All-Grain Stone Brewing Imperial Mutt Brown Clone attempt

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sloth64

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Hi All! please give me a hand rounding out this high gravity ale.

Here is my recipe based on Stones' own blog about the IMB

blog here:

http://blog.stonebrewing.com/index.php/stone-spotlight-mutt-brown-ale/

Please See farthest down recipe for most current thoughts.

5gal batch

OG: 1.078
FG: 1.011
ABV: 8.83%
IBU: 40.47
SRM: 46.14

Fermentables:
Mash:
13lb vienna malt
1.5lb chocolate wheat
1lb honey malt
8oz dark crystal
8oz carmel 60l
8oz carmel 90l
Late addition into last 10min of boil:
8oz Sugar in the Raw (Turbinado sugar)

Hops:
0.5oz magnum 60m
0.5oz magnum 30m
0.5oz east kent golding 5m

Yeast:
Safbrew s-04
 
That looks like a lot of crystal malt in a big beer like that. You'll probably end up with a high FG. The beer you're trying to clone is 9%, so you're going to want to use a more sugar, or get rid of malts that don't ferment well.

BTW, crystal and caramel malts are the same thing - synonyms. So, when you write "dark crystal", what you're saying is caramel 90 or higher.

I haven't had that brown ale you're cloning, but unless it tastes like a strong scotch ale, you're probably going to want to reduce those caramel malts and/or get rid of that honey malt.

If I was making it, I'd use two yeast packets, and rehydrate. If that beer doesn't attenuate well, it will be hard to drink. Mash low (i.e., 150F or lower).
 
sloth64 said:
Hi All! please give me a hand rounding out this high gravity ale.

Here is my recipe based on Stones' own blog about the IMB

blog here:

http://blog.stonebrewing.com/index.php/stone-spotlight-mutt-brown-ale/


5gal batch

OG: 1.078
FG: 1.011
ABV: 8.83%
IBU: 40.47
SRM: 46.14

Fermentables:
Mash:
13lb vienna malt
1.5lb chocolate wheat
1lb honey malt
8oz dark crystal
8oz carmel 60l
8oz carmel 90l
Late addition into last 10min of boil:
8oz Sugar in the Raw (Turbinado sugar)

Hops:
0.5oz magnum 60m
0.5oz magnum 30m
0.5oz east kent golding 5m

Yeast:
Safbrew s-04
Click to expand...

I just drank one of these a few weeks ago. It is a great beer for fall weather. The label says there is Victory malt is used. I also imagine pilsner malt in the base malt. Let us know how it turns out.

http://brewpublic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Stone-Spotlight-Series-Imperial-Mutt-Brown-Ale-Label.jpg
 
Tim- I totally missed the label info, should have looked there too. Thanks

Andrew- If you are mashing at 140-150f would you mash longer than 60m?

Also I have a 5gal mash tun, am I gona need a 10gal with 18lb of grains?

V2:
5gal batch

OG: 1.078
FG: 1.011
ABV: 8.95% (the calc I am using does not take the sugar addition into account)
IBU: 40.18
SRM: 50.00 (max reading?)

Fermentables:
Mash:
7lb of pilsner malt
5lb vienna malt
2lb chocolate wheat
2lb honey malt
2lb victory malt

Late addition into last 10min of boil:
1lb Sugar in the Raw (Turbinado sugar)

Hops:
0.5oz magnum 60m
0.5oz magnum 30m
0.5oz east kent golding 5m

Yeast:
2x rehydrated Safbrew s-04
 
I'd drink that! I can't eyeball the hop additions and know if they'll give you the IBUs without software :) But I like the choice of EKG for a brown ale, so that's a good match. And Magnum is a great bittering hop.

I probably wouldn't go over 60m on the mash, but in my process sparging takes 30 minutes for me, and I don't do a water addition to denature enzymes, so I probably do get 90 minutes on every mash. So, yea, sure, if you've got the extra time, and since you're making a pretty fat beer, I'd recommend a long mash. It might only buy you 3 or 5% better attenuation (see Kai Troester's site for more info), but it would be worth it.
 
will that all 18lb of grain fit in a 5gal mash tun? or should I be seeing if there is a 10gal arround I can borrow?

For Fermentation I am thinking of keeping the tempeture in the lower range for the yeast likely 59 mid point 4 degree swing for 2 weeks then upping to 65 for 1 then secondary at 60 for another 2 weeks.

http://www.fermentis.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SFA_S04.pdf

thoughts of the fermentation plan?

EDIT:
according to the mash calculator here

I need 6 gal of initial mash water at 145 degrees
and
3.75 gal of sparge/strike water at 156
 
Last edited:
Why the pilsner? In the blog post tasting notes it mentions vienna as the base malt. If you cut the pilsner then you could drop most of the crystal I'd imagine.
 
UncleBeardyBeer said:
Why the pilsner? In the blog post tasting notes it mentions vienna as the base malt. If you cut the pilsner then you could drop most of the crystal I'd imagine.
Click to expand...

Dang your right, Viena is the base malt see new recipe bellow. I found that the brewer's friend online calculator had the Turbinado in it's database. I am able to hit 9.00 ABV on the head with an ibu of 45.05 (Target of 45) by taking in account the sugar and altering the pitch time of the kent golding hops by 2 minutes.

NEW RECIEPE:

OG:1.090
FG:1.022
ABV: 9.00
IBU:45.05
SRM 50.00

Mash Grains:
11 Viena Malt
2 Chocolate wheat
1 Honey malt
2 Victory malt

Late Addition of 1.5lb of Turbinado

Hops:
.5 Magnum 60m
.5 magnum 30m
.5 kent golding 7m


Yeast
2x safbrew s-04

Thoughts?
 
I just picked up a bottle of this and look forward to trying it. In the meantime, I am curious how one would differentiate this from a Stout, both in terms of the beer's actual characteristics and your approach to brewing. This has a higher OG and ABV than many Stouts, yet they are calling it an ale.
 
Once you try it. You'll know why I want to clone it... It is part of the spotlight series, which means it will go away. I want to keep it forever.
 
Aristotelian said:
I just picked up a bottle of this and look forward to trying it. In the meantime, I am curious how one would differentiate this from a Stout, both in terms of the beer's actual characteristics and your approach to brewing. This has a higher OG and ABV than many Stouts, yet they are calling it an ale.
Click to expand...

If you ferment with an ale yeast, it's an ale. If fermented with a lager yeast, it's a lager. All beers are one of these two (except the wild ones fermented with bacteria).

Regarding brown ale vs stout, the difference is roasted barley, which has a distinct roasted slightly acrid flavor. I like what John Palmer said in his book How To Brew (he said it better in the book, but this is copied from the web).

Read this short list and see how they are connected. Look at it carefully and consider what he's trying to convey here:

To help get your creative juices flowing, here is a rough approximation of the recipes for the common ale styles:
- Pale Ale - base malt plus a half pound of caramel malt,
- Amber Ale - pale ale plus a half pound of dark caramel malt,
- Brown Ale - pale ale plus a half pound of chocolate malt,
- Porter - amber ale plus a half pound of chocolate malt,
- Stout - porter plus a half pound of roast barley.
 
Here is what I brewed:

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 5.70 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.20 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 4.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.082 SG
Estimated Color: 33.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 44.0 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 60.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 60.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
10 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 1 52.6 %
4 lbs Munich Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 2 21.1 %
2 lbs Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 3 10.5 %
1 lbs Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 4 5.3 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 5 2.6 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 6 2.6 %
8.0 oz Midnight Wheat Malt (425.0 SRM) Grain 7 2.6 %
8.0 oz Turbinado (10.0 SRM) Sugar 8 2.6 %
1.00 oz Magnum [12.00 %] - Boil 45.0 min Hop 9 34.1 IBUs
0.50 oz Magnum [12.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 10 9.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 1.0 Hop 11 0.7 IBUs
2.0 pkg Nottingham (Danstar #-) [23.66 ml] Yeast 12 -


Mash Schedule: Decoction Mash, Double
Total Grain Weight: 19 lbs
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Protein Rest Add 37.00 qt of water at 126.6 F 122.0 F 35 min
Saccharification Decoct 11.88 qt of mash and boil it 147.0 F 20 min
Saccharification Decoct 5.92 qt of mash and boil it 156.0 F 20 min
Mash Out Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min 168.0 F 10
min


Appearance: Too light by maybe 10 srm
--> Ill add alittle more midnight wheat in the next batch

Aroma: Just about right, needs alittle more mollassus in the nose
--> See taste notes

Taste: in comparison to Stone's Mutt this is not dryu enough, and not molassesy enough yet. great full roasty flavor. Not a clone yet but a nice beer.
--> next batch I am raising the Turbanado by 50%

Feel: Not dry enough, the alchohol is hidden by the sweetness alittle too much
--> as above increasing the Turbanado, but also decreasing the honey malt a smidge.

Overall: Awesome Imperial Brown (Not that I have much experience). Not a Stone Mutt Clone yet, but a very drinkable, roasty 9.0 abv brown.

--------------------------------

Thought on the next recipe?

here's a start on round 2:

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 5.70 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.20 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.080 SG
Estimated Color: 41.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 46.7 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 60.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 60.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
9 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 1 49.3 %
4 lbs Munich 10L (Briess) (10.0 SRM) Grain 2 21.9 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 3 8.2 %
1 lbs Midnight Wheat Malt (425.0 SRM) Grain 4 5.5 %
1 lbs Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 5 5.5 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 6 2.7 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 7 2.7 %
1.00 oz Magnum [12.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 8 40.0 IBUs
1.00 oz East Kent Goldings (EKG) [5.00 %] - Boil Hop 9 6.0 IBUs
1.00 oz East Kent Goldings (EKG) [5.00 %] - Boil Hop 10 0.7 IBUs
2.0 pkg Nottingham (Danstar #-) [23.66 ml] Yeast 11 -
12.0 oz Turbinado (10.0 SRM) Sugar 12 4.1 %


Mash Schedule: Decoction Mash, Double
Total Grain Weight: 18 lbs 4.0 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Protein Rest Add 35.00 qt of water at 126.6 F 122.0 F 35 min
Saccharification Decoct 11.24 qt of mash and boil it 147.0 F 20 min
Saccharification Decoct 5.60 qt of mash and boil it 156.0 F 20 min
Mash Out Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min 168.0 F 10 min

Sparge: Fly sparge with -0.95 gal water at 168.0 F
 
Subbed, from the other thread.

If you think the batch you brewed wasn't dry enough, why not drop the crystal and go with more base malt, maybe another pound of Munich, and go with Munich Dark? And/or add some black malt to get the colour?

Noob asking questions here, please go easy on me if I am asking a stupid question!

:)
 
I am far much more anoob than you so no worries. Here is my reasoning:

From my understanding the sugar will help dry out the beer and provide the necessary molasses flavor as well, its kinda a 2 bird one stone approach. I don't want to lose the caramel tones from the crystal 40L or 80L either.

the second recipe is based on what i can get at my LHBS which only carries 10L Munich. If I order online I'll get 20L Munich leaving the recipe amounts unchanged.

None of the documentation mentions the use of Black patent in the beer. As one of the brewer's felt it important in literature to mention that he enjoyed alt-beer styles I started this recipe from that direction instead of from the more English brown ale direction.

This is also the reason why I am going to keep with the German style decoction mash.
 
I'm interested in the progress of this endeavor...I'm following this thread. I may try brewing your most recent version soon. I'm doing brew-in-a-bag...I don't suspect that will have a significant affect on the result though. I'm starting by adding the recipe Beer Smith today.
 
Awesome! I hope it turns out well. It is such a big beer its hard for me to brew it too often. It will be great to have another tester. Do you have any of the real McCoy to A/B?
 
sloth64 said:
Awesome! I hope it turns out well. It is such a big beer its hard for me to brew it too often. It will be great to have another tester. Do you have any of the real McCoy to A/B?
Click to expand...

I bought the last one they had last week. They had to look in the back and found one for me. I drank it this weekend. I'm hoping mine comes close to it!
 
sloth64 said:
Here is what I brewed:

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 5.70 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.20 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 4.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.082 SG
Estimated Color: 33.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 44.0 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 60.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 60.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
10 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 1 52.6 %
4 lbs Munich Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 2 21.1 %
2 lbs Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 3 10.5 %
1 lbs Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 4 5.3 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 5 2.6 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 6 2.6 %
8.0 oz Midnight Wheat Malt (425.0 SRM) Grain 7 2.6 %
8.0 oz Turbinado (10.0 SRM) Sugar 8 2.6 %
1.00 oz Magnum [12.00 %] - Boil 45.0 min Hop 9 34.1 IBUs
0.50 oz Magnum [12.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 10 9.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 1.0 Hop 11 0.7 IBUs
2.0 pkg Nottingham (Danstar #-) [23.66 ml] Yeast 12 -


Mash Schedule: Decoction Mash, Double
Total Grain Weight: 19 lbs
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Protein Rest Add 37.00 qt of water at 126.6 F 122.0 F 35 min
Saccharification Decoct 11.88 qt of mash and boil it 147.0 F 20 min
Saccharification Decoct 5.92 qt of mash and boil it 156.0 F 20 min
Mash Out Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min 168.0 F 10
min


Appearance: Too light by maybe 10 srm
--> Ill add alittle more midnight wheat in the next batch

Aroma: Just about right, needs alittle more mollassus in the nose
--> See taste notes

Taste: in comparison to Stone's Mutt this is not dryu enough, and not molassesy enough yet. great full roasty flavor. Not a clone yet but a nice beer.
--> next batch I am raising the Turbanado by 50%

Feel: Not dry enough, the alchohol is hidden by the sweetness alittle too much
--> as above increasing the Turbanado, but also decreasing the honey malt a smidge.

Overall: Awesome Imperial Brown (Not that I have much experience). Not a Stone Mutt Clone yet, but a very drinkable, roasty 9.0 abv brown.

--------------------------------

Thought on the next recipe?

here's a start on round 2:

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 5.70 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.20 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.080 SG
Estimated Color: 41.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 46.7 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 60.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 60.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
9 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 1 49.3 %
4 lbs Munich 10L (Briess) (10.0 SRM) Grain 2 21.9 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 3 8.2 %
1 lbs Midnight Wheat Malt (425.0 SRM) Grain 4 5.5 %
1 lbs Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 5 5.5 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 6 2.7 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 7 2.7 %
1.00 oz Magnum [12.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 8 40.0 IBUs
1.00 oz East Kent Goldings (EKG) [5.00 %] - Boil Hop 9 6.0 IBUs
1.00 oz East Kent Goldings (EKG) [5.00 %] - Boil Hop 10 0.7 IBUs
2.0 pkg Nottingham (Danstar #-) [23.66 ml] Yeast 11 -
12.0 oz Turbinado (10.0 SRM) Sugar 12 4.1 %


Mash Schedule: Decoction Mash, Double
Total Grain Weight: 18 lbs 4.0 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Protein Rest Add 35.00 qt of water at 126.6 F 122.0 F 35 min
Saccharification Decoct 11.24 qt of mash and boil it 147.0 F 20 min
Saccharification Decoct 5.60 qt of mash and boil it 156.0 F 20 min
Mash Out Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min 168.0 F 10 min

Sparge: Fly sparge with -0.95 gal water at 168.0 F
Click to expand...

Hey, Subbed into this. I've never had this beer, and don't have access where I come from, but this is right up my alley.
What was you FG on version oone? and what did u mash at? I'm assuming 150F?
I'd be temptedto drop the honey to 1lb if you need it drier?
 
Mashed @ 154

FG was 1.024 ish. The aim is a 9.0 ABV 35 IBU and 40+ SRM

PS regarding the honey malt: cutting the honey malt to 1lb would be a 50% reduction from the original attempt, I plan on stepping it down slowly so i dont have to over correct.
 
shaneshepherd said:
Oh? You didn't follow the decoction mash schedule from your recipe above?
Click to expand...

I didn't follow it to the letter, but I did do decoctions primarily because my initial strike water was not hot enough.

My higher temp step was longer than 20m probably for 30-40m.

I also found that my thermometer was off by 4degrees, I just replaced it :mug: which should help.


If you choose to do a single step instead of a decoction mash or multistep I would mash high 154-156 for 90m before sparging.
 
sloth64 said:
Mashed @ 154

FG was 1.024 ish. The aim is a 9.0 ABV 35 IBU and 40+ SRM

PS regarding the honey malt: cutting the honey malt to 1lb would be a 50% reduction from the original attempt, I plan on stepping it down slowly so i dont have to over correct.
Click to expand...


Fair enough. Just based on my experience with honey malt. A little goes a long way.
You could compensate by adding more crystal?

But your perfectly right to step down as you are.
 
sloth64 said:
brain fart 45ibu not 35
Click to expand...

Have you e mailed stone to make sure your on the right track?

I'd flcik them an e mail with your recipe and just say what your intendingto do, they might give you some steer on it, or at least give u suggestions.
they're normally pretty good.
 
I reached out to the actual original creators of the recipe via Facebook and LinkedIn and received no reply. The information for the recipe or taken from stone literature on the bottle, and on the stone blog.
 
sloth64 said:
I reached out to the actual original creators of the recipe via Facebook and LinkedIn and received no reply. The information for the recipe or taken from stone literature on the bottle, and on the stone blog.
Click to expand...


IME your better off emailing stone directly. You might get a hint or two. FB ETC ARENT GREAT FOR THIS STUFF.
 
sloth64 said:
I reached out to the actual original creators of the recipe via Facebook and LinkedIn and received no reply. The information for the recipe or taken from stone literature on the bottle, and on the stone blog.
Click to expand...
Not sure if you're still on this thread, but I have the original recipe if you want it
 
beerguysteve said:
Not sure if you're still on this thread, but I have the original recipe if you want it
Click to expand...
Welcome to our forums!

Heads up:
You've replied to a post/thread that's over 8 years old, and the OP's last visit was over 5 years ago.

But feel free to post the recipe, someone will want it. ;)
 
Last edited:
IslandLizard said:
Welcome to our forums!

Heads up:
You've replied to a post/thread that's over 8 years old, and the OP's last visit was over 5 years ago.

But feel free to post the recipe, someone will want it. ;)
Click to expand...
right on. Ill put the ingredients but let everyone who wants to brew it decide their percentages. The Brewer Steve made this beer with Drew from Stone Brewing with his dogs in mind. The pup on the label, Beverly, recently passed and Steve is looking to brew this again at his current brewery to honor her.

Malt:
Vienna
Victory
Honey Malt
Choc. Wheat

WK:
Magnum for bittering
Turbinado sugar for higher gravity and molasses flavor

Late:
Goldings

and thats all there is. If anyone brews it please let me know. Also if you'd like to see a video of the beers release head to this link:
 

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