Holiday Ale # 18 – Storm Surge from Diamond Knot

Diamond Knot Storm Surge

I get seasick just looking at this storm that is attacking this boat.  Much better to be on shore with a Diamond Knot beer in a glass than on the open sea.

“This is pretty complicated beer, at least by our standards (we normally love the old saying “Keep it simple, stupid!”).  We use 2-row pale malt, German Carared, Caramel 80, Carapils and Munich malts in the mash, then just before beginning to extract all the goodness from those malts, we sprinkle crushed Midnight Wheat over the grain bed to ‘stain’ the mash.

The effect of this little bit of brewhouse trickery is to pull only the color from the wheat while extracting just a hint of its roasty, coffee-like qualities.  Additions of a whole boatload of Chinook, Cascade, Simcoe and Columbus hops give this beer a lovely, layered bitterness that perfectly complements the complexity of the malts.  It’s very dark in color, but don’t let appearances deceive you; this beer is highly drinkable and perfect for those cold, stormy winter days when you want to dream of Spring. “