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• Red Hot Blond

  • The second place winner, Steve Hacker, was a blonde 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 batch, so the amounts have been extrapolated.

• Whopper Stout

  • Foam Ranger Kuyler Doyle was successful again with his “Whopper Stout.” Inspired by that year’s “Fred Tasting” pairing of stouts and chocolate, Kuyler “Figured that malted milk and chocolate from Whoppers in a beer would be a good thing.” However, he was confronted with the issue of the cheap, oily chocolate used in the actual candy. “I substituted Carnation’s malted milk for the Whopper flavor,” states Kuyler. “I used a blend of regular and chocolate flavor malted milk.”

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• Wee Hottie

  • Kuyler Doyle’s “Wee Hottie” took second place behind the ZEALOTS entry. Kuyler’s choice was dictated by the style’s primary ingredient. “I thought the malty sweet character of a Scotch ale would pair well with spicy heat from chiles,” states Kuyler. “Since Scotch ales are allowed to have a smoky flavor, I went with that as the link. I added some rauch malt to the blend and used smoky chipotle peppers for the heat and flavor.” Like the ZEALOTS, Kuyler did a spinoff of a 5- gallon (19-L)

• Chili Head Fred

  • 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

• Texas Imperial Brown

  • American Brown ale was once referred to as Texas Brown ale, since the Dixie Cup was the first competition to recognize the style. In honor of that, David Cato brewed his Texas Imperial Brown Ale, which is more or less a brown I.P.A. It’s a richly flavored beer and very hoppy, appropriately enough with Amarillo hops. This beer, by David Cato took 2nd place in the Imperial Beer category.

• Imperial Stormtrooper IPA

  • Foam Ranger Jimmy Paige took first place that year with an Imperial IPA which he claims was more “like an American Barleywine at the time it was judged.” Age when judged at 2000 Dixie Cup was approximately 7 months old. Jimmy claims he named the beer Imperial Stormtrooper because “that was the only thing I could think of with the word ‘Imperial’ in it.”

• 24 Carrot IPA

  • This beer, by Bev Blackwood, was “dry carroted” and the mouthfeel defined as “crunchy.”  In truth, the carrot stick included in the contest bottle picked up a lot of the hop character of the I.P.A. and proved to be quite tasty, as was the beer!

• Panther Pee

  • Homebrewers who attended the 1999 Dixie Cup — The Fred Files — know that “The beer is out there.”  Don Sadja relates how he came up with his stupid idea. “I thought: Why not use a great imperial stout recipe as a base and do something stupid like add raspberry flavoring to it.” Apparently not so stupid, as it produced a very drinkable beer!

• What are your thoughts or recommendations on using hop bags when brewing?
• Advertiser Reader Service
  • Click here for links to advertisers in the December 2003 issue of Brew Your Own!
• Hop Bags: Mr. Wizard
  • The wise one answers your homebrewing questions.
• 8 Big Novelty Beers of the Dixie Cup
  • Every year, the Foam Rangers host the Dixie Cup homebrew competition. And every year, there is a special novelty beer category that challenges brewers to think outside the carboy. Here are some of the winners.

• Last Call
  • The marriage aged well. Unfortunately, the commemorative Wedding Wheat beer didn't.
• Cask Conditioning: Homebrew Science
  • A firkin great introduction to real ales and cask conditioning.
• Counting Yeast Cells: Techniques
  • You've made your starter, but do you really know how many yeast cells you're pitching?
• Malt Liquor: Style Profile
  • We take malt liquor out of the brown bag and put it into the carboy.
• Cask Conditioning: Tips from the Pros
  • The tricks of the trade for making cask conditioned real ale at home.
• Homebrew Nation
  • Although they're BABBLE, they still male a lot of sense. PLUS: the Replicator clones Carolina Brewing's Nut Brown Ale.
• Mail
  • Mulling over mild ale, mill modifications and the dunkel in our weizen.
• Brewing the Big Ones
  • There are big beers and then there are the biggest beers. If you really want to push the limits and brew beers with OGs up to 1.150, we'll show you how to get your fermentation going and keep it going. Plus: high-gravity yeast strains
• Ice Block Eisbock
  • A winter beer like no other, eisbock is made by freezing a Bavarian bock, doppelbock or even wheat-bock and removing the ice. What's left is smooth, malty....and very strong. Some versions get up to 13% ABV. Learn ice brewing techniques --- and the tall tale about eisbock's origin --- here.
• Spice It Up!
  • Sugar and spice, and everything nice...that's what holiday ales are made of. Whether you add them during the boil, at knockout or in the fermenter, spices can add a little extra touch to your holiday -- or everyday -- beers.