Abita Andygator Clone?

Hey,

I'm looking to try for a clone of Abita's Andygator (it's a Helles Doppelbock). I couldn't find anything here or online for a recipe so I was looking for some input from more experienced brewers as I've only been homebrewing for about a year and a half (only 6 months with partial mash). The recipe itself would have to be a partial mash. Unfortunately, I don't have the ability to do an all grain yet.

If no one has a recipe, maybe some general thoughts? I've heard the local grocery store just started carrying it, so I'm planning on getting a sixer tonight to take some notes.

Thanks,
Andrew

The Abita website lists most of the details you need, sounds like a pretty simple recipe (pale malt, perle hops, lager yeast, 25 IBUs, OG is probably around 1.075):

Andygator, a creature of the swamp, is a unique high-gravity brew made with pale malt, German lager yeast, and German Perle hops. Unlike other high-gravity brews, Andygator is fermented to a dry finish with a slightly sweet flavor and subtle fruit aroma. Reaching an alcohol strength of 8% by volume, it is a Helles Dopplebock.

You might find it goes well with fried foods. It pairs well with just about anything made with crawfish. Some like it with a robust sandwich! Andygator also is a good aperitif and easily pairs with gorgonzola and creamy blue cheeses. Because of the high alcohol content, be cautious---sip it for the most enjoyment.

ABV 8.0%
IBU 25
Color 8

I just tasted this beer for the first time over the weekend and really enjoyed it. I have heard though (from several sources) that although it's labeled as 8%abv for sales, that this is only due to local liquor laws and that the actual abv is somewhere between 10-12%. This would push the OG up a bit. I think it probably is closer to the 11% range based on how I felt after drinking compared to my 8% and 10.5% beers.

schristian619 said:

the actual abv is somewhere between 10-12%.

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Yea, I tried Andy last night at bottletree, 3 had me pretty good, so i'd that that is probably right. Amazing beer.

On tap it was 10.5 before Abita started bottling it. When it first came out years ago it was 13.5.

I found Andygator for the first time at Acme Oyster House off of Bourbon St. in New Orleans. Way too easy drink.

Here is a recipe I found. I haven't tried it.

10 lbs. German 2-row Pils info
1 lbs. German Light Munich info
1.5 lbs. German Dark Crystal info
1/2 lbs. Dextrine Malt info
6 lbs. Liquid Light Extract info
1.0 oz. Perle boiled 60 min. info
1/2 oz. Perle boiled 45 min. info
1/2 oz. Perle boiled 15 min. info
Yeast : White Labs WLP802 Czech Budejovice Lager info

Single decoction mash, 125 for 20 minutes, 152 for 60 minutes.

subscribing ...

Has anyone tried this recipe yet? Any other recipes?

i did love this beer. untill i had way to many pints down in Bourbon ST. By the time i got back to my place i had to give it all back. now i cant drink anything from Abita.The tap version i think was a higher ALC%. good luck.

Any luck yet finding Andygator?

Considering this is brewed with a lager yeast, what temp is going to be required? I have only done ales, but I have been asked by a non-brewer to do this for a friend's bday.

Has anyone brewed this recipe?

Subscribed

BYO published the recipe in the October 2012 issue.

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Abita Brewing Co.
AndyGator clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.078 FG = 1.017
IBU = 25 SRM = 8 ABV = 8%

Ingredients
6.6 lbs. (3 kg) Briess Pilsner unhopped liquid malt extract
2.0 lbs. (0.9 kg) dried malt extract
3.0 lb. (1.36 kg) Pilsner malt
6.2 AAU Perle hop pellets (60 min.) (0.75 oz./21.3 g of 8.25 % alpha acids)
2.1 AAU Perle hop pellets (30 min.) (0.25 oz./7.1 g of 8.25 % alpha acids)
4.1 AAU Perle hop pellets (5 min.) (0.5 oz./14.2 g of 8.25 % alpha acids)
½ Tsp. yeast nutrient (last 15 min.)
½ Tsp. Irish moss (last 30 min.)
White Labs WLP 830 (German Lager) or Wyeast 2308 (Munich Lager) yeast
0.75 cup (150g) of corn sugar for priming (if bottling)

Step by Step
Steep the crushed grain in 2 gallons (7.6 L) of water at 154 ºF (67.8 ºC) for 30 minutes. Remove grains from the wort and rinse with 2 quarts (1.8 L) of hot water. Add the liquid and dried malt extracts and boil for 60 minutes. While boiling, add the hops, Irish moss and yeast nutrient as per the schedule. Now add the wort to 2 gallons (7.6 L) of cold water in the sanitized fermenter and top off with cold water up to 5 gallons (19 L).

Cool the wort to 75 ºF (24 ºC). Pitch your yeast and aerate the wort heavily. Allow the beer to cool over the next few hours to 65 ºF (19 ºC). When evidence of fermentation is apparent drop the temperature to 52 ºF (11 ºC). Hold at that temperature until fermentation is complete (approx. 10 days). Transfer to a carboy, avoiding any splashing to prevent aerating the beer. Condition for 2 weeks at 42 ºF (5º C) and then bottle or keg. Allow to carbonate and age for four weeks and enjoy your Andygator Doppelbock clone.

Note: For tips on cooling your fermentation refer to the July/August 2006 issue of Brew Your Own. For more about brewing doppelbock, turn to page 19 of this issue.

All-grain option:
This is a single step infusion mash using an additional 13 lbs. (5.9 kg) Pilsner malt to replace the liquid and dried malt extracts. Mix the crushed grains with 5.2 gallons (19.7 L) of 174 °F (0 °C) water to stabilize at 154 ºF (67.8 ºC) for 60 minutes. Sparge slowly with 175 ºF (79 ºC) water. Collect approximately 6 gallons (23 L) of wort runoff to boil for 60 minutes. Reduce the 60-minute hop addition to 0.6 oz. (17 g) of Perle hop pellets (5.0 AAU) to allow for the higher utilization factor of a full wort boil. The remainder of this recipe and procedures are the same as the extract with grains recipe.

There should be a good recipe for it; I believe it's actually a homebrewer's recipe (dude named Andy, go figure). So, you could always look up the competition where Andy won the pro/am. There's a sunday session from a while back with Abita, and they talked about how they brewed it once, really liked it, and put it in their rotation.

What is Andy's last name? >> Andy Thomas.

FarmerTed said:

There should be a good recipe for it; I believe it's actually a homebrewer's recipe (dude named Andy, go figure). So, you could always look up the competition where Andy won the pro/am. There's a sunday session from a while back with Abita, and they talked about how they brewed it once, really liked it, and put it in their rotation.

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It was a homebrewer recipe, but I don't think it won a pro-am, it won a contest that abita has for homebrewers.

A guy in my club won their contest last year with his oyster stout. They're brewing it again this year, so I guess it was successful.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/i-need-help-critique-abita-andygator-clone-302434/#post3833927

Andygator said:

Dude, I am surprised to see all the blog traffic on this recipe, I just signed up to this blog site. Here is the original recipe as best I can remember it, I have lost my notes from 1988 when it was originally made. It competed through to Best of Show in the Crescent City Homebrewers competition in New Orleans back in the day. Then because of a kind offer from the then-owners of Abita, it went to Abita Springs and we brewed her up again. It was supposed to be a one time brew up, the rest is history.

For an original gravity of 1.080, we used 95 percent Ireks Pilsener malt and 3% Carapils and 2% Munich. This is a triple decoction beer as in keeping with German tradition, so that is what we did. The hopping would have been Hallertau pellets and Saaz pellets, for an IBU of about 25. The hopping would have been Hallertau dependant, probably 3:1 Hallertau:Saaz. Other German noble hops will do.

The yeast is Wyeast 2206. It was a great lager yeast back in the day and I think still is a great yeast, but my last conversations with Dave Logsdon at Wyeast suggested that over the years, 2206 has changed slightly and become less able to throw protein off of itself as good as it used to. Make a nice starter. I am sure we ran the yeast at somewhere near 55F, no warmer.

The key to the original Andygator, and the thing you have to factor into the grain bill, is the runoff cut off. We stopped the runoff at 6 Plato so as not to pull anything but sweet wort and leave the tannin behind. This was the idea of my brewing partner, Guy Hagner, who still rocks.

A historical note. The original name of the beer was not Andygator, it was Alligator. We were struggling with a name for a Louisiana dopplebock, and my wife Sally said "hey, if it needs to end in =ator, call it Alligator." Brilliant. While fermenting, strange things happened. Rush Cumming and Jim Patton called up and said "Dude, it mutated". And I said what? because I thought something was wrong with the beer. They said "no man, the beer is fine, the name mutated. We think it should be Andygator. " And so that is how it got done back in the day.

Ciao, let me know how you get on. Andy Thomas

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I didn't realize that was him posting. He moved from the U.S. to Australia. Sadly, only two posts ... both are in the same thread.

ultravista said:

Wait a minute, Andygator's profile states "Perth, Western Australia"? Huh?

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Maybe dude moved.

Reviving this thread because I plan on brewing this on Monday. Anyone had any success with this? I'm wondering how important the triple decoction is as I've never done one and don't really have time to kill (but will make time if it is worth it), and also wondering what the final saccrification temp should be. Is that temp less important if you decoct? Also, want this for July 4th and have trouble maintaining laggering temps in the summer so ill probably use wyeast 1007 at about 60. Any suggestions are appreciated.


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Andy posted here a while ago. Maybe he'll add to this tread.

This is easily Abita's best beer in my opinion. Really good stuff.. and a great value now that they bottle it and sell it in packs!

I found an email from Marc, the alpha king. I asked a few questions, include the use of Pacman.

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I would use American Pilsner malt and if you want the closest you can get to the real Andygator I would use Briess. That is what they use at Abita. American Pilsner malt will be a little lower in enzyme activity than the European varieties.

Your biggest challenge will be in duplicating the water profile – that is what I meant by “fairly close”. If you use distilled water you would need to add a small amount of salts, but not much. I don’t know what your water is like but I would bet that it is harder than their artesian spring water.

On the subject of yeast. I would definitely use a lager yeast as this beer using nothing but Pilsner malt will be very susceptible to highlighting any esters. Pacman yeast is fairly neutral but will still produce more esters than a classic lager yeast. If you try to reduce the ester production with low temp. fermentation you will run the risk of finishing well above 1.017 – this is somewhat sweet as it is. I would actually run the ferment temp. of any lager yeast on the high side too. It wasn’t in the article but I see in my notes that they ferment at 58.

Get a good grind on the malt and mash on the low side – 152 - 154.

Well I'm brewing this right now. In the interest of time I went with a sort of single decoction where I went straight to 150 (decided to mash pretty low) for 30 min before I pulled about 45% of the mash (fairly thick) and boiled that for about 10 minutes before adding it back. ended up only taking an hour total and I hit my target mash out of 170 spot on. OG was a touch low at 1.077 but I decided not to keep sparging based on Andy's comment (only achieved 55% efficiency, but it'll work). Decided on all Perle (7.8% aau) based on abita's website saying that's all they use (higher alpas means lower hop cost?). going to do .75 at 45, .25 at 30, and .5 at 5 which I just realized is almost exactly what BYO suggested. Going to use Wyeast 1007 because that's what I've got and I can't lager in time for the 4th. Made a 1.75L starter of that yesterday..

I'll report back on how it turns out. drinkin an andygator right now and it's fantastic. Perfect option for a 4th of July ****-show. I think I'll call mine Dopplegätor. Get it? Andygator's Dopplegänger? and it's a dopllebock? I crack myself up..

Well just to follow up - this came out OK. It served its purpose on the 4th, but I probably won't brew it again without laggering. The flavor was right on but it wasn't quite as crisp and refreshing as the real thing which is why I wanted to brew this as a summer beer in the first place. If I brew it again (and I'm sure I will) I won't change a thing with the recipe or brew process (single decoction), but ill definitely be laggering it.


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By laggering, do you mean aging at temperature or using a lager yeast?

Both. Just aging at temp with the 1007 may help a bit (though it has been at serving temp for a month now with little change) but I really think a lagger yeast is required.


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