A Tribute To Mcsorley’s Ale House Light Or Dark Recipe

1. Heat strike water

Heat 3.5 gallons of brewing water to about 165°F (74°C) to achieve a target mash temp of 152°F (67°C) when grain is added.

2. Mash in

Add the crushed pale malt, Munich, and Crystal 10L (and brown malt if making the dark variant) to the mash tun. Stir thoroughly to avoid dough balls and stabilize at 152°F (67°C). Hold for 60 minutes to allow starch conversion to sugars.

3. Mash out

Raise mash temperature to ~168°F (76°C) for 10 minutes to stop enzymatic activity and improve lautering.

4. Sparge

Sparge with enough 170°F (77°C) water to collect ~6.5 gallons of wort into the kettle (volume target for a 5 gallon batch accounting for boil-off).

5. Bring to a boil

Bring the wort to a vigorous boil. Watch for boil-overs when it first reaches a boil.

6. Bittering hop addition

At the start of the 60-minute boil, add 0.75 oz Cluster hops (bittering). Boil for 60 minutes total.

7. Finishing hop addition

With 10 minutes left in the boil, add 0.5 oz Fuggles (or EKG) and 1 tsp Irish moss/Whirlfloc if using. Continue boiling remaining 10 minutes.

8. Optional corn sugar

If using corn sugar to lighten body, add the 0.25 lb of dextrose in the last 5 minutes of the boil to fully dissolve.

9. Cool wort

After the boil, chill the wort quickly to ~68°F (20°C) using an immersion chiller or ice bath. Transfer chilled wort to a sanitized fermenter, leaving behind heavy trub.

10. Pitch yeast

Aerate the wort by shaking or splashing, then pitch the chosen British ale yeast (one packet).

11. Primary fermentation

Ferment at 66–68°F (19–20°C) for 7–10 days or until fermentation slows and specific gravity approaches expected final gravity. Aim for an original gravity around 1.045 and final gravity near 1.010 for ~5.0–5.5% ABV (adjust with recipe scaling or mash efficiency to hit 5.5% for Light or 4.7% for a lower-gravity Dark version).

12. Secondary / conditioning (optional)

Optionally rack to a secondary for 5–7 days to improve clarity and mellow flavors. Cold condition at 50–55°F (10–13°C) for a few days before packaging if possible.

13. Bottling priming

Dissolve priming sugar (3.5 tsp table sugar — quantity listed is scaled per 12-oz serving; for whole-batch priming calculate 3/4 cup sugar for 5 gal typical) in a small amount of boiling water, cool, and gently mix into the bottling bucket with fermented beer.

14. Bottle or keg

Fill sanitized bottles or keg to standard levels. Cap bottles and allow to carbonate at room temperature (68–72°F / 20–22°C) for 1–2 weeks.

15. Chill and serve

Cold crash bottles/keg and refrigerate 24–48 hours before serving to help settle yeast. For the McSorley’s experience, serve in a chilled 12 oz mug with minimal foam to present either the Light (paler) or Dark (amber/brown) variant.

16. Rinse the chilled 12 oz mug with a small splash of cold water to remove any dust and help reduce excessive head retention. Pour beer gently down the side of the glass to achieve a modest head. Present at 45–50°F (7–10°C) for optimal taste.