Caribou Slobber...

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PLAY_DEAD

PLAY_DEAD

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Still relatively new to the brewing scene. Brewed caribou slobber (moose drool clone) last night. I've heard some really good things about this beer, so I figured I would give it a try. Woke up this morning and my carboy was ALIVE with activity! I switched my airlock out for a blowoff due to a huge head of krausen after only 8 hours in the primary! Now, the Krausen is actually filling the blowoff. I'm guessing this is ok and is the purpose of the blowoff vs airlock. Is this correct?

Another question, not related to caribou slobber alone, is about session beers (which northern brewer calls this beer). What exactly is a "session" beer and why is the ABV generally lower than most other types of beer?

Regardless, I'm really looking forward to getting this beer out of primary so I can get to brewing Midwest's Hop Head Double IPA I ordered today!

Thanks!




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First question.
Yes. As long as the tube is below the top of the fermenting vessel & going into some sort of sanitary liquid. Think of it as a giant airlock.
And go back to physics 101 & Bernoulli's Principle :)

Second question.
The general consensus is that "Session" in the name/description of those beers means that they are suitable for an extended drinking session.
Good flavor & not too strong, so the participants won't get knee-walking & mumbling after a goodly amount.
 
Thanks for a great answer and a great explanation of a session beer. Yeah, I always make sure the jug of star San is below the fermenter. I've just never had things get so busy that krausen comes out of the blowoff. It's exciting! I'm pumped to try this brew.


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I just bottled my Caribou Slobber. Took a little sample and really enjoyed it. I left it in the primary for four weeks.

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I'm fortunate to have had a real Moose Drool, and it was amazing! I'm sure the clones get it really close as it didn't strike me as a complicated beer despite the great flavor.
 
I'm lucky enough to have gone to college in Missoula, where Moose Drool is made. In fact, it was the first microbrew I ever drank and is still one of my favorites. Might have to give Caribou Slobber a try. If for some random reason you ever make it to Missoula, Big Sky Brewing is a must-stop along with Kettlehouse Brewing.


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I'd be curious to know how close Caribou Slobber is to Moose Drool. I'm finishing up a batch of Slobber and loving it, and I'm not normally a huge fan of brown ales. I saw some Moose Drool singles hiding between the seasonal Blue Moons and Sam Adamses at the neighborhood Kroger recently and am currently kicking myself for not getting one or twelve.
 
I've also made this NB kit and I find that the flavors are pretty close in a side by side comparison. One thing to note though, the Carribou Slobber takes a while to come together. You will be tempted to drink them shortly after they are done but mine took a good 6-8 weeks in bottle to really meld flavor-wise. Up until then it's pretty watery and disappointing. You can look around, but I seem to remember others having the same experience.
 
That was the kit I got when I first got into home brewing. Had the same thing you did with the heavy amount of krausen and the blow off tube going nuts. I however, put the glass carboy in my bathtub thinking that if anything happened it would be well contained. I tried to lift it out the next morning when I realized my fears were overblown, and tapped the side of the tub which immediately resulted in the bottom of carboy falling out and me losing the batch.

I have since switched to plastic carboys and look forward to attempting the kit once again.
 
Just opened my first bottle tonight..(also the Caribou Slobber)...only one week bottled (had to drink it in the name of science). Gave it an aggressive pour...to see what kind of head retention I could get. This brew came in at 4.73 for me...very tasty even after just one week of bottling. Still some carbing up and flavor meld before it is done...can only imagine how good this thing is gonna be....ohhh and my ferm required a blow off as well.

VanDykeSlobber.jpg
 
Sounds like I'm right on track with everyone else! I can't wait to get this bottled! Not going to happen till week 3 in primary due to being a dad/husband/ employed/lazy. Haha


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PLAY_DEAD said:
Sounds like I'm right on track with everyone else! I can't wait to get this bottled! Not going to happen till week 3 in primary due to being a dad/husband/ employed/lazy. Haha


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Click to expand...

Mine was in the primary for 3 weeks...as well...so no worries brother!
 
Caribou Slobber was my first brew. It got rave reviews and it was gone very quickly! I will definitely be brewing it again! I had it in primary for two weeks, secondary for one, bottles for 2-3. I have 1/2 gallon in a growler aging that I am bringing to the next UFC fight night. Can't wait!
 
Oneoffcustom said:
Did your krausen go away after the first day or so
Click to expand...

I had a very thick Krausen for 3 or 4 days, and it didn't fall completely until about 9 days.

I'm now 21 days in primary and just checked the gravity: 1.009 and it tastes great! I'm going to leave in for a week more before I bottle as it's still a bit murky.
 
Man. After it blew through my blow off, I have no krausen on top. Very slow bubbling as well. Hope this turns out.


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Should I be worried my bubbling is slow and no krausen after violent fermentation for 1 day?


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Caribou Slobber was one of the first homebrews I ever tried. Love it, have since had Moose Drool, and I think Caribou Slobber is very close to it indeed.

If you like drool, you will drool over Slobber.

Still one of my favorite kits
 
Oneoffcustom said:
Should I be worried my bubbling is slow and no krausen after violent fermentation for 1 day?


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Click to expand...

I'm a rookie, and I just bottled my Slobber yesterday and it sure tasted good already! Looking forward to sampling in a few weeks after some bottle conditioning.

I had it in the primary for 3 weeks and put it in a secondary for a week.

I only had active fermentation for like a day or so, as well. Sounds like I may not have pitched enough yeast/my yeast was old, according to another thread I posted regarding a concern I had with my FG.

Anyway, so far, so good with mine. It just isn't going to have a very high ABV. That may have been your problem, too, Oneoff?
 
Just to reassure everyone. I had some of the standard issues with my slobber batch and it turned into one of the best beers I have made to date

This brew is notorious for its quick start and early end to fermentation. Mine konked out at 1.02 as many others have experienced. This is pretty common and not surprising when you consider all the unfermentable sugars in a dark extract batch and many people using the dry danstar Windsor yeast (low-medium attenuation).

Give it some time, take a gravity reading or two, and relax. This is a great beer, even when it finishes early. Mine probably started to peak about 6 weeks after bottling. So save some for then.

My ingredients for my next attempt at the slobber (all-grain) arrive later this week. I'm shooting for better attenuation, but at least I know it tastes great regardless.
 
NB's Caribou Slobber is a really nice brown ale.
I have made the extract version twice, and the AG version once.
NB's nut brown ale is also pretty good, if you like brown ales.
 
This was my first batch of beer. I think it's great, and so do most of my friends and family that share it with me. Don't even think they are patronizing me.

The one thing I will tell you is that something magical happened around week 4 in the bottle. Let it set if you can.


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blake_park said:
This was my first batch of beer. I think it's great, and so do most of my friends and family that share it with me. Don't even think they are patronizing me.

The one thing I will tell you is that something magical happened around week 4 in the bottle. Let it set if you can.


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Click to expand...

Absolutely...I learned this the first time I made it.
As with many first-timers they drink the beer too early.
This beer is drinkable 10 days in the bottle, a good beer 2-3 weeks bottled, and a really solid brown ale one month and after.

Advice to PLAY_DEAD --- drink a few early, if you can't wait...drink a case. But take it from above and someone who has brewed this beer several times - SAVE MOST OF THEM AT LEAST A MONTH. It will improve a lot.
 
I never did get a good solid SG because I took my gravity reading (like a rookie) before mixing my partial boil with the remainder of the water, so it was abnormally high. I'll have to just use the SG on the label. I followed the recipe to a T, so I should've come out close. What FG is good for bottling Caribou Slobber?



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PLAY_DEAD said:
I never did get a good solid SG because I took my gravity reading (like a rookie) before mixing my partial boil with the remainder of the water, so it was abnormally high. I'll have to just use the SG on the label. I followed the recipe to a T, so I should've come out close. What FG is good for bottling Caribou Slobber?



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Click to expand...

Without knowing your SG the easiest method would be to provide ample time for primary fermentation and then call it done when you have two identical FG readings. It seems the many around here including myself have had lots of success with at least two weeks in primary. At that point (generally speaking) you are really only checking you FG to get some numbers for an ABV calculation.

If you can get an extract version of slobber under .015 with the dry windsor yeast you (your yeast really) have done well.
 
This Saturday will make 3 weeks in primary. I will probably bottle on Saturday and get my Hop Head Double IPA in the works!


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Wow moose drool/cs is popular on the forums. I'll have to give it a try. We have it in grocery stores in Chicago

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After reading through this thread, I'm definitely buying a caribou slobber kit. I never made the connection to Moose Drool. When I was stationed in Montana, a restaurant I frequently ate at had it on tap. It was easily one of my favorites.
 
:mug:
PLAY_DEAD said:
I followed the recipe to a T, so I should've come out close. What FG is good for bottling Caribou Slobber?
Click to expand...

There really is no set answer to that. Depends upon yeast, OG, temperature fermented, etc. Some will finish a little high in the teens, some lower in the single digits, mine finished at 1.009.

The trick is not to bottle until you've had 3 or more consecutive days at the same gravity reading (whatever that might be).

When I was a new brewer, I checked gravities frequently, but now, I leave most beers in the primary a month, and take one final reading just for my notes. I don't know many beers that aren't ready in a month.

You might even find that waiting a few extra weeks before bottling will improve flavor and clarity, though if you've been on these forums long enough, you'll know how controversial that can be :)

Just do what works for you, eventually you'll get comfortable with your own system, and you'll still be making great homebrew. :mug:
 
Not getting hardly any bubbling on mine after day 1, and no bubbling a week in. Gravity is at 1.02 currently, but has a really thin watery taste. I did add about a 1/4 of a gallon water after boil to fill up carboy.

Will time take away the watery taste and boost the flavor more? I realize it should sit another week in primary, and then another 2 or 3 weeks in bottles but will it get a more robust flavor?


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Carllous said:
After reading through this thread, I'm definitely buying a caribou slobber kit. I never made the connection to Moose Drool. When I was stationed in Montana, a restaurant I frequently ate at had it on tap. It was easily one of my favorites.
Click to expand...

This is BETTER than Moose Drool...in my opinion.
 
Oneoffcustom said:
Not getting hardly any bubbling on mine after day 1, and no bubbling a week in. Gravity is at 1.02 currently, but has a really thin watery taste. I did add about a 1/4 of a gallon water after boil to fill up carboy.

Will time take away the watery taste and boost the flavor more? I realize it should sit another week in primary, and then another 2 or 3 weeks in bottles but will it get a more robust flavor?


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Click to expand...

Yes....this beer continues to change...even after three weeks of bottling. This to date is my favorite brew...simply amazing.
 
I just bottled my own slight modification to Caribou Slobber, it's darker and roastier and a bit more abv, so far it tastes great and should only get better in the bottle.
Recipe:
6lb amber dme
3lb dark dme
Steeping grains:
8oz crystal 80L, 8oz UK Pale Chocolate malt, 4oz black malt.
1oz each of Goldings, liberty, willamatte.

OG 1.077 FG 1.022 7.29%abv.
 
What yeast is everyone using? I keep reading all these wonderful reviews, but the recommended northwest pacific wyeast strain just isnt something I find enjoyable. I have used it twice once in this and once in white house honey ale, it just comes off way to fruity. I adjusted my starter size and lowered my ferm temps with the whitehouse honey ale but even with the little bit of fruity yeast character that is there I still dont really care for it.

Any suggestions for yeast if I do decide to try this again?
 
Cadrian said:
What yeast is everyone using? I keep reading all these wonderful reviews, but the recommended northwest pacific wyeast strain just isnt something I find enjoyable. I have used it twice once in this and once in white house honey ale, it just comes off way to fruity. I adjusted my starter size and lowered my ferm temps with the whitehouse honey ale but even with the little bit of fruity yeast character that is there I still dont really care for it.

Any suggestions for yeast if I do decide to try this again?
Click to expand...

I haven't brewed Caribou Slobber, but I did do a different brown ale (Brushfire from Midwest Supplies) and used the Wyeast 1056 American Ale and it turned out very good. I've seen other Moose Drool clone recipes that use either Wyeast 1098 (British Ale) or 1968 (London ESB) or their White Labs equivalents.
 

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