Mashing is the preferred method if you have the equipment to do it for sure. Malt extract beers can be good with
fresh ingredients so that can be an issue if you only have access to canned extracts on a shelf that may have sat there a long time.
If you are going to do a full mash on a beer like this for 5 US Gallons (23L) I'd actually step on a bit and bump it to IPA status. Here's a quick run down of how the grist bill and procedures may look. If you have any more questions feel free to ask. Keep in mind it's a basic guideline, there can be a lot more to it and so many other things to take into account but to keep it fairly simple to start with I've listed some specs below. Also if you aren't familiar with this process as of yet there are some great books available but I am assuming you have some knowledge on this already.
The Mash:
Infusion @ 150F
Liquor/Grist Ratio: 2.8/1
Strike Water Volume (L) ~ 14.84L
Strike Water Adjustments/Temp:
Burtonized @ ~ 162F - you really should have a decent idea of mineral content of your water before making too many adjustments to this.
Sparge Water Volume (L) ~ 16L
Sparge Liquor Temp: 169F
Grist Bill:
4.8kg Pale Ale Malt (2 row will suffice if pale ale is unavailable)
0.5kg Caramel Malt @ ~ 60 Degrees Lovibond (crystal malt)
20g Black Malt (black Patent)
MASH
- Grind malts to perfection but be sure to leave the black malt until last and set it aside from the rest. Mash in at 150F with the pale ale and caramel malts for 1 hr rest. When it's time for the vorlauf (wort recirculation) add the 20g of black malt. Recycle the wort for 10 minutes or until the wort runs clear.
-Slowly start running the wort off into your boil kettle while sparging with the 16L of sparge liquor until you have ~ 26L hot wort in the kettle and bring it up to a full rolling boil. This should be done over a 1 hr period or longer so pace yourself.
Time for the boil and hops
For a big beer like this you're going to need a good hop content to offset all the malt. My suggestions follow but I'll stick on the light side so as to not over do it on the 1st batch then you can increase the ibu's on your next batch
Desired IBU's (International Bittering Units): 40
Bittering Hops: Northern brewer (pellets)
Aromatic hops: Cascade or Amarillo (pellets)
You are shooting for 23L of finished wort after the boil and evaporation so you should base the hop calculation on this volume.
Let's say your Northern Brewer hops are 8% A.A. (alpha acid) so for 23L wort you need to use ~ 38g for 40 IBU's. This is also assuming negligible ibu content from other aromatic hop additions.
At boil begin time add 38g Northern Brewer hops. Continue boiling for 45 mins more so with 15mins remaining of the 1hr boil add 40g of Cascade hops. With 1 minute remaining in the boil add another 90g of Cascade hops. Turn the heat off, now start stiring the wort round and round with a large spoon or paddle of some sort to create the "whirlpool effect". Of course your method of whirlpooling is dependent on your cooling method etc. A lot of home brewing setups won't require the whirlpool at all, it's simply to pool the spent hops and proteins into the center of the kettle so you can draw off clean/clear wort into your fermenter.
Whether you use a counterflow heat exchanger or a submersion chiller you need to cool it down as quickly as possible and get it into your sanitary fermentation vessel with a good healthy yeast culture.
Ferment it in a cool area @ ~ 65 - 68F.
This should give you a brew with ~ 17.5 degree plato and should finish near 3- 4 degrees plato with an Alc/Vol content of ~ 7.5% of course this is totally dependent on your methods, malts and equipment which will dictate your brewhouse yield
As for priming at packaging time, wort is fantastic but some use malt extract to simplify the process with favourable results. Corn sugar isn't highly recommended but works and doesn't ruin a beer by any stretch. I wouldn't worry about it too much until you have the recipe down to where you really like it then try changing primers for carbonation so you can taste the difference 1st hand. Otherwise you'll always be guessing or taking somebody else's word for it, you should experience as much and as many of the intricate flavours first hand to become familiar with your product and raw materials. You'll be a better brewer in the long run
