Against the Grain Kamen Knuddeln clone

Blend 4 parts kettle sour beer with 1 part Russian imperial stout for the clone. Carbonate to approximately 2.5 volumes.

Kettle-Soured ale

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain) OG = 1.054 FG = 1.013 IBU = 26 SRM = 25 ABV = 5.3%

Ingredients

1 lb. (0.45 kg) rye malt

7 lbs. (3.18 kg) Pilsner malt

1 lb. (0.45 kg) crystal malt (80 °L)

1 lb. (0.45 kg) acidulated malt

0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) chocolate malt

0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) flaked maize

0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) flaked barley

0.1 lb. (0.05 kg) roasted barley

7 AAU Nugget hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 14% alpha acids)

White Labs WLP672 (Lactobacillus brevis) Wyeast 1028 (London Ale) or White Labs WLP013 (London Ale) or Lallemand Nottingham yeast

Step by Step

Mill the grains, then mix with 3.6 gallons (13.7 L) of 169 °F (76 °C) strike water to achieve a single infusion rest temperature of 154 °F (68 °C). Hold at this temperature for 60 minutes. Mashout to 170 °F (77 °C). Vorlauf until your runnings are clear before directing them to your boil kettle. Batch or fly sparge the mash to obtain 6.5 gallons (25 L) of wort.

Boil for 15 minutes to sanitize the wort before cooling it to 105 °F (40 °C). Pitch the Lactobacillus and allow it to work for 18 hours. pH of the beer should be 3.2–3.4. Feel free to adjust the acidity using 88% lactic acid. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at the beginning of the boil. At 15 minutes left, you may want to add either Irish moss or Whirlfloc as fining agents.

After the boil, rapidly chill the wort to slightly below fermentation temperature, which is 68 °F (20 °C) for this beer. Pitch yeast. Maintain a steady fermentation temperature to avoid excessive ester formation.

Kettle-soured ale

(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)

OG = 1.053 FG = 1.013 IBU = 26 SRM = 24 ABV = 5.1%

Ingredients

7 lbs. (3.18 kg) rye liquid malt extract

0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) chocolate malt

0.1 lb. (0.05 kg) roasted barley 2 tsp. 88% lactic acid

7 AAU Nugget hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 14% alpha acids)

White Labs WLP672 (Lactobacillus brevis) Wyeast 1028 (London Ale) or White Labs WLP013 (London Ale) or Lallemand Nottingham yeast

Step by Step

Bring 5 gallons (18.9 L) of water and the 2 tsp. of lactic acid to ~155 °F (68 °C). Steep your milled, bagged grains for 15 minutes before removing them. Then add the liquid rye extract while stirring and stir until completely dissolved. Boil for 15 minutes to sanitize before cooling it to 105 °F (40 °C). Pitch the Lactobacillus and allow it to work for 18 hours. pH of the beer should be 3.2–3.4. Feel free to adjust the acidity using 88% lactic acid.

Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at the beginning of the boil. At 15 minutes left, you may want to add either Irish moss or Whirlfloc as fining agents.

After the boil, rapidly chill the wort to slightly below fermentation temperature, which is 68 °F (20 °C) for this beer. Pitch yeast. Maintain a steady fermentation temperature to avoid excessive ester formation.

Russian Imperial Stout

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)

OG = 1.115 FG = 1.029 IBU = 52 SRM = 68 ABV = 14%

Ingredients

15 lbs. (6.8 kg) 2-row pale malt

2 lbs. (0.91 kg) rye malt

2 lbs. (0.91 kg) wheat malt

1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) chocolate malt

1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) chocolate rye malt

1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) crystal malt (120 °L)

1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) honey malt

1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) roasted barley

17 AAU Columbus hops (60 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 17% alpha acids)

Wyeast 1028 (London Ale) or White Labs WLP013 (London Ale) or Lallemand Nottingham yeast

Step by Step

Mill the grains, then mix with 7.9 gallons (29.9 L) of 167 °F (75 °C) strike water to achieve a single infusion rest temperature of 152 °F (67 °C). Hold at this temperature for 60 min. Mashout to 170 °F (77 °C). Vorlauf until your runnings are clear before directing them to your boil kettle. Batch or fly sparge the mash to obtain 6.5 gallons (25 L) of wort.

Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at the times indicated.  At 15 minutes left in boil, add either Irish moss or Whirlfloc as fining agents. After the boil, rapidly chill the wort to slightly below fermentation temperature, which is 69 °F (20 °C) for this beer. Pitch yeast.

Maintain fermentation temperature to avoid excessive esters and fusel alcohol production. Age the beer for 3–4 months in a Bourbon barrel. If you’re using other higher surface area to volume sources of oak, you’ll need to decrease the contact time to avoid over-oaking the beer.

Russian Imperial Stout

(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)

OG = 1.111 FG = 1.028 IBU = 52 SRM = 67 ABV = 13%

Ingredients

7 lbs. (3.2 kg) extra light dried malt extract 2 lbs. (0.91 kg) rye liquid malt extract 1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) chocolate malt 1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) chocolate rye malt 1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) honey malt 1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) roasted barley 1 lb. (0.45 kg) crystal malt (120 °L) 17 AAU Columbus hops (60 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 17% alpha acids) Wyeast 1028 (London Ale) or White Labs WLP013 (London Ale) or Lallemand Nottingham yeast

Step by Step

Bring 5 gallons (19 L) of water to ~155 °F (68 °C). Steep all your milled, bagged grains for 15 minutes before removing them. Then add all the extract while stirring and stir until completely dissolved. Top up kettle to 6.5 gallons (25 L) then bring to a boil.

Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at the times indicated.  At 15 minutes left in boil, add either Irish moss or Whirlfloc as fining agents. After the boil, rapidly chill the wort to slightly below fermentation temperature, which is 69 °F (20 °C) for this beer. Pitch yeast.

Maintain fermentation temperature to avoid excessive esters and fusel alcohol production. Age the beer for 3–4 months in a Bourbon barrel. If you’re using other higher surface area to volume sources of oak, you’ll need to decrease the contact time to avoid over-oaking the beer.

Tips for Success: Before adding any hops, you should sanitize the wort via boiling for several minutes. That will give the L. brevis a clean, uncompetitive slate to work on. Feel free to use 88% lactic acid to adjust the pH if needed. Speaking of pH, if you don’t have a pH meter, now may be the time to make the investment. Many are user-friendly and relatively inexpensive and can transform your brew day. In addition, you can use them for other fermented products. The next aspect is the barrel-aged stout. If using staves or cubes, the contact time will need to be decreased. Start tasting every other day after a couple of weeks to prevent too much oaky, woody, tannic character from creeping in. Finally, AtG uses a ratio of one-part RIS to four-parts soured ale. Depending on the character of each of your two beers you may find a different ratio is more palatable.