Beer Style: Strong Ale Family
BYOB English Old Ale
Recipe submitted to BYO by Brew Your Own Brew — Tucson, Arizona
www.brewyourownbrew.com
Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat’s Duvel clone
Duvel is the classic Belgian golden ale. Although it is very strong (8.5% ABV), the beer is extremely light in color and dry in taste. The dense, white head that sits above the beer lasts until the beer is done. In the US, bottles of Duvel often show some oxidation in the aroma. Brewing it fresh at home gives you a glimpse of what it tastes like in Belgium. The yeast will not have an easy job here; they are dealing with a high-gravity, high-adjunct wort. Help them (and yourself) out by making a big yeast starter for a high cell count at pitching.
Brasserie D’Orval’s Orval Trappist Ale clone
Orval pours orange-brown with a big, rocky head. The very spritzy levels of carbonation and lightly sour with a distinctive Brett character make the beer feel prickly on the tongue. Orval beer is distinctly dry and has little hop bitterness or flavor, although it is the only Trappist ale to be dry hopped. You’ll really taste the pale malt base, so don’t use US, German or English malts for this.
Traquair House Ale clone
Traquair House is the oldest inhabited house in Scotland. Some say their house ale is the paragon of Scottish Wee Heavy ales.
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.”
