Moose Drool by Big Sky Brewery

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eschatz

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It's been a couple of years since I've had this beer. I remember it being damn good but this is incredible. I'm not sure what is going on with this brown but it's way better than mine! :D
Something about it makes it taste like 5.1% version of the Arrogant Bastard. I'm not sure why. (is there chinook in this?) Anyone else get the pleasure of having this brew? I bet someone out there has a recipe for me!

:mug: :drunk:
 
I like Moose Drool. I buy a sixer every once in a while.
It's funny when one of my BMC buddies sees it in the fridge.....hey always want to try it.
 
Although its not a staple beer of mine, I will pick up a sixer of Moose Drool or Scape Goat from Big Sky every once in a while, Id say they make a pretty darn good brew.
 
here's a recipe - I think I got it from Brew365, but can't remember :drunk:
was planning to make it this winter:

All Grain Recipe - Big Sky Moose Drool ::: 1.058/1.019 (5.5 Gal)

Grain Bill
9 lbs. - 2 Row Pale Malt
1 lb. - Crystal Malt (60L)
1/2 lb. - Crystal Malt (20L)
1/2 lb. - CaraPils Malt
1/2 lb. - Flaked Oats
1/3 lb. - Chocolate Malt
1/8 lb. - Black Patent Malt

Hop Schedule (19 IBU)
1 oz - East Kent Goldings (First Wort Hop)
1 oz - Liberty (30 min.)
1 oz - Willamette (5 min.)
.75 oz - Liberty (0 min. - flameout)

Yeast
White Labs English Ale Yeast (WLP002) - 1800 ML Starter

Mash/Sparge/Boil
Mash at 154° 60 min.
Sparge as usual

Boil for 60 minutesbr> Cool and ferment at 66° to 68°
 
thanks for the recipe. I'll have to check it out. :mug:

someone tell me what a "first wort hop" is. Just a bittering, no? Are you talking about mash hopping?
 
One of my favorite beers I must say. When we drove from SF to NJ last year, I made Big Sky one of my required stops. I had originally found it by way of a concert in their backyard. Ahhh, such a great time. SWMBO thought I was nuts when we were going out of the way for a brewery, but once she got her lips on some moose drool, she saw the light. Then she had Summer Honey and wanted to stay there.
 
This is one of the first beers I ever had. I think I was about 19 and my father ordered one while we were in Big Sky on a fly fishing trip. I still love it. For me its one of those beers that brings me back to an exact place and time in my life...
 
I have been brewing a recipe very close to the one posted by AZ IPA for about 6 years now. Pretty close to Moose Drool, but not an exact clone. A very good beer on it's own. I have also substitued Fuggles and Centennial on occasion when hop selection was low.
 
I have the fortune to live in Big Sky Country and there is ALWAYS a moose drool in the fridge (four of em right now, as a matter of fact). Gotta be my all time favorite commercial beer.

So we have a few who have tried the clone, any one else? I would love to be able to get close to the tast of this brown.
 
The first time I had this beer I was in the Black Hills and I was mighty impressed. I want some right now.
 
I think I must have been smacked over the head and robbed, for when I woke up this morning there was no longer any Moose Drool in my Fridge and I had a headache.... HHHMMMMMMMM ;)
 
Finally got my hands on some of this stuff, and it's pretty dang good. Looks like their distribution network has finally made it to my local bottle shop. I'll be buying more. Is there Pale Ale any good? I'll probably buy some this weekend and answer that question myself....
 
Finally got my hands on some of this stuff, and it's pretty dang good. Looks like their distribution network has finally made it to my local bottle shop. I'll be buying more. Is there Pale Ale any good? I'll probably buy some this weekend and answer that question myself....

I really like their brown (Moose Drool), ale (Trout Slayer), but I DON'T like their IPA (Big Sky - Pronghorn or something). and this is coming from an IPA guy! Any other's wanna weigh in on the Big Sky IPA? Just doesn't do it for me -- but Moose Drool and Trout Slayer are grrrrrrrreeeeaaaaaatttt!
 
here's a recipe - I think I got it from Brew365, but can't remember :drunk:
was planning to make it this winter:

All Grain Recipe - Big Sky Moose Drool ::: 1.058/1.019 (5.5 Gal)

Grain Bill
9 lbs. - 2 Row Pale Malt
1 lb. - Crystal Malt (60L)
1/2 lb. - Crystal Malt (20L)
1/2 lb. - CaraPils Malt
1/2 lb. - Flaked Oats
1/3 lb. - Chocolate Malt
1/8 lb. - Black Patent Malt

Hop Schedule (19 IBU)
1 oz - East Kent Goldings (First Wort Hop)
1 oz - Liberty (30 min.)
1 oz - Willamette (5 min.)
.75 oz - Liberty (0 min. - flameout)

Yeast
White Labs English Ale Yeast (WLP002) - 1800 ML Starter

Mash/Sparge/Boil
Mash at 154° 60 min.
Sparge as usual

Boil for 60 minutesbr> Cool and ferment at 66° to 68°

This looks great. I had a few of the commercial version the other week and forgot how good it is. I was checking out their website for clues and this is the info they give you:

It's chocolate brown in color with a creamy texture. A malty beer with just enough hop presence to keep it from being too sweet. The aroma mostly comes from the malt with a hint of spice added by the hops. Moose Drool is brewed with pale, caramel, chocolate, and whole black malts; and Kent Goldings, Liberty, and WILLAMETTE HOPS. It has an original gravity of 13 degrees Plato, and is 4.2% alcohol by weight, 5.3% by volume.

from :Moose Drool Brown Ale

Looks like you have the exact same hops going, but the grain is a little different. Is Black Patent Malt the same as whole black malts?
 
Mmmm... Moose Drool. I always have some (or, rather, a lot) when we go to visit SWMBO's family (she's from Missoula, MT) or my own family (in Bisbee, AZ.) I wish I could get it out here in MI. Oh well. Instead, I get to brew my own version. :)
 
Our pub just got the Moose Drool and Big Sky IPA with the Trout Slayer soon to be in also. The Moose Drool is very good but the IPA is a bit off from what I like in one, and I really like IPA's. Looking forward to the Trout Slayer.
 
I'm gonna brew this recipe this week. The only problem is that the LHBS was out of WLP002, so I got WLP005 -- any thoughts from anyone.

And, actually, it's not my LHBS; I just happened to be in Phx and hit the LHBS - I was gonna ask Chuck if 002 could be substituted with 005, but they were busy and I was in a hurry.

Anyways, I'll post the results, and would be willing to send a couple bottles of the finished product to any Moose Drool lovers to see how you think it compares...
 
The WLP005 should be fine. I heard once that the actual house strain they use is Wyeast 1968 London ESB Ale yeast.

My American Brown recipe started as a Moose Drool clone, and is similar to that, but I only use Crystal 80 instead of 60/20. Also, I use the debittered carafa special instead of the black patent to cut down on the roasty flavor but maintain the dark color, and I like to toast the oats before adding them to the mash.

Hop schedule is about the same as yours, and I use the 1968 ESB yeast. The recipe you have should serve as a great beer, and at worst a good starting point for a clone of that one.

I'm always game for a side by side comparison. :mug:

I was thinking about adding some hazlenut extract to the keg when I brew another brown, might have to do that sooner than later.
 
Here's my recipe that I want to brew...

My Moose Drool Clone...

8.74 lbs. American 2-row info
1.65 lbs. American Caramel 40°L info
0.42 lbs. American Chocolate Malt info
0.33 lbs. American Black Patent info
2.0 oz. Liberty (Pellets, 4.00 %AA) boiled 60 min. info
0.50 oz. East Kent Goldings (Pellets, 5.00 %AA) boiled 15 min. info
0.50 oz. Willamette (Pellets, 5.00 %AA) boiled 1 min. info
Yeast : WYeast 1028 London Ale info

I would like to get my hands on a sixer. Anyone up for trading? WE have a great Bourbon Barrel Stout here in KY.
 
so I brewed this last night - and man did the yeast starter smell like banana's??
I don't use liquid yeast much - let alone British/English ale yeast - but I'm assuming it's okay?

j - I'd be interested in the difference between our two recipes! swap?
 
Moose Drool ain't bad, but it's way overpriced for what it is. Big sky used to make a stout that wasn't too bad, they called it "Slow Elk" but I haven't seen it in the stores for a couple of years, it was a bit overpriced too. Regard, GF.
 
Moose Drool ain't bad, but it's way overpriced for what it is. Big sky used to make a stout that wasn't too bad, they called it "Slow Elk" but I haven't seen it in the stores for a couple of years, it was a bit overpriced too. Regard, GF.


For real? Overpriced? It's the same price on tap as anything else, at least last summer; bottle, too, as I recall. Plus, you get it for like $3.00 a pint at Missoula Ospreys games. Now that's hard to beat.
 
AZ - I'm interested in a swap, but the only thing is that I won't have time to brew this until after the first of the year. I'll keep you posted.
 
For real? Overpriced? It's the same price on tap as anything else, at least last summer; bottle, too, as I recall. Plus, you get it for like $3.00 a pint at Missoula Ospreys games. Now that's hard to beat.

Its -11 F here in Wisconsin and you're reminding me of wiling away my college summer days with a pint of Moosedrool at an Osprey game. That's just not fair.
 
I really like their brown (Moose Drool), ale (Trout Slayer), but I DON'T like their IPA (Big Sky - Pronghorn or something). and this is coming from an IPA guy! Any other's wanna weigh in on the Big Sky IPA? Just doesn't do it for me -- but Moose Drool and Trout Slayer are grrrrrrrreeeeaaaaaatttt!

I really dig the Big Sky IPA. Very pleasant hop aroma with a solid citrusy bitterness. Nice malt character and good head retention/lacing also. This is good stuff, IMO.
 
Man I'm drooling just thinking about it. I'm in Jacksonville, FL but head out west from time to time to Missoula, MT and you guys are in microbrew heaven out there. I'd love to get my hands on some of that stuff
 
From Jacksonville, FL here and I head out to Missoula from time to time. You guys are in microbrew heaven out there. The moose drool and the trout slayer on a couple of my favorite cold one considering I've had plenty of beers from all around the country and I'd love to get my hands one some......I love Montana!!
 
rpres: you can't get any Big Sky beers out there? in this day and age of transporting micros far and wide?

I figure at worst you could find some of the 12-pack sampler. Find a BevMo or Beverage House and ask them to carry it for you (or brew the recipe I posted!)
 
Ah Moose Drool! This is still my favorite beer.
I first tried it in of all places McChord AFB in Washington. I've been hooked ever since. Big sky expanded into Colorado a couple years ago and I am very grateful to them. It will always be a staple in my fridge.
 
Do we have any updates on this clone recipe? Who has tried it? how was it? would you do it again?

I am thiiiiiiiiiissss close to brewing my first all grain, and would LOVE to give this one a try. Moose Drool is my weakness in commercial beers.
 
Brew it. The only recommendation I would make is use Wyeast 1968 instead of WLP002.

The sooner you brew this, the sooner you can brew some more.
 
Brew it. The only recommendation I would make is use Wyeast 1968 instead of WLP002.

The sooner you brew this, the sooner you can brew some more.

Good point ;)

I will get this one done in two weeks. I have two in primary right now (a stout and an apfelwein) and a mead on the way early next week. I need to wait for the stout to finish to free up a fermenter.

Plus my new BK will be here this weekend, and i should have the mods done by then, and can finish my mashtun for my first all grain!

If I like this as much as the real thing, it will certainly become a house flavor.

I beleive you mentioned earlier in this thread that the Wyeast 1968 is what they use at Big Sky?
 
I always brew a brown ale on superbowl sunday. This is going to be this year's brew. Can't wait to see how it compares to the original.
 
Well, you will be a little ahead of me, but lets plan to share notes on this thread when its all said and done.

are you gonna keg or bottle?
 
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