Gravity: 1.074 (1.050 to 1.075)
Final Gravity: 1.013 (1.010 to 1.022)
Color: 33.42 (30-40)
Alcohol: 8.05% (5-7%)
IBUs: 25.1 (35-75)

Ingredients:

7.23 pounds of 2-Row Brewer's Malt (59.9%)
1.45 pounds of Victory Malt (12%)
0.96 pounds of Extra Special Malt (8%)
0.96 pounds of 2-Row Caramel 120L Malt (8%)
0.48 pounds of Midnight Wheat Malt (4%)
0.24 pounds of 2-Row Chocolate Malt (2%)
0.27 pounds of Carafa III Malt (2.2%)
1.06 pounds of Acidulated Malt (8%)
0.31 oz. of Apollo hops (17% AA)
0.48 lb. of White Table Sugar
0.1 lb. Lactose
0.31 oz. Experimental #05256 hops pellets (7.7% AA)
1.6 pounds of Blackberry puree
1 Cinnamon Stick
10.6 mL Lactic Acid

MadTree doesn't specify which yeast they used, so choose a variety that is appropriate to an American Stout or American Ale and you should be fine.

The Mash

MadTree didn't specify the mash temperature for the recipe. I'm guessing a common mash temperature of 154F and mash time of 60-90 minutes.

Mash all the grains except for the Acidulated Malt for 30-60 minutes until conversion completes. Add the Acidulated Malt and mash for 30 more minutes. Mash out at 167F and then sparge with enough grain to meet your pre-boil volume based on your equipment's boil-off amount.

The Boil

The boil is a 60-minute one, with the following schedule:

60 minutes - Add Apollo hops pellets
10 minutes - Add the table sugar and lactose
0 minutes - Add the Experimental #05256 hops
Chill to yeast pitching temperature

The Fermentation

Following is a rough schedule for fermentation based on the published recipe:

Pitch the yeast when wort reaches a compatible temperature
Ferment 1-2 weeks in primary, or longer, until final gravity is reached
Transfer the beer to a secondary fermenter, on top of the blackberry puree and cinnamon stick
Ferment at least another week

Bottling

Before bottling, add the Lactic Acid and enough priming sugar to reach your desired carbonation level for the beer, then bottle and condition until carbonated.

Comments

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