Mike's King Midas Mix AKA Prilla's Phrygian Potion

[mprilla]

References.
http://www.phrygians.com/dinner.html
http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/researc ... ntro.shtml
http://gogreece.about.com/cs/fooddrink/a/retsina.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscat_grape

http://www.dogfish.com/brewings/Year_Ro ... /index.htm
http://byo.com/recipe/1011.html
http://webtrolley.org/mivastore/merchan ... gory_Code=
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/dogfish-he ... 293/24083/


Mike's King Midas Mix AKA Prilla's Phrygian Potion

Size: 6 gallons
Color 5 HCU (~5 SRM)

2 IBU
OG: 1.141
FG: 1.024
Alcohol: 15.1% v/v (11.8% w/w)

7 Gallons Distilled water
4 tsp acid blend and 1/2 tsp Burton water salts.
3 lb. Briess dry pilsen extract
3 lb. Wheat dry malt extract
1 lb Lactose
6 lb. Light Honey (do not boil)
1 96oz. Can of Alexander's Sun Country Muscat grape concentrate (do not boil)
Grain: 1 lb. Dextrine malt (Cara-Pils)
1 lb. Flaked wheat
1 oz Saaz hops (bittering hop) (3.75% AA, 60 min.)
1 oz Saaz hops (flavor hop) (3.75% AA, 15 min.)
1 oz Saaz hops (aroma hop) (3.75% AA, 5 min.)
0.1 oz or 2 tsp's Saffron (boil 60 minutes)
1 TBS Yeast Nutrient
1 tsp Yeast Energizer
1 tsp grape tannin
20 drops of of pectic enzyme
1 tsp Irish Moss
One packet of Plain Gelatine
1 tsp's Polyclar
1 tsp Isinglass
1 tsp Amylase Enzyme
Use either WLP500, (Trappist) or Wyeast 3787 (Trappist)
And Lalvin D-47 white wine and mead yeast
6 oz medium toasted oak chips or cubes
1 tsp Spruce essence
6 oz honey or 6 oz corn sugar to prime

Pour 1.5 gallons of Distilled water into a 5 gallon or larger pot. Add 2 tsp acid blend, 1/4 tsp Burton water salts heat to 148º F.

Then Pour 1.5 Gallons of Distilled water into another pot with 2 tsp Acid blend and 1/4 tsp Burton water salts heat to 168º F.

Put crushed grains into a large muslin bag and tie it then put it in the 148º F pot for 90 minutes Carefully remove the grain bag and sparge it with the 168º F water.

Bring to a boil add 3 lb. Briess dry pilsen extract, 3 lb. Wheat dry malt extract, 1 lb Lactose, 0.1 oz Saffron or 2 tsp and 1 oz of Saaz hops in a hop bag. Boil for 45 minutes then add the 1 tsp Irish moss and 1 oz of Saaz hops in a hop bag. Boil for 10 more minutes then add 1 oz Saaz hops in a hop bag. Total boiling time is 60 minutes

Turn off heat. Remove your pot from your heat source and remove the hop bags. Add the 6 lb. Light Honey and 1 96oz. Can of Alexander's Sun Country Muscat grape concentrate. Let the mix sit for 20 minutes to pasteurize the honey and gapes.

Cool your wort to 70º F. Strain the mix into your primary Fermenter. Add 1 TBS Yeast Nutrient, 1 tsp Yeast Energizer
1 tsp grape tannin, 20 drops of of pectic enzyme and 1 tsp Amylase Enzyme. Aerate the mix.

Siphon out 2 gallons of this concentrated wort/must into two clean empty distilled water containers and put them in the fridge. Then add water to the remaining wort/must to the 4 gallon mark. Pitch the Trappist ale yeast.
Keep the Fermenter at a temperature of 65-75 º F for the duration of fermentation and aging.

In 3 to 7 days and a day after rapid bubbling has slowed down and the krausen (foamy head) has settled add one gallon of the concentrated wort/must you saved in the fridge.

After another 3 to 7 days and a day after rapid bubbling has slowed down for the second time add the second gallon of concentrated wort/must you saved in the fridge and add the Lalvin D-47 white wine and mead yeast.

3 to 7 days later and after rapid bubbling has slow down significantly siphon the beer into a 6 gallon secondary Fermenter Add 2 to 6 oz of steamed or boiled sanitized medium toasted oak chips or cubes and 1 tsp Spruce essence for 8 weeks aging top off with water to 6 gallons.

One week before bottling time add 1 packet gelatin, 1 tsp Isinglass and 1 tsp Polyclar finings.


Bottle with 6 oz honey or 6 oz corn sugar and let it age for 8 weeks

[chris.]

Thanks Mike. I've been contemplating a beer/wine/mead for sometime. Your recipe will come in handy
How did you find the hop bitterness? I notice that dogfish head's version is hopped higher (low-mid 20's). Do you think that would be too high?

[mprilla]

Thanks Mike. I've been contemplating a beer/wine/mead for sometime. Your recipe will come in handy
How did you find the hop bitterness? I notice that dogfish head's version is hopped higher (low-mid 20's). Do you think that would be too high?

Your welcome. By the way there is no technical name for this that I know of Beer/mead is a braggot and mead/fruit is a melomel and so on but if you mix beer/mead/wine it has no name.

I found the hop bitterness by punching in my ingredients in a computer program.

To be honest both dogfish heads bitterness and mine are both too high. The original Midas mix didn't have any hops in it at all. And you don't actually need hops in this mix. Just because we always use hops in beer doesn't mean we have to. Nor is this mix really beer anyway.

I am considering taking the hops out entirely they do tend to overpower the saffron and considering that Saffron is the worlds most expensive spice why would I want to overpower them in the first place?

Also I am thinking of some changes based on communication I am having with both dogfish head and the original professor who analyzed the remains in Midas' tomb. Yes I am talking with him.

I may change the proportions of fermentable's and I may had some lactose. You see Homer said they added goat cheese. But Homer was claiming they grated it on top. Of course Homer was Greek not Phrygian and was dising them. And Homer was also blind so what did he know they could have been messing with him too? I think it more likely that they threw in the lactose (a byproduct of cheese making) to their kitchen sink mix. It is of course a non fermentable sugar and would sweeten the brew. Also many brews do that today milk stouts in particular so it is not unprecedented. Many Irish, English and Scottish Stouts use lactose today. And a cheese making culture like the Phrygian's wouldn't waste anything or just throw out their lactose. They did something with it I can assure you of that.

Check back the professor is communicating with me via his work e-mail and will likely e-mail me tomorrow with more information.