Recipe

Jack and Ken’s Ale — Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Ale Collaboration clone

Jack and Ken’s Ale
Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Ale Collaboration between Sierra Nevada and Jack McAuliffe from New Albion Brewing
(Black barleywine)

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.101 (24 °P)  FG = 1.025 (6.2 °P)
IBU = 80  SRM = 90  ABV = 10.4%

Sierra Nevada put together this recipe in collaboration with Jack McAuliffe from New Albion Brewing (1976–1982) in Sonoma, California using raw materials available in the late 1970s. This was one of four Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Collaboration Ales.

Ingredients
20 lbs. (9.1 kg) 2-row pale malt
1 lb. 2 oz. (0.52 kg) caramel malt (60 °L)
5.2 oz. (0.15 kg)  roasted barley
13 AAU Brewers Gold hops (60 mins) (1.5 oz./43 g of 8.5% alpha acids)
14 AAU Cluster hops (60 mins) (2 oz./57 g of 7% alpha acids)
1.0 oz. (28 g) Cascade hops (0 mins)
0.75 oz. (21 g) Northern Brewer hops (0 mins)
1.5 oz.(43 g) Cascade hops (dry hop)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Northern Brewer hops (dry hop)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Fermentis US-05 yeast (7 qt./7 L yeast starter or 18 g dried yeast)

Step by Step 
Heat 6.75 gallons (25 L) of strike water. Mash at 150 °F (66 °C) for 60 minutes. Mash out to 168 °F (76 °C) and hold for 5 minutes. Recirculate and then collect the wort. Fully sparging the grain bed would yield over 11 gallons (42 L) of wort. Decide how much wort you want to collect. (It takes about an hour to boil away a gallon/4 L of liquid on a typical homebrew system). Boil to reduce wort volume to 5 gallons (19 L), adding hops at times indicated. (If you collected less than the full amount of wort, you may need to add malt extract to hit your target OG. Take a hydrometer reading with 10 minutes left in the boil. For every “gravity point” you are low, add 1.8 oz. (51 g) of dried malt extract.) Chill wort and transfer to fermenter. Aerate and pitch sediment from yeast starter. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C). Dry hop for 1 week.

Jack and Ken’s Ale
(Black barleywine)

(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.101 (24 °P)  FG = 1.025 (6.2 °P)
IBU = 80  SRM = 90  ABV = 10.4%

Ingredients
2.5 lbs. (1.1 kg) 2-row pale malt
1 lb. 2 oz. (0.52 kg) caramel malt (60 °L)
5.2 oz. (0.15 kg) roasted barley
4 lb. 14 oz. (2.2 kg) light dried malt extract
6.0 lbs. (2.7 kg) light liquid malt extract (late addition)
13 AAU Brewers Gold hops (60 mins) (1.5 oz./43 g of 8.5% alpha acids)
14 AAU Cluster hops (60 mins)  (2 oz./57 g of 7% alpha acids)
1.0 oz. (28 g) Cascade hops (0 mins)
0.75 oz. (21 g) Northern Brewer hops (0 mins)
1.5 oz.(43 g) Cascade hops (dry hop)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Northern Brewer hops (dry hop)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Fermentis US-05 yeast

Step by Step 
Mash grains at 150 °F (66 °C) for 60 minutes. (One option is to put the 4 lbs./1.8 kg of grain in a grain bag and place the bag in a 2.0-gallon/7.6-L insulated beverage cooler.) Collect wort and sparge grains with hot water (~190 °F/88 °C, but don’t let the temperature of the grain bed rise above 170 °F/77 °C). (If you are using the beverage cooler option, collect one cup of wort from the spigot, then add one cup of hot sparge water to the top of the cooler and repeat until you collect around 2.0 gallons (7.6 L) of wort.) Add water to wort to make at least 3.5 gallons (13 L) of wort, stir in dried malt extract and bring to a boil. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at times indicated. Stir in liquid malt extract during the final 15 minutes of the boil. (Stir well to avoid scorching malt extract.) Cool wort and transfer to fermenter. Top up to 5.0 gallons (19 L) with cool water, aerate well and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C). Dry hop for 1 week.

Jack and Ken’s Ale
(Black barleywine)

(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.101 (24 °P)  FG = 1.025 (6.2 °P)
IBU = 80  SRM = 90  ABV = 10.4%

Ingredients
0.5 lbs. (0.23 kg) 2-row pale malt
1 lb. 2 oz. (0.52 kg) caramel malt (60 °L)
5.2 oz. (0.15 kg) roasted barley
6.0 lbs. (2.7 kg) light dried malt extract
6.0 lbs. (2.7 kg) light liquid malt extract (late addition)
13 AAU Brewers Gold hops (60 mins) (1.5 oz./43 g of 8.5% alpha acids)
14 AAU Cluster hops (60 mins) (2 oz./57 g of 7% alpha acids)
1.0 oz. (28 g) Cascade hops (0 mins)
0.75 oz. (21 g) Northern Brewer hops (0 mins)
1.5 oz.(43 g) Cascade hops (dry hop)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Northern Brewer hops (dry hop)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Fermentis US-05 yeast

Step by Step
Place grains in a steeping bag. In a large (at least 4 qt/4 L) kitchen pot, steep grains at 150 °F (66 °C) for 60 minutes in 2.7 qts. (2.6 L) of water. Begin heating at least 3.0 gallons (11 L) of water in your brewpot as the grains steep. Rinse grains with 1.5 qts. (1.4 L) of 170 °F (77 °C) water and add “grain tea” to water in brewpot. Stir in dried malt extract and bring wort to a boil. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at times indicated. Stir in liquid malt extract during the final 15 minutes of the boil. (Stir well to avoid scorching malt extract.) Cool wort and transfer to fermenter. Top up to 5.0 gallons (19 L) with cool water, aerate well and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C). Dry hop for 1 week.

Tips for Success
This is a big beer, so pitching an adequate amount of yeast is critical. If you make a simple yeast starter (not continuously stirred and/or continuously aerated), it should optimally be about 7 qts. (7 L). You can get by with one half this size, but don’t go any lower than that. If you aren’t going to make a starter, use just short of two 11-g sachets of dried yeast.

Adding some yeast nutrients in the final 15 minutes of the boil is not a bad option  and be sure to aerate your wort well. In addition, watch that your fermentation temperature doesn’t rise too high.

Issue: September 2012

Sierra Nevada put together this recipe in collaboration with Jack McAuliffe from New Albion Brewing (1976–1982) in Sonoma, California using raw materials available in the late 1970s. This was one of four Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Collaboration Ales.