The Recipe
Name: Mangrove Jack's IPA Barrel Brown Batch size: 5 gallons (partial mash) Expected OG: 1.076 Expected IBU: 58 Mash: 2 hours @ 148°F 3.0 lbs Pilsen LME 4.7 lbs Mangrove Jack's IPA pouch kit (LME) 1.0 lbs Maris Otter 12.0 oz UK Pale Chocolate 350L 12.0 oz Briess C40L 8.0 oz Briess Goldpils Vienna 4.0 oz UK Dark Crystal 150L 2.0 oz Special B 2.0 oz Roast Barley Whatever the IBU of Mangrove Jack's IPA was in 5 gallons 2.0 oz Cascade 5.5%AA @ 5m 1 pack Safale S-04 1 pack Mangrove Jack's M07 (British Ale)
Notes
This was a clean-the-house brew. The Pilsen LME had been sitting around (albeit refrigerated) for at least 8 months. The Mangrove Jack’s IPA pouch kit was “Best Before End 03/2017”. The C40, Special B, and Roast Barley came from a Midwest Supplies Irish Red Ale kit’s steeping grains, also at least 8 months old. Finally, the Briess Goldpils malt was also at least 8 months old and didn’t taste very fresh.
Why the hell not? To make it even better, we’re going to barrel this for a month or two and have a strong barreled brown ale.
We got 1.25 gallons of partial mash wort at 17° Plato wort (1.070, or 1.018 in 5 gallons). We then added the Mangrove Jack’s and Pils extracts and topped up to 1.8 gallons for our short boil. Topping up to 5 gallons we achieved an original gravity of 1.076, right on target. After minor oxygenation we pitched two packs of rehydrated yeast, Safale S-04 and Mangrove Jack’s M07. Both are apparently Whitbread-derived strains so the profile should be similar.
Unfortunately, after two weeks at 67°F fermentation stopped at 1.023, or about 7.4% ABV. That’s not good enough, so we made a large starter of Wyeast 3711 French Saison (which is recommended for stuck fermentations) and pitched that. Fermentation started up again and is still going after a week. The yeast combination should be interesting, especially after it’s been in the barrel for a while.
Mangrove Jack’s
There are a few Mangrove Jack’s pouch kit Youtube reviews from New Zealand (where Mangrove Jack’s is based) but nothing from the northern hemisphere. They seem like a step up from Munton’s or Cooper’s pre-hopped kits. Plus Adventures in Homebrewing keeps having $16 sales on them.
We also picked up the London Bitter and American Pale Ale with Dry Hops pouch kits, which we’re going to brew straight-up, though with Briess Pale Ale DME instead of the included 2.2lbs of corn sugar. We’ll review each of them in their own right, so you have some clue whether they’re the king of the pre-hopped mountain.