Pete's Wicked Ale

[h4mmy86]

Is that stuff still around?? I can't find the stuff anywhere and I heard they went under a few years back, but their website is still up.

I sure could use one of their strawberry blondes to battle this summer heat!

 

[iandh]

Nope, the parent company stop producing Pete's Wicked Ales a year or two ago.

On a side note, Pete Slosberg is an awesome dude. He still lives in the SF Bay Area and is active in the brewing community. A really generous guy with both his time and expertise. I think he is advising several of the start-up breweries in the area.

His current project is a chocolate company called Cocoa Pete's Chocolate. He does beer and chocolate pairings are 21st Amendment sometimes.

 

[h4mmy86]

That's too bad about the company, but its great to here the man is still doing well.

We need to get up with him about an authentic Pete's strawberry blonde clone recipe!

 

[amandabab]

I liked Pete Wicked Ale.

 

[IXVolt]

Loved that beer, I didn't know it went under. A shame. I tried to make a strawberry cream ale version a few years ago. I didn't care for it too much. I used strawberry extract and it was horrific tasting.

 

[dslater]

Too bad about Pete's. That and Sam Adams were my introduction to craft beer.

 

[Ramitt]

Too bad about Pete's. That and Sam Adams were my introduction to craft beer.

Me too, Petes was my goto beer for several years. Drank a lot of Wicked Summer Ale at one time.

 

[dgez]

Sorry to hear about Pete's...A Pete's Wicked Ale clone (from Clone Brews) was the first beer I made on my own...It will always hold a special place in my heart. Kinda like Tangerine by Led Zeppelin, the first song I learned to play on guitar.

 

[MisterTipsy]

This beer was so awesome they stopped making it ???

 

[Ravenshead]

There's thread about it. Basically, he built up a nice brewery and sold to one the bigger guys. Said bigger guy couldn't make enough profit out of it and shut down the label. I can't vouch for the validity or the details but that's what I remember from the thread.

I did drink quite a bit of it way back back when even Shiner was considered a new thing. Abita Turbo-dog was just making it's way on the scene too.

 

[ghack]

In the craft beer boomlet of the 90's, it was a notable beer. Funny, just the other day I was wondering what became of it.

 

[Refly]

Wow, I had no idea they went out of business. I assumed they had just scaled back. I just finished drinking a beer out of this...

Now a collectors item!!!

 

[Nightshade]

Pete's Wicked, Redhook ESB and Grasshopper were all among my early introductions to craft beers.

 

[Ravenshead]

Here's the thread I mentioned.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f5/petes-wicked-going-down-238363/

 

[dtarman]

I wanted to note my Doyle's Wicked Ale recipe, as I hope to make it again soon.

Mash 9.33 lb US 2 row pale malt, with 1/2 lb US crystal malt and 4 oz US chocolate malt. 122° for 30 minutes, 150° for 60 minutes.

Boil for 45 minutes, then add 3/4 oz Brewer's Gold hops. Total boil 90 minutes
At 15 minutes to go, add 1/2 oz East Kent Goldings hops and 1 tsp Irish Moss.

Primary, secondary, lager.

I also found this recipe, but I haven't used this. It's a non-mash so it's less work.

This is the recipe that Pete’s Wicked Ale would send you if you requested a homebrew recipe equivalant.

Ingredients: (5 gallons)
8 oz 2-row Malt
8 oz 60 Lovibond Crystal Malt
8 oz Special Roast Malt
4 oz Chocolate Malt
6.6 lbs Northwestern Gold Malt Extract (unhopped)
1.5 oz Brewer’s Gold Pellets (bittering, 60 minute boil)
1 oz Brewer’s Gold Pellets (last 10 minutes)
Wyeast 1056 American Ale yeast
1/2 ounce Brewers Gold pellets (dry hopping)

Instructions:
-Add grains to a grain bag, steep in 2 Gal water at 155F for 45 mins to 1 hr, stirring occasionally. Remove grains, add extract and bring to a boil.

Total boil time 75 mins. -Boil for 15 mins, then add bittering hops. -Continue for 50 mins, then add aroma hops (10 mins before knockoff)

Cool to pitching temp, pitch yeast (build a starter for the yeast)

-Add dry hops after fermentation has completed, so the escaping gas will not carry your hop aroma out of the airlock. I would probably ferment in primary for a week, rack to secondary and add the dry hops after activity had subsided.

Source: George Hummel - Pennsylvania

 

[Beernik]

Pete's Wicked Ale was probably the first American made beer that I really enjoyed drinking. I remember drinking it in 1994 on a trip to DC.