If you have ever been to Starkville, MS then I’m sure you have heard of Strange Brew Coffeehouse. He has created this coffee house as a staple for StarkVegas. I decided that an attempt to take the flavors in his signature drink and put them into a beer. Yeah, what can be wrong about this, right? The Albino Squirrel has my wife by her reigns. If the thought of Strange Brew pops into her head she instantly think do I want it iced, frozen, or hot. Well, since I’ve been doing some more off the wall things lately with my brewing, I’ve decided I am going to try to recreate this.
For those of you who have no idea what an Albino Squirrel is. I apologize, you’re missing out. You’ll want to get to Starky ASAP, or when he opens his new location in Tupelo next year. It is a coffee drink with white chocolate and hazelnut. Now how in the world am I a going to get white chocolate in my beer? Well white chocolate is essentially cocoa butter, sugar and some milk solids. Well I’m not. My plan is to use cacao nibs in the secondary and then some awesome vanilla at kegging. This will not be exactly white chocolate flavor, but I think it will be pretty close.
Here are some notes at my attempt thus far.
Recipe Details
| Batch Size | Boil Time | IBU | SRM | Est. OG | Est. FG | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 gal | 60 min | 14.4 IBUs | 4.2 SRM | 1.053 | 1.015 | 4.9 % |
| Actuals | 1.053 | 1.01 | 5.6 % | |||
Style Details
| Name | Cat. | OG Range | FG Range | IBU | SRM | Carb | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer | 21 A | 1.03 - 1.11 | 1.005 - 1.025 | 0 - 70 | 5 - 50 | 2 - 3 | 2.5 - 12 % |
Fermentables
| Name | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Pale Malt (2 Row) US | 6 lbs | 54.55 |
| Barley, Flaked | 2 lbs | 18.18 |
| Oats, Flaked | 1 lbs | 9.09 |
| Cara-Pils/Dextrine | 8 oz | 4.55 |
| Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L | 8 oz | 4.55 |
| Milk Sugar (Lactose) | 1 lbs | 9.09 |
Hops
| Name | Amount | Time | Use | Form | Alpha % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Brewer | 0.5 oz | 60 min | Boil | Pellet | 8.5 |
Yeast
| Name | Lab | Attenuation | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Ale (WLP002) | White Labs | 67% | 65°F - 68°F |
Mash
| Step | Temperature | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Mash In | 156°F | 45 min |
Notes
| Starkville Water Profile - Water machine in Wal-Mart Batched sparged at 170 degrees. Brewed on 9/20/2015 Cacao Nibs soaked in vodka, added after primary fermentation has finished. Approx 24 oz of weak cold brewed coffee added at kegging 1 ounce of Bourbon Vanilla Paste added at kegging 2 ounces of Hazelnut Extract added at kegging. |
Download
| Download this recipe's BeerXML file |