Dirty Hands Brewing Company’s Liberty Ship Stout: Replicator
Dear Replicator, I used to live in Vancouver, Washington but I took a job transfer to Southern California. This was a mistake as I moved from a beer-laden area to something much less. The only good news is that I started homebrewing after I moved down here. I like dark, malty beers. Just before I moved a new brewpub opened in downtown Vancouver — Dirty Hands Brewing. Not sure what was up with their brewery name, but the Liberty Ship Stout they made was very good. I am hoping that they will give you the information for this stout recipe.
David Jakowski
Pasadena, California
I doubt that there are many breweries in this country where the two owners have doctorate degrees in chemistry. This is exactly the case with Dirty Hands Brewing Company in the heart of downtown Vancouver, Washington. Grant Merrill and Phil Chou became friends while completing their chemistry graduate studies at University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. The bourgeoning craft beer movement was just catching on in the Twin Cities area. They report that this provided them the perfect opportunity to sample beers with real flavor while tempering those late night studies.
After they received their PhDs each went their separate way on different career paths. Grant moved into the pharmaceutical industry and went on to become a chemistry educator. Phil started out in the plastics industry but then moved on to what he describes as “more noble employment” in the beer and wine industry. He worked for several years as a chemist with Miller Brewing Co. and then moved on to work for E. & J. Gallo Winery.
Both still remembered their fascination with the craft beers from college and that growing industry. Much older now, they reconnected and decided to make the jump into a “fun field.” Believing that the Pacific Northwest seemed to be the epicenter of the industry, they both moved to Vancouver. Since Vancouver is just across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon this made sense as rent factors were much better and it was a relatively unsaturated market. I know this market well as I live only about seven miles north of Vancouver. As recently as six years ago there were only three brewpubs in this city of 160,000. Easy access to Portland with its 50-plus brewpubs made a great draw for craft beer drinkers. However, rapidly increasing traffic woes made Vancouver ripe for expansion.
A suitable building was located in the city center. David, you commented about the odd brewery name. Grant and Phil agree that some people question it too. The building had housed the local Columbian newspaper. All
the press men and paper handlers always had ink from the papers on their hands, which coupled with the fact that you have to get your hands plenty dirty retrofitting an old building into a brewery, led to the name Dirty
Hands Brewing.
Retrofitting the building was a long and difficult process. The brewing equipment was destined to be located in the basement, which was your typical musty old basement, hardly conducive to sanitary conditions required of brewing. It took days of junk removal followed by many more days of cleaning and painting old wooden beams to get the space up to par. Further complications were incurred when their new three-barrel Global Systems brew kettles and cellar tanks arrived and it was discovered that no door was wide enough to move them through. One of the storefront windows had to be removed and a hole had to be cut in the floor to drop them through. Everything finally came together and by the end of 2013 they opened as a tap house only. The standard lineup of beers ranged from pale ales to the stout you inquired about.
Phil was designated as the Brewer and has been producing fine ales from day one. He handles all of the duties that go with a brewing operation, even the less desired ones like keg washing. Grant took on the responsibilities of business management and marketing. With customer demand for food, a full kitchen was soon added. Their solid menu now provides an additional draw of customers and makes them a full-fledged brewpub.
Their beers have been well received and have granted them invitations to several local festivals. With a growing demand for more production, additional brewery staff was needed. They were fortunate to find Seth Proctor, who was hired as a Brewer Assistant. Seth had worked at Midnight Sun Brewery in Anchorage, Alaska and most recently at Heathen Brewing Co., also in Vancouver, Washington. He has proved to be a worthy addition and has been granted the freedom to develop some new recipes.
During a discussion of Liberty Ship Stout, Phil recommends using Briess Midnight Wheat to develop the pitch-black color without adding the sometimes-astringent qualities of roasted barley or black patent. He prefers the very neutral qualities of the Safale US-05 yeast. I found this beer to have a nice bittersweet chocolate and coffee profile, with just enough hop presence to offset any cloying sweetness. A firm, dark tan head held until the bottom of the glass. It is definitely a fine stout for any season.
David, no need to be bumming in SoCal; you will be able to re-create your favorite Northwest stout because now you can “Brew Your Own.” For more information about Dirty Hands Brewing Co. and their other fine
beers visit them on the web at www.dirtyhandsbrewing.com or call the brewery at 360-258-0413.
Dirty Hands Brewing Company’s Liberty Ship Stout clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all- grain)
OG = 1.057 FG = 1.012
IBU= 23 SRM = 33 ABV = 6%
Ingredients
8.7 lbs. (4 kg) 2-row pale malt
1.2 lbs. (0.54 kg) crystal malt (15 °L)
1.1 lbs. (0.5 kg) Munich malt (10 °L)
15 oz. (0.42 kg) chocolate malt
2 oz. (57 g) Briess Midnight Wheat malt
3.9 AAU Galena hop pellets
(60 min.) (0.3 oz./8.5 g at 13% alpha acids)
3.2 AAU Centennial hop pellets
(30 min.) (0.3 oz./8.5 g at 10.5% alpha acids)
13.2 AAU Simcoe® hop pellets
(0 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 13.2% alpha acids)
1⁄2 tsp. Irish moss (15 min.)
1⁄2 tsp. yeast nutrient (15 min.)
White Labs WLP001 (California Ale), Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), or Safale US-05 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
This recipe is a single step infusion mash. Mix all of the crushed grains with 3.5 gallons (13.4 L) of 170 °F (77 °C) water to stabilize at 153 ºF (67 °C). This is a medium thick mash using 1.3 quarts of strike water per pound of grain (2.7 L/kg). This ratio will help to reduce maximum fermentability. A less fermentable wort is also created by the medium high mash temperature. Slowly sparge with 175 ºF (79 ºC) water.
Collect approximately 6 gallons (23 L) of wort runoff. Boil for 60 minutes. While boiling, add the hops, Irish moss and yeast nutrient as per the schedule. During the boil, use this time to thoroughly sanitize your fermentation equipment.
Once the boil is complete, cool the wort to 75 ºF (24 ºC) and transfer to your fermenter. Pitch the yeast and aerate the wort heavily. Allow the beer to cool to 68 ºF (20 ºC). Hold at that temperature until fermentation is complete. This may take 6– 8 days. Gently transfer to a carboy, avoiding any splashing to prevent aerating the beer. Allow the beer to condition for an additional week. Prime and bottle condition or keg and force carbonate to 2.2 volumes CO2. Allow the beer to age for at least 2 more weeks to fully develop the flavors and enjoy your Liberty Ship Stout clone.
Dirty Hands Brewing Company’s Liberty Ship Stout clone
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.057 FG = 1.012
IBU= 23 SRM = 33 ABV = 6%
Ingredients
3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) Briess light, unhopped, liquid malt extract
2 lbs. (0.9 kg) light dried malt extract
1.2 lbs. (0.54 kg) crystal malt (15 °L)
1.1 lbs. (0.49 kg) Munich malt (10 °L)
15 oz. (0.42 kg) chocolate malt
2 oz. (57 g) Briess Midnight Wheat malt
5.2 AAU Galena hop pellets
(60 min.) (0.4 oz./11 g at 13% alpha acids)
4.2 AAU Centennial hop pellets
(30 min.) (0.4 oz./11 g at 10.5% alpha acids)
13.2 AAU Simcoe® hop pellets
(0 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 13.2% alpha acids)
1⁄2 tsp. Irish moss (15 min.)
1⁄2 tsp. yeast nutrient (15 min.)
White Labs WLP001 (California Ale), Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), or Safale US-05 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Steep the milled grain in 1 gallon (3.8 L) of water at 153 ºF (67 ºC) for 30 minutes. Remove grains from the wort and rinse with 2 quarts (1.8 L) of hot water. Top up with 1.5 gallons (5.7 L) water, add the liquid malt extract and boil for 60 minutes. While performing the boil, add the hops, Irish moss and yeast nutrient as per the schedule. During the boil, use this time to thoroughly sanitize your fermentation equipment. When the boil is complete 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 to
68 ºF (20 ºC). Hold at that temperature until fermentation is complete. This may take 6–8 days. Transfer to a carboy, avoiding any splashing to prevent aerating the beer. Allow the beer to condition for an additional week. Prime and bottle condition or keg and force carbonate to 2.2 volumes CO2. Allow the beer to age for at least 2 more weeks to fully develop the flavors and enjoy your Liberty Ship Stout clone.
