Saddle Mountain Brewing Co.
Dear Replicator,
I follow the Great American Beer Festival awards and take notes of places I’ve been and places I want to go on my travels. Anyway, I’ve noticed that a small brewery in Arizona named Saddle Mountain Brewing Company seems to be doing something amazing in the Scottish ale category with its beer called Clan-Destine. It’s shown up for like the past five years. I’ve actually never even tried this beer, but I’d love to replicate it and see if it can bring home a medal in my next homebrew club competition.
Ken Smejkal
Hollywood, California
What do you get when you pair a dedicated restaurant entrepreneur with a driven aviation expert? You get a brewery and restaurant that takes off quickly! So is the case of Saddle Mountain Brewing Company of Goodyear, Arizona. Located about 30 minutes west of Phoenix, the brewpub Saddle Mountain and its line of craft beers named Taildragger have been producing solid brews since its inception in 2014.
Jacob Hansen had dreamed since childhood of following in the footsteps of his dad and brother by enlisting in the military with the goal of becoming a pilot. Suffering a devastating injury at age 13 resulted in the loss of his pinky, ring finger, and part of the middle finger on his right hand. The injury quickly ended Jacob’s military dream, but not his love for aviation.
Staying laser focused on all things aviation related, he took his first solo flight at age 16, had his pilot’s license by age 20, and became half-owner of a Piper Cub Taildragger airplane in his early twenties.
Laura Hollenstein lived about 12 miles down the road from Jacob in a small town called Tonopah, Arizona. The two actually attended the same high school, but didn’t know each other with Laura being a senior when Jacob was a freshman.
The two eventually met and began to date. One date saw the two take flight in Jacob’s plane, flying above the area’s famed Saddle Mountain. About a year later, the couple married. On one particular birthday, Laura bought Jacob a Mr. Beer brewing kit and a new, unexpected passion took hold.
Homebrewing eventually turned to visions of opening a brewery. Jacob came up with various names he thought would be perfect while Laura didn’t really give it a second thought.
“We’d jokingly come up with names for our fictitious brewery,” said Laura. “A while later, I received a letter in the mail realizing Jacob had filed paperwork to register the corporate name of his new brewing company, to be known as Saddle Mountain Brewing Company. This took place in 2011.”
The brewery opened in 2014, operating on a 15-barrel Marks Design brew house, their beers elevated quickly in popularity. Weaving in aviation themes at every opportunity, Saddle Mountain Brewing Company produced beers that caught on quickly with beer lovers of Phoenix’s westside communities.
The brewery’s portfolio is a mixture of recipes that include many of Jacob’s original homebrew recipes, some from original brewer Neal, and the remainder from current Head Brewer Anthony Lary. Styles run the gamut from hazy IPAs to barrel-aged beers and everything in between. Hop Snob IPA, Warhawk Cream Ale, and 5G Belgian Wit soar with the locals, but it was Clan-Destine Scottish Ale that flew the company onto the national radar.
Taildragger Clan-Destine Scottish Export
The brewery wanted to brew a Scottish ale to pay homage to Jacob and Laura’s Scottish descent. The name was a play on words as Jacob comes from the Scottish “Davidson” clan. Rather than going with “Clan-Davidson,” the Hansens chose the name “Clan-Destine,” the hyphen appearing to mimic a Scottish clan name. With the word clandestine meaning secret meeting, a marketable beer name and concept was born. Not only was it popular, the beer did very well in competition.
Flying high at the Great American Beer Festival with gold medals in 2017, 2018, 2019 and a bronze in 2020, Clan-Destine scored again winning silver at the 2018 World Beer Cup. Countless other local festival awards, including best-in-show, have been bestowed upon the beer.
Checking in at 6.2% ABV and 22 IBU, Clan-Destine is medium-full bodied, drinks rich with notes of toffee and caramel from Golden Promise and Crystal 77 additions, yet finishes clean without being heavy. Just a touch of roasted barley gives the beer its signature color and palate pleasing dryness, aided by Fuggle hops.
While a Scottish ale may not be the first beer style one would think of to dominate in one of America’s hottest year-round cities, it’s actually a Scottish ale produced by a larger, more well-known brewery that is the number one selling Arizona-brewed beer. It must be an Arizona thing!
Best served at 45–50 °F (7–10 °C) in a nonic glass, Clan-Destine may be best enjoyed from the source during spring training, when both the Cincinnati Reds and the team formerly known as the Cleveland Indians hold spring training less than a mile from the brewery. If you can’t make it to Arizona, now you can brew your own version of Clan-Destine at home, and maybe you’ll take home the gold at your next homebrew competition.
Saddle Mountain Brewing Co.’s Taildragger Clan-Destine clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.058 FG = 1.011
IBU = 22 SRM = 16 ABV = 6.2%
Ingredients
10 lbs. (4.5 kg) Golden Promise pale ale malt
1 lb. (454 g) Carafoam® malt
0.75 lb. (340 g) Crisp crystal 77 malt (77 °L)
2.5 oz. (71 g) roasted barley (500 °L)
6 AAU Fuggle hops (60 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 4.8% alpha acids)
1 tsp. Irish moss (10 min.)
White Labs WLP007 (Dry English Ale), Wyeast 1098 (British Ale), or LalBrew Nottingham yeast
¾ cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Starting with a medium-thick mash of 1.33 qts./lb. (2.8 L/kg) achieve a mash temperature of 154 °F (68 °C) and hold at this temperature for 60 minutes. Begin lautering by raising mash temperature to 168 °F (76 °C) for mash out. Recirculate for about ten minutes until clear. Sparge using water at 170 °F (77 °C) acidified to a pH near 5.2. Collect 6.5 gallons (24.6 L) in the kettle. Boil for 90 minutes, adding the Fuggle hops with 60 minutes to go, and the Irish moss with 10 minutes remaining. Upon completion of the boil, whirlpool and let rest for 20 minutes.
Chill quickly to 65 °F (18 °C) and collect the wort in the fermenter. Pitch the yeast and aerate well if using a liquid yeast strain. Ferment at 65 °F (18 °C) for about two weeks or until reaching final gravity. Cold crash to 32 °F (0 °C) in a closed container (you don’t want air being sucked back into the vessel). Allow the beer to reach final temperature, then rest an additional two to five days for clarifying. Carbonate to around 2.5 v/v or bottle condition. Serve in a nonic glass between 45 °F (7 °C) and 50 °F (10 °C) for optimum experience.
Saddle Mountain Brewing Co.’s Taildragger Clan-Destine clone
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.058 FG = 1.011
IBU = 22 SRM = 16 ABV = 6.2%
Ingredients
6.8 lbs. (3.1 kg) Muntons Maris Otter liquid malt extract
1 lb. (454 g) Carafoam® malt
0.75 lb. (340 g) Crisp crystal 77 malt (77 °L)
2.5 oz. (71 g) roasted barley (500 °L)
6 AAU Fuggle hops (60 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 4.8% alpha acids)
1 tsp. Irish moss (10 min.)
White Labs WLP007 (Dry English Ale), Wyeast 1098 (British Ale), or LalBrew Nottingham yeast
¾ cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Using a muslin bag for easy removal of the grain, steep your grains for ten minutes in three gallons (11.4 L) of water between 145–160 °F (63–71 °C). Temperature does not have to be specific since the purpose is simply to steep the grains. Upon completion of the steeping, remove the bag, draining the liquid without squeezing the bag. Raise temperature to near boiling and slowly stir in half of the extract. Return to the heat source and raise to boil. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at the beginning, Irish moss at 10 minutes remaining, and the rest of the extract with 5 minutes remaining.
Meanwhile, boil and chill about 2.5 gallons (9.46 L) of water so you can top up your wort later. Chill wort quickly to 65 °F (18 °C). Add pre-boiled and chilled water to top up to 5 gallons (19 L). Ferment at 65 °F (18 °C) for about two weeks or until reaching final gravity. Cold crash to 32 °F (0 °C) in a closed container (you don’t want air being sucked into the vessel). Allow beer to reach final temperature, then rest an additional two to five days for clarifying. Carbonate to around 2.5 v/v or bottle condition. Serve in a nonic glass between 45 °F (7 °C) and 50 °F (10 °C) for optimum experience.
Tips For Success:
To ensure a smooth fermentation, best results will come from making a starter if using a liquid strain. The starter will provide an ample amount of yeast and, along with proper aeration, can help reduce the chances of fusel alcohol production. Patience, especially during the cold-conditioning phase, is also very important to produce the clean character desired in an authentic Scottish export ale.
There is no extract substitute for Golden Promise malt. Since Golden Promise is a heritage malt similar to Maris Otter malt (although Scottish vs. British heritage), we used the closest extract we could find, which is Muntons Maris Otter. This will get you “in the ballpark” but the all-grain version will get closer to the original as there are discrepancies between these two base grains.
