Born and raised in northern France, this blond ale with a strength of 5° will spice up your palate with a hint of Espelette pepper.

Shelter

macaroni with Mostoles ham

Mama launches her very own beer, the Shelter. Born and raised in northern France, this blond ale with a strength of 5° will spice up your palate with a hint of Espelette pepper.

Mama brews

Heat 14 liters of your brewing water to about 74°C to achieve a mash temperature of 66°C with the grain bill. If using campden tablet, crush and add to water beforehand and let sit 15 minutes.

Heat strike water

Add the crushed grains (Pilsner, Vienna, wheat, Carapils) to your mash tun and pour the strike water over them. Stir thoroughly to eliminate dry pockets. Target mash temperature: 66°C. Hold for 60 minutes for conversion and balanced body.

Mash in

After 60 minutes, raise the mash to 76°C (mash out) by adding a small amount of 90–95°C water or applying direct heat, hold 10 minutes to stop enzymatic activity.

Mash out

Recirculate first runnings until clear, then lautering into your kettle. Sparge with enough 75°C water to collect a total pre-boil volume of about 23 liters in the kettle.

Lauter & Sparge

Bring the wort to a vigorous boil and start the 60-minute timer once boiling begins.

Bring to a boil

Add 25 g Saaz hops at the start of the 60-minute boil for bittering. Maintain a rolling boil.

Bittering hops (60 min)

With 10 minutes left in the boil, add 1 tsp Irish moss or Whirlfloc if using, and add the dried orange peel (5 g).

Clarifier (10 min)

With 5 minutes remaining, add 15 g Cascade hops and 1 tsp ground Espelette pepper. Stir briefly to incorporate. The late addition of Espelette preserves a bright, subtle pepper character without overpowering heat.

Aroma hops & Espelette (0–5 min)

At the end of 60 minutes, shut off the heat. Cool the wort quickly with a wort chiller (ice bath or immersion chiller) to around 20–22°C.

End of boil

Transfer cooled wort to a sanitized fermenter, leaving hop debris behind. Top up with clean water to reach 20 liters if necessary. Aerate vigorously by shaking, splashing, or using sterile air/oxygen for 60–90 seconds.

Transfer & aerate

Rehydrate the dry ale yeast per package instructions (optional) or sprinkle directly. Pitch 11 g dry yeast into the wort at 18–20°C.

Pitch yeast

Hold fermentation at 18–20°C for a clean, continental blond profile. Active fermentation should begin within 12–48 hours and last 5–7 days. Monitor gravity — expected target final gravity for ~5% ABV is around 1.010–1.012 depending on efficiency.

Primary fermentation

After active fermentation slows (gravity stable for 2 days), optionally transfer to a secondary for gentle conditioning for 5–7 days at 12–14°C to help clarity and flavor maturation. If leaving in primary, extend conditioning by several days.

Secondary/conditioning (optional)

Boil 140 g priming sugar in 300 ml water for 5 minutes, cool to room temperature. Sanitize bottling equipment.

Prepare priming sugar

Rack the beer gently onto the cooled priming solution in the bottling bucket, mix gently to distribute without introducing oxygen. Fill and cap sanitized bottles.

Bottle

Store bottles at 20–22°C for 10–14 days to carbonate. Then cold condition at 4–8°C for 3–7 days to help settle yeast and improve clarity.

Carbonate & condition

Serve chilled (6–8°C). The Espelette should give a subtle, warm pepper note that complements the malt sweetness and light hoppiness of the blond ale.

Enjoy

Sanitize and clean all equipment immediately after use. Dispose of trub and spent grains responsibly (good for compost or baking use).

Pilsner malt (base)

Vienna malt

Wheat malt

Carapils (dextrin) or light crystal 10L

Saaz hops (bittering)

Cascade hops (aroma) or similar floral

Espelette pepper (ground)

Orange peel (dried, bitter removed)

Dry ale yeast (clean, continental strain e.g., Safale US-05 or Belgian Blond yeast)

Water (brewing water)

Priming sugar (for bottling)

Irish moss or Whirlfloc (clarifier, optional)

Campden tablet (optional, for chlorine removal)

In a large pot bring 2.5 liters of water to a rolling boil with 1 tablespoon coarse salt and 1 bay leaf.

Bring water to a boil

Add 400 g elbow macaroni and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until al dente according to package directions (usually 8–10 minutes). Reserve 200 ml of pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta and set aside.

Cook macaroni

Cut 200 g Mostoles ham into small dice. Keep about 40 g thinly shaved for garnish. This diced ham will flavor the sauce and provide texture.

Prepare the ham

In a large sauté pan or skillet warm 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil and 20 g butter over medium heat. Add the finely diced onion and 1/2 green pepper (if using) and cook 6–8 minutes until softened and translucent but not browned. Add 3 minced garlic cloves and cook 30–45 seconds until fragrant.

Sweat aromatics

Add the diced Mostoles ham to the pan and sauté 3–4 minutes until some edges begin to color and the fat renders. This will deepen the flavor.

Brown the ham

Stir in the grated ripe tomato (or 120 ml crushed tomatoes), 1 tsp smoked paprika and 1/2 tsp sweet paprika. Cook 3–4 minutes to reduce the tomato and let the paprika bloom.

Tomato and spices

Pour in 60 ml dry white wine to deglaze, scraping up any browned bits. Let the wine reduce by half (about 2 minutes). Add 250 ml chicken or vegetable stock, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper. Simmer gently 4–6 minutes to meld flavors and slightly thicken. Taste and adjust seasoning — remember the ham is salty, so add additional salt sparingly.

Deglaze and simmer

Add the drained macaroni to the pan with the sauce. Toss to combine over low heat. If the sauce seems dry, add up to 100–150 ml reserved pasta water a little at a time until the sauce coats the pasta nicely and reaches a saucy consistency.

Combine with pasta

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in 80 g grated Manchego or Parmigiano-Reggiano until melted and glossy. Taste and adjust pepper. If you prefer a creamier finish, add an extra 1–2 tbsp of reserved pasta water while stirring.

Cheese and finishing

Divide the macaroni among 4 plates (servings). Top each portion with thinly shaved Mostoles ham (about 10 g per plate), a sprinkle of chopped parsley, a drizzle of 1 tsp olive oil over the servings, and an extra dusting of grated cheese if desired.

Plate and garnish

dried elbow macaroni (macarrones)

water

coarse salt

bay leaf

Mostoles ham (jamón de Móstoles) or a good cured ham

extra-virgin olive oil

unsalted butter

yellow onion, finely diced

garlic cloves, minced

green bell pepper, small dice (optional)

ripe tomato, grated (or 120 ml canned crushed tomatoes)

smoked paprika (pimentón dulce)

sweet paprika (pimentón agridulce) or extra smoked, optional

dry white wine

chicken or vegetable stock

salt

black pepper, freshly ground

grated Manchego or Parmigiano-Reggiano

flat-leaf parsley, chopped

extra Mostoles ham slices for garnish, thinly shaved

olive oil for drizzling

Sanitize all fermenter, spoons, siphons, and bottling equipment with a no-rinse sanitizer. Rinse if required by product instructions.

Sanitize

Heat 18 L of brewing water to 74–76°C. Add gypsum (2 tsp) to adjust water profile for a slightly higher sulfate to highlight hop bite and a crisp finish.

Add crushed pilsner malt, wheat malt, and Carahell to a mash tun. Slowly pour the 74–76°C water over the grain to reach a mash temperature of 66°C. Stir thoroughly to eliminate dry pockets and ensure even temperature.

Hold the mash at 66°C for 60 minutes. Stir occasionally and monitor temperature, making small adjustments with hot water if it drops more than 1°C.

Mash rest

Raise temperature to 76–78°C by adding 3–4 L of 90°C water or direct heat and hold for 10 minutes to stop enzymatic activity and improve wort flow.

Sparge the grain bed with 5–7 L of water at 76–78°C until you collect approximately 23 L of wort in the kettle (pre-boil volume). Aim for a total pre-boil volume that will yield ~20 L post-boil.

Sparge

Bring the collected wort to a vigorous rolling boil, watching carefully for boil-overs.

Bring to boil

At the start of the 60-minute boil, add 25 g of Saaz or Hallertau hops for bittering.

Bittering hop addition

With 15 minutes remaining, add 1 tsp Irish moss or other kettle fining to improve clarity.

Irish moss (optional)

With 5 minutes left in the boil, add 20 g of Saaz or Hallertau hops for flavor/aroma.

Flavor/aroma hop addition

With 2 minutes left in the boil, add 2 tsp crushed Espelette pepper. Use slightly less on first batch if you prefer a subtle pepper note; Espelette should give a gentle, aromatic warmth, not overpowering heat.

Espelette pepper addition

After 60 minutes, turn off heat and prepare to chill immediately to avoid dimethyl sulfide (DMS) formation.

Cool the wort as quickly as possible to around 20–22°C using an immersion chiller, counterflow chiller, or an ice bath. If using an open kettle, cover with a sanitized lid once cooled to pitching range.

Chill wort

Transfer the cooled wort to a sanitized fermenter, leaving behind trub. Top up with the additional 2 L of water to reach the target volume (~20–22 L).

Transfer and top-up

Aerate the wort vigorously by shaking, splashing, or using an oxygenation stone to dissolve oxygen (aim for 8–10 ppm O2 if using pure O2). Rehydrate or prepare the ale yeast according to package instructions and pitch at 18–22°C.

Aerate and pitch yeast

Ferment at 18–20°C for 5–7 days or until vigorous fermentation subsides. After the active phase, allow a secondary cooling to 16–18°C for another 5–7 days to help clarify and finish fermentation. Expected original gravity ~1.047 and final gravity ~1.010 for ~5% ABV (5°).

Measure final gravity to ensure fermentation is complete and stable over 2–3 days. Target FG ~1.010. If stable, proceed to bottling or kegging.

Check final gravity

Dissolve the 150 g of corn sugar in 300 ml of boiling water, cool to ~20°C, and sanitize the fermenter or bottling bucket if needed.

Prepare priming solution

Gently rack the beer into the bottling bucket, mixing with the priming solution to evenly distribute. Fill sanitized bottles and cap, or transfer to a sanitized keg and seal.

Bottle or keg

Bottle condition at 18–20°C for 10–14 days, then chill and test carbonation. If kegging and force-carbonating, carbonate to ~2.2–2.6 volumes of CO2 and condition for 2–4 days at serving temperature.

Carbonation and conditioning

Allow beer to rest for another 1–2 weeks for flavors to marry if desired. The Espelette pepper character will settle into a gentle warmth; longer conditioning (3–4 weeks) will mellow and integrate spices further.

Maturation

Chill bottles to about 6–8°C and serve in a tulip or pilsner glass. Pour gently to leave some yeast behind, enjoy the blond ale with a subtle Espelette pepper note.

Shelter

Macaroni With Mostoles Ham

Mama Brews