Pedal Haus Brewery’s Barrel-Aged Quad Clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.094 FG = 1.011
IBU = 18 SRM = 19 ABV = 10.6%
Ingredients
13 lbs. (5.9 kg) 2-row pale malt
11 oz. (0.25 kg) dark Munich malt (30 °L)
5.5 oz. (160 g) melanoidin malt
12.5 oz. (0.35 kg) Simpsons DRC malt
3 oz. (84 g) crystal malt (75 °L)
1 oz. (28 g) acidulated malt
1.6 lbs. (0.73 kg) dextrose (corn sugar)
0.63 lbs. (0.29 kg) amber candi syrup
0.63 lbs. (0.29 kg) amber dried malt extract
3.3 AAU Magnum hops (90 min.) (0.25 oz./7 g at 13.1% alpha acids)
2 AAU Magnum hops (40 min.) (0.15 oz./4 g at 13.1% alpha acids)
1 oz. (28 g) American oak chips (Bourbon-soaked)
Wyeast 3787 (Belgian High Gravity), White Labs WLP530 (Abbey Ale), or Mangrove Jack’s M41 (Belgian Ale) yeast
7⁄8 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
In advance of brew day, submerge your oak chips in your favorite Bourbon for a minimum of two weeks.
Using a thick mash of 1.25 qts./lb. (2.6 L/kg) of grain, mix grains (not the sugars) with 4.66 gallons (17.6 L) of water. Mash in, targeting an initial temperature at 112 °F (44 °C) for a beta glucan rest. Once the grain is added, add 1 tsp. of gypsum and a ½ tsp. of calcium chloride. Hold at this temperature for 20 minutes. Raise temperature to 149 °F (65 °C) and hold at this rest for 20 minutes. Raise temperature to 158 °F (70 °C) and hold for 30 minutes. Once mash is complete, mashout for 10 minutes at 170 °F (77 °C).
Recirculate until clear, and then begin collecting wort. With the goal of achieving 5.5 gallons (20.8 L) of wort after boil (which will yield a 5-gallon/19-L batch), collect 7.9 gallons (29.8 L) of wort since this beer requires a long boil. The 120-minute boil is necessary to develop the depth of malt flavor while also helping with color development. Add the malt extract and the first hops addition at the 90-minute mark, then the second hop addition at the 40 minute mark. Add the sugar and syrup in the last 5 minutes of the boil. Whirlpool vigorously and let settle for 20 minutes before chilling.
Chill the wort to 66 °F (19 °C). Pitch your yeast starter and oxygenate thoroughly. Primary fermentation should take five days. Upon completion of primary, raise the temperature to 72 °F (22 °C) and add your Bourbon-soaked oak chips to replicate barrel aging. Hold at this temperature for 21 more days to fully develop the complex flavors of the beer. (Note: If fermentation stalls well short of the goal, it’s OK to pitch a second helping of neutral yeast, such as SafAle US-05, WLP001 or Wyeast 1056. Just do not oxygenate during the second pitching. If you do a second yeast pitch, give that five days to finish primary then begin the secondary fermentation process mentioned above.) When fermentation is complete, bottle or keg and carbonate to 2.8 v/v.
Pedal Haus Brewery’s Barrel-Aged Quad Clone
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.094 FG = 1.011
IBU = 18 SRM = 19 ABV = 10.6%
Ingredients
7.5 lbs. (3.4 kg) Briess pale ale dried malt extract
11 oz. (0.25 kg) dark Munich malt (30 °L)
5.5 oz. (160 g) melanoidin malt
12.5 oz. (0.35 kg) Simpsons DRC malt
3 oz. (84 g) crystal malt (75 °L)
1.6 lbs. (0.73 kg) dextrose (corn sugar)
0.63 lbs. (0.29 kg) amber candi syrup
0.63 lbs. (0.29 kg) amber dried malt extract
3.3 AAU Magnum hops (60 min.) (0.25 oz./7 g at 13.1% alpha acids)
2 AAU Magnum hops (40 min.) (0.15 oz./4 g at 13.1% alpha acids)
1 oz. (28 g) American oak chips (Bourbon-soaked)
Wyeast 3787 (Belgian High Gravity), White Labs WLP530 (Abbey Ale), or Mangrove Jack’s M41 (Belgian Ale) yeast
7⁄8 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
In advance of brew day, submerge your oak chips in your favorite Bourbon for a minimum of two weeks.
Bring 2 gallons (7.6 L) up to about 160 °F (70 °C). Place all the pale, Munich, and melanoidon malts in a muslin bag and steep for about 30 minutes. Add the crystal malts to a separate muslin bag and steep in the wort for an additional 15 minutes (45 minutes total). After, place all the grains in a colander and wash with 2 gallons (7.6 L) of hot water. Raise the temperature to near-boiling, then remove from heat and add the two malt extracts while stirring vigorously. Return to a boil and boil 60 minutes adding the hops as indicated, and add the sugar and syrup in the last 5 minutes of the boil.
Once the boil is complete, top up with water with the goal of achieving 5.5 gallons (20.8 L) of wort, which will yield a 5-gallon (19-L) batch after fermentation is complete. Follow the remaining all-grain instructions for fermentation and packaging.
Tips For Success:
For the malts, Brewmaster Derek “Doc” Osborne uses Simpsons DRC, which is very similar to Special B malt. Substitute if the Simpsons DRC is unavailable. If you cannot find Munich 30 °L, using dark Munich at 20 °L will suffice. Crystal 75 can be exchanged for Crystal 77 or Crystal 80, depending on what is available to you.
Anytime you are brewing beers >10% ABV, fermentation control is of the utmost importance. The yeast has to work really hard to ferment this much sugar, and temperatures can rise quickly, producing alcohols with higher molecular weight that can leave off-flavors in your beer. It’s vital to pitch enough yeast and oxygenate thoroughly to ensure the yeast can do its job. Also oxygenate for a couple minutes. Doc says it’s okay to add an additional burst of oxygen on day two as long as alcohol production has not yet started. This second oxygen addition can give the boost it needs to tackle such a big beer.
Written by Dave Clark
It’s a beer big in all regards: Aroma, flavor, mouthfeel, and alcohol. The beer has a full body, with enough carbonation (2.8 v/v) to give it a “lighter than it really is” feel to it. Though the alcohol is strong at 10.6% ABV, it is just one of many components to this complex beer that blend into the whole instead of standing out by itself.