Can You Brew It recipe for Oskar Blue's Gordon

two_hearted said:

So I poured Oscar Blues beer last weekend with OB staff. I talked their ear off about all of their beers and learned that this beer no longer has columbus in it. he claimed it was all amarillo. Not sure if that includes the bittering addition. The guy was a reliable source and is fairly high up in the company. He was very knowledgeable about all of their beers and what hops go in it. He also is in charge of their hop farm.

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Hmm... Columbus is very unique and this beer uses a lot of it. Every batch I've brewed of this turned out to be extremely close to the original Gordan/G'Knight beer. Gonna keep using Columbus, but might try a small batch with Amarillo in place.

Amarillo imparts a much different character when used as a late addition, but still would be appropriate for a beer like this.

I would never change the Amarillo dry hops though. Very much one of the reasons this beer is so good.

I agree with the above post, this was one of the best beers I brewed this year and it used a bunch of Columbus and was very close. Use the hops you have though, I'm sure if you follow the base grist and change to appropriate hops the recipe will still be great.

I argued with the guy a little bit because I've made this clone recipe before. He said "Well I guess the old version of Gordon used some columbus" I remember thinking it was werid because there is a LOT of columbus in there.

Just bought 3 lbs of Columbus specifically for this brew (Future brews). Couldn't be happier with how the past 3 batches have turned out.

I brewed this in September.. it took a good two months before it was ready to drink because it was fairly hot when it was fresh.. however it turned out really well. Hell of a beer and pretty damn close to the original.

i've been reading a few threads and started putting this together in BS. my abv is low and i couldn't find some grains so i moved what i thought might be correct around. any suggestions? Type: Extract Date: 5/20/2013
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal Brewer: Ryan Olsen
Boil Size: 5.23 gal Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 80 min Equipment: Ryan Equipment
End of Boil Volume 3.90 gal Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal Est Mash Efficiency 0.0 %
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage Taste Rating(out of 50): 30.0
Taste Notes:
Ingredients


Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
5.50 gal Chicago, IL Water 1 -
14.4 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 2 7.6 %
11.2 oz Caramel Malt - 35L 6-Row (Briess) (35.0 SRM) Grain 3 5.9 %
11.2 oz Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 4 5.9 %
0.1 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 5 0.0 %
9 lbs 8.3 oz Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 6 80.5 %
0.75 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] - Boil 80.0 min Hop 7 17.2 IBUs
4.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 8 51.8 IBUs
1.0 pkg American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) [124.21 ml] Yeast 9 -
2.15 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 10 0.0 IBUs

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.064 SG Measured Original Gravity: 1.046 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.015 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.4 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.7 %
Bitterness: 68.9 IBUs Calories: 151.6 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 13.2 SRM

I made this about a month ago and just got done with the DH. I think it's close, but I don't get much of the sticky sweetness that the true OB beer does. Anyone else get this?

TheHairyHop said:

I made this about a month ago and just got done with the DH. I think it's close, but I don't get much of the sticky sweetness that the true OB beer does. Anyone else get this?

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I love this beer and want to brew it badly. Did you follow original recipe at beginning of thread or modify? How has it come along with age? I'm asking you because you've brewed it recently. I'm taking in all advice on this. G'knight probably my favorite. Thanks in advance.

I brewed using the first page recipe. It was sitting in a carboy or a keg for about 30 days before serving. Crushed it in a night with a bunch of buddies. I think it needs different yeast to attenuate a little less.

TheHairyHop said:

I brewed using the first page recipe. It was sitting in a carboy or a keg for about 30 days before serving. Crushed it in a night with a bunch of buddies. I think it needs different yeast to attenuate a little less.

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So would you brew it again? I'm guessing you didn't get the " thickness " of the original?

I would brew it again, absolutely. My buddies may have been a bit tipsy, but they wouldn't shut up about how good it was . I'm going to use a different yeast next time, though. I've heard rumors that OB does do odd things with their yeast.

I'm brewing the original recipe this weekend with a little less chocolate malt to get color right. Anyone have advice? I'm doing a partial. Been wanting to do this one for a while. Probably my favorite beer.

I just brewed this today with Apollo hops for bittering and I bumped them up to 33 IBUs to hopefully get a firmer bitterness. Everything went well, hit 1.078 for my OG. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

let us know how it goes

Mine is going on three weeks in the bottles now. I tried one at two weeks and it seemed to taste like a basic ipa to me. What I mean by that is I didn't get that thick sweet aftertaste I was really wanting. Going to try another this weekend and see how they taste.

rynoryan said:

Mine is going on three weeks in the bottles now. I tried one at two weeks and it seemed to taste like a basic ipa to me. What I mean by that is I didn't get that thick sweet aftertaste I was really wanting. Going to try another this weekend and see how they taste.

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I had the exact same issue. I don't know what the deal is. I think I'm going to add more caramel malt next time or add lactose

Yeah I think I see where your going with the lactose. I listened to the interview of their head brewer. I think he left something out for sure. It's def lacking the thickness and maltiness of the original.

Unfortunately I've never used lactose and have no feeling for how much will give the desired effect

TheHairyHop said:

Unfortunately I've never used lactose and have no feeling for how much will give the desired effect

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I'm an intermediate brewer at best but I agree there is something this recipe needs to sweeten and thicken it up. What would oatmeal do to it? From what little I understand it would give it more body, but that would still leave the sweet side of the beer.

Oatmeal isn't the ticket I don't think. It just makes a beer feel heavy and smooth. With all the sticky sweetness, g'knight is still not heavy

TheHairyHop said:

Oatmeal isn't the ticket I don't think. It just makes a beer feel heavy and smooth. With all the sticky sweetness, g'knight is still not heavy

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Well if you figure it out please inform us. I'll continue with my research into it. Thanks for help.

My version of this turned out great. Will definitely brew it again sometime!

rynoryan said:

Well if you figure it out please inform us. I'll continue with my research into it. Thanks for help.

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What about a bit of White Wheat?? Maybe that would add that mothfeel you are looking for.

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Just found this recipe today.
Made me think about doing a parti-gyle.
Imperial red - English brown.

I'm not really into doing the calculations but I have a 15 gallon cooler for a mash tun. I'll bump up the malt bill by 1.5 and mash in 10 gallons of water.
Use the first runoff for the Gordons. Then cap with some chocolate & oats and batch sparge with 6 or 7 gallons to make a English brown ale with Fuggles, Goldings and Windsor.

Depends on how the numbers work out but I might have to mix some of the first and second runnings to hit my targets.

Sounds like a plan?

I brewed this a couple of months back - it's close, and good, but not quite there. Side by side the color was slightly darker which they noted as well.

The main issue as noted previously is that it's missing a certain creamy mouthfeel to it. Also, the head on the real thing has a slightly more of an orange tint to it.

Overall, it's a great beer though! Just not quite G'Knight\Gordon

krazydave said:

I brewed this a couple of months back - it's close, and good, but not quite there. Side by side the color was slightly darker which they noted as well.

The main issue as noted previously is that it's missing a certain creamy mouthfeel to it. Also, the head on the real thing has a slightly more of an orange tint to it.

Overall, it's a great beer though! Just not quite G'Knight\Gordon

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which is which is your comments? I can't tell if you're referencing to clone or the real thing

TheHairyHop said:

which is which is your comments? I can't tell if you're referencing to clone or the real thing

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The clone was darker and had less mouthfeel when compared side-by-side.