Red Dog Extra Special Bitter

This recipe took the top spot for the English Pale Ale category at the 2009 War of the Worts (Eastern PA)

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Recipe: Red Dog ESB
Brewer: Don Cummings
Asst Brewer:
Style: Special/Best/Premium Bitter
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (42.0) Crisp perfectly balanced malt and hop flavor. The Cascades add an American touch to this largely British Isles style. 42 days grain to glass with this one. Obviously much faster if kegged. This stands as one of my all time favorite beers.

Recipe Specifications
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Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.050 SG
Estimated Color: 11.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 37.6 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
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Amount Item Type % or IBU
7.50 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 81.08 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 10.81 %
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 5.41 %
0.25 lb Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 2.70 %
1.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.50 %] (60 min) Hops 24.7 IBU
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (20 min) Hops 5.5 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [7.40 %] (20 min) Hops 7.4 IBU
0.25 oz Cascade [7.40 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-SteepHops -
0.25 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (0 min) (AroHops -
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 9.25 lb
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Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 11.56 qt of water at 169.6 F 154.0 F

This beer took the Blue Ribbon for Best English Pale Ale in the 2009 War of the Worts. (A pretty large regional show with over 450 entries.)

The comment sheets they were pretty much exactly in line with what I determined for the beer. Surprisingly so. But the judges dinged me harder than I dinged myself .

The primary issue was that the beer was a touch dry to style. I agreed and actually had planned on going 4 pts higher in FG than I finished (I wanted 1.012 but got 1.008) I think my thermometer was a degree or two off during the mash. Aside from that it got very high marks for hops bitterness and aroma and brilliant clarity which was pleasing because the only finings I used was seaweed and time. The other common comment from the two was 'excellent flavor but could use a bit more oomph.' I took this to mean in the malt department.

I plan on making this with all Maris Otter as the base and mashing at 155 with everything else being the same next time.

I'm going to try this one out, will be substituting chocolate malt for the Special B since I have that one in inventory. Could you explain the .25 oz of Golding & cascades addition, I'm not sure what to do. Are you dry hopping?

The final hop additions are at flameout, not dry.

I had a friend ask me to supply a keg of this and one of my Belgian Pale for a party so I'm doing this one again this week. Sticking with MO. The chocolate malt should work fine.

Thanks, doing an Alaskan Amber clone next and then this one, I'll let you know how it comes out.

A friend of mine and his brother started the work to get a brewery going but it never happened. They owned a trade mark to Red Dog. They ended up selling it to Miller. It was for a Irish red. Miller did not want the recipe, just the name.

Not that it matters to me much but I have a trademark for Red Dog Coffee Roasters and Red Dog Roastery so I just kept the same logos for the brewery. I don't ever expect to go commercial with the beer but I'm not sure I would even be in violation since I think Miller only trademarked the name of the beer. I think I could be safe as "Red Dog Brewery" as long as I substantively avoided the name that Miller used for any of my specific beers.

Out of curiosity do you know how much a trademark right like that sells for?

EDIT: I thought Miller had nixed this beer but maybe not as the reviews (terrible reviews) were recent.

By the way, I have remade this beer with Maris Otter and a moderately more dextrinous wort (FG 1.012) and it came out even better than the first. I also kegged this second one and carbed it to only 1.5 vols. Serving at 6 psi to mimic UK pub pours.

This still stands as my all time favorite beer. Simple, yet with a great depth of malt. It really tastes to me like authentic pub draughts in England.

He didn't ever mention the price. I figure it was thousands. My buddy was mostly an investor, his brother was supposed to be the brewer. I don't think he wants to talk about how much money he lost.

I drank his Red Dog about 15 years ago at his daughter's wedding. His brother brought a 3 gallon corny. That's the only time I've met him.