Can You Brew It Recipe for Big Sky Moose Drool

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EricCSU

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I am going to put up the recipes from CYBI so that they are easy to reference. I will type the ingredients verbatim.

All recipes are 6 gallons post-boil, 70% efficiency, Morey for color, 15% evaporation, 7.27 gallons preboil, Rager IBU, and most hops are in grams not ounces. Most, if not all recipes are primary only

If you brew this, please reply with your results.

Ferment at 67, increase to 70 after the bulk of fermentation.

SG 1052 (Jamil noted that his numbers were 1 plato high, but it still was cloned)
FG ?
30 IBU (increased from 26 IBU based on Jamil's interpretation of the beer).

White labs WLP002
Wyeast 1968

10.8 lbs domestic pale malt or 7.4 lbs pale LME
5.5 ounces chocolate malt 400l
1.25 lbs crystal 75-80
0.5 ounce black patent 525l


1.4 oz (41g) EKG 4.75AA @60m
0.6 oz (14g) Williamete @10m
0.6 oz (14g) Liberty @ 0m

Mash @154F

Jamil stated that you could increase IBUs by 5 and keep the gravity or decrease OG by 4 degrees and keep the bitterness the same. It may be slightly closer to the original.
 
Just brewed this recipe a few days ago... hit mash temps well. Fermentation temps were a little up and down with this hot weather, but I think I managed pretty well. Efficiency was a little higher than I thought, so OG came out high at 1.058.

Been four days now, active fermentation seems to be done. Took a small sample, gravity at 1.016 right now. Sample tasted pretty good. Going to leave it for a couple more weeks before bottling. I'll post the bottled results in 4 weeks or so...
 
I brewed this recently, and it came out a damn tasty beer. Granted, here in CT we don't have Moose Drool to compare it to, but on a recent trip out to Denver I got to try the real thing. From what I remember, this is a pretty close rendition. Recipe tweaked for ease of measuring and available hops.

Deer Dribble Brown Ale

10 lbs. American 2-row
1.25 lbs. American Caramel 80°L
.25 lbs. American Chocolate Malt
.03 lbs. American Black Patent
1.25 oz. East Kent Goldings (Pellets, 5.00 %AA) boiled 60 min.
0.50 oz. Willamette (Pellets, 5 %AA) boiled 15 min.
0.50 oz. Mt. Hood (Pellets, 5.00 %AA) boiled 1 min.

Single infusion mash at 151 for 1 hour, 60 min boil. Fermented with Wyeast 1056 at 67 degrees. OG 1.053, FG 1.012. 19 SRM, 35 IBUs, 5.2% ABV
 
30 IBU (increased from 26 IBU based on Jamil's interpretation of the beer).
This is reassuring because when I tried MD it def tasted like more than 26 IBU. And when I made my only 'clone' attempt mine was not as bitter.

0.6 oz (14g) Williamete @10m
FWIW it's Willamette (no 'i') and I was told it's pronounced Will-ammit. A seemingly knowledgeable bartender at a beer bar told me to remember it like; "It's Will-ammit dammit" (say it so it rhymes). I had always pronounced it like a french word; Willa-met.
 
We brewed this recipe a while back and it was very close to the real thing. A couple of suggestions.

When scaling the recipe based on your efficiency, don't adjust the chocolate malt. I did and my "clone" lacked some of the chocolate malt character.

Matt Long, the head brewer at Big Sky suggested that homebrewers mash at 152 instead of the 154 that they mash at. I went with 152 but should have gone with 154.

Use Wyeast 1968 or WLP002. You can't truly clone it without the yeast. We used 1968.
 
Just brewed this recipe a few days ago... hit mash temps well. Fermentation temps were a little up and down with this hot weather, but I think I managed pretty well. Efficiency was a little higher than I thought, so OG came out high at 1.058.

Been four days now, active fermentation seems to be done. Took a small sample, gravity at 1.016 right now. Sample tasted pretty good. Going to leave it for a couple more weeks before bottling. I'll post the bottled results in 4 weeks or so...

Ok, so, beer has been bottled for about 2&1/2 weeks now. FG was at 1.016. It's been over a year since I've had Moose Drool, so unfortunately I can't really tell how close I came. BUT, it's definitely quite decent... slightly sweet, touch of chocolate, a bit of fruitiness from the 1968, with a present-but-not-overly-firm bitterness in the finish (from what I remember and have read since, Moose Drool really isn't a very bitter American Brown, esp. compared to some other beers of the style.
 
Just brewed this Wednesday. My mash temp was off a little at 152 but I nailed the SG @1.052 It is happily fermenting @67*F. I used Safale S-03. Can't wait to have this! :mug:
 
I have now brewed this four times. The first was the exact recipe, but since then I have made slight variations with each rebrew. It has now become my house beer. What I like about it most is how versatile it is. With that in mind, check out the most recent version I made - a freakin' AMAZING IBA:

OG - 1.064
IBU - 56.6
FG - 1.021

The grain bill maintains the exact percentages of the original recipe but with the higher OG. Mashed at 154.

Mash salts in ppm:
Ca 271, Mg 10, Na 58, Cl 53, SO4 100, RA 168

HOPS:
-all hops are pellets
-the AA is 8.7% for the Centennial, and 7.5% for the Amarillo

7g Centennial - 60min
7g Amarillo - 60min
56g Centennial - 10 min
56g Amarillo - 0 min
14g Centennial - dry (6 days)
14g Amarillo - dry

Wyeast 1968 @ 67*, ramping up as fermentation neared the end. I added the dry hops towards the end of fermentation.

Just carbed this up on day 11 and it's amazing. Obviously very citrusy hop forward and you think you're drinking an IPA until this creamy coffee thing sets in. It has a nice back and forth medley with the sweetness/bitterness and leaves a light quenching bitterness in the aftertaste. Right now somebody would probably think I made a black IPA, but I think in a week or two the hops will fade just enough, and the beer will level to the point that it's clearly an IBA. Really really happy with this.
 
I have now brewed this four times. The first was the exact recipe, but since then I have made slight variations with each rebrew. It has now become my house beer. What I like about it most is how versatile it is. With that in mind, check out the most recent version I made - a freakin' AMAZING IBA:

OG - 1.064
IBU - 56.6
FG - 1.021

The grain bill maintains the exact percentages of the original recipe but with the higher OG. Mashed at 154.

Mash salts in ppm:
Ca 271, Mg 10, Na 58, Cl 53, SO4 100, RA 168

HOPS:
-all hops are pellets
-the AA is 8.7% for the Centennial, and 7.5% for the Amarillo

7g Centennial - 60min
7g Amarillo - 60min
56g Centennial - 10 min
56g Amarillo - 0 min
14g Centennial - dry (6 days)
14g Amarillo - dry

Wyeast 1968 @ 67*, ramping up as fermentation neared the end. I added the dry hops towards the end of fermentation.

Just carbed this up on day 11 and it's amazing. Obviously very citrusy hop forward and you think you're drinking an IPA until this creamy coffee thing sets in. It has a nice back and forth medley with the sweetness/bitterness and leaves a light quenching bitterness in the aftertaste. Right now somebody would probably think I made a black IPA, but I think in a week or two the hops will fade just enough, and the beer will level to the point that it's clearly an IBA. Really really happy with this.

Have you ever brewed Janet's Brown Ale?
 
No, but I had it at Russian River and I've seen the recipe. My beer is much richer and thicker than Janet's Brown, which I mostly attribute to the yeast selection. I hate California Ale.

Also, Moose Drool has a bit more roasty grains and darker crystal. JB isn't very chocolatey at all.
 
I recently did the extract + steeping version. I used 8 lbs. of Pale LME instead of the suggested 7.4 and hit OG on the nose. Tastes absolutely fantastic. What a great recipe.
 
Our recipes had the same ratios and grains, we did a blind test heads up and the all grain won 4-0. We really liked it for the first month, then all of a sudden- the beer lost A LOT of flavor. Both the extract and the all-grain faded similarly, so we are assuming this is a recipe issue? This is now known as "the beer formally known as Moose Drool" Recently got our hands on the real thing, were not even in the same ball park.
Any suggestions? I would have to increase everything to get close to the real deal, not sure how these guys cloned it, based on our experience.:confused:
 
It's been quite a while since I brewed my clone attempt so the details are hazy. We live near Big Sky brewery and are in their tap room regularly. I'm not a big Moose Drool fan but I have tasted fresh Moose Drool on many occasions. My clone was extremely close to the real thing and can share my thoughts on changes I would make for the next try. First, the head brewers advice on mash temp from the interview and probably mashed a little low. I'd move to the 156-158 degree range to try for a little more body. Second, when I scaled the recipe down for my higher mash efficiency, I scaled base malt and specialty malt alike. Next time I would either not reduce the specialty malts or reduce them less. With those changes I think I'd be right there. Another thing to consider is that aged bottle of Moose Drool you tried probably doesn't taste much like the fresh sample I get in tap room. Also, I've talked with the brewer and they use Wyeast 1968.
 
heywolfie1015 said:
I recently did the extract + steeping version. I used 8 lbs. of Pale LME instead of the suggested 7.4 and hit OG on the nose. Tastes absolutely fantastic. What a great recipe.

I'm interested in doing this as an extract. What recipe did you use?
 
I make a very similar all grain version and ended up changing out about 1/3 of the pale malt for Gambriness ESB or Special.....it is a Canadian Marris Otter. The taste was a LOT closer to the real thing
 
I recently made this recipe and am currently doing a side by side comparison. First, I based my recipe off of 70% efficiency and ended up with 86% efficiency, so my OG was about 8 points high after the end of the boil. I also used S-04 instead of the Wyeast. That being said, the end result is a very good (and strong) brown ale. However, it does not have any of the deep, roasty notes of the commercial version on the first taste. It has a sweeter flavor, with roasty notes developing on the after taste. I'll definitely try this again, but will make the correct adjustments for efficiency and try Wyeast 1968.
 
Just a quick reminder that all of this information is possible because of the hard work of Jamil and Tasty. Please listen to the show, whether live, on the BN website, or subscribe on iTunes. I credit much of my progress as a brewer to listening to the shows on The Brewing Network. If you enjoy those shows and the information, please consider donating. Also, please support the show's sponsor, Northern Brewer.

Thanks.

Eric
 
Just a quick reminder that all of this information is possible because of the hard work of Jamil and Tasty. Please listen to the show, whether live, on the BN website, or subscribe on iTunes. I credit much of my progress as a brewer to listening to the shows on The Brewing Network. If you enjoy those shows and the information, please consider donating. Also, please support the show's sponsor, Northern Brewer.

Thanks.

Eric

Hear, hear. It's incredible the amount of knowledge they pass on.
 
Is there an easy way to download all of the CYBI episodes at once?

Subscribe to The Jamil Show on iTunes and pick which episodes you want to download. The older shows based on beer styles are excellent and I refer back to them often.

Eric
 
Brewed this up today, substituted a smaller amount of chinook for EKG on the bittering addition. I try to support the LHBS as much as possible. On quick brews, I never have the foresight to order online. LHBS was all out of EKG. I also substituted Mt Hood for Liberty on the aroma addition. This seemed like the appropriate substitution. Hit 1.052 OG. Woo!

Temperature control is going to be difficult. I like to keep the house cold, 60 at night and during the day, up to 68 in the evening. Updates to come.
 
I brewed this and did a side by side tonight with Moose Drool. Color was spot on, I had just a slight more carbonation than the Moose Drool. The aroma and flavor were identical and one person tasting tonight only said the original had a slight more 'thickness' in the body, which I wasn't able to perceive, but could have been with the carbonation I guess.
 
When I plug this recipe into BeerSmith with WLP002, it estimates a too high FG/too low ABV (1.017/4.6%). With an OG of 1.052, it looks like I would need an attenuation of ~73 in order to reach the 5.1 ABV mentioned in the podcast. The stated range for WLP002 is 63-70 so I'm not real confident I could get it to reach 73.

Any thoughts on whether I should switch to a more attentive yeast, like WLP007 or just brew it 'as is'? Thanks.
 
Don't be a wuss, use the amazing 002. I've gotten 78% attenuation with this yeast when I treat it well, and I usually average 70-73%. Treating it well means making a starter, giving it yeast nutrients, and using oxygen. 007 is not a more attenuative version of 002 - they are different strains with different flavor characteristics.
 
kanzimonson said:
Don't be a wuss, use the amazing 002. I've gotten 78% attenuation with this yeast when I treat it well, and I usually average 70-73%. Treating it well means making a starter, giving it yeast nutrients, and using oxygen. 007 is not a more attenuative version of 002 - they are different strains with different flavor characteristics.

I would have to disagree. I have done split batches comparing 002 and 007. At the same temp and oxygenation, 007 will give you about 5-8% more attenuation.

Eric
 
Let me clarify - yes, 007 is more attenuative than 002. But what I mean is that 007 is not a direct substitute for 002 if you want the same flavor with more attenuation.
 
I recently brewed a slight variation on this recipe; I used 12 pounds of pale malt instead of 10.8, I added a pound of biscuit, and I first wort hopped the 60 minute addition.

Smells awesome and just as smooth as moose drool but with a sturdier malt character, like it has a hint of Scottish ale.
 
Kegged my first attempt Saturday and I am having a glass right now. This is a darn good beer! Not great but good. The malt character is there but subdued by the hop bitterness. I over shot the OG (1.058) and it attenuated more than I thought it would (1.013). The alcohol may be over powering the malt as well but I am not sure. I mashed at 154 degrees for 60 minutes so I am surprised it finished so low.
I might try mashing at 155 degrees and reduce the hop additions slightly for my next attempt.

This beer gets better with every sip! I'll have no problem finishing it off probably before it is at its prime.

I think this just might be my new favorite breakfast and I am now in my happy place! :mug:

Did I mention this beer is good?
 
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