Beer Style: Strong Ale Family
Belgian-Style Golden Strong Ale
“This was my first Belgian Ale. I had no spare fridge space, so it was fermented at ambient temperatures, getting up to 86°F (30 °C) on day 2 and it was all over after 3 days. I didn’t really like the beer, but all who tried it thought it was great, and so did the judges!” – Michael Carter — Queensland
El Camino (Un)Real Black Ale clone
Wee Heavy
Strong Scotch ale is a beer for those who can’t get enough rich malt flavor.
Midnight Sun Brewing Full Curl Scotch Ale clone
Full Curl is a wee heavy strong Scotch ale coming in at about 7% alcohol by volume.
Cause of Death
Did you ever want to do something just because someone told you it couldn’t be done? A comment at a homebrew club meeting sets a homebrewer on a quest to brew an all-grain beer over 20% alcohol by volume.
Red Hot Blond
The second place winner, Steve Hacker, was a Belgian-style golden strong ale enlivened by a healthy addition of Red Hots, the bright red cinnamon candy. Again, the actual entry was a spinoff of a 5-gallon (19 L) batch, so the amounts have been extrapolated.
Chili Head Fred Barleywine
Marc Martin headed a group of Austin ZEALOTS who were out to make a name for themselves at the Dixie Cup. Marc, the Primary Fermenter, Corey Martin the Secondary Fermenter, and another key member, Keith Bradley, decided they should honor the ever present Fred Eckhart by brewing a clone of that famous namesake Barleywine made by Hair-of-The-Dog brewing, “Fred.” After a lengthy (12 hour) brew day and six months of aging, two quarts were tapped from the keg and sliced Jalepeno, Serrano and Habanero peppers were steeped in the cold brew. Spoonfuls were tasted at 8–12 hour intervals until just the right level of heat was present to mingle with the malt and hops. Balance with a lingering heat was the goal and it was obviously achieved, since it took home first place!
Imperial Stormtrooper IPA
Foam Ranger Jimmy Paige took first place in the 2000 Dixie Cup with an Imperial IPA which he claims was more “like an American Barleywine at the time it was judged.” Aged approximately 7 months old at judging, Jimmy claims he named the beer Imperial Stormtrooper because “that was the only thing I could think of with the word ‘Imperial’ in it.”
Old Soldier Ale
The name of this beer commemorates the fact that this is being written on the 60th anniversary of D-Day.
Redhook Ale Brewery’s Winterhook clone
This is a clone of one of the Winterhook Dark Ale batches, but according to their website Winterhook is “Crafted with an evolving mix of malts and hops, each yearly edition of Winterhook is one-of-a-kind.” Check out Redhook’s website for the latest rendition of this beer!
Summit Brewing Co.’s Winter Ale clone
First brewed in 1987, this winter warmer exhibits bready, toasted malt flavors with hints of coffee, caramel, black cherry, cocoa, and a dash of hop spice.
Full Sail Brewing Co.’s Wassail clone
This deep mahogany winter warmer is a 13-time gold medal winner. It is available from October through December each year.
