Russian River Red
Alaskan Amber

(5 gallons, extract with specialty grains)

Here’s my Alaskan Amber Clone. I call mine Russian River Red. That’s the Russian on the Kenai Pennisula, not the California river. Any good Alaskan should understand the name. The Russian is famous for its runs of Sockeye salmon, which Alaskans call “Reds.” The folks that make the real thing say mine tastes real close. Some folks say it’s better, but I didn’t say that.

William E. (Bill) Murray
Anchorage, Alaska

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. domestic crystal malt,
• 80° Lovibond
• 0.5 lb. carastan malt (34° Lovibond)
• 7.25 lbs. Alexander’s Pale Malt Extract
• 1 oz. Cascade hops (6% alpha acid), for 60 min.
• 10 g. (.35 oz.) Czech Saaz hops (real Czech Saaz — alpha acid content is irrelevant), for 6 min.
• 1 tsp. Irish Moss
• 1/2 tsp. gypsum if your water is onthe soft side
• 1 L. starter of Wyeast 1007
• (German Ale)
• 11/4 cups light DME for priming

Step by Step:

Steep the grains in a grain bag in 2.5 gal. cold water. Heat water to 156° F and hold for 20 min. Remove the grain bag and add the malt extract. Add water to make at least 6 gal. and bring to boil. Add the Cascade hops and Irish Moss and boil 54 min. Add Saaz hops and boil 6 min. more for a total boil of 60 min. Cool to about 65° F and pitch the starter. Aerate well.

Ferment at 56° to 58° F. This is a slow fermentation. Figure on 14 days each for primary and secondary. Prime and bottle. Allow 7 days in the bottle for carbonation and then cold condition for three weeks.

OG = 1.057.
FG = 1.020 (yep, that high)

Scotch Ale
Maclays Scotch Ale

(6.5 gallons, all-grain)

This is a full-bodied, malty brew with light hop undertones and well-rounded bitterness. It is also one of only 11 brews out of more than 300 that I have given 10 out of 10 in my tasting notes. It is one of my favorite beers and has taken about a year to get right. It is now somewhere close, but judge for yourselves.

Dave Pickett
Greater Manchester, England

Ingredients:

• 11.25 lbs. British two-row malt
• 3.5 oz. British crystal malt, 55° Lovibond
• 3.5 oz. wheat malt
• 1 oz. Fuggle hops (4.5% alpha acid), for 90 min.
• Scottish ale yeast such as Wyeast 1728 or Edme dry yeast (I useyeast recovered from King & Barnes bottled beers)
• 2/3-3/4 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Mash malts for 90 min. with a single-infusion mash at 151° F. Sparge and recover 6 gal. Boil wort and add hops. Boil 90 min. Chill, aerate, and pitch yeast.

Ferment until done and keg or bottle as usual. Alcohol by volume is 5.2%.

OG = 1.054
FG = 1.014

Wannabe Widmer
Widmer Hefe-Weizen

(5 gallons, partial mash)

I threw this recipe together while standing in the local brewing supply store and it came out surprisingly true to form. The only real flaw this brew had was the fact that it damn near evaporated once I got it into the keg.

Doug Otto
Carmichael, Calif.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. cara-pils dextrine malt
• 2.5 lbs. Munich malt
• 3 lbs. Alexander’s weizen malt extract
• 1 oz. Cascade whole hops (6.0% alpha acid), for 45 min.
• 1 oz. Tettnanger hop pellets (4.3% alpha acid), at end of boil
• Wyeast 1007 (German Ale)
• 3/4 cup priming sugar

Step by Step:

Use 4.5 qts. water with a pH of 5.3. Use a step mash with a protein rest for 30 min. at 126° F. Raise heat to 155° for amylase rest. Rest for 60 min. Mash out 5 min. at 168° F. Use 5 gal. water to sparge.

Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and add extract. Boil 15 min. and then add Cascade hops. Boil 45 min. more for a total boil of 60 min. At end of boil, steep Tettnanger hops. Cool,
aerate, and pitch yeast.

Ferment seven to nine days in primary, seven to 10 days in secondary, and keg or bottle as usual. Alchohol by volume is 3.4%.

OG = 1.035
FG = 1.009

Downtown Davis Brown Lost Coast Brewing Downtown Brown Ale

(5 gallons, extract and specialty grain)

I came up with a recipe several months ago at a customer’s request for something similar to Downtown Brown Ale by Lost Coast Brewing in Eureka, Calif. I hadn’t tried the beer before he asked for it, but based on his description and some hints at the ingredients from the Lost Coast Web page, I put it together the best I could. Well, the customer really liked it. Mt. Hood makes for an almost noble aroma hop, and the chocolatey, malty body is very appealing.

Sean Mick
Mick’s Homebrew Supplies
Davis, Calif.

Ingredients:

• 3.75 lbs. Alexander’s light malt extract
• 3 lbs. Laaglander light dry malt extract
• 0.5 lb. DeWolf-Cosyn chocolate malt, 350° Lovibond
• 0.25 lb. maltodextrin powder
• 0.5 oz. Chinook whole hops (13.5% alpha acid), for 60 min.
• 2 oz. Mt. Hood whole hops (4.5% alpha acid), 1 oz. for 30 min., 1 oz. for 10 min.
• 1 qt. starter of Wyeast 1272 (American II Ale)
• 3/4 cup corn sugar or 11/4 cup of light DME for priming

Step by Step:

Steep grains for 20 min. in 0.25 gal. of water at 150° F. Strain liquid into main brewpot. Bring water volume to 2.5 gal. with carbonate water (add 1 tsp. chalk if using soft water). Bring to boil and add extract, maltodextrin, and Chinook hops. Boil 30 min. Add 1 oz. Mt. Hood hops and boil another 20 min. Add another 1 oz. Mt. Hood hops and boil 10 min. more. Total boil is 60 minutes. Remove spent hops and cool. Add to 2 gal. preboiled, chilled water in fermenter. Top up to 5 gal. with preboiled, chilled water. Cool to 75° F and add yeast .

Aerate wort. Equip fermenter with blow-off tube or airlock. Primary ferment lasts about a week at 68°
to 72° F. Rack to secondary until clarified. Bottle with corn sugar. Carbonation takes about one week; beer matures in two weeks. Enjoy. Alcohol by volume is 4.7%.

OG = 1.048-1.050
FG = 1.014

Nut Brown Ale Motor City Brewing Works Nut Brown Ale

(Five gallons, extract)

This is the third time I’ve brewed this beer. I think I have it just right. Everyone thinks it is better than Motor City Brewing Works’ version. The first time I brewed it I added five ounces of chocolate malt. Too strong tasting. The second time I added one-half pound Belgian Special B malt. This was very good but not like Motor City’s. Three months later, the beer is even better!

Fred Goeldi
Warren, Mich.

Ingredients:

• Muntons Connoisseurs Range Nut Brown Ale kit (40 pints)
• 3 lbs. Muntons amber dry malt extract
• 3 oz. Willamette hops
• (5.1% alpha acid), 1.5 oz. for
• 45 min., 1.5 oz. for 2 min.
• 4 tsp. gypsum
• 22-oz. starter Wyeast 1098
• (British Ale)
• 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Bring 2 gal. water to boil. Add 1.5 oz. hops, DME, and Nut Brown Ale kit. Boil 45 min. Treat your water with gypsum (if needed). In the last 2 min. of boil, add 1.5 oz. hops. Cool wort and add to fermenter containing 3.5 gal. pre-boiled, chilled water. Pitch starter and aerate wort.

Ferment in primary 16 days in the low-60° F range and one week in the secondary at the same temperature. Prime with corn sugar and bottle. Bottle condition three weeks.

OG = 1.048
FG = 1.014

Snow Goose Wild Goose Brewing Co.’s Snow Goose

(5 gallons, all-grain)

Snow Goose from the Wild Goose Brewing Co. on Maryland’s Eastern Shore is one of my all-time favorites. This annual winter treat always finds me stashing away plenty for summer. However, no more stashing is required as evidenced below! If I owned a brewpub, this would be my house beer.

Steve Lineweaver
Delmar, Md.

Ingredients:

• 10 lbs. pale ale malt
• 1 lb. crystal malt, 60° Lovibond
• 0.25 lb. chocolate malt
• 0.25 lb. roasted barley
• 1 lb. malted wheat
• 1.5 oz. Cascade hops (6% alpha acid), 1 oz. for 60 min., 0.5 oz. for dryhopping
• 1 oz. Fuggle hops (6% alpha acid), 0.5 oz. for 45 min., 0.5 oz. for 30 min.
• 1 oz. Goldings hops (5% alpha acid), to steep
• Wyeast 1318 (London Ale III)

Step by Step

Add grains to 4 gal. of water at 168° F for mash temperature of 154° F. Sparge and collect 6 gal. wort. Boil 15 min., then add 1 oz. Cascade. Boil 15 min. more, then add 0.5 oz. Fuggles. Boil 15 min. more, then add another 0.5 oz. Fuggles. Boil for 30 min. more for a total boil of 75 min. Turn off heat and steep 1 oz. Goldings hops for 10-20 min. Chill, aerate, and pitch yeast.

Ferment in primary at 64°-74° F for four to eight days and rack to secondary for seven to 10 days. Bottle or keg as usual.

Alex’s Wicked Ale
Pete’s Wicked Ale

(5 gallons, extract with grains)

I was intrigued by the prospect of replicating commercial beers from the start. Here is a relatively simple recipe that happens to yield a beer very similar to Pete’s Wicked Ale.

Alex McNair
Corpus Christi, Texas

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. crushed English two-row malt, 64° Lovibond
• 6 lbs. amber extract
• 2 oz. Burton salts
• 2 oz. Northern Brewer hop pellets
• (8-11% alpha acid), 1 oz. for 60 min., 1 oz. for 30 min.
• 1 oz. Kent Goldings hop pellets (5-6% alpha acid), steeped for 5 min.
• Muntons ale yeast

Step by step:

Heat 2 gal. water to 150° F and steep the malt for 15 min. Remove the grain bag and boil the liquid. Turn off the heat and dissolve the Burton salts. Add the extract and bring to a boil once again. After the break (about 5 min. into boil), add 1 oz. Northern Brewer and boil 30 min. Add 1 oz. Northern Brewer and boil 30 min. more. Total boil is about 60 min. Turn off heat and add the Kent Goldings. Steep covered for 5 min. Transfer to primary and top off with preboiled, chilled water to 5 gal. Add yeast at 75° F.

Ferment for seven days (four in primary and three in secondary). Bottle or keg as usual.

OG = 1.045
FG = 1.018

Fred’s Liberty Pale Ale
Anchor Liberty Pale Ale

(5 gallons, extract and grains)

Fred Goeldi
Warren, Mich.

Ingredients:

• 7.5 lbs. Alexander’s Pale Malt Extract
• 0.5 lb. crystal malt, 17° Lovibond
• 4 oz. cara-pils malt
• 5.5 oz. Cascade hops (7% alpha acid), 2 oz. for 60 min., 2 oz. for 5 min., 1.5 oz. for dry hopping
• 1 tsp. Irish Moss
• 22-oz. starter of Wyeast 1056 (American Ale)
• 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Add crystal and cara-pils malt in grain bag to 2.5 gal. water. Bring to a boil. Remove grain bag and add extract and 2 oz. hops. Boil 45 min. Add Irish moss and boil 10 min. more. Add 2 oz. hops and boil 5 min. more for a total boil of 60 min. Cool wort, topping up to 5 gal. with chilled, pre-boiled water. Aerate well, and pitch starter.

Rack to secondary after fermentation is complete and dry hop with 1.5 oz. hops for two weeks. Bottle with corn sugar and condition three weeks. Alcohol by volume is 5.8%.

OG = 1056-1060
FG = 1008-1012