Beer Style: Specialty Beer Family
Russian River Brewing Co.’s Consecration clone
Consecration is a dark ale that is initially fermented with Belgian Abbey Ale yeast. After the beer is done fermenting and all the primary yeast is removed, the beer goes into barrels (this homebrew version calls for oak chips, for ease) with dried currants and Brettanomyces yeast initially. After 2–3 months, the bacteria is added. All of this is left to age in used Cabernet Sauvignon wine barrels until it is ready to rack off the fruit and be packaged. – Vinnie Cilurzo
3 Sons Brewing Co.’s Summation clone
This is the base recipe for Summation, which 3 Sons often brews variations of with added flavors like coffee, vanilla, and more. If you wish to create a variation with adjuncts, add after barrel aging.
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.’s Parabola clone
Parabola is arguably Firestone Walker’s most notorious barrel-aged beer and is released as a vintage beer each year. This imperial stout is thick with bold yet balanced flavors of chocolate, charred oak, vanilla, black cherry, and coffee.
Mortalis Brewing Co.’s Ophion clone
This is the base recipe for Ophion, which Mortalis has released numerous variants of over the years with differing aging times and occasional adjunct additions like vanilla beans, coconut, and more.
Smocadh (Bamberg-style rauchbier)
This rauchbier recipe is courtesy of my brewing partner, Fernando López Angulo. The smoked malt adds a smoky complexity without overpowering the other flavors. While Fernando uses a smoke gun and a variety of tinctures and oils to dial in his smoke profile, this recipe is a good starting point. If you are new to brewing smoked beer, experimentation may be needed to dial in the smoke level for your particular palate. Due to the large percentage of smoked malt, this recipe does not translate well to extract-based brewing.
Gordon Strong’s Braggot
A braggot with an English barleywine base beer with about half the fermentables coming from wildflower honey.
Braggot
Braggot is a unique beverage that is part mead and part beer. Different from honey beer as a larger percent of its fermentables come from honey, yet braggots can be made with a base beer style in mind. Learn more about what braggot is and three different approaches to making one.
Quick Sour Beer Techniques
Sour beer is rising in popularity, but not everyone has the patience or confidence to allow wild airborne yeasts and bugs do the job changing your clean wort to a sour beer.
Brewing with Smoked Malt
Smoked beers are rising in popularity, but many brewers shy away from using smoked malts because they are intimidated or simply don’t know how to use smoked ingredients. Learn how to unlock
Gordon Strong’s Gruit
Balancing the bitterness and spices can be difficult due to unknown freshness and potency, so be prepared to make infusions (teas) to tweak the balance once the beer is finished.
Chocolate Winter’s Embrace
This winter seasonal beer has a rich malt character, underpinned by a pleasing chocolate note. The winter spices are present but not overpowering, providing a warming finish.
pH vs. TA in Sour Beers
pH might not be the most effective method for measuring the perceived sourness when brewing beer. Due to various acid strengths and the buffering capacity of different worts, titratable acidity (TA) is the
