Hardywood (rotating) Recipe

Crush and Heat

Crush all grains (pale malt, Maris Otter, Munich, Vienna, crystal, flaked oats) to a medium-coarse crush. Heat 3.5 gallons of your water to strike temperature of 165°F to target a mash temperature of 152°F.

Combine crushed grains and the heated strike water in your mash tun. Stir well to fully hydrate the grist and eliminate dough balls. Target mash temperature: 152°F. Mash for 60 minutes, stirring gently every 10–15 minutes to maintain even temperature and convert starches to fermentable sugars.

After 60 minutes, perform an iodine test to verify conversion. If conversion is complete, raise mash temperature to 168°F for a 10-minute mashout to halt enzyme activity and lower viscosity for lautering.

Recirculate first runnings until they run clear, then begin lautering (sparging) with enough 170°F water to collect approximately 6.5–7 gallons of wort in your boil kettle. Aim for pre-boil gravity around 1.048–1.052 depending on system losses.

Boil and Hop Additions

Bring wort to a vigorous boil. At the start of the 60-minute boil, add Magnum bittering hops (0.5 oz). With 10 minutes left in the boil add Irish moss (1 tsp) if using and the brown sugar (2 oz). With 5 minutes left add East Kent Goldings (0.5 oz). If you want slightly more late-hop aroma add a small pinch (0.1–0.2 oz) at flameout.

Boil for the full 60 minutes to ensure proper hop isomerization and wort concentration.

After flameout, chill the wort quickly to yeast pitch temperature (68°F) using a wort chiller or ice bath. If using lactose (optional), add lactose once the wort is below 160°F — lactose will not fully dissolve if added hot. Stir to dissolve fully.

Transfer cooled wort to a sanitized fermenter, leaving behind trub and hop material. Top up with sanitized water to reach 5.25 gallons (or your target batch size) and check original gravity — target OG ~1.048–1.052 (higher if lactose used).

Aerate the wort well (oxygenate for 60–90 seconds if using pure O2, or vigorous shaking/splashing if not). Rehydrate or prepare the English ale yeast per manufacturer instructions and pitch at 65–68°F for a moderate fermentation profile.

Primary fermentation: maintain temperature 66–70°F for 5–7 days until vigorous fermentation slows (visible krausen collapse). If you pitched at the lower end, allow yeast to warm to the upper range after 48 hours to finish fermentation cleanly.

Secondary / conditioning (optional): Rack to a secondary fermenter after primary activity has slowed (around day 5–7) to condition for an additional 7–14 days at 60–65°F to clear and round flavors. If using bottle conditioning, skip secondary and proceed to bottling once final gravity is reached.

When fermentation is complete and final gravity is stable for 2–3 days, prepare priming sugar (3 oz corn sugar) by dissolving in 2/3 cup boiling water, cool, and sanitize. Rack beer onto the priming solution and gently mix to distribute without introducing oxygen.

Bottle with sanitized caps or keg and carbonate to a moderate level: 2.2–2.6 volumes CO2 (typical English ale carbonation). Age bottles at room temperature for 2 weeks, then chill and sample. Allow further conditioning in bottle for up to 4–6 weeks for improved flavor if desired.