Reverse Engineer Pat Malone Allagash

This should be pretty easy considering this blurb on the Allagash website:

Hugh Malone Ale’s base includes English two-row malt and pale crystal malts, establishing an understated sweetness. To give Hugh Malone its hop character we use generous portions of Simcoe hops at three points in the brewing process. To begin with, we use a technique referred to as first wort hopping, in which Simcoe is added to the sweet wort as it enters the kettle. When the wort comes to a boil in the kettle we add Warrior hops, adding another layer to the bitterness of the beer. Later in the brewing process we steep a large amount of Simcoe in the whirlpool to impart a distinct hop aroma. Finally, during secondary fermentation in our conditioning tanks, we dry hop the beer, which instills a hoppy aroma with notes of pine and grapefruit. This 8.5 % ABV ale has a malty palate and a pronounced bitterness. It has a pleasant dry, hoppy finish.


Available in: 750 ml bottle/limited release
Original Gravity: 1080 by volume
Recommended Serving Temp: 40-50°F
Cellaring: Drink young

It is a great beer but one that is full of subtle tastes and a pretty much perfect malt/hop balance. I'm thinking it is probably (for a 5 gallon batch) around 13.5lbs 2-row and 1.5-1.75 of Crystal 30. The hops that might be a bit tricky: wort Simcoe - Warrior - flame out Simcoe. I'm thinking 1.5 - 1 - 1.5 - that would put it around 140 IBU theoretical. Also I'm not sure what yeast to use. Any ideas?

 

I would go easier on the crystal maybe .5 lbs, it is a reasonably dry beer if I remember correctly. The OG and ABV put it around 81% AA, with an FG of 1.015.

I think the hopping sounds reasonable, but don't forget a healthy dose of dry hops.

For the yeast you could culture up the house strain from the White (lower alcohol beers generally have healthier cells). Alternatively you could do something like Ardennes or Bastogne, relatively restrained Belgian strains that play well with hops.

 

Thanks for the input! I'm going to do a 2 gallon BIAB batch to test this out. Also, it will give me a chance to use my new stir plate to culture some yeast. I'll update with a final recipe tonight.

 

Good luck.

And what is this Metro DC Land of no homebrewers thing? There are 4-5 clubs and hundreds of highly active homebrewers in the area. Come to a DC Homebrewers meeting sometime.

 

I signed up on the DC homebrewers listserv. I would love to meet some homebrewers around here.

 

Here is the final recipe - haven't on exactly how much I want to dry hop, but this looks like a start:

Hugh Malone IPA
Brew Type: All Grain Date: 1/25/2010
Style: Belgian Specialty Ale
Batch Size: 2.00 gal Assistant Brewer:
Boil Volume: 2.90 gal Boil Time: 60 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.0 % Equipment: Brew Pot (7.5 gal) and Cooler (48 qt)
Actual Efficiency: 77.1 %
Taste Rating (50 possible points): 35.0

Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.60 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 97.9 %
0.12 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 2.1 %
0.56 oz Simcoe [12.00%] (60 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 61.9 IBU
0.38 oz Warrior [15.00%] (60 min) Hops 46.9 IBU
0.19 oz Simcoe [12.00%] (30 min) Hops 14.4 IBU
0.19 oz Simcoe [12.00%] (5 min) Hops 3.7 IBU
0.60 oz Simcoe [12.00%] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
1 Pkgs Belgian Saison I Ale (White Labs #WLP565) Yeast-Ale

Beer Profile Estimated Original Gravity: 1.078 SG (1.040-1.070 SG) Measured Original Gravity: 1.080 SG
Estimated Color: 6.8 SRM (3.0-8.0 SRM) Color [Color]
Bitterness: 126.9 IBU (20.0-40.0 IBU) Alpha Acid Units: 7.3 AAU
Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 7.3 % (4.0-8.0 %) Actual Alcohol by Volume: 8.9 %
Actual Calories: 363 cal/pint


Mash Profile Name: Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out Mash Tun Weight: 2.70 lb
Mash Grain Weight: 5.72 lb Mash PH: 5.4 PH
Grain Temperature: 72.0 F Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F
Sparge Water: 0.94 gal Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE

Name Description Step Temp Step Time
Mash In Add 11.60 qt of water at 159.7 F 151.0 F 75 min


Mash Notes
Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
Carbonation and Storage Carbonation Type: Corn Sugar Carbonation Volumes: 2.4 (2.1-2.7 vols)
Estimated Priming Weight: 1.5 oz Temperature at Bottling: 60.0 F
Primer Used: - Age for: 4.0 Weeks
Storage Temperature: 52.0 F

 

sorry to resurrect, but I was looking for Hugh Malone clone recipes and found this thread. How'd this turn out?

 

I think the recipe is pretty close but the Saison yeast was a terrible choice. I would go with a trappist ale of some sort, nothing too phenolic or spicy. My Saison didn't ferment out and left this too sweet to call a clone. Also, personally I would replace the simcoe FWH and warrior with Magnum or Horizon to get a smoother bittering. Mash at 149 to dry it out and I think you would have something VERY close to Hugh Malone. Mine was just too sweet.