Collaborative Craft Beer Clone Recipes
In the brewing world, everything typically starts off with a beer. So, you and your homebrew buddies sit around sampling the latest from your cellar, and the words start flying: “This is great.” “What type of hops is in here?” “Which yeast strain did you use?” “Can I have another?” “We should brew together.”
There it is. In the blink of an eye, the seed of a brewing collaboration has been planted.
Considering how much fun it is to share the homebrew, it’s even more fun to share the brewing experience as well. It’s something major craft brewers like Russian River, Stone Brewing Co., Ninkasi, Firestone Walker, Dogfish Head, Sierra Nevada and many others have been doing for years, though it’s become a much more popular pastime in the last five years. And more often than not, it starts just as described above — over a beer.
“Our collaborations often are the result of drinking too much at a festival or a brewing convention, and telling your buddy at another brewery, ‘Hey! We should do collaboration!’” explains The Bruery founder Patrick Rue, who has done several collaborations, including a recent pairing with Dogfish Head. “We tend to look at it as a friendly endeavor.”
Firestone Walker Brewing brewmaster Matt Brynildson agrees, “A conversation might start about a common desire to make a crazy concept brew or simply how one brewer would like to visit another brewer’s facility . . . Then you wake up in the morning and realize that you have committed to traveling to the Czech Republic to brew.”
That’s all well and good, but these brewers all stress that before committing to a brew session with another brewer that your brewing philosophies are in the same ballpark. There are many steps to the brewing process, from deciding what to brew and what ingredients will be used, to boil times and fermentation temperatures. If you like big, crazy hop-forward beers and your buddy prefers malty lagers, it might be hard to find a middle ground. Collaborating is a meeting of the minds, but they must begin more or less with the same ideals.
“If (we) have similar philosophies towards craft brewing (not necessarily with what beers we brew, but with how we approach brewing), that is where we start,” says former Stone Brewing Co. brewmaster Mitch Steele.
What to Brew
Once you’ve settled on a collaborative partner, the next step is deciding what to brew. Do you want to make a hoppy Pilsner or milk stout, imperial IPA or German-style wheat beer? This is where the collaborations take root.
It’s also important to consider brewing knowledge, skill and techniques. Collaboration should be a positive learning experience for everyone involved.
“I always look at collaboration as an opportunity to commune with a fellow brewer, to live a day in his or her moccasins and see how he or she thinks,” says Brynildson, who has collaborated with a handful of breweries, including Bell’s, De Proef (Belgium), 21st Amendment and Stone Brewing Co. “(But) there are always those moments when you are in another brewer’s space and you think to yourself, ‘What the hell is he doing!?’ But you have to go into these things with an open mind. You do these things to create something new and to learn.”
This brings up the question: What is expected of the style? Does your vision of an IPA pack a hop wallop, while your partner prefers a maltier British style? Or do you want to merge recipes, as 21st Amendment and Ninkasi did when creating Allies Win the War? Be clear on the beer’s direction and desired outcome so there are no surprises along the way, then determine the specifications required to achieve that goal.
Formulating the Recipe
Deciding which ingredients to use, even with a clear goal in mind, can still be tricky as every brewer has favorite touches they like to add. Steve Dressler, brewmaster at Sierra Nevada Brewing, notes that he uses a signature blend of finishing hops for many beers and wanted to incorporate them into Sierra’s collaboration with Boulevard Brewing in Kansas City. In other words, communicate precisely what you think the beer, in your eyes, must have. If at all possible, Dressler suggests a literal hands-on approach to ingredient selection by rubbing hops to assess characteristics and examining grains for color. This, of course, is easy for breweries, which have bulk materials at hand, so lacking such access the homebrewer should hit the books to find the proper ingredient mix.
But if these aspects of the process seem tedious, it shouldn’t be. While homebrew shops these days have almost anything anyone could need or want to brew, sourcing as many local or regional ingredients as possible adds to the fun.
21st Amendment brewmaster Shaun O’Sullivan sourced dates from Indio, California, the only place dates are grown in North America, to regionally balance the Oregon hop blend used in Allies. Dressler sites his collaborations with Boulevard and Dogfish Head as examples of regional pride. With the Boulevard collaboration, which is a barrel-aged beer, Midwest wheat was selected as the primary grain while Midwest oak was used in the barrels. With Dogfish Head, east coast maple and birch syrups were used. In both collaborations, from California came the hops.
One advantage to brewing on the homebrew scale is a lack of government regulations that could get in the way of long distance collaborations. Various state or federal regulations prevent the transport of beer in certain forms across state lines. When Colorado’s Avery Brewing and California’s Russian River Brewing decided to blend their like-named Salvation ales and create Collaboration Not Litigation Ale, they discovered rules in place to prevent beer made at one brewery being mixed with beer from another. Thus, Russian River’s recipe was produced in Colorado and then blended with Avery’s. Other brewers noted similar issues and the need to produce collaborations in one place. Returning to the homebrew scale, it’s never a bad idea to brew in someone else’s kitchen. Everyone operates in a slightly different manner and brewing outside the carboy, as it were, is a great way to learn.
“When we collaborate at another brewery, we get to see how they do their processes and often we leave with some things we could do better in our own processes,” Rue says.
“Sharing brewing philosophies and experiences make all of us better at what we do,” Steele adds. “You can learn something new and valuable from anyone. I’m a big believer in that. And, if you stop learning, you stagnate, and craft brewers cannot afford to stagnate!”
The First Sip
Of course, after picking the style, determining the ingredients and formulating the recipe, and finally, brewing the beer, the most difficult part of the collaboration arrives: the wait. It’s important that the first collaborative beer be opened together and shared together. That’s what collaborations are all about.
“The anticipation of drinking that beer together is the beauty of it,” Dressler says. “That’s the end game. If you’re homebrewers and friends, sharing that first beer together is the ultimate.”
Jack and Ken’s Ale Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Ale clone
(Black barleywine)
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.101 (24 °P) FG = 1.025 (6.2 °P)
IBU = 80 SRM = 90 ABV = 10.4%
Sierra Nevada put together this recipe in collaboration with Jack McAuliffe from New Albion Brewing (1976–1982) in Sonoma, California using raw materials available in the late 1970s. This was one of four Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Collaboration Ales.
Ingredients
20 lbs. (9.1 kg) 2-row pale malt
1 lb. 2 oz. (0.52 kg) caramel malt (60 °L)
5.2 oz. (0.15 kg) roasted barley
13 AAU Brewers Gold hops (60 mins) (1.5 oz./43 g of 8.5% alpha acids)
14 AAU Cluster hops (60 mins) (2 oz./57 g of 7% alpha acids)
1.0 oz. (28 g) Cascade hops (0 mins)
0.75 oz. (21 g) Northern Brewer hops (0 mins)
1.5 oz.(43 g) Cascade hops (dry hop)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Northern Brewer hops (dry hop)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Fermentis US-05 yeast (7 qt./7 L yeast starter or 18 g dried yeast)
Step by Step
Heat 6.75 gallons (25 L) of strike water. Mash at 150 °F (66 °C) for 60 minutes. Mash out to 168 °F (76 °C) and hold for 5 minutes. Recirculate and then collect the wort. Fully sparging the grain bed would yield over 11 gallons (42 L) of wort. Decide how much wort you want to collect. (It takes about an hour to boil away a gallon/4 L of liquid on a typical homebrew system). Boil to reduce wort volume to
5 gallons (19 L), adding hops at times indicated. (If you collected less than the full amount of wort, you may need to add malt extract to hit your target OG. Take a hydrometer reading with 10 minutes left in the boil. For every “gravity point” you are low, add 1.8 oz. (51 g) of dried malt extract.) Chill wort and transfer to fermenter. Aerate and pitch sediment from yeast starter. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C). Dry hop for 1 week.
Jack and Ken’s Ale Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Ale clone
(Black barleywine)
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.101 (24 °P) FG = 1.025 (6.2 °P)
IBU = 80 SRM = 90 ABV = 10.4%
Ingredients
2.5 lbs. (1.1 kg) 2-row pale malt
1 lb. 2 oz. (0.52 kg) caramel malt (60 °L)
5.2 oz. (0.15 kg) roasted barley
4 lb. 14 oz. (2.2 kg) light dried malt extract
6.0 lbs. (2.7 kg) light liquid malt extract (late addition)
13 AAU Brewers Gold hops (60 mins) (1.5 oz./43 g of 8.5% alpha acids)
14 AAU Cluster hops (60 mins) (2 oz./57 g of 7% alpha acids)
1.0 oz. (28 g) Cascade hops (0 mins)
0.75 oz. (21 g) Northern Brewer hops (0 mins)
1.5 oz.(43 g) Cascade hops (dry hop)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Northern Brewer hops (dry hop)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Fermentis US-05 yeast
Step by Step
Mash grains at 150 °F (66 °C) for 60 minutes. (One option is to put the 4 lbs./1.8 kg of grain in a grain bag and place the bag in a 2.0-gallon/7.6-L insulated beverage cooler.) Collect wort and sparge grains with hot water (~190 °F/88 °C, but don’t let the temperature of the grain bed rise above 170 °F/77 °C). (If you are using the beverage cooler option, collect one cup of wort from the spigot, then add one cup of hot sparge water to the top of the cooler and repeat until you collect around 2.0 gallons (7.6 L) of wort.) Add water to wort to make at least 3.5 gallons (13 L) of wort, stir in dried malt extract and bring to a boil. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at times indicated. Stir in liquid malt extract during the final 15 minutes of the boil. (Stir well to avoid scorching malt extract.) Cool wort and transfer to fermenter. Top up to 5.0 gallons (19 L) with cool water, aerate well and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 °F
(20 °C). Dry hop for 1 week.
Jack and Ken’s Ale Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Ale clone
(Black barleywine)
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.101 (24 °P) FG = 1.025 (6.2 °P)
IBU = 80 SRM = 90 ABV = 10.4%
Ingredients
0.5 lbs. (0.23 kg) 2-row pale malt
1 lb. 2 oz. (0.52 kg) caramel malt (60 °L)
5.2 oz. (0.15 kg) roasted barley
6.0 lbs. (2.7 kg) light dried malt extract
6.0 lbs. (2.7 kg) light liquid malt extract (late addition)
13 AAU Brewers Gold hops (60 mins) (1.5 oz./43 g of 8.5% alpha acids)
14 AAU Cluster hops (60 mins) (2 oz./57 g of 7% alpha acids)
1.0 oz. (28 g) Cascade hops (0 mins)
0.75 oz. (21 g) Northern Brewer hops (0 mins)
1.5 oz.(43 g) Cascade hops (dry hop)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Northern Brewer hops (dry hop)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Fermentis US-05 yeast
Step by Step
Place grains in a steeping bag. In a large (at least 4 qt/4 L) kitchen pot, steep grains at 150 °F (66 °C) for 60 minutes in 2.7 qts. (2.6 L) of water. Begin heating at least 3.0 gallons (11 L) of water in your brewpot as the grains steep. Rinse grains with 1.5 qts. (1.4 L) of 170 °F (77 °C) water and add “grain tea” to water in brewpot. Stir in dried malt extract and bring wort to a boil. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at times indicated. Stir in liquid malt extract during the final 15 minutes of the boil. (Stir well to avoid scorching malt extract.) Cool wort and transfer to fermenter. Top up to 5.0 gallons (19 L) with cool water, aerate well and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C). Dry hop for 1 week.
Tips for Success
This is a big beer, so pitching an adequate amount of yeast is critical. If you make a simple yeast starter (not continuously stirred and/or continuously aerated), it should optimally be about 7 qts. (7 L). You can get by with one half this size, but don’t go any lower than that. If you aren’t going to make a starter, use just short of two 11-g sachets of dried yeast.
Adding some yeast nutrients in the final 15 minutes of the boil is not a bad option and be sure to aerate your wort well. In addition, watch that your fermentation temperature doesn’t rise too high.
More Brown Than Black IPA clone
Collaboration among The Alchemist, Ninkasi, and Stone Brewing Co.
More Brown Than Black IPA clone(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.066 (16.5 °P) FG = 1.016 (4 °P)
IBU = 100 SRM = 23 ABV = 6.4%
“We decided to brew a dark IPA, because John Kimmich from The Alchemist is one of the first brewers in the United States to ever brew one, back in the early/mid 90s when he worked with Greg Noonan at The Vermont Pub and Brewery.”
Ingredients
12 lbs. (5.4 kg) Maris Otter pale ale malt
1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) light Munich malt
5.6 oz. (0.16 kg) Carafa® Special III malt
4.6 oz. (0.13 kg) Carahelles malt
0.071 oz. (2 g) Super Galena CO2 hop extract
1.9 oz. (55 g) Delta hops (0 mins)
1.9 oz. (55 g) Nelson Sauvin hops (0 mins)
1.9 oz. (55 g) Citra® hops (dry hop)
1.9 oz. (55 g) Galaxy hops (dry hop)
White Labs WLP090 (San Diego Super) yeast (2.75 qts./2.75 L yeast starter)
Step by Step
You will need 4.25 gallons (16 L) of strike water. Infusion mash at 152 °F (67 °C) for 60 minutes, then raise temperature to 165 °F (74 °C) for mash off. Recirculate wort, then run off and sparge to yield about 6.5 gallons (25 L) of wort. Use sparge water hot enough to maintain grain bed temperature at around 170 °F (77 °C), but not over. Boil wort for 90 minutes, adding hops at times indicated. Chill wort and transfer to fermenter. Aerate well and pitch sediment from yeast starter. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C). At end of fermentation, dry hop and hold warm for 3 days, then chill to 34 °F (1.1 °C) and age for a week.
More Brown Than Black IPA clone
Collaboration among The Alchemist, Ninkasi, and Stone Brewing Co.
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.066 (16.5 °P) FG = 1.016 (4 °P)
IBU = 100 SRM = 23 ABV = 6.4%
Ingredients
2 lb. 6 oz. (1.1 kg) Maris Otter pale ale malt
1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) light Munich malt
5.6 oz. (0.16 kg) Carafa® Special III malt
4.6 oz. (0.13 kg) Carahelles malt
2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) light dried malt extract
4.5 lbs. (2.0 kg) light liquid malt extract
0.071 oz. (2 g) Super Galena CO2 hop extract
1.9 oz. (55 g) Delta hops (0 mins)
1.9 oz. (55 g) Nelson Sauvin hops (0 mins)
1.9 oz. (55 g) Citra® hops (dry hop)
1.9 oz. (55 g) Galaxy hops (dry hop)
White Labs WLP090 (San Diego Super) yeast
Step by Step
Mash grains at 152 °F (67 °C) for 60 minutes. (One option is to put the 4 lbs./1.8 kg of grain in a grain bag and place the bag in a 2.0-gallon/7.6-L insulated beverage cooler.) Collect wort and sparge grains with hot water (~190 °F/88 °C, but don’t let the temperature of the grain bed rise above 170 °F/77 °C). (If you are using the beverage cooler option, collect one cup of wort from the spigot, then add one cup of hot sparge water to the top of the cooler and repeat until you collect around 2.0 gallons (7.6 L) of wort.) Add water to wort to make at least 3.5 gallons (13 L) of wort, stir in dried malt extract and bring to a boil. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at times indicated. Stir in liquid malt extract during the final 15 minutes of the boil. (Stir well to avoid scorching malt extract.) Cool wort and transfer to fermenter. Top up to 5.0 gallons (19 L) with cool water, aerate well and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C). Dry hop for 3 days.
More Brown Than Black IPA clone
Collaboration among The Alchemist, Ninkasi, and Stone Brewing Co.
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.066 (16.5 °P) FG = 1.016 (4 °P)
IBU = 100 SRM = 23 ABV = 6.4%
Ingredients
6.0 oz. (0.17 kg) Maris Otter pale ale malt
1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) light Munich malt
5.6 oz. (0.16 kg) Carafa® Special III malt
4.6 oz. (0.13 kg) Carahelles malt
2.5 lbs. (1.1 kg) light dried malt extract
5.25 lbs. (2.4 kg) light liquid malt extract
0.071 oz. (2 g) Super Galena CO2 hop extract
1.9 oz. (55 g) Delta hops (0 mins)
1.9 oz. (55 g) Nelson Sauvin hops (0 mins)
1.9 oz. (55 g) Citra® hops (dry hop)
1.9 oz. (55 g) Galaxy hops (dry hop)
White Labs WLP090 (San Diego Super) yeast
Step by Step
Place grains in a steeping bag. In a large (at least 4 qt/4 L) kitchen pot, steep grains at 152 °F (67 °C) for 60 minutes in 2.7 qts. (2.6 L) of water. Begin heating at least 3.0 gallons (11 L) of water in your brewpot as the grains steep. Rinse grains with 1.5 qts. (1.4 L) of 170 °F (77 °C) water and add “grain tea” to water in brewpot. Stir in dried malt extract and bring wort to a boil. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at times indicated. Stir in liquid malt extract during the final 15 minutes of the boil. (Stir well to avoid scorching malt extract.) Cool wort and transfer to fermenter. Top up to 5.0 gallons (19 L) with cool water, aerate well and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C). Dry hop for 3 days.
Tips for Success
What do you mean you don’t have any Super Galena CO2 extract laying around? Doesn’t everybody? In reality, hop extracts generally aren’t available on the homebrewing market. So, try substituting any neutral high-alpha hop that will get you to 100 IBUs — for example, 1.6 oz. (45 g) of Summit™ hops, at 17.5% alpha acids (for 28 AAU total), boiled for 60 minutes.
This is a very hoppy beer, but also moderately dark. It is likely that adjusting your water chemistry will help you bring out the best in this beer. For this beer, adjust your water’s chemistry to an appropriate residual alkalinity (RA) for the color and the right amount of sulfates (and sulfate to chloride ratio) for a bitter or very bitter beer. When brewing this beer, gypsum is your friend.
Allies Win the War clone
Collaboration between 21st Amendment and Ninkasi
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.072 (18 °P) FG = 1.018 (4.5 °P)
IBU = 49 SRM = 32 ABV = 7.1%
Ingredients
11 lb. 12 oz. (5.3 kg) 2-row pale malt
12 oz. (0.34 kg) English crystal malt (15 °L)
12 oz. (0.34 kg) English crystal malt (45 °L)
12 oz. (0.34 kg) English crystal malt (120 °L)
8 oz. (0.23 kg) English crystal malt (155/165 °L)
12 oz. (0.34 kg) English light Munich malt
1.6 oz. (45 g) chocolate malt
6.0 oz. (170 g) dates (macerated, in the secondary)
8.4 AAU Warrior hops (90 mins) (0.5 oz./14 g of 16.8% alpha acids)
7.0 AAU Willamette hops (30 mins) (0.9 oz./26 g of 7.8% alpha acids)
0.6 oz. (17 g) East Kent Goldings hops (0 mins)
Wyeast 1968 (London ESB) or White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast (3.3 qt./3.3 L yeast starter)
Step by Step
For the mash, you will need 4.5 gallons (17 L) of strike water. Mash at 155 °F (68 °C) for 50 minutes. Mash out to 168 °F (76 °C) and hold for 5 minutes. Recirculate and then collect enough wort such that you can boil it down to 5.0 gallon (19 L) in 90 minutes. Boil wort for 90 minutes, adding hops at times indicated in ingredient list. Chill wort and transfer to fermenter. Aerate well and pitch sediment from yeast starter. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C). Rack to secondary and add dates. Bottle or keg after 5 days in secondary.
Allies Win the War clone
Collaboration between 21st Amendment and Ninkasi
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.072 (18 °P) FG = 1.018 (4.5 °P)
IBU = 49 SRM = 32 ABV = 7.1%
Ingredients
4.0 lbs. (1.8 kg) 2-row pale malt
12 oz. (0.34 kg) English crystal malt (15 °L)
12 oz. (0.34 kg) English crystal malt (45 °L)
12 oz. (0.34 kg) English crystal malt (120 °L)
8 oz. (0.23 kg) English crystal malt (155/165 °L)
12 oz. (0.34 kg) English light Munich malt
1.6 oz. (45 g) chocolate malt
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) light dried malt extract
3.5 lbs. (1.6 kg) light liquid malt extract
6.0 oz. (170 g) dates (macerated, in the secondary)
8.4 AAU Warrior hops (90 mins) (0.5 oz./14 g of 16.8% alpha acids)
7.0 AAU Willamette hops (30 mins) (0.9 oz./26 g of 7.8% alpha acids)
0.6 oz. (17 g) East Kent Goldings hops (0 mins)
Wyeast 1968 (London ESB) or White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast
Step by Step
For this partial mash recipe, you’ll need two large grain steeping bags and a 2-gallon (7.6-L) beverage cooler. Place the 4.0 lbs. (1.8 kg) of 2-row pale malt in one steeping bag and the remaining specialty grains in the other. In the cooler, mash the pale malt grains at 155 °F (68 °C) for 50 minutes. This will take 5.5 quarts (5.2 L0 of water. In your brewpot, steep the specialty grains at 155 °F (68 °C) in 1 gallon (3.8 L) of water while you are mashing. Collect wort from the cooler in the following manner. Collect one cup of wort from the spigot, then add one cup of hot sparge water to the top of the cooler and repeat until you collect around 2.0 gallons (7.6 L) of wort. Use ~190 °F (88 °C) water for sparging, but don’t let the temperature of the grain bed rise above 170 °F (77 °C).
As you collect the wort, add it to your brewpot, where the specialty grains are steeping (and still being held at 155 °F/68 °C). Once all the wort is collected from the cooler, add water to brewpot to make at least 3.5 gallons (13 L) of wort, stir in dried malt extract and bring to a boil. Boil wort for 90 minutes, adding hops at times indicated. Stir in liquid malt extract during the final 15 minutes of the boil. (Stir well to avoid scorching malt extract.) Cool wort and transfer to fermenter. Top up to 5.0 gallons (19 L) with cool water, aerate well and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C).
Allies Win the War clone
Collaboration between 21st Amendment and Ninkasi
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.072 (18 °P) FG = 1.018 (4.5 °P)
IBU = 49 SRM = 32 ABV = 7.1%
Ingredients
12 oz. (0.34 kg) English crystal malt (15 °L)
12 oz. (0.34 kg) English crystal malt (45 °L)
12 oz. (0.34 kg) English crystal malt (120 °L)
8 oz. (0.23 kg) English crystal malt (155/165 °L)
12 oz. (0.34 kg) English light Munich malt
1.6 oz. (45 g) chocolate malt
2.5 lbs. (1.1 kg) light dried malt extract
5.0 lbs. (2.3 kg) light liquid malt extract
6.0 oz. (170 g) dates (macerated, in the secondary)
8.4 AAU Warrior hops (90 mins) (0.5 oz./14 g of 16.8% alpha acids)
7.0 AAU Willamette hops (30 mins) (0.9 oz./26 g of 7.8% alpha acids)
0.6 oz. (17 g) East Kent Goldings hops (0 mins)
Wyeast 1968 (London ESB) or White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast
Step by Step
Place grains in a large steeping bag. In a large (at least 6 qts./6 L) kitchen pot, steep grains at 155 °F (68 °C) for 50 minutes in 3.9 qts. (3.7 L) of water. Begin heating at least 3.0 gallons (11 L) of water in your brewpot as the grains steep. Rinse grains with 2.0 qts. (1.9 L) of 170 °F (77 °C) water and add “grain tea” to water in brewpot. Stir in dried malt extract and bring wort to a boil. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at times indicated. Stir in liquid malt extract during the final 15 minutes of the boil. (Stir well to avoid scorching malt extract.) Cool wort and transfer to fermenter. Top up to 5.0 gallons (19 L) with cool water, aerate well and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C).
Tips for Success
This recipe contains a lot of specialty grains, including a high percentage of dark crystal malts and some chocolate malt. Darkly roasted grains are, of course, very flavorful, but they are also more likely to give up an excessive amount of tannins if handled improperly.
Be careful not to oversparge when collecting wort. If you have a pH meter, monitoring the final runnings and ensuring they don’t climb above 5.8 would be a good idea. And of course, use the best quality crystal malts you can find.
Also, be sure to make a yeast starter. This yeast strain has a tendency to flocculate early if the pitching rate is too low.
El Camino (Un)Real Black Ale
Collaboration among 21st Amendment, Firestone Walker, and Stone Brewing Co.
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.096 (23 °P) FG = 1.021 (5.2 °P)
IBU = 49 ABV = 7.1%
Ingredients
15 lb. 8 oz. (7.0 kg) North American 2-row pale malt
13 oz. (0.38 kg) Caramunich® malt
12 oz. (0.34 kg) Special B malt
10.5 oz. (0.30 kg) Carafa® III malt
9.5 oz. (0.27 kg) roasted barley
6.1 oz. (0.17 kg) flaked oats
5.3 oz. (0.15 kg) chocolate malt
15 oz. (0.41 kg) Belgian dark candi sugar (90 mins)
14 AAU Challenger hops (90 mins) (2.1 oz./60 g of 6.5% alpha acids)
1.3 oz. East Kent Goldings hops (10 mins) (1.3 oz./37 g of 4.5% alpha acids)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Styrian Goldings hops (0 mins)
0.46 oz. (13 g) fennel seeds (0 mins)
0.46 oz. (13 g) chia seeds (0 mins)
0.25 oz. (7.1 g) pink peppercorns (0 mins)
1.7 oz. (48 g) Styrian Golding hops (dry hop)
0.9 oz. (26 g) dried black mission figs (steep 7 days) (chopped, soaked in bourbon)
8.0 oz. (230 g) oak chips (steep 3 days)
White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) yeast (6 qt./6 L yeast starter)
Step by Step
For mashing in, you will need 6.0 gallons (23 L) of strike water. Mash at 149 °F (65 °C) for 60 minutes. Mash out to 165 °F (74 °C). Recirculate and collect wort. Collect enough to be able to boil wort for 90 minutes. (Fully sparged, you would get at least 10 gallons/38 L out of the grain bed, but then you would have to boil your wort longer to concentrate it. If you boil less than you can get from the grain bed, you may have to supplement the wort with a little malt extract to reach your target OG.) Boil wort to reduce volume to 5 gallons (19 L), adding hops and other spices at times indicated. Chill and transfer to fermenter. Aerate and pitch yeast sediment from yeast starter. Ferment at 68–70 °F (20–21 °C). Transfer to secondary and add dry hops and figs, then 4 days later add the oak chips; 3 days after that, package the beer.
El Camino (Un)Real Black Ale
Collaboration among 21st Amendment, Firestone Walker, and Stone Brewing Co.
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.096 (23 °P) FG = 1.021 (5.2 °P)
IBU = 49 ABV = 7.1%
Ingredients
4.0 lbs. (1.8 kg) North American 2-row pale malt
13 oz. (0.38 kg) Caramunich® malt
12 oz. (0.34 kg) Special B malt
10.5 oz. (0.30 kg) Carafa® III malt
9.5 oz. (0.27 kg) roasted barley
6.1 oz. (0.17 kg) flaked oats
5.3 oz. (0.15 kg) chocolate malt
15 oz. (0.41 kg) Belgian dark candi sugar (90 mins)
2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) light dried malt extract
5 lb. 10 oz. (2.6 kg) light liquid malt extract
14 AAU Challenger hops (90 mins) (2.1 oz./60 g of 6.5% alpha acids)
1.3 oz. East Kent Goldings hops (10 mins) (1.3 oz./37 g of 4.5% alpha acids)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Styrian Goldings hops (0 mins)
0.46 oz. (13 g) fennel seeds (0 mins)
0.46 oz. (13 g) chia seeds (0 mins)
0.25 oz. (7.1 g) pink peppercorns (0 mins)
1.7 oz. (48 g) Styrian Golding hops (dry hop)
0.9 oz. (26 g) dried black mission figs (steep 7 days) (chopped, soaked in bourbon)
8.0 oz. (230 g) oak chips (steep 3 days)
White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) yeast
Step by Step
For this partial mash recipe, you’ll need two large grain steeping bags and a 2-gallon (7.6-L) beverage cooler. Place the 4.0 lbs. (1.8 kg) of 2-row pale malt in one steeping bag and the remaining specialty grains in the other. In the cooler, mash the pale malt grains at 149 °F (65 °C) for 60 minutes. This will take 5.5 quarts (5.2 L) of water. In your brewpot, steep the specialty grains at 149 °F (65 °C) in 4.5 qqts. (4.2 L) of water while you are mashing. Collect wort from the cooler in the following manner. Collect one cup of wort from the spigot, then add one cup of hot sparge water to the top of the cooler and repeat until you collect around 2.0 gallons (7.6 L) of wort. Use ~190 °F (88 °C) water for sparging, but don’t let the temperature of the grain bed rise above 170 °F (77 °C).
As you collect the wort, add it to your brewpot, where the specialty grains are steeping (and still being held at 149 °F/65 °C). Once all the wort is collected from the cooler, add water to brewpot to make at least 3.5 gallons (13 L) of wort, stir in dried malt extract and bring to a boil. Boil wort for 90 minutes, adding hops and other spices at times indicated. Stir in liquid malt extract during the final 15 minutes of the boil. (Stir well to avoid scorching malt extract.) Cool wort and transfer to fermenter. Top up to 5.0 gallons (19 L) with cool water, aerate well and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68–70 °F (20–21 °C). Transfer to secondary and add dry hops and figs, then 4 days later add the oak chips; 3 days after that, package the beer.
Extract with grains option
Omit 2-row pale malt from partial mash recipe and increase liquid malt extract to a total of 8.5 lbs. (3.9 kg) Place specialty grains in a steeping bag. In a large (at least 6 qt./6 L) kitchen pot, steep grains at 149 °F (65 °C) for 60 minutes in 1.1 gallons (4.2 L) of water. Begin heating at least 2.0 gallons (7.6 L) of water in your brewpot as the grains steep. Rinse grains with 2.0 qts. (1.9 L) of 170 °F (77 °C) water and add “grain tea” to water in brewpot. Stir in dried malt extract and bring wort to a boil. Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops and spices at times indicated. Stir in liquid malt extract during the final 15 minutes of the boil. (Stir well to avoid scorching malt extract.) Cool wort and transfer to fermenter. Top up to 5.0 gallons (19 L) with cool water, aerate well and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68–70 °F (20–21 °C). Transfer to secondary and add dry hops and figs, then 4 days later add the oak chips; 3 days after that, package the beer.
Tips for Success
This is a big beer, be sure to make a yeast starter with enough volume to grow a sufficient number of cells to ferment the wort efficiently — a minimum of roughly 3 qts. (3 L), but optimally twice that. Barring that, 17 g of Fermentis US-05 dried yeast would also work. Aerate the wort well and consider adding yeast nutrients in the final 15 minutes of the boil.
Getting the right amount of spice in a beer can be tricky. Consider adding half of the amount of each of the spices listed here, and soaking the remaining spices in vodka. If, when it comes time to bottle or keg the beer, the beer seems underspiced, add some or all of the vodka.
When adding the figs, put these in a dry hopping bag and do not add the bourbon used for soaking to the beer.
