Caribou slobber

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new2brew1221

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I was looking thru the Northern Brewer catalog and came across a brown ale. Has anyone made it? Looking at the reviews on N.B. website, someone said they left the hops in during ferment. My question is, since I am new to homebrewing, when you are moving from the boil to the ferment container, are you supposed to strain the wort? The first batch I brewed, I just gently poured from the boil pot to the ferment bucket. I think I would like to make the Caribou Slobber, but I want it to be as good as possible. Thank you for all the advice and help here on the forum.
 
There's 3 hop additions at 1oz each. That's a lot of hops for an extract so you'll have some additional trub if you don't use a hop filter bag during the boil or strain the wort when you transfer it into your primary fermenter. You want to avoid dumping everything from the kettle into your primary. If you chill the wort quickly before you transfer, a lot of the 'solids' will settle and make it little easier to transfer without getting all of the hop sediment into the primary.

Some people use hop filter bags or strain the wort. Some people don't.
One of those wonderful decisions that makes homebrews unique.

You could make two batches of it. Strain/filter one batch and not the other and see which one you like best.

Also you could pick up some Moose Drool and see how close you get to it.
 
I havent brewed Caribou Slobber yet but I can tell you that when transferring from the boil to the primary fermenter you should strain the wort. If you want to dry hop you can add the hops in when you transfer to the secondary fermenter. To strain the wort I pour it through a large mesh bag into the fermenter and it does a great job of straining out most of the hops from the boil. Whatever gets in will settle to the bottom during fermentation.
 
I made it a few months ago and it is almost gone. I thought it was great and had a lot of flavor. I use a wort chiller and cool it in about 15-20 minutes but don't use a hop strainer. I left it in primary 19 days and bottled. If you like brown ale, you will like it
 
I was looking thru the Northern Brewer catalog and came across a brown ale. Has anyone made it? Looking at the reviews on N.B. website, someone said they left the hops in during ferment. My question is, since I am new to homebrewing, when you are moving from the boil to the ferment container, are you supposed to strain the wort? The first batch I brewed, I just gently poured from the boil pot to the ferment bucket. I think I would like to make the Caribou Slobber, but I want it to be as good as possible. Thank you for all the advice and help here on the forum.

I just brewed a batch of Caribou Slobber last Saturday, so I have a few weeks until I can tell you how it comes out. It's hard to wait.

I didn't strain the hops out. After chilling the wort, most of the solids fell to the bottom of the boiling kettle. I was just really careful when pouring in to the fermenter. Some gunk got transferred, but it was pretty clean. That junk will make a nice trub while fermenting and will be sitting in a nice big pile when I rack to the bottling bucket, so I expect a clean brew.

If you do want to strain, there's no reason you can't put a fine-mesh strainer under the pour - probably need two people to be safe.

Other tips, if using liquid yeast, make a starter. If using dry, you won't need one.

It's a super easy recipe, the instructions are simple and well detailed. Good luck!
 
I haven't made the Caribou Slobber but I did the NB Nut Brown Ale. I have done a few extracts and others that did not have too many hops. I strained some and others I just poured until the pour was getting thick and left that in the pot. So that I don't lose too much volume I now bag all my hop additions.

You can dump everything into your fermenter. By the time you transfer to your bottling bucket it will be pretty tightly packed at the bottom. You can then siphon being careful not to suck up too much trub. Unless you account for the loss to the trub you might lose a couple of bottles worth.
 
Thanks for the information. My first batch was a wheat kit, and I poured everything into the fermenter, and although it turned out a good first brew, you can definately taste the hops. Next time I think I will strain it first, and try the Caribou Slobber. The wait will be the hardest part
 
I'm not sure how much it impacts flavor, but straining as you transfer the wort to your fermenter absolutely helps you get clearer, cleaner looking beer.

Check out this thread for some straining options: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/strainers-5-gallon-buckets-128094/

I use the EZ Strainers from US Plastics discussed by the first poster in that thread -- I use two together, a 600 micron on top of a 400 micron (that way the coarser stuff stays in the 600 and doesn't clog up the finer 400, which you would otherwise get clogged up and require more frequent emptying during your straining process). I'm sure you'd be fine using just the 600 micron if you wanted to save a few bucks.

I have been very happy with the results. These strainers nest snuggly into the top of your fermenter bucket so you don't need to worry about them slipping out of place while you're trying to balance your full, 40+ pound brew pot and pour into the fermenter. There are plenty of other workable methods but this is easy, not terribly expensive (I paid $17 for two strainers including shipping), and you lose very little beer while straining (I switched to this from the "careful pour" approach because I was frustrated leaving several beers worth of wort behind in my boil pot while still sending more sediment than I wanted through to the fermenter).
 
I have the AG kit coming in soon but likely won't do this for a few weeks. But, it doesn't call for dry hopping and with only 3 ounces of hops, I don't expect you'd get too much leftover. You can strain it from the kettle to the fermenter if you want. Personally, I don't worry about clear or cloudy beer as long as they taste good. Unless you have lots of hops, you should still get a clear brew assuming you let it ferment 3 weeks or so. You can always cold crash if you are able or use gelatin to help a bit.
I've never even had the real thing so I don't know what to expect and don't use kits too much so I'm crossing my fingers.
 
I'm drinking a Caribou Slobber right now that I brewed on May 12. I did not strain the hops and break material when I transferred from my boil kettle to my fermenter. Three weeks in the fermenter, then three weeks in the bottle, then 48 hours in fridge before first tasting. The Wyeast option (1332, Northwest Ale) is highly flocculant, and I was surprised how clear it was out of the bottle.
 
I want to do this kit but I'm confused about what yeast to use..

Seems I've seen it mentioned several times to us US-05 trying to keep it a bit drier
 
I brewed this twice. Kegged one batch and bottled the other. Both came out fine. I am not a big fan of brown ales but this one sort of grows on you. I let a few friends try it and some loved it and some are like me, good but not my first choice. Strictly a preference in taste. I went by the directions and had no problems but I did use the dry yeast. This beer ages nicely like they say in the reviews on NB so don't get impatient. Let it sit longer then usual.
 
Did your Caribou Slobber come out ok without doing the secondary fermentation? This is only my 3rd brew (all extract kits), and based on everything I've read on HBT about the secondary debate, I'm planning to skip it. But this kit does call for dry hopping, so I'm wondering in that case if skipping the secondary is a mistake.
 
I never secondary unless I add something or age for a long time. I made caribou slobber with no secondary and it was fantastic. Everyone liked it.
 
I'm still new myself, but I would think if you are going to dry hop you would want to do it in the secondary.
 
CobblesBrew said:
Did your Caribou Slobber come out ok without doing the secondary fermentation? This is only my 3rd brew (all extract kits), and based on everything I've read on HBT about the secondary debate, I'm planning to skip it. But this kit does call for dry hopping, so I'm wondering in that case if skipping the secondary is a mistake.

I don't do secondary, just leave it in primary for several weeks, then transferred to keg for another week before putting in keezer. After about 4 weeks it is a tasty brew. Good luck
 
Greetings all, (hope this is the right thread for this)

I'm planning on doing this kit for my first brew and want to do late extract addition to avoid caramelizing too much sugar. Here's my boil plan, what should I change? With the added hop utilization of late extract addition, how much do I need to adjust the amount of hops I use? I would be bummed if this came out too bitter and overwhelmed the intended coffee and chocolate flavors.

1. Steep specialty grains(0.625 lb) in 1.5 gallons of water.
2. Add 1 gallon of water(bringing boil volume to 2.5gal), 1 lb. DME, 2 lb. LME and bring to boil.
3. Add 0.5 oz. US Goldings hops(60 min).
4. Add 0.75 oz. Liberty hops(30 min).
5. Add remaining 4 lb. LME at 15 minute mark.
6. Add 1 oz. Willamette hops(10 min).

I plugged this in the BrewR app on my phone and came out with 20.1 IBUs. But since this is my first brew I dont know how reliable that can be. Any comments from you all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
I had always poured from my boil kettle to the carboy through a funnel with built in strainer. This removed quite a bit of hop debris. I've begun using a mesh bag inside the same funnel to pour through now. Some people just dump everything in. The only difference is losing a bottle or two of beer which remains in the trub layer if there are lot of hops in the beer.

Skip the secondary. It is not needed to produce a good Slobber.

Keep the wort temperature at or below 66° during active fermentation. I prefer WY1332 for the yeast.

From the primary to the bottling bucket I start the siphon high and gradually lower it to avoid the trub.

Caribou Slobber is a very dark American brown ale. You don't need to take many special measures to improve clarity. Light doesn't pass through a good glassful.

You could buy some Moose Drool to see what it tastes like. Caribou Slobber has a heavier body and much more flavor character than Moose Drool.

I just took advantage of NBs' latest offer. A free Caribou Slobber kit with a purchase of $125 or more, and the on going flat rate shipping until Christmas.
 
Greetings all, (hope this is the right thread for this)

I'm planning on doing this kit for my first brew and want to do late extract addition to avoid caramelizing too much sugar. Here's my boil plan, what should I change? With the added hop utilization of late extract addition, how much do I need to adjust the amount of hops I use? I would be bummed if this came out too bitter and overwhelmed the intended coffee and chocolate flavors.

1. Steep specialty grains(0.625 lb) in 1.5 gallons of water.
2. Add 1 gallon of water(bringing boil volume to 2.5gal), 1 lb. DME, 2 lb. LME and bring to boil.
3. Add 0.5 oz. US Goldings hops(60 min).
4. Add 0.75 oz. Liberty hops(30 min).
5. Add remaining 4 lb. LME at 15 minute mark.
6. Add 1 oz. Willamette hops(10 min).

I plugged this in the BrewR app on my phone and came out with 20.1 IBUs. But since this is my first brew I dont know how reliable that can be. Any comments from you all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

You will not carmelize the sugars unless you let the extract sit on the bottom of the kettle to burn. Extract sugars will darken when they are heated, but not carmelize.

Late extract addition will not change hop utilization in any way that you will notice. Look for the recent thread on this and in Northern Brewers forum.

You will enjoy the body and character of this beer. One of my favorites.
Good luck.
 
One of the comments on this beer (number 4) mentioned that this beer was a bit thin. That could easily be from not giving it time to mature. Instead of the typical 3 weeks from bottling to sampling, try 5 weeks. I think you will get better beer from doing that.
 
One of the comments on this beer (number 4) mentioned that this beer was a bit thin. That could easily be from not giving it time to mature. Instead of the typical 3 weeks from bottling to sampling, try 5 weeks. I think you will get better beer from doing that.

I thought this beer was too thick and syrupy. I hit the OG/fg right on the money.
 
I realize this thread is over a year old, but I am drinking a Caribou Slobber as I write this, as I am brewing a chocolate stout. The Caribou is a nice winter beer. I don't know how, but my OG hit 1.070. It ended up being a 7% beer. It turned out great! This one is a do over for me as well as the NB cream ale.
 
I realize this thread is over a year old, but I am drinking a Caribou Slobber as I write this, as I am brewing a chocolate stout. The Caribou is a nice winter beer. I don't know how, but my OG hit 1.070. It ended up being a 7% beer. It turned out great! This one is a do over for me as well as the NB cream ale.

If your Slobber was the extract kit, the high OG could be from the wort not being thoroughly mixed. You SG sample was from a stratified layer of higher sugar content. The extract kits are usually right on for the recipe OG.

I enjoy Slobber year round.
 
If your Slobber was the extract kit, the high OG could be from the wort not being thoroughly mixed. You SG sample was from a stratified layer of higher sugar content. The extract kits are usually right on for the recipe OG.



I enjoy Slobber year round.


I think you may be right, however the beer turned out great. I only have a few bottles left.
 
My 2cents: Caribou Slobber was the first batch i cooked from the NB deluxe starter kit. I'm not a beer snob, but i do enjoy a vast variety, unlike most of my friends who drink mostly generic domestics, but everyone of them, family & friends all liked the caribou slobber. I'm almost annoyed i gave so much of it out. IMO, it is a really good beer, taste and texture and pretty easy to make with the extract kit. I would highly recommend this kit for starters (like me).
 
On my second round of Carribou Slobber. Been in the primary for four weeks now. One of my favorites any time of year.
 
Mine was in the primary for two weeks and now in the secondary for 1.5 weeks. The samples I've taken tasted great. It's clearing up nicely in the secondary. Hoping to bottle this weekend!

Has anyone made notable mods to this recipe?

How much priming sugar are you guys using? The recipe says to use 5oz which seems like a lot.

What FG are you getting? I got to 1.020 which I was a little disappointed with. I used Danstar Windsor yeast which from what I can tell does not have very good attenuation.
 
Mine was in the primary for two weeks and now in the secondary for 1.5 weeks. The samples I've taken tasted great. It's clearing up nicely in the secondary. Hoping to bottle this weekend!

Has anyone made notable mods to this recipe?

How much priming sugar are you guys using? The recipe says to use 5oz which seems like a lot.

What FG are you getting? I got to 1.020 which I was a little disappointed with. I used Danstar Windsor yeast which from what I can tell does not have very good attenuation.

I've always used WY1332. Usually finishes at 1.012 to 1.013. Just bottled five gallons. Finished at 1.011. Bottle conditioning may improve it, but flat I preferred the batches which finished one or two points higher.

My primary time is three to four weeks. Volume to the bottle was 4.5 gallons. About 16 ounces waste and residual in bottling bucket. Used 4.0 ounces corn sugar for priming.
 
I have only Kegged mine. I use WY1332 too and make a small starter. Regarding changeing it up a bit I like hoppy beers and was thinking about a small addition for dry hopping but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Was thinking about an oz of centennial. Would be interested in what others have done as well.
 
Added an ounce of centennial pellets for last seven days of secondary. It's been in the keg for about ten days and already tastes awesome. Will dry hop anytime I use this kit again
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I'm from Montana originally and went to college in Missoula, home of Big Sky Brewing. Moose Drool was the first craft brew I ever drank and it's still one of my favorites. Might have to give Caribou Slobber a try and see how it compares.


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ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392264134.672251.jpg
I just made a SNPA clone and it had 4 hop additions. I attempted to strain it as i transferred it into my carboy but the strainer just wouldn't allow the wort to pour fast enough so i just poured it in unstrained. Im not to worried though:)


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I realize this thread is over a year old, but I am drinking a Caribou Slobber as I write this, as I am brewing a chocolate stout. The Caribou is a nice winter beer. I don't know how, but my OG hit 1.070. It ended up being a 7% beer. It turned out great! This one is a do over for me as well as the NB cream ale.

Cream ale is another great one from NB!


Sent from my iPod touch using Home Brew
 
This was my first home brew as well. I used a small starter of the WY1332, no straining, left in primary for 7 weeks and kegged. Once I hit the right carbonation (4.5 gal.) level it was great! This may be my "go to" all year long! Full, darl, and full of taste. I did a side by side with Moose drool and honestly prefer my home brew!
Hoping yours came out as well. It only lasted two weeks in the keg if that tells you anything!
Since then I've had the pleasure of brewing and consuming Brickwarmer and the Cream ale. I also love the Brickwarmer but the Cream ale could use some more flavor of somesort..maybe fruit or more hops. :mug:
 
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