Abita Brewing Company Andygator Doppelbock: Replicator
Dear Replicator, I went to a beer tasting at Bruisin’ Ales in Asheville, North Carolina, which featured beers from the Abita Brewing Company. I was impressed with their Andygator Doppelbock. Their website says that they use German lager yeast and Perle hops. Is there any chance you could help me with the rest of the recipe?
Tom Athos
Asheville, North Carolina
Abita President David Blossman began homebrewing in high school and continued in college. He even wrote some of his college papers on the feasibility of operating a craft brewery. The town of Abita Springs in Louisiana had a history of being famous for its pure, artesian well water. With great water, a small building and a 15 barrel brewing system the story of the Abita Brewing Company began. They have grown from a production level of only 1,500 barrels that first year (1986) to the 15th largest ranked brewery in the US in 2010.
Brewmaster Mark Wilson shared the details of Andygator with me. A homebrewer himself, he started at Abita in 1995 as a brewery assistant. In 2003 he completed the World Brewing Academy diploma course and became Brewmaster in 2004.
Andygator started out as a homebrew recipe which was entered in a contest they sponsored in 1994. Andy Thomas was the winner that year with this recipe, hence the name “Andygator.” Abita started brewing Andygator year-round in 1999, and in 2009 started bottling it in 22-oz. packaging to make it more widely available. They consider this beer to be more of a helles style as the color and flavor levels are similar to a stronger helles bock. He recommends using a very soft water.
Andygator pours a perfectly clear, pale gold color, topped by a lacy white head that sticks to the glass as it dissipates. While the beer boasts a fairly sweet aroma, it veers from more traditional examples with a modest hop scent that blends with the slightly toasted grains. Flavors are well-organized, beginning sweet with toasted barley and a vanilla-like caramel sweetness followed by a balanced floral hop flavor and bitterness. This is a big beer to be sure, and its body displays that in its fullness, but the finish is sweet and sticky.
Abita Brewing Company Andygator Doppelbock clone
Abita Brewing Company Andygator Doppelbock clone(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.078 FG = 1.017 IBU = 25 SRM = 8 ABV = 8%
Ingredients
6.6 lbs. (3 kg) Briess Pilsner unhopped liquid malt extract
2.0 lbs. (0.9 kg) dried malt extract
3.0 lb. (1.36 kg) Pilsner malt
6.2 AAU Perle hop pellets (60 min.)
(0.75 oz./21.3 g of 8.25 % alpha acids)
2.1 AAU Perle hop pellets (30 min.)
(0.25 oz./7.1 g of 8.25 % alpha acids)
4.1 AAU Perle hop pellets (5 min.)
(0.5 oz./14.2 g of 8.25 % alpha acids)
½ Tsp. yeast nutrient (last 15 min.)
½ Tsp. Irish moss (last 30 min.)
White Labs WLP 830 (German Lager) or Wyeast 2308 (Munich Lager) yeast
0.75 cup (150g) of corn sugar for priming (if bottling)
Step by Step
Steep the crushed grain in 2 gallons (7.6 L) of water at 154 ºF (67.8 ºC) for 30 minutes. Remove grains from the wort and rinse with 2 quarts (1.8 L) of hot water. Add the liquid and dried malt extracts and boil for 60 minutes. While boiling, add the hops, Irish moss and yeast nutrient as per the schedule. Now add the wort to 2 gallons (7.6 L) of cold water in the sanitized fermenter and top off with cold water up to 5 gallons (19 L).
Cool the wort to 75 ºF (24 ºC). Pitch your yeast and aerate the wort heavily. Allow the beer to cool over the next few hours to 65 ºF (19 ºC). When evidence of fermentation is apparent drop the temperature to 52 ºF (11 ºC). Hold at that temperature until fermentation is complete (approx. 10 days). Transfer to a carboy, avoiding any splashing to prevent aerating the beer. Condition for 2 weeks at 42 ºF (5º C) and then bottle or keg. Allow to carbonate and age for four weeks and enjoy your Andygator Doppelbock clone.
All-grain option:
This is a single step infusion mash using an additional 13 lbs. (5.9 kg) Pilsner malt to replace the liquid and dried malt extracts. Mix the crushed grains with 5.2 gallons (19.7 L) of 174 °F (0 °C) water to stabilize at 154 ºF (67.8 ºC) for 60 minutes. Sparge slowly with 175 ºF (79 ºC) water. Collect approximately 6 gallons (23 L) of wort runoff to boil for 60 minutes. Reduce the 60-minute hop addition to 0.6 oz. (17 g) of Perle hop pellets (5.0 AAU) to allow for the higher utilization factor of a full wort boil. The remainder of this recipe and procedures are the same as the extract with grains recipe.
