Extreme Brewing
While there isn’t a single quality that is the alpha-aspect of a great brewer’s profile, there are a number of qualities that all great extreme brewers share, to a degree. By extreme brewers I mean those making beers that are not made in the image of the dominant style of the day (i.e., light, homogenous lagers). Extreme beers are beers made with extreme amounts of traditional ingredients or beers made extremely well with non-traditional ingredients. The people who make these kinds of beers, both professionally and at home, share a curiosity for how things work, and a passion for breaking free from the crowd (in this case boring, watery beer), a desire to put their own thumbprint on the world, and a propensity for risk. But, homebrewers are also disciplined. They understand that they must first have a strong grasp of the traditional brewing process before heading off on their own tangent to subvert and influence that tradition. If you recognize these qualities in yourself then you are well on your way to becoming an accomplished homebrewer.
Breaking Away From the Norm
From the day I opened Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in 1995 our motto has been “Off-centered ales for off-centered people.” This perspective influences everything we do and everything we make at our company; it implies that we do not brew beers that maintain the status quo. We never will. While we have focused on making strong exotic brews since our inception, in no way would we want to pretend that Dogfish Head invented extreme brewing. The tradition began well before Dogfish Head was around. Sierra Nevada, Hair of the Dog, and Anchor Brewing are but some of the earlier American practitioners of extreme brewing though the method certainly didn’t originate here. I don’t think any beer enthusiast would argue with me when I say that extreme brewing is rooted in the brewing traditions of Belgium—a country surrounded by some of the most storied grape-growing regions of the world that capitalized on the assets of its own climate and indigenous crops to brew the most interesting, food-friendly beers the world has seen. This story celebrates the Belgian extreme brewing tradition and explores a few ways in which Belgian ingredients and methods can be incorporated into various recipes.
Some of our first recipes at Dogfish Head were for beers made with maple syrup, roasted chicory, organic Mexican coffee, juniper berries, apricots, pumpkins, and brown sugar. Our beers were nothing like the ones found in cans and thirty-packs on the shelves of liquor stores in the mid-nineties. We had some challenging years before the beer community grew and became as self-educated and exploratory as it is today. There weren’t many takers for the thirteen-dollar six-packs of oak-aged, maple syrup-fermented beers we were selling in 1996. But we never discounted the value of our hard work and quality ingredients by dropping our prices. Like a homebrewer, we brew first for ourselves and second for our friends, loved ones, and hardcore beer enthusiasts. Thankfully, the community of friends and beer enthusiasts has continued to expand as our company has grown up. Today, Dogfish Head is one of the fastest growing breweries in the country. I’m proud of that but I’m even more proud of the fact that we have achieved this heady growth while always focusing on making the kinds of beers that are honest reflections of our own idiosyncratic, envelope-pushing selves, not the “me too” beers that the world already has too many examples of. That being said, more and more people are discovering the full-flavored diverse beers being made today by American craft breweries, import breweries, and homebrewers. It’s comforting to see so many brewers helping to stretch the boundaries of the definition of good beer along-side us.
Round the World Tripel
Tripel Round can best be described as a traditionally strong pale Belgian-style ale on an exotic road trip. In most instances, the barley sugars in Belgian tripel ales are augmented with white, brown, or candi sugar. For this version you will venture to the Far East (or at least an Asian grocery store) for Chinese rock sugar. Usually used to braise meats, this sugar is a mixture of refined sugar, brown sugar, and honey that has a subtle pleasant spiciness.
For a finishing touch add a bit of dried chamomile to give a fruity finish that will complement the estery profile of the Belgian yeast. A vigorous yeast strain will be needed to ferment this strong brew.
PROCESS
1. Fill a grain bag with the crushed Cara-pils barley. Tie off the top and place the bag in your brewpot filled with 41/2 gallons (17 L) of cool water. Add the gypsum. Heat the pot and stir the water and grain bag every 5 minutes.
2. When the water reaches 170ºF (77ºC), pull out the grain bag using a large stirring spoon. Hold the bag above the brewpot for a minute allowing most of the liquid to drain into the pot. Do not squeeze the grain bag.
3. As the water begins to boil, remove from heat. Add all the malt extract. Stir to prevent clumping and scorching on the bottom of the pot. Return the brewpot to the heat.
4. Allow the wort to come to a boil. After pre-boiling for 5 minutes add the Saaz hop pellets for bittering and stir. Start timing the 1-hour boil at the point that you make this hop addition.
5. 30 minutes before the end of the boil add 1 of the 2 pounds (455 g) of Chinese rock sugar and stir for a minute.
6. 20 minutes before the end of the boil add the East Kent Golding hop pellets and the Irish moss and stir for 1 minute.
7. 10 minutes before the end of the boil, add the aroma Saaz hop pellets and stir for 1 minute.
8. Five minutes before the end of the boil add the last pound (455 g) of Chinese rock sugar and stir for 1 minute.
9. At the 60-minute mark, add the dried chamomile. Stir for 1 minute and turn off heat source. Stir wort clockwise for 2 minutes as you build up a whirlpool effect. Stop stirring and allow wort to sit for 10 minutes.
10. Chill wort in cold-water bath to a temperature of 70°F–75°F (21°C–24°C).
11. Transfer wort with the chamomile into the carboy. Aerate for 1 minute.
12. Top up carboy with cool water to the 5 gallon mark.
13. Pitch yeast into carboy and aerate for another minute. See yeast starter info in yeast resource area.
14. After fermentation takes off (1 or 2 days) bring 2 cups (470 ml) of water to a boil and add the brown sugar. When dissolved, add to the fermenting beer in the carboy.
15. In about 10 days your beer should be ready to package.
16. Before bottling, clean and sanitize bottles and caps and create a priming solution of 1 cup (235 ml) boiling water and priming sugar. Siphon beer into a sterilized bottling bucket, add the water-diluted priming solution, and gently stir. Bottle and cap beer.
17. Allow the beer to bottle condition for another 2 weeks and it should then be ready to drink.
Ingredients
Pre-boil tea
41/2 gallons (17 L) cool water
1 pound (455 g) crushed Cara-pils barley Grain bag
2 teaspoons (10 g) gypsum
Boil
9.9 pounds (4.5 kg) light liquid malt extract plus 1 pound
(455 g) light dry malt extract; or 9 pounds
(4 kg) light dry malt extract (65 minutes)
1 ounce (28 g) Saaz hop pellets (bittering) (60 minutes)
1 pound (455 g) Chinese rock sugar (30 minutes)
1 teaspoon (5 g) Irish moss (20 minutes)
1 ounce (28 g) East Kent Golding hop pellets (flavor) (20 minutes)
½ ounce (15 g) Saaz hop pellets (aroma) (10 minutes)
1 pound (455 g) Chinese rock sugar (5 minutes)
11/2 (43 g) ounces dried chamomile (End of boil)
In carboy
Cool water to the 5 gallon mark
Fermentation
Yeast: Wyeast 1762 Belgian Abbey Yeast or 3787 Trappist High Gravity; or White Labs WLP530 or WLP575
1 pound (455) light brown sugar (Day 2)
Bottling
5 ounces (125 g) priming sugar
Starting Gravity: 1.090
Finish Gravity: 1.018
Final target ABV: 9%
KiWit
Wit or white beers are traditional Belgian beers made with wheat and a variety of spices. They are relatively light in body and alcohol and are very refreshing. The style dates back to before hops were domestically grown and brewers were forced to spice or bitter their beer with whatever ingredients were handy. Modern wit beers are usually spiced with Curaçao orange peel and crushed coriander. Since Kiwi is such a refreshing tropical fruit, it works well with a wit style beer; in this recipe the coriander will remain but Kiwi will replace the orange peel. Make sure the fresh kiwis you find for this beer are nice and firm and not mushy and browning. Soak them in hot water for a few minutes and it should be easier to peel the skin off of them.
PROCESS
1. Mix the grains together before filling a grain bag with the crushed 6 row pale malt and the crushed Torrified wheat. Torrified grains are heated to make the grain pop similar to puffed rice or wheat to explode the cell walls. It makes the interior of the grain more usable for the brewing process. Tie off the top and place the bag in the brewpot filled with 4 ½ gallons (17 L) of cool water. Add the gypsum to the water. Heat the pot and stir the water and grain bag every few minutes.
2. When the water reaches 170°F (77°C), pull out the grain bag using a large stirring spoon. Hold the bag above the brewpot for a minute allowing most of the liquid to drain into the pot. Do not squeeze the grain bag.
3. As the water begins to boil, remove from heat. Add the liquid wheat-barley malt extract. Stir to prevent clumping and scorching on the bottom of the pot. Return pot to heat.
4. Allow the wort to come up to a boil. After pre-boiling for 5 minutes add the Tettnanger bittering hop pellets and stir. Start timing the 1-hour boil at the point that you make this hop addition.
5. 10 minutes before the end of the boil add the Willamette hop pellets, coriander and Irish moss and stir for 1 minute.
6. At the 60-minute mark in the boil, add the cubed kiwi fruit and shut off the heat source. Stir wort clockwise for 2 minutes as you build up a whirlpool effect. Stop stirring and allow wort to sit for 20 minutes.
7. Chill wort in cold water bath to a temperature of 70°F–75°F (21°C–24°C). Transfer wort and fruit into carboy, aerate for 1 minute.
8. Pitch yeast into carboy and aerate for another minute. Top up carboy with cool water to the 5 gallon mark.
9. Primary fermentation will take a little longer than usual (this beer should be done fermenting in 15 to 20 days). When the kiwis rise to the top of the carboy and are almost white in color this will signify that they have been successfully stripped of their flavors and sugars.
10. Before bottling, clean and sanitize bottles and caps and create a priming solution of 1 cup (235 ml) boiling water and priming sugar. Siphon beer into a sterilized bottling bucket, add the water-diluted priming solution, and gently stir. Bottle and cap beer.
11. After bottling, allow the beer to bottle condition for another 10 days; it should then be ready to drink.
Ingredients
Pre-boil tea
41/2 gallons (17 L) cool water
½ pound (225 g) Torrified wheat grain
½ pound (225 g) 6 row pale malt
Grain bag
2 teaspoons (10 g) gypsum
Boil
6.6 pounds (3 kg) wheat-barley liquid malt extract (65 minutes)
1 ounce (28 g) Tettnanger hop pellets (60 minutes)
½ ounce (15 g) Willamette hop pellets (10 minutes)
½ ounce (15 g) crushed coriander (10 minutes)
1 teaspoon (5 g) Irish moss (10 minutes)
4 pounds (1.8 kg) fresh kiwi fruit peeled and cubed (1/2 inch [1.27 cm] cubes) (End of boil)
In carboy
Cool water to 5 gallon (19L) mark
Fermentation
Yeast: White Labs WLP400 Belgian Wit Ale or WLP410 Belgian Wit II; or Wyeast 3944 Belgian Wit or 3463 Forbidden Fruit
Bottling
5 ounces (125 g) priming sugar
Starting gravity: 1.052
Final gravity: 1.014
Final target ABV: 5%
Peppercorn Rye-Bock
The bock beer style has been made in Northern Germany and Austria for centuries. The Dutch version of a bock beer is usually a bit darker in color than those from other countries and there is evidence that the Dutch used rye in making some versions of their bock beers. Bock beers tend to lean more on the barley than the hops for their signature character. The rye that will be used in this recipe will give the beer a nice spicy, woody edge to cut the sweetness of the barley. Black and green peppercorns will be added to further accentuate the spicy notes in this beer.
PROCESS
1. Fill a single grain bag with the flaked rye and Munich barley. Tie off the top and place the bag in your brewpot filled with 41/2 gallons (17 L) of cool water. Heat the pot and stir the water and grain bag every 5 minutes.
2. As the water reaches 170°F (77°C), pull out the grain bag using a large stirring spoon. Hold the bag above the brewpot for a minute allowing most of the liquid to drain into the pot. Do not squeeze the grain bag.
3. As the water begins to boil, remove from heat. Add all the malt extract. Stir to prevent clumping and scorching on the bottom of the pot. Return to heat.
4. Allow the wort to come up to a boil. After pre-boiling for 5 minutes add the Cluster hop pellets and stir. Start timing the 1-hour boil at the point that you make this hop addition.
5. 10 minutes before the end of the 1-hour boil, add the Hallertau hop pellets and the Irish moss and stir for 1 minute.
6. At the 60-minute mark, add the black and green peppercorns and turn off the heat source. Stir wort clockwise for 2 minutes as you build up a whirlpool effect. Stop stirring and allow wort to sit for 10 minutes.
7. Chill wort in cold water bath to a temperature of under 55°F (13°C).
8. Transfer wort into carboy, aerate for 1 minute.
9. Pitch yeast into carboy and aerate for another minute. Top up with water to 5 gallons (19 L).
10. Store in a cool place (at or under 50°F [10°C]) for duration of fermentation.
11. After primary fermentation is complete (about 2 to 3 weeks), transfer wort into sanitized bottling bucket and then sanitize your now-empty carboy before transferring the beer back into it.
12. In about 2 more weeks your beer should be ready to package.
13. Before bottling, clean and sanitize bottles and caps and create a priming solution of 1 cup (235 ml) boiling water and priming sugar. Siphon beer into a sterilized bottling bucket, add the water-diluted priming solution, and gently stir. Bottle and cap beer.
14. Allow the beer to bottle condition for another 2 weeks and it should then be ready to drink.
Ingredients
Pre-boil tea
41/2 gallons (17 L) cool water
1 pound (455 g) flaked rye
½ pound (225 g) crushed Munich barley Grain bag
Boil
6.6 pounds (3 kg) Pilsner or light liquid malt extract (65 minutes)
1 pound (455 g) light dry malt extract (65 minutes)
1 ounce (28 g) Cluster hop pellets (60 minutes)
1 ounce (28 g) Hallertau hop pellets (10 minutes)
1 teaspoon (5 g) Irish Moss (10 minutes)
1 teaspoon (2 g) milled black peppercorns (End of boil)
1 teaspoon (2 g) milled green peppercorns (End of boil)
In carboy
Cold water to the 5 gallon (19L) mark
Fermentation
Yeast: Wyeast 2308 Munich or 2206 Bavarian Lager; or White Labs WLP838 Southern German Lager yeast
Bottling
5 ounces (125 g) priming sugar
Starting gravity: 1.063
Final gravity: 1.014
Final target ABV: 5.5%
Molasses Marzen
Märzen beers are German in heritage, have a relatively sweet malt character, and tend to have a reddish hue. Traditionally Märzen beers were brewed in the spring to lager through the warm summer months. This method was the result of brewing these beers in the days before modern refrigeration. After fermentation, the beers were transferred into barrels and rolled deep into caves and cellars where they were packed with ice to age over the summer. The extended lagering time gives Märzen their smooth but crisp malt character. This Märzen will be a bit stronger than the standard 5 to 6% ABV continental version. To bump up the ABV to 8.5%, this recipe will use molasses. Brewing with molasses is a tradition that is actually more prevalent in Britain than in Germany but allowing the worlds to collide can be a fun way to make an ordinary beer a bit more extreme. Be sure to use high-grade, light molasses, which is about 90% fermentable. In addition to sugars, molasses contains aromatics that will contribute to the flavor and complexity of this beer.
PROCESS
1. Fill a grain bag with the crushed 60 ºL crystal malt. Tie off the top and place the bag in your brewpot filled with 41/2 (17 L) gallons of cool water. Heat the pot and stir the water and grain bag every 5 minutes.
2. As the water reaches 170° F (77°C), pull out the grain bag using a large stirring spoon. Hold the bag above the brewpot for a minute allowing the last of liquids to drain into the pot. Do not squeeze the grain bag.
3. As the water begins to boil, remove from heat. Add the light liquid malt extract and brown sugar. Stir to prevent clumping and scorching on the bottom of the pot. Return to heat.
4. Allow the wort to come up to a boil. After pre-boiling for 5 minutes add the Chinook hop pellets and stir. Start timing the 1-hour boil at the point that you make this hop addition.
5. 20 minutes before the end of your boil add the light molasses; stir to prevent clumping.
6. 10 minutes before the end of your 1-hour boil add the Saaz hop pellets and the Irish moss and stir for 1 minute.
7. At the 60-minute mark, turn off your heat source. Stir wort clockwise for two minutes as you buildup a whirlpool effect. Stop stirring and allow wort to sit for 10 minutes.
8. Chill wort in cold water bath to just below 55°F (13°C).
9. Transfer wort into carboy, aerate for 1 minute.
10. Pitch yeast into carboy and aerate for another minute. Top up with water to 5 gallons (19 L).
11. Store in a cool place (at or under 50°F [10°C]) for duration of fermentation. In about 4 weeks, your beer should be ready to package.
12. On bottling day, boil 6 ounces (175 ml) of water and 1 cup (235 ml) of light molasses. Stir until the molasses is completely in solution. Pour it into bottling bucket and transferring the beer into it. Stir to mix well. The beer is now ready to bottle.
13. Allow the beer to bottle condition for another 2 weeks and it should then be ready to drink.
Ingredients
Pre-boil tea
41/2 gallons (17 L) cool water
1 pound (455 g) 60 L Crystal malt Grain bag
2 teaspoons (10 g) gypsum
Boil
6.6 pounds (3 kg) Pilsner or light liquid malt extract (65 minutes)
2 pounds (0.9 kg) light brown sugar (65 minutes)
11/2 ounces (43 g) Chinook hop pellets (60 minutes)
1 pound (680 g) light molasses (20 minutes)
1 ounce (28 g) Saaz hops pellets (10 minutes)
1 teaspoon (5 g) Irish Moss (10 minutes)
In carboy
Cold water to the 5 gallon (19L) mark
Fermentation
Yeast: Wyeast 2042 Danish Lager yeast or Wyeast 3327 Euro Lager; or White Labs WLP850
Bottling
8 ounces (340 g) molasses for priming
Starting gravity: 1.080
Final gravity: 1.016
Final target ABV: 8%
Dema-Goddess Ale
To make this particular recipe you will be conducting high gravity brewing. White or light beet sugars are more highly fermentable than barley sugars so dose in small amounts of sugar during fermentation. However, using too much of these sugars will make a beer overly dry, cidery, and “hot” (boozy with no body). To reduce this effect, high quality Demerara sugar will be added during the initial boil as well as intermittently during fermentation to keep the body of the beer up and the dryness down. With big beers, high volumes of hops need to be added just to counterbalance the sweetness that will inevitably be left via the unfermented sugars. To fully ferment this beer, two different yeast strains and a special aerating method will be used. The boiling process drives nearly all of the oxygen out of the beer as it’s being made, but yeast works best in an oxygen-rich environment. Aerating your beer is therefore recommended at the start of fermentation. However, with strong beers, sometimes that isn’t enough. For this beer, and all beers with a target alcohol by volume of over 12%, it’s recommended to use an aquarium air pump, hose, and aerating stone to add high levels of oxygen just before pitching the primary yeast and just before adding the secondary yeast. This extreme aeration method can give your beer undesired, oxygenated, or “cardboard” flavors if done too late in the fermentation process. But huge beers require extended periods of time to properly ferment. For primary and secondary fermentation periods lasting six to eight weeks for the combined processes, I would not recommend this method of aeration beyond the third week of total fermentation. Since you will be adding sugar repeatedly during fermentation it will be difficult to gauge the initial and final specific gravity. However, it will be important to take hydrometer readings as you add sugars during fermentation, to make sure that the yeast is still performing optimally in the alcohol-rich environment.
PROCESS
1. Fill a grain bag with the crushed Cara-Munich barley and the crushed Special B Barley. Tie off the top and place the bag in your brewpot filled with 4 gallons (15 L) of cool water. Add the gypsum to the water. Heat the pot and stir the water and grain bag every 5 minutes.
2. As the water reaches 170°F (77°C), pull out the specialty grain bag using a large stirring spoon. Hold the bag above the brewpot for a minute allowing most of the liquid to drain into the pot. Do not squeeze the grain bag.
3. As the water begins to boil, remove from heat. Add the light malt extract. Stir to prevent clumping and scorching on the bottom of the pot. Return to heat.
4. Allow the wort to come up to a boil. After pre-boiling for 5 minutes, add the Tomahawk hop pellets and stir. Start timing the 1-hour boil at the point that you make this hop addition.
5. 20 minutes before the end of the boil add the Chinook hop pellets, ½ pound (225 g) of cane sugar and the Irish moss, stir for 1 minute.
6. 10 minutes before the end of the boil add ½ pound (225 g) of Demerara sugar and stir for 1 minute.
7. At the 60-minute mark of the boil, turn off heat source. Stir wort clockwise for 2 minutes as you build up a whirlpool effect. Stop stirring and allow wort to sit for 10 minutes.
8. Chill wort in cold water bath to a temperature of 70°F–75°F (21°C–24°C).
9. Transfer wort into a carboy. Add the yeast nutrient.
10. Pitch primary strong ale yeast into carboy. Top up wort to 5-gallon mark with water. Set up the aquarium pump, hose and aeration stone and oxygenate beer for 1 hour.
11. After the vigorous primary fermentation slows down (around 8 to 10 days) you will hear the air lock bubbling less frequently. Once this slowdown occurs, alternate between 1 ounce (28 g) pure cane sugar and 1 ounce (28 g) Demerara sugar additions to the carboy every day for 5 days straight.
12. A few days after the primary fermentation slows down, transfer your beer into the sterilized bottling bucket while you clean out the carboy. Many yeast cells have grown in this sugar rich environment, and you want to leave the layer of dead yeast cells that have dropped to the bottom of the carboy behind as you transfer to the bottling bucket.
13. Add the Cascade hop pellets to the empty, sterilized carboy. Transfer the beer back into your sterilized carboy and pitch your secondary super high gravity yeast (a yeast starter is a good idea. See reference area a rear of book for more info). Set up your aquarium pump/hose/aerating stone unit once again and aerate the beer for 1 full hour. Again, you will be adding 1 ounce (28 g) of pure cane sugar followed by 1 ounce (28 g) of Demerara sugar the next day for 5 straight days. The difference here is that you begin the sugar additions the day that you transfer and aerate the beer for secondary fermentation. Secondary fermentation should last 1 to 3 weeks. 2 weeks after all fermentation activity subsides your beer should be ready to package.
14. For this high gravity beer, you will be adding additional yeast at bottling to make sure that the beer has fresh yeast for the bottle conditioning. While transferring the beer to the bottling bucket, use a cup of the beer to dissolve the Champagne yeast. Add the Champagne yeast mixture to the bottling bucket and stir well. Now add the priming sugar dissolved in 1 cup (235 ml) boiling water to the bottling bucket and stir well before bottling.
15. In another 3 weeks your beer should be ready to drink. This is another long keeper and will mature well with age. It will be better after a year of aging, if you can wait that long.
Ingredients
Pre-boil tea
4 gallons (15 L) cool water
½ pound (225 g) crushed Cara-Munich barley
½ pound (225 g) crushed Special B barley Grain bag
2 teaspoons (10 g) gypsum
Boil
13.2 pounds (6 kg) light liquid malt extract or 11 pounds (5 kg) dry light malt extract (65 min)
2 ounces (55 g) Tomahawk hop pellets (60 minutes)
2 ounces (55 g) Chinook hop pellets (20 minutes)
½ pound (225 g) cane sugar (20 minutes)
2 teaspoon (10 g) Irish Moss (20 minutes)
½ pound (225 g) Demerara sugar (10 minutes)
5 teaspoons (25 g) yeast nutrient (After cooling)
In carboy
Water to the 5 gallon (19L) mark
Primary fermentation
Yeast: Wyeast 1214 Abbey Ale; or White Labs WLP570 Belgian Strong /Golden Ale
1 ounce (28 g) pure cane sugar (Day 8)
1 ounce (28 g) Demerara sugar (Day 9)
1 ounce (28 g) pure cane sugar (Day 10)
1 ounce (28 g) Demerara sugar (Day 11)
1 ounce (28 g) pure cane sugar (Day 12)
1 ounce (28 g) Cascade hop pellets (Day 13)
Distillers yeast (secondary) (Day 13)
1 ounce (28 g) pure cane sugar (Day 13)
1 ounce (28 g) Demerara sugar (Day 14)
1 ounce (28 g) pure cane sugar (Day 15)
1 ounce (28 g) Demerara sugar (Day 16)
1 ounce (28 g) pure cane sugar (Day 17)
Bottling
Champagne Yeast or Wyeast 3021
5 ounces (125 g) priming sugar
Extra Equipment: an aquarium pump/hose/aerating stone setup.
Starting gravity: 1.100 (at the start of primary fermentation)
Final gravity: With this many small sugar additions and this big a beer, final gravity is anybody’s guess!
Final target ABV: 14 to16%
BYO Q&A with Sam Calagione
Q. What distinguishes an extreme beer from a “regular” one?
A. It’s either a beer that is made with an extreme amount of traditional ingredients — like a double IPA or barleywine — or it is brewed with non-traditional ingredients. Examples of each and hybrids exist and are becoming more commonplace in both commercial and homebrewing circles.
Q. When homebrewers try one of these recipes, what are the most important things they should keep in mind?
A. There is a difference between being experimental and being disorganized. Extreme brewing does not equate to extreme chaos. I used to be guilty of running all over the kitchen in our pub searching for raisins or coffee two-minutes before the addition of that ingredient was meant to be added to the beer; completely stressing me and everyone around me out. One time I went to transfer a beer from the kettle to a fermenter and forgot to put a valve on the end of the whirl-inlet. I tried to keep the near-boiling-temp beer in the kettle using my bare hand . . . that wasn’t extreme brewing, it was extreme stupidity.
I learned that if I could plan ahead, line up my ingredients and equipment in sequential order, write out my recipe, it made for a much more peaceful and manageable brewday and allowed me to focus on the nuances of making a great beer as opposed to the nuances of staying out of the emergency room. Hopefully the book drives the importance of organization and preparedness home. That said, when it comes to tweaking, expanding or mutating a recipe in the book — don’t be afraid to let your freak-flag fly and put the “mental” in “experimental”.
Q. Is there craftsmanship involved in extreme brewing, or do the beers succeed simply due to having an overwhelming amount of ingredients?
A. I don’t think you can place enough emphasis on the craftsmanship component. Brewing is as much an art form as sculpture and if some beret-wearing sculptor wants to disagree, I know hundreds of dedicated brewers ready to womp him upside the head with a 22-ounce bottle. How many of us have tried or brewed an IPA that was brewed with ham-fisted quantities of hops? Anyone can add too much hops — the challenge is approaching that threshold in a way that makes you the drinker say “Damn that’s hoppy!” at the same time they are reflexively moving toward their second sip. Boldly approaching that threshold without overstepping it is where the craftsmanship in extreme brewing lies.
Q. When experimenting with an unusual ingredient, how do you decide when in the brewing process to add it?
A. Mostly trial and error — less error now than ten years ago. The suggestions for the usage and volumes of uncommon ingredients in this book come from dialing in our own recipes and experiments through the years. That said they are based on our own tastes and should be viewed as jumping off points for the reader. The appreciation of beer is subjective and that’s a beautiful thing. Too much cinnamon for one person is not enough for another.
Q. You’ve had much success with your extreme beers. Are there any failures you’d care to relate?
A. Yup, a couple come directly to mind. High Alfa Wheat, which we made in the first year at our pub, was brewed with peppercorns and lavender buds. Way too many lavender buds. Drinking it was like tongue-kissing Laura Ashley. That said, it was 1996 and I bet it would find a wider audience today than it did then. I hope we brew it again some day. The other was a homebrew batch made with wormwood that I’d rather not elaborate further on . . . suffice to say it’s possible to have Nam flashbacks without ever having been to Vietnam.
Q. What makes a good extreme beer?
A. At the end of the day I would think that the definition of any great extreme beer is centered upon some version of the ideal balance. All of the flavors of the beer should mesh perfectly with one another. That doesn’t mean that the beer must taste familiar to be enjoyable. Experimental brewing, and the enjoyment of experimental beer is about expanding your palate but it’s not about destroying your palate. The best extreme beers are the ones that you remember as being unlike anything out there long after you’ve finished drinking them but that you look forward to drinking again.
Q. When you first brew an extreme beer, how close do you get to the version of the beer “in your mind’s eye?”
A. I’m pretty good at coming up with an idea for a beer and the general recipe and working through the test batch. The tweaking of recipes that is necessary as ingredient specs change over time is a collaborative process at our company.
Q. How do you approach extreme brewing — is it a seat-of-the-pants endeavor or carefully planned?
A. When we opened in 1995, it was definitely seat-of-the pants. I had a 15-gallon modified Sabco Brew-Magic system that I used for the first year. Our motto from even before we opened has been “Off-centered ales for off-centered people” and I was experimenting with non-traditional ingredients right out of the gates. Now our system of brewing is a little more methodical, but no less adventurous than it was the day we opened. I’m proud to say I’m the least skilled brewer of the eight brewers that work at Dogfish Head. But I still enjoy taking a beer from the concept to the pilot brew. We do the pilot brews on the 5 barrel system at our Rehoboth Beach Pub and if they turn out well, we scale up the recipe and make them on our 100 barrel production brewery in Milton. We never look at the existing market to determine what we want to brew next — we look to our own inspiration or some historical or artistic stepping off point that brings an idea for a beer to light.
Q. What are some good extreme-beer ingredients and are there any to avoid?
A. A few of my favorites include crystallized ginger, maple syrup, honey, we just made a beer with black tea. . . again it’s a subjective process so anyone’s personal favorites would be equally valid. Stay away from peanut butter — the oil is a bitch for head retention. Jelly is OK though.
Q. If a homebrewer has an idea for an extreme beer of his (or her) own, how should he (or she) approach the planning and first brewing of it?
A. Add a little more hops than your gut is telling you to add. Add a little less spice or herbs than your gut is telling you to add. Add about as much fruit as your gut is telling you to add. Usually works for me.
This story and five recipes are excerpted from Extreme Brewing by Sam Calagione
