Dear Replicator,
This summer my brother and I took a road trip, traveling on lots of back roads. In one segment in Washington we found Icicle Brewing Company in Leavenworth, which had excellent beers. Not only is the brewery very nice, but the whole town is decorated like a small town in Germany. We both loved the Priebe Porter (what is up with that name?) and would like to try our hand at brewing it.

Theo Sanders
Denver, Colorado

Nestled in the mountains of north central Washington lays the quaint town of Leavenworth. It is like a step into old world Germany. Many years ago the city council decided to turn a dying town into a tourist destination. The result transformed a former railroad and logging town into a replica Bavarian village. What could be a better setting for an excellent brewery creating true German-style lagers and ales? That was exactly what owners Oliver and Pam Brulotte thought too. After opening what is considered to be the best beer garden in town, The München Haus, they came to appreciate some of the world’s amazing craft beers. This led them to open a brewery to meet the local demand.

It also made sense since their family history of hop farming goes back four generations. Their dream started to become reality in May 2009 when they hired Head Brewer Dean Priebe. Dean was a homebrewer who brewed his first batch in college in 1988. They were first introduced to his skill when he won the 2008 Puget Sound Pro-Am with his robust porter. After that he was invited to brew this beer with Brewer Drew Cluley at Pike Brewery in Seattle. Pike sold a couple of the kegs to a Leavenworth restaurant that christened it Priebe Porter. It was an immediate hit in Leavenworth and it only seemed natural that Dean become the town’s Brew Master. With a brewer hired, a vacant lot was located and the brewpub building began to take shape. Good things take time and finally in April 2011 the doors officially opened. Now they supply approximately 190 taps throughout northern and eastern Washington. To meet this demand, Dean and his assistants (all accomplished homebrewers) Troy Chadd, Mark Magnuson and Jamie Wiley keep the 25 barrel system cranking constantly. Production has grown from just under 1,000 barrels in 2011 to a projected 4,000 barrels this year.

The Priebe Porter is a classic representation of an American robust porter. The color is very dark brown but still displays nice clarity and beautiful ruby highlights. It is topped by a fine tan head that laces the glass. The flavor is dominated by dark chocolate with a light roast finish. Hop bitterness is designed to just offset the residual sweetness.

Icicle Brewing Company’s Priebe Porter clone

(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)

OG = 1.064 FG = 1.015 IBUs = 34 SRM = 29 ABV = 6.8 %

Ingredients

• 6.6 lbs. (3 kg) Muntons light, unhopped, liquid malt extract
• 2 lbs. (0.9 kg) Munich malt
• 1 lb. (0.45 kg) 2-row pale malt
• 6 oz. (0.17 kg) crystal malt (40 °L)
• 6 oz. (0.17 kg) chocolate malt (350 °L)
• 6 oz. (0.17 kg) black malt (530 °L)
• 7 AAU Warrior hop pellets (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14.2 g at 16% alpha acids)
• 3.8AAU Palisade hop pellets (15 min.) (0.5 oz./14.2 g at 7.5% alpha acids)
• 3.8 AAU Palisade hop pellets (0 min.) (0.5 oz./14.2 g at 7.5% alpha acids)
• ½ tsp. Irish moss (30 min.)
• ½ tsp. yeast nutrient (15 min.)
• White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) or Lallemand BRY-97 or Safale US-05 (American Ale) yeast
• Priming sugar (if bottling)

Step by Step

Steep the crushed grain in 2.5 gallons (9.5 L) of water at 154 °F (68 ºC) for 30 minutes. Remove grains from the wort and rinse with 2 quarts (1.8 L) of hot water. Add the liquid malt extract and boil for 60 minutes. While boiling, add the hops, Irish moss and yeast nutrient as per the schedule. When done boiling, add the wort to 2 gallons (7.6 L) of cold water in a 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. Ferment at 68 ºF (20 ºC). When complete, allow the beer to condition for 1 week and then bottle or keg.

All-grain option

This is a single step infusion mash using an additional 9.5 lbs. (4.3 kg) 2-row pale malt to replace the liquid malt extract. Mix all of the crushed grains with 4.5 gallons (17 L) of 172 °F (78 °C) water to stabilize at 154 ºF (68 ºC) for 60 minutes. Slowly sparge with 175 ºF (79 ºC) water. Collect approximately 6 gallons (23 L) of wort runoff to boil for 60 minutes. Reduce the 60-minute Warrior hop addition to 0.4 oz./11 g (6.4 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.