A Scottish Brewing Revolution
I’m kind of a wee guy,” says Chris Lewis, from behind a table in a carpeted function suite in Aberdeen, Scotland. “And I always thought that I should have something to rely on, if I ever got sent to prison. I figured if I was the guy that could make alcohol then someone would find a use for me. Nothing worse would happen, you know?”
Just when you thought you’d heard all the reasons why people start homebrewing, another arrives. Chris — his comment having scored the biggest laugh of a day of brewer-led tastings at the 2019 BrewDog ‘PunkAGM’ — is just one of dozens of homebrew-heroes who have scaled their passion up into a full career in the northernmost part of the United Kingdom.
As Director, Head Brewer, and Sales Rep for Glasgow-based Dead End Brew Machine he is a one-man band in full swing. With only five years of commercial experience under his belt, it’s the foundations of his homebrew escapades that underpin all of his success — even if in the beginning (like many) he had no aspirations to go full-time with any of it.
“I really enjoyed making something tangible,” he says. “And also the freedom to throw the kitchen sink at stuff and make beers and styles that were either not available or not commercially viable. Homebrewing quickly became a total obsession, brewing far more than I could ever reasonably drink.” For Chris, the challenge of homebrewing was challenge enough.
At the other end of Scotland’s main artery, the M8 motorway, Paul Gibson was having exactly the same thoughts as he began homebrewing in Edinburgh. “With every new brew the aim was to perfect my technique and ultimately make the final product better. At no point had I any thoughts about taking things to the next level. My focus was just to make the next beer better.”
For him, like Chris, homebrewing was a chance to experiment above all else. Before he launched the Campervan Brewery in 2015, Paul’s biggest pull was walking past produce markets and buying “random fruit” to put in his beers. “Even walking past my kitchen cupboard, it became difficult not to grab some spice or herb to add to my latest brew,” he confesses.
Turning the hobby to a career
Theirs are just two of the new outlooks that have lit a fire underneath Scottish brewing in the last decade. The traditional brewing centers and stylistic leanings have gone out the window as homebrewers who have tweaked and developed a myriad of different beers turn their pastime into a career. The stereotype of Scots mist over the moors and dark, peated wee heavy is just that.
“I never once, in fact, made a traditional Scottish style when homebrewing,” says Dave Grant, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Fierce Beer, a multi-award winning brewery based in the shadow of Aberdeen Airport. “There’s not much about them that excites me. My first homebrew was an IPA, the second a chipotle porter (that is now a core beer for Fierce), and the third a raspberry pale ale, which is now Cranachan Killer.”
If the progression of brewers from their garages or kitchens into purpose-built facilities brings with it a thread of commonality, today in Scotland it is one of variety and experimentation. Nothing is off limits, it seems. Chris from Dead End Brew Machine spent the final two years of his homebrewing life solely focusing on Brettanomyces and sour beers; capturing wild yeast, foraging for ingredients, and blending the results.
Homebrewing in Scotland has clearly moved on from the days of levering open cans of extract.
One brewer who knows all about that is Paul Fallen. Long before he founded his eponymous brewery in central Stirlingshire, he was cutting his teeth on traditional English ales thanks to all-extract kits of a commonly available base-homebrew 3.8% amber ale.
“It was awful,” admits Paul. His first homebrew rig was a Christmas gift from his wife; for a hobby he could pursue inside the house whilst looking after their children.
“Pales and IPAs were my go-to attempts 15 years ago and it’s still the basis of what we do now,” he says. Fallen Brewing’s beers are renowned for their quality, and Paul attributes this to an outlook that never really synced with those of Chris, Paul, and Dave. “We probably experiment more with different styles now than I ever did as a homebrewer. Then I was generally focused more on nailing down techniques and processes and how to brew rather than what to brew. When you have zero experience of all-grain brewing, the how feels more important than the what initially.”
So the second trend of Scottish homebrew into commercial brewing — if we are to list them — would be that experimentation doesn’t come at the expense of quality. Studying the craft is every bit as important. Paul Gibson of Campervan Brewery agrees, having been through a similar Eureka moment during his homebrew days. “As I tried more beers in bars, I could identify faults or off-flavors and knew where the breweries had gone wrong in the process.”
“More friends, family, and work colleagues were telling me how great my beers were and that started me thinking about releasing some to the public. The final moment was a beer I bought in a bar from a well-known UK brewery and I knew that I could do much better.” That was the nudge Paul needed to go pro. Chris Lewis had made the leap that became Dead
End Brew Machine when a friend of his hosted a beer festival and demanded something from him to serve to his customers.
But in terms of gaining customers, up in Aberdeen Dave Grant had already managed to go one better. Before he and Co-Founder Dave McHardy officially launched Fierce Beer he was successfully selling 5-gallon (19-L) Corny kegs of his homebrew to local bars — as well as others as far away as Edinburgh and London. When patrons in a city with dozens of commercial breweries like your product, the big time isn’t far away.
So, what does this new generation of Scottish brewers think is the biggest take-home message they learned from honing their craft over their stovetops? Dave has a list ready to go. “Recipe development, water treatment, pH sensitivities. But mainly you can cheaply play around by adding adjuncts for minimal cost,” he says. “This is invaluable before heading towards the main kit (brewing system).”
Paul Fallen agrees that knowledge is the best lesson. “If you understand what you’re doing and why you’re doing it the rest comes naturally. Also, homebrewing teaches you to source the best ingredients and be generous when you use them. If you use inferior quality malt or hops or you try and economize by cutting back on hop usage it will be obvious in the end product.”
As a counterpoint, Chris Lewis warns that homebrew has its limits when it comes to certain aspects of hitting the big time as a commercial brewer. “Starting and running a business has been good craic but a steep learning curve. There’s all the things that come with that like chasing payments and sales and marketing, which are all new.”
Dave Grant has an even longer list ready to go here. “You don’t really have a care when it is a hobby. Market research, sales, distribution, cash flow, funding, HR, QHSE (quality, health, safety, environment), marketing, IP protection . . . it is a long list.”
It may be a long list, but not one that is putting off brewers from stepping up. According to this author’s anecdotal evidence, more breweries have opened up in Scotland this decade than in the previous thirty years combined. There are now well over 150 production and small-scale contract brewers north of Hadrian’s Wall, with 40 of them launching their beers in 2014/2015 alone (including Fierce Beer, Campervan, and Fallen Brewing, who ceased contract brewing that year and opened their own facility).
The Classics
Scottish brewing is an industry that respects its history, but there are only four producers still currently brewing who were doing so prior to 1980. Edinburgh’s Caledonian Brewery, Glasgow’s Wellpark (the home of Tennent’s Lager), the time-locked Traquair House Brewery in the Scottish Borders, and the oldest of them all; Belhaven Brewery in Dunbar, where brewing commenced in 1719 (although it is now owned by England’s Greene King).
Three of those four have portfolios that revolve around that quintessential Scottish brewing idiosyncrasy — the Shilling System — with tiers based on the price each cask would fetch in old money. The stronger the beer, the costlier it would be (some things never change) leaving beers known simply by their price tags, from 42/- (42 shillings) through 54/-, 70/-, 80/- and beyond.
Today Belhaven still produces an 80/-; Caledonian recently renamed their 80/- “Edinburgh Castle” and Traquair push their wooden mash tun to the limit with their 9.5% ABV 160/- ale. But times have already changed. Equally on point is the fact that three of those four also now carry a “craft” range — either stated explicitly as per Belhaven and Caledonian, or in a more subtle manner.
In 2014, the C&C Group, owners of Tennent’s Lager, joined forces with William Bros Brewing Company to launch Drygate; a Glasgow-based craft brewery, taproom, and restaurant in the shadow of their vast lager brewhouse. Situated inside a converted box factory, this 24-HL (634-gallon) brewhouse creates dozens of different beers every year, with a core range including a 4.7% ABV apple ale where First Gold and Savinjski Golding hops are complemented by the addition of apple juice.
The influence of BrewDog
Craft beer has arrived in Scotland. The rise of its most successful advocate, BrewDog, is testament to that. Since their arrival in the spring of 2007, Co-Founders James Watt and Martin Dickie have built their Aberdeenshire concern into a behemoth, becoming the largest craft brewery in Europe and employing 1,500 people. But like the other breweries in this article, it all began with homebrew.
James and Martin created the first BrewDog recipes in a garage belonging to Martin’s mother, using old Cascade hops in an attempt to recreate Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (surely not being alone in starting their homebrew adventures with that aim). In early 2016 the pair — now exporting their beer to over 60 countries around the world — released every BrewDog recipe to the homebrewing community for free.
This inimitable way of doing business is another standout point of the Scottish brewing scene. Alongside breweries that specialize in Belgian or German-style beers, there are others that have — like BrewDog — a truly unexpected perspective. One of those is Paul Gibson and his aforementioned Campervan Brewery. When he started out, Paul did so with a unique concept – a 1973 Type 2 Volkswagen camper. Brewing on a portable 13-gallon (50-L) Brewmeister system, he literally took to the road.
“I’ve been to so many festivals and the breweries are there with their white tents, you know, they all look the same,” he explained to me back in 2015 when we first met. “I can bring the brewkit along and actually do a live brew; and the people there can get a true feel for how natural a product it is. I can actually get some crowd participation involved.” These days the VW camper is parked in front of his production brewery in Leith, Edinburgh, but that distinctiveness remains.
Logistical headaches
For many breweries in Scotland, uniqueness manifests itself in the way that nearly 16 million people discovered in the year to 2018 (according to tourism numbers from the Office for National Statistics) — the landscape and geography of the country. Over half a million visitors take the ankle-numbing flight from North America each year to find out what we Scots already know — this is a beautiful part of the world.
But picture-postcard vistas don’t make for easy business (unless your business is tourism. Or postcards.). Brewers in Scotland often have to deal with everything from quirks to full-scale logistical nightmares when it comes to simply getting ingredients to them, or their beers to you and me. And no section of the brewing industry here feels it more than Scotland’s island breweries.
There are around a dozen production breweries based on the near-800 islands that cluster around the Scottish mainland. And some are seriously remote. None more so than the UK’s most northerly, the Valhalla Brewery in Unst, Shetland. Their first brew arrived in December 1997 and each comes with what founder Sonny Priest describes as “logistical headaches” based on him operating on the furthest-flung inhabited island in the country, nearer to Norway than Edinburgh (search Google Maps for “Unst” and then zoom out. And keep zooming. You’ll see.).
A little closer to the mainland, but no less challenging a location, are the Orkney Islands. An hour’s ferry from the rest of Scotland, this archipelago is commonly battered by the Atlantic Ocean and the prevailing wind; the saying goes “Orkney summers are short and bright and the winters are long and dark.” Of course, dark winters need lubrication (as do bright summers).
Helping fulfill that role is the Swannay Brewery, which emerged in 2004 when founder Rob Hill was let go from the then sole brewery on the island and decided to start up for himself. Since joined by his eldest son, Lewis, and a small but dedicated team, Swannay (they rebranded from Highland Brewing Company in 2015 to better reflect their island location) is arguably — if not definitively — the most-awarded Scottish brewery there is.
And all from a converted farmhouse 300 miles north of the Scottish capital. “Nothing happens quickly,” says Lewis Hill when questioned about the unique challenges of operating a brewery on an exposed and rugged
island surrounded by vertical cliffs. “We need to be well-organized and factor in weather delays. Transport is a huge factor and one of our biggest costs. Materials in, beer out, containers back in.”
This to-and-fro becomes a game of cat-and-mouse thanks to the unpredictability of the Scottish weather, and it is a problem for all island breweries in the country. Another, the Colonsay Brewery, are over two hours by ship from the mainland. When the weather turns and the ferries are cancelled, as often happens, the beer stays where it is. A shame for the island’s 120-strong population (the brewery employs ten percent of the island’s workforce).
Isolation has its advantages though. As Lewis Hill explains, “The other side of the coin (in terms of their island location) is we have a loyal and strong customer base here on the island. Most places have a Scapa Special cask line and volumes are consistent. Also there are more and more keg lines where volume is increasing nicely.”
Scapa Special is Swannay’s flagship and the first beer Rob Hill ever brewed under his own steam. A multi-time Champion Beer of Scotland, this 4.4% ABV pale ale contains a mix of UK, German, and US hops and still accounts for a third of the beer Swannay brews today. But in 2017, the brewery embarked in a different, yet complementary, direction — a range of modern-leaning beers packaged in cans; the “Mutiny” range.
“They were launched with the goal of brewing beers with a bit more of a modern edge,” continues Lewis. “Hop-forward, with alternative ingredients and modern branding. The main driver was the established following our core beers have; not wanting to dilute that.” So even in the outer lying islands of the country, craft beer has taken hold (on Colonsay too, who rebranded in 2015 after hiring a marketing agency).
Homebrewing Foothold
But even if change happens, one of the endearing — and enduring — threads that holds Scotland together is remembering where you come from; every descendent of Scottish ancestry in North America can attest to that. Brewers over here are also better at that than most, whether they have been influenced by the craft beer phenomenon or not, thanks to their shared backstory in homebrewing.
This rite of passage is one that in recent years has spawned another trend — the commercial homebrew setup. In 2014 Stewart Brewing, based in Loanhead on the outskirts of Edinburgh, introduced the “Craft Beer Kitchen,” a brew your own destination with three 29-gallon (110-L) kettles for hire by the day for anyone wanting to create their own beer, guided from start to finish.
In the five years since, over 2,000 groups have done just that, and front and center in them getting the beer they want is Craft Beer Kitchen Manager James Hardacre. “We can brew up to seven times a day,” he says. “Customer brews are partial mash (malt extract with pre-steeped specialty grains) with the entire brew taking around 21⁄2 hours.”
“We can do everything from pale lagers to stouts. We talk through water chemistry, malting, we usually have a dozen or more hops from around the world to choose from. Finally we discuss yeast and have five yeast strains to choose from. The chat is tailored to each group based on experience; some people come in knowing very little about beer, some groups are homebrewers or regulars, so we can drill down into as much detail as required.”
The group returns to bottle or cask their finished beer in three weeks (if an ale) or seven (if a lager). So for the definitive survey on what the people of Scotland are drinking in 2019, what are the most commonly asked-for styles? “We brew a lot of golden ales and IPAs, I’d say that’s the majority. It’s not unusual to have a lager or hefeweizen group. Saisons and Belgian styles are less popular. Stouts and 80/- we get only very occasionally.”
So has the craft beer surge failed to make it to the wedding-favors and birthday-gift brewers of Scotland? Not on your life. “New England IPAs have become more popular in the last year,” he concludes. “We have a low-flocculating yeast in now for those. In recent months I’ve brewed with oysters, added chilies, sumac, mango, blackcurrant, passion fruit, every type of citrus zest, tea, and Japanese sansho berries to brews.”
So from homebrew to commercial and back to commercial homebrew — as the history of Scottish brewing is respected, it is done so with one eye on the horizon and the new trends arriving on our shores. But this Scottish beer drinker wouldn’t want it any other way.
Homebrewing in Scottland (sidebar by Harry Kirkham)
The rise of craft beer and breweries in Scotland over the last decade has increased interest in ingredients and the brewing process, which inevitably leads many people to try their hand at making their own beer. Homebrewing in Scotland predates the craft beer revolution, however.
In 1997, in a pub at Balerno, a small village outside Edinburgh, the inaugural meeting of the Scottish Craft Brewers was held. The organization was established with the aim of furthering the development of craft and homebrewing across Scotland through regular meetings and events.
Over the subsequent 22 years the club has grown and developed with the times and brewing trends, but fundamentally the original aim to promote the craft of brewing and provide support and camaraderie to Scottish homebrewers remains the same. One measure of the club’s success is the significant number of current and former members who now work professionally in the Scottish brewing industry. Recognizing this, in recent years the club has been working closely with a German initiative — The YEAST Project — to provide work placements for brewing apprentices from Bavaria in Scottish breweries. Working in breweries that are not bound by the strict Reinheitsgebot laws is often a novel experience for the students, and similarly a number of club members have had the opportunity for return visits to Germany to learn more about Bavarian brewing.
The largest event organized by the club each year is the annual Scottish Craft Brewers competition, one of the only Scottish competitions certified by the Beer Judge Certification Program. Reflecting the growth in popularity of homebrewing, both in Scotland and the rest of the world, recent years have seen in rise in the number and diversity of entrants. What was once primarily a Scottish affair now receives entries from the rest of the United Kingdom, Europe, and even the United States. This year the beer that won Best in Show was a foreign extra stout from Denmark.
The average home in the UK has less than half the floor space of the US (818 vs. 1,948 sq-ft) and in the two biggest Scottish cities, Edinburgh and Glasgow, between two thirds and three quarters of the population live in flats. In short, space is at a premium and the opportunities for a dedicated brewing area is limited. As a result, many brewers brew in their kitchens, with equipment setups that can be efficiently packed away when not in use. Traditional three-tier systems remain popular, however inevitably the growth of all-in-one electric systems such as the Grainfather has been rapid given these space constraints, and there is a growing interest in brew-in-a-bag in Scotland for similar reasons.
Traditional Scottish ales are brown, malty beers with limited hop characteristics, primarily distinguished by strength. Unfortunately, even in Scotland, with a few notable exceptions, high-quality commercial examples of these classic styles are increasingly rare, so often brewing them at home is the only reliable way to ensure a steady supply. The Scottish Craft Brewers competition varies its categories each year, but there is always at least one space reserved for one of the Scottish styles. Winning this category carries an extra cachet of preserving an important brewing tradition.
Similar to craft brewers, homebrewers do not limit themselves to the classic Scottish styles, however. At the most recent Scottish Craft Brewers meeting there were 22 different beers brought along by members, including a fruited Gose, English bitter, Belgian saison, American brown ale, imperial stout, and a German doppelbock. Heavily hopped beers with American and other New World hop varieties are as popular in Scotland as elsewhere in the UK, although the relative cost of these imported ingredients can make brewing them an expensive proposition. Availability and freshness of hops is a key concern as well, with regular debate over which supplier has the most recent harvest and the most robust storage regime. There is also an increasing interest in sour beers that mirrors the growing availability of commercially brewed examples, as well as experiments with barrel aging and unusual adjuncts. null
Cromarty Brewing Co.’s Pibroch Wee Heavy clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.072 FG = 1.018
IBU = 20 SRM = 20 ABV = 7.2%
This wee heavy showcases a complex malt backbone with a touch of smoked malt to fill out the mouthfeel and increase the overall depth of character.
Ingredients
11 lbs. (5 kg) Simpsons Maris Otter pale ale malt
1.78 lbs. (0.8 kg) Weyermann Beechwood smoked malt
0.56 lb. (0.25 kg) Weyermann melanoidin malt (20 °L)
0.56 lb. (0.25 kg) Simpsons Golden Naked Oats® malt
0.37 lb. (0.17 kg) Simpsons crystal malt (60 °L)
0.37 lb. (0.17 kg) Simpsons crystal malt (120 °L)
0.21 lb. (0.1 kg) Simpsons roasted barley (450 °L)
1.5 AAU Fuggle hops (120 min.) (0.3 oz./8.5 g at 5% alpha acids)
1.5 AAU Fuggle hops (45 min.) (0.3 oz./8.5 g at 5% alpha acids)
7 AAU Fuggle hops (10 min.) (1.4 oz./40 g at 5% alpha acids)
1⁄2 Whirlfloc tablet (10 min.)
White Labs WLP028 (Edinburgh Scottish Ale) or Wyeast 1728 (Scottish Ale) or LalBrew Nottingham yeast
2⁄3 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Use soft or low mineral content water to help accentuate the malty aspects of this beer. With a 1.2 qts./lb. (2.5 L/kg) water-to-grist ratio, target a mash temperature of 155 °F (68 °C). Perform a single infusion mash for 60 minutes or until proper enzymatic conversion has occurred. Sparge with 170 °F (76 °C) water to collect 8.4 gallons (31.8 L) of wort.
Boil for 120 minutes, adding hops and fining agents as indicated. At flameout, rapidly chill the wort to 61 °F (16 °C) and transfer to the primary fermenter. Aerate thoroughly and pitch plenty of healthy yeast. Ferment at 63 °F (17 °C) until terminal gravity of 1.018 is reached, usually within 10 to 14 days. Once fermentation is complete, drop beer temperature to 50 °F
(10 °C) and hold for 5 days. Then drop temperature to 39 °F (4 °C) and lager for a minimum of 3 weeks. Keg or bottle, targeting 2.2 volumes of CO2.
Tips for Success:
Use high quality, fresh malts along with sufficient aging time and low fermentation temperatures to develop the sweet, smooth, and balanced maltiness desired in this beer.
Cromarty Brewing Co.’s Pibroch Wee Heavy clone
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.072 FG = 1.018
IBU = 20 SRM = 18 ABV = 7.2%
Ingredients
2.7 lbs. (1.22 kg) Simpsons Maris Otter pale malt
4.6 lbs. (2.1 kg) Briess CBW® pale ale dried malt extract
1.78 lbs. (0.8 kg) Weyermann Beechwood smoked malt
0.56 lb. (0.25 kg) Weyermann melanoidin malt (20 °L)
0.56 lb. (0.25 kg) Simpsons Golden Naked Oats® malt
0.37 lb. (0.17 kg) Simpsons crystal malt (60 °L)
0.37 lb. (0.17 kg) Simpsons crystal malt (120 °L)
0.21 lb. (0.1 kg) Simpsons roasted barley (450 °L)
1.5 AAU Fuggle hops (120 min.) (0.3 oz./8.5 g at 5% alpha acids)
1.5 AAU Fuggle hops (45 min.) (0.3 oz./8.5 g at 5% alpha acids)
7 AAU Fuggle hops (10 min.)(1.4 oz./40 g at 5% alpha acids)
1⁄2 Whirlfloc tablet (10 min.)
White Labs WLP028 (Edinburgh Scottish Ale) or Wyeast 1728 (Scottish Ale) or LalBrew Nottingham yeast
2⁄3 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Heat 2 gallons (7.6 L) of water to 168 °F (76 °C) and add a steeping bag with the crushed grains. Submerge the bag and stir grains to ensure sufficient hydration. Mash for 60 minutes targeting a mash temperature of 155 °F (68 °C). Remove bag from pot and sparge with 170 °F (76 °C) water to collect 4 gallons (15 L) of wort.
Boil for 120 minutes, adding hops and Whirlfloc as indicated. Add the dried malt extract in the last 10 minutes of the boil. Follow the remainder of the all-grain instructions, making sure to top fermenter off to 5 gallons (19 L) prior to fermentation.
Dead End Brew Machine’s Curtis the Destroyer clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.106 FG = 1.033
IBU = 55 SRM = 14 ABV = 9.6%
This big barleywine is boiled for two and a half hours to contribute toffee and caramel notes and is fermented with a custom blend of London III and Burlington yeast and aged in Jamaican rum barrels.
Ingredients
19.3 lbs. (8.75 kg) Crisp Maris Otter pale ale malt
1.46 lbs. (0.66 kg) Crisp flaked torrefied barley
0.78 lbs. (0.35 kg) Chateau Belgian biscuit malt
3 AAU Magnum hops (60 min.) (0.3 oz./8.5 g at 10% alpha acids)
2.6 AAU Challenger hops (60 min.) (0.3 oz./8.5 g at 8.8% alpha acids)
8.8 AAU Challenger hops (30 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 8.8% alpha acids)
8.4 AAU Pioneer hops (30 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 8.4% alpha acids)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Challenger hops (whirlpool)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Pioneer hops (whirlpool)
1⁄2 Whirlfloc tablet (10 min.)
White Labs WLP095 (Burlington Ale) yeast
Wyeast 1318 (London Ale III) yeast
3.5 oz. (100 g) medium+ toasted oak cubes soaked in
Jamaican rum
2⁄3 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Target your brewing water at approximately 70 ppm for chlorides and 45 ppm sulfate. This can be achieved using reverse osmosis (RO) water and adding 0.02 oz./gal (0.15 g/L) CaCl2 and 0.01 oz./gal (0.08 g/L) gypsum.
A step mash process is employed for maximum fermentability. Dough-in at a 1.1 qts./lb. (2.3 L/kg) ratio using 5.9 gallons (22.3 L) of water for the mash targeting an initial temperature of 143 °F (62 °C). Rest for 30 minutes then raise temperature to 149 °F (65 °C) and hold for another 30 minutes. For the last step of the mash, raise temperature to 162 °F (72 °C) and hold for 15 minutes. In lieu of performing a step mash, a single infusion mash can be employed with a target temperature of 148 °F (64 °C). Hold at this temperature for 90 minutes to maximize enzymatic conversion.
Sparge using 167 °F (75 °C) water to collect 9 gallons (34 L) of wort. Total boil time is 150 minutes. Add hops and Whirlfloc as indicated. Add the whirlpool hops at flameout, give the wort a vigorous stir, and then cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
Chill the wort to 63 °F (17 °C) and transfer to primary fermenter. Aerate thoroughly prior to pitching yeast blend. Allow fermentation temperatures to slowly rise by 1–2 °F (1 °C) per day up to a maximum of 73 °F (23 °C) to ensure complete fermentation and minimization of fusel alcohol production.
Once primary fermentation is complete (approximately two weeks), rack beer to a CO2-purged first use rum barrel or a clean and sanitized secondary fermenter. If using a secondary fermenter, add rum-soaked oak cubes and age until a balanced rum character is achieved. Force carbonate to 1.8 volumes of CO2 or prime and bottle. Additional aging will contribute a pleasant Sherry-like character to the beer.
Tips for Success:
Hitting the starting gravity for this beer has a dependency on your boil evaporation rate. This recipe assumes an evaporation rate of 15% per hour. Depending on the evaporation rate of your system, you may need to adjust the amount of wort collected to hit the target starting gravity with the prescribed boil time.
This is a big beer that requires plenty of healthy yeast to ensure complete fermentation. It is recommended to make a single 3-qt (3-L) starter using one pack of WLP095 and one pack of Wyeast 1318. Pitch yeast when yeast activity is strong
Partial Mash Version:
To brew a partial mash version of Dead End Brew Machine’s Curtis The Destroyer clone reduce the Crisp® Maris Otter pale ale malt to 8.5 lbs. (3.86 kg) and add 6 lbs. (2.72 kg) Briess CBW® pale ale dried malt extract. Heat 3.2 gallons (12.1 L) of water to 161 °F (72 °C) and submerge large steeping bag containing the crushed grains into water. Stir grains to ensure sufficient hydration and mash for 90 minutes targeting a mash temperature of 148 °F (64 °C). Remove bag from pot and sparge with 170 °F (77 °C) water to collect a total of 4.25 gallons (16 L) of wort.
Boil wort for 60 minutes, adding hops and Whirlfloc according to the schedule. Add the dried malt extract in the last 10 minutes of the boil.
Follow the remainder of the all-grain recipe instructions, being sure to top your fermenter off to 5 gallons (19 L) prior to fermentation.
Fyne Ales’ Jarl clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.038 FG = 1.009
IBU = 38 SRM = 4 ABV = 3.8%
Jarl is a simple recipe designed to showcase the grapefruit and lychee character of Citra® hops in a very sessionable pale ale. The difficulty lies in managing the brewing process in order to strike the right balance between the hops and malt. Fyne Ales’ flagship session ale is best enjoyed by the pint with friends.
Ingredients
6.92 lbs. (3.13 kg) Muntons extra pale ale malt
0.77 lb. (0.35 kg) Muntons torrified wheat
1.4 AAU Citra® leaf hops (60 min.) (0.1 oz./3 g at 14.3% alpha acids)
1.4 AAU Citra® leaf hops (30 min.) (0.1 oz./3 g at 14.3% alpha acids)
2.3 oz. (65 g) Citra® leaf hops (0 min.)
1⁄2 Whirlfloc tablet (10 min.)
SafAle US-05 or Mangrove Jack’s M44 (US West Coast) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Using water with low mineral content will provide the best results. Fyne Ales treats their reverse osmosis water with Murphy & Sons DWB at a ratio of 0.1 oz./gallon (0.7 g/L) of collected wort (see their website if you want to find more information on DWB).
Using a 1.1 qts./lb. (2.3 L/kg) water-to-grist ratio, perform a single infusion mash with a target temperature of 153.5 °F (67.5 °C) for 60 minutes or until proper enzymatic conversion has occurred. Batch or fly sparge with 168 °F (76 °C) water to collect 7 gallons (26.5 L) of wort in the kettle.
Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops and fining agent as indicated. At flameout, add the last hop addition and stir vigorously to create a whirlpool. Rest for 20 minutes then rapidly chill the wort to 63 °F (17 ˚C) and transfer to primary fermenter. Aerate thoroughly and pitch plenty of healthy yeast.
Allow fermentation temperatures to free rise to a maximum of 73 °F (23 °C). Hold fermentation at 73 °F (23 ˚C) until terminal gravity of 1.009 is reached, usually within 5 to 7 days. Chill beer at a rate of 2 °F (1 °C) per hour until reaching 59 °F (15 °C) and then hold at that temperature for 24 hours. Resume chilling at a rate of 2 °F (1 °C) per hour until attaining 50 °F (10 °C) if cask conditioning or 32 °F (0 °C) if kegging or bottling.
Rack beer off yeast into a cask/keg for serving targeting 2.4 volumes of CO2 or prime and bottle, leaving the bottles at 70–75 °F (21–24 °C) for two weeks to properly condition.
Fyne Ales’ Jarl clone
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.038 FG = 1.009
IBU = 38 SRM = 4 ABV = 3.8%
Ingredients
1 lb. (0.45 kg) Muntons extra pale ale malt
3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) Briess CBW® pale ale dried malt extract
0.77 lb. (0.35 kg) Muntons torrified wheat
1.4 AAU Citra® leaf hops (60 min.) (0.1 oz./3 g at 14.3% alpha acids)
1.4 AAU Citra® leaf hops (30 min.) (0.1 oz./3 g at 14.3% alpha acids)
2.3 oz. (65 g) Citra® leaf hops (0 min.)
1⁄2 Whirlfloc tablet (10 min.)
SafAle US-05 or Mangrove Jack’s M44 (US West Coast) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Heat 1.1 gallons (4.2 L) of water to 167 °F (75 °C) and place large steeping bag containing the crushed grains into a 5-gallon (19-L) pot. Submerge the bag and stir grains to ensure sufficient hydration. Mash for 60 minutes targeting a mash temperature of 153.5 °F (67.5 °C). Remove bag from pot and sparge with 168 °F (76 °C) water to collect 3 gallons (11.4 L) of wort.
Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops and fining agent as indicated. Add the dried malt extract in the last 10 minutes of the boil. At flameout, add the last hop addition and stir vigorously to create a whirlpool. Rest for 20 minutes then rapidly chill the wort to 63 °F (17 ˚C) and transfer to primary fermenter. Top off wort with pre-chilled water to bring volume up to 5 gallons (19 L). Aerate thoroughly and pitch plenty of healthy yeast.
Follow the fermentation and packaging instructions described in the all-grain recipe.
Six Degrees North Brewing Co.’s Hop Classic clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.055 FG = 1.004
IBU = 66 SRM = 3 ABV = 6.6%
Hop Classic is a full-flavored Belgian IPA with bitterness well-integrated in true Belgian style, featuring a pleasant kick at the end. Super refreshing on the palate with apricot, citrus, and floral notes. Inspired by De Ranke XX Bitter, Hop Classic was created as a homage to the nouveau classic of Belgium brewing. It is a simple recipe but very complex beer with the malt bill allowing the yeast and classic noble hop character to shine through.
Ingredients
10.5 lbs. (4.75 kg) Bairds Pilsen malt0.3 lb.
(0.14 kg) cane sugar
11.8 AAU Magnum leaf hops (first wort hop) (1 oz./28 g at 11.8% alpha acids)
5.9 AAU Magnum leaf hops (35 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 11.8% alpha acids)
1 AAU Hallertau Mittelfrüh leaf hops (35 min.) (0.3 oz./8.5 g at 2.9% alpha acids)
2 AAU Hallertau Mittelfrüh leaf hops (15 min.) (0.7 oz./20 g at 2.9% alpha acids)
0.8 oz. (23 g) Hallertau Mittelfrüh leaf hops (0 min.)
1⁄2 Whirlfloc tablet (10 min.)
White Labs WLP570 (Belgian Golden Ale) or Imperial Yeast B45 I (Gnome) or LalBrew Abbaye yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
With a 1.2 qts./lb. (2.5 L/kg) water-to-grist ratio, conduct a protein rest at 131 °F (55 °C), holding for 10 minutes. Raise the mash temperature to 145 °F (63 °C) and hold for 40 minutes for beta amylase rest. Perform final alpha amylase rest of the step mash by raising the temperature to 161 °F (72 °C) for 10 minutes or until enzymatic conversion is complete. Batch or fly sparge with 176 °F (80 °C) water to collect 7 gallons (26.5L) of wort in the kettle.
Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops and fining agent as indicated. Rapidly chill the wort at flameout to 65 °F (18 °C) and transfer to primary fermenter. Aerate thoroughly and pitch plenty of healthy yeast. Ferment at 70 °F (21 °C) until terminal gravity of 1.004 is reached, usually within 7 to 10 days. Crash cool the beer to 39 °F (4 °C) and lager for 4 weeks.
Rack beer off of the yeast into a keg and force carbonate targeting 2.6 volumes of CO2 or prime and bottle condition, leaving the bottles at 70–75 °F (21–24 °C) for two weeks to properly condition.
Six Degrees North BrewingCo.’s Hop Classic clone
(5 gallons/19 L, extract only)
OG = 1.055 FG = 1.004
IBU = 66 SRM = 3 ABV = 6.6%
Ingredients
5.8 lbs. (2.6 kg) Briess CBW® Pilsen dried malt extract
0.3 lb. (0.14 kg) cane sugar
11.8 AAU Magnum leaf hops (first wort hop) (1 oz./28 g at 11.8% alpha acids)
5.9 AAU Magnum leaf hops (35 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 11.8% alpha acids)
1 AAU Hallertau Mittelfrüh leaf hops (35 min.) 0.3 oz./8.5 g at 2.9% alpha acids)
2 AAU Hallertau Mittelfrüh leaf hops (15 min.) 0.7 oz./20 g at 2.9% alpha acids)
0.8 oz. (23 g) Hallertau Mittelfrüh leaf hops (0 min.)
1⁄2 Whirlfloc tablet (10 min.)
White Labs WLP570 (Belgian Golden Ale) or Imperial Yeast B45 (Gnome) or LalBrew Abbaye yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Heat 2.5 gallons (9.5 L) of water in a 5-gallon (19-L) pot to 150 °F (66 °C) and remove from heat. Add 3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) of the dried malt extract and all of the cane sugar. Stir well, ensuring all sugar and malt extract is completely dissolved.
Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops and fining agent as indicated. Add the remaining dried malt extract in the last 10 minutes of the boil.
Rapidly chill the wort at flameout to 65 °F (18 ˚C) and transfer to primary fermenter. Top off wort with pre-chilled water to bring volume up to 5 gallons (19 L). Aerate thoroughly and pitch plenty of healthy yeast.
Follow the fermentation and packaging instructions described in the all-grain recipe.
Stewart Brewing Co.’s Stewart’s 80/- clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.043 FG = 1.009
IBU = 28 SRM = 18 ABV = 4.4%
Stewart’s 80/- is a full-bodied, full-flavored, auburn-colored classic Scottish heavy exhibiting a rich malty, dried fruit character and a smooth, creamy texture. Originally brewed for the world-famous Athletic Arms (Diggers) in Edinburgh in 2012, Stewart’s 80/- has continued to grow in popularity enabling the beer to be enjoyed in pubs across Scotland.
Ingredients
6.5 lbs. (3 kg) Muntons Maris Otter pale ale malt
0.85 lb. (0.39 kg) Crisp wheat malt
0.6 lb. (0.27 kg) Simpsons malted oats
0.56 lb. (0.25 kg) Simpsons crystal medium malt (65 °L)
0.3 lb. (0.14 kg) Simpsons dark crystal malt (100 °L)
1.38 oz. (39 g) Simpsons chocolate malt (440 °L)
0.78 oz. (22 g) Simpsons roasted barley malt (550 °L)
5.8 AAU Challenger hops (60 min.) (0.7 oz./20 g at 8.3% alpha acids)
0.25 oz. (7 g) Challenger hops (0 min.)
0.25 oz. (7 g) Polish Lubelski hops (0 min.)
1⁄2 Whirlfloc tablet (10 min.)
LalBrew Nottingham or SafAle S-04 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
The primary mineral composition of the water used in this beer is Ca – 100 ppm, Mg – 2 ppm, Na – 28 ppm, Cl – 107 ppm, and SO4 – 57 ppm. To approximate Stewart’s water profile using RO water, add 0.01 oz./gal (0.4 g/L) gypsum, 0.01 oz./gal (0.05 g/L) NaCl, and 0.02 oz./gal (0.2 g/L) CaCl2.
With a 1.2 qts./lb. (2.5 L/kg) water-to-grist ratio, target a mash temperature of 151 °F (66 °C). Perform a single infusion mash for 60 minutes or until proper enzymatic conversion has occurred. Batch or fly sparge with 164 °F (73.5 °C) water to collect 7 gallons (26.5 L) of wort in the kettle.
Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops and fining agent as indicated. At flameout, rapidly chill the wort to 64 °F (18 °C) and transfer to primary fermenter. Aerate thoroughly and pitch plenty of healthy yeast. Ferment at 66 °F (19 °C) until terminal gravity of 1.009 is reached, usually within 5 to 7 days.
Rack beer off yeast into a cask/keg for serving targeting 2.3 volumes of CO2 or prime and bottle leaving the bottles at 70–75 °F (21–24 °C) for two weeks to properly condition.
Stewart Brewing Co.’s Stewart’s 80/- clone
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.043 FG = 1.009
IBU = 28 SRM = 18 ABV = 4.4%
Ingredients
2.4 lbs. (1.1 kg) Briess CBW® pale ale dried malt extract
2 lbs. (0.91 kg) Muntons Maris Otter pale ale malt
0.85 lb. (0.39 kg) Crisp wheat malt
0.6 lb. (0.27 kg) Simpsons malted oats
0.56 lb. (0.25 kg) Simpsons crystal medium malt
0.3 lb. (0.14 kg) Simpsons dark crystal malt
1.38 oz. (39 g) Simpsons chocolate malt (440 °L)
0.78 oz. (22 g) Simpsons roasted barley malt (550 °L)
5.8 AAU Challenger hops (60 min.) (0.7 oz./20 g at 8.3% alpha acids)
0.25 oz. (7 g) Challenger hops (0 min.)
0.25 oz. (7 g) Polish Lubelski hops (0 min.)
1⁄2 Whirlfloc tablet (10 min.)
LalBrew Nottingham or SafAle S-04 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Heat 2 gallons (7.6 L) of water to 160 °F (71 °C) and submerge crushed grains in a steeping bag. Stir grains to ensure sufficient hydration. Mash for 60 minutes targeting a mash temperature of 151 °F (66 °C). Remove bag from pot and sparge with 170 °F (77 °C) water to collect 3 gallons (11.4 L) of wort.
Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops and Whirlfloc as indicated. Add the dried malt extract in the last 10 minutes of the boil. Follow the remainder of the all-grain instructions, making sure to top fermenter off to 5 gallons (19 L) prior to fermentation.
