Any luck getting recipes from brewers?

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dougdecinces

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I was wondering if anyone has asked microbreweries point-blank recipes to their favorite beers and what kind of luck you had asking them.

I just emailed the El Toro brewing company in Morgan Hill, CA. They're a small outfit, but I remember them fondly when I used to live in California. I live in Indiana now and have more or less zero chance of having their beer again unless I happen to be up that way when I visit California again, and I really miss their double IPA. I hope they do good by me and give me my recipe so I can enjoy it 2000 miles away.
 
Yep - I emailed Southern Star here in Texas and 'point blank' asked them for their Blonde Ale recipe - they responded quickly with a partial mash. The recipe looked damn close to my beer-smith version but hell yeah! They sent me a recipe. I wonder if they purposely leave out essential proponents or shift the hop schedule around? Only time will tell - just brewed this recipe up tonight!
 
I've emailed No Label Brewery here in Texas. I am probably less likely to get the recipe for my "fav" beer as they have just technically sold their first commercial keg since they are still getting started up. We will see though.
 
lol. Well, it helps if you work for said local microbrewery. I was a manager at a small brewery a few years back, loved the scottish and stout. found the brew logs on the computer one night while closing. printed em out and took em home with me. took some doing to convert it down to Homebrew batch size though
 
I've only asked once, but I was shot down.

I asked Lagunitas for any info they would give (not even a recipe) about their limited-run "Kill Ugly Radio" beer they did as part of the series celebrating Zappa. I got a big fat "NO!" as a response.

I wasn't terribly surprised, but I was a little disappointed.
 
I have several times. Sometimes the brewery is happy to share and sometimes you get half or cryptic answers. Duck Rabbit was kind enough to share the ingredients list but left it up to me to work out timing and proportions.
 
Stone has all of their Vertical Epic series recipes on their website. I found them and was very surprised at the find. Havent tried them yet though.
 
I emailed Ithaca for some tips about the hop profile of Flower Power (my fav IPA, I have a hard time getting that much floral character), they didn't respond.
 
I contacted a Brewery in Grand Rapids, MI about a Tiramisu recipe and heard nothing back from them. I had another local brewery show me their brew logs and answer any question. I guess it is hit or miss.
 
Southern tier has half the recipe on every bottle.
Ie, unearthly says:
23 Plato
2 row pale malt
Cara-pils malt
Red wheat

Kettle hops: chinook & cascade
Hop back: styrian golding
Dry hop: cascade, centenial & chinook

I suppose that leaves plenty to the imagination, but its a solid start.
 
Had some great tasting beer a Casino/Microbrewery called Ellis Island in Las Vegas off the strip. Called the brewer, left a message, he actually called me back. Told me 2 row, Crystal, and CTZ (Columbus). He was using a commercial yeast, with an odd name. I checked it on the internet, and it was sold by some labratory in Canada, which propagated from a culture it got fom a closed down brewery on the east coast. I asked him about Nottingham, he sald the Micros dont use it as it emits too much Sulfur
 
I've had good luck sitting down with brewers over a few beers and getting useful information. Even just a few decent micros out at the pub work wonders, and if you make friends then it's amazing how opening up some nice rare stuff will predispose people who like beer to share (and many of them have scarce or unreleased stuff in their cellars that they'll open up if you're bringing similarly interesting things to share).

Just by reading websites, release party blogs, reviews, interviews, and the like you can often piece together a lot more info than you'd expect, though.
 
My local brewery has gone so far as to email me a small batch version of one their most popular beers as a Beersmith file....
 
russian river had pliny on their website. it was all percentages but the type of grains used were all there
 
I have emailed two brewpubs and both were happy to provide a recipe. Most places are willing to share their recipes, especially if you include how much you love their beer. There are a few out there who won't share, but I would say that is more of the exception than the rule.

Eric
 
I have found that "most" small breweries will share. I have spent time on the phone and vie e-mail with several and they really want you to brew a good example of their beer. We are the ones that support and continue to buy their beer so they (in my experience) like to help. The big dogs??? Not so much! Stone is GREAT about sharing! Sierra Nevada uhhh No! Lagunitas No way! Mad River, (XX Stout oak aged in a used whiskey barrel) you bet. Lost Coast?? Good Luck! Mt Shasta Brewing Company in Weed Ca. If you catch Vaughn on a good day..LOL Etna Brewing Company in Etna Ca I got their Cappler Stout recipe from the brewer. I had to do the math and convert it but he gave it up, and this is a "World Beer cup best of show beer" Psssst.... Don’t tell Dave I have the recipe though...LOL
So yeah I get em' all the time. You just have to go about it the right way... It helps if you’re at their brewery at the time you’re asking though. Promise to bring some to them and follow through.
Cheers
Jay
 
I just got this in my inbox today:

[email protected] to me, info
show details 8:22 PM (1 hour ago)

Greetings from CA. Sorry, we do not disclose our recipes at this time. Cheers!


That's a little brief for my liking, but oh well. I tried. And if I really wanted to I could make a decent facsimile of it.
 
I emailed Ithaca for some tips about the hop profile of Flower Power (my fav IPA, I have a hard time getting that much floral character), they didn't respond.

They did respond!


Sorry to report, but no Columbus, Cascade or Palisade are harmed in the making of FPIPA. Without giving you the keys to the castle, here is the alphabetical order of varieties currently used in the beer. These are all used in the same quantity, other than Simcoe-which we use twice, so there is 2X as much as any other variety.

Ahtanum
Amarillo
Centennial
Chinook
Citra
Simcoe


So... I'm thinking Chinook bittering, simcoe dry hop, and everything else flavor/aroma?
 
I wanted to know if Microbrasserie Charlevoix uses the same yeast for their fermentation and bottling in their Belgians. I tried emailing and phoning and they never got back to me. Can't fault them for keeping their mouth shut, but a simple "we can't disclose that information" would be nice since I work at the touristic information kiosk and direct pretty much every client there when they ask for a place to eat and drink in an informal setting.
 
We stayed down the cape over christmass va ca i visited cape cod beer when i went back to get some grains i told the guy refilling my growler my wife loved the blond ale what do you use for yeast, he proceeds to tell me the whole recipe i was pumped, until i got to the car and could only remember half the f@@@ing grain bill but i remembered s-05 though!
 
I got an email directly from Vinnie Cilurzo at Russion River. He went into paragraphs of detailed information on how to brew Consecration. Daunting, detailed instructions. He referred to me inside the instructions so I think he hacked the email out (instead of copy/paste). I was impressed.
 
I got an email directly from Vinnie Cilurzo at Russion River. He went into paragraphs of detailed information on how to brew Consecration. Daunting, detailed instructions. He referred to me inside the instructions so I think he hacked the email out (instead of copy/paste). I was impressed.

Very Cool. Dedication to the craft.
 
I have e-mailed two brewers for some tips on a recipe. I made out very well each time. The first was a new micro in Portland, Maine. I tried the beer (which is almost impossible to get your hands on) while on Vacation, and was so impressed. I explained that I loved the beer, but had no way to get my hands on it in New Jersey. I also offered my interpretation of the recipe, and asked for any tips that would get me closer. The brewer responded the next day with the exact percentages of grain, mash temp, hop types, IBU's, and a tip about whirlpooling the last addition. He also told me what yeast they use, and their fermentation profile. I was impressed.

The second time, I e-mailed the brewer at a pub in Albany, NY. I told him that I tried the beer, loved it, and wanted my brown ale to taste more like his. Again, I offered my ideas for the recipe. He told me they do not share recipes, but gave me some very key critiques about how he formulated the recipe, and also suggested that my hops would come out with too much citrus character, and that my yeast would provide more of a hop bite than his yeast. All of his tips were probably more helpful than he knew.

So, in my experience, you will have better luck asking for recipes for beers that you can not simply pick up at the store, and I also think it is a good idea to take a really good shot at the recipe first. It shows that you are putting in some thinking time, and people seem more responsive to commenting on your attempt.

Joe
 
I rarely ask for complete recipes (I don't usually brew clones), but will sometimes ask quite detailed questions about certain aspects of the beers, on both the process and recipe side.
Most brewers have been very helpful. In one case, I was even given a critical ingredient that homebrewers can't easily get for free, and was given the chance to participate, however briefly, in the QA and recipe design process
 
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