The Raging B*tch and El Diablo

[kansastransplantvictim]

After trying the Flying Dog Raging B*tch, I've decided to try and come up with a clone or at least a beer that is similar. I was browsing the flying dog brewery site, and they listed El Diablo, as the yeast used for this beer. I did a quick google search, and couldn't find anything.

Does anyone know anything about El Diablo, or the Raging B*tch? It is an awesome beer, and if you haven't tried it yet, you need to.

http://www.flyingdogales.com/Beer-Anniversary.aspx

 

[toastermm]

The only thing I could find about it is that it is a "Belgian Yeast" or "A yeast that gives a belgian flavor".

I do hope someone chimes in with a yeast suggestion. Maybe someone out there that knows how some belgians taste AND how the raging b*tch tastes.

 

[kansastransplantvictim]

I have decided on the yeast that I'm going to use for my Belgian, Raging Bitch inspired IPA. And the winner is Wyeast 3522. Stone used it in there '09 Vertical Epic, a Belgian Porter. http://www.stonebrew.com/epic/Wc6297b16717fd.htm

Any thoughts or opinions about a good yeast choice would be appreciated. Has anyone else on here tried the raging bitch yet?

 

[platypotamus]

fyi... they give a brief rundown of the recipe in this video ~

to sum it up briefly:
1. Malt bill similar to their Snake Dog IPA
2. Warrior hops for bittering addition
3. Finish with Columbus and Amarillo hops
3. Dry hopped with Amarillo, as well
4. "Belgian white beer yeast" el Diablo

keep us updated. would love to hear how your clone turns out. cheers!

 

[kansastransplantvictim]

does anyone know what yeast flying dog uses for the woody creek wit, or have a good guess... it sounds like they probably use a similar yeast? I was thinking that the belgian ardennes from wyeast might come close.

I am fermenting a beer that included the specialty malts they list on the flyingdogales.com for the raging bitch, but the bittering hops, and flavoring hops were different, because of what I have on hand. I also went with a yeast that is much different then what I think they are using in this beer, because it was available. I am going to try it again with the hops listed, and with the belgian ardennes from wyeast and a similar malt bill.

The beer that is fermenting does taste awesome, but it is a lot different then the raging bitch.

 

[remilard]

Not a white beer yeast but if I were using Duvel yeast and couldn't come out and say that for trademark reasons but wanted to hint at it, I might say el diablo.

 

[beerjunky828]

I love this damn beer. It is absolutely superb. I tried Stone's Belgian IPA and it does not compare to this one. Stone's tasted too medicinal. I would be interested in how your beer turns out.

 

[kansastransplantvictim]

update: I brewed 10 gallons of a black-belgian ipa on 2/13/10, its been in primary since then. Today I transferred to secondary and added the 1st round of dry hops. I used the Whie labs trappist yeast because it was readily available. There was a strong 'belgian' kind of taste to the sample, and strong bitterness. It came in at 8.5% abv.

This beer is nothing close to the raging bitch, but the raging bitch was good inspiration. I'm thrilled with what I have so far.

 

[Lando]

Maybe I had a bad bottle or something strange, but I coud not get past the smell. Mine had a very, very strong sulphur smell that kept me from getting very far into it. I really want to like it cause I like a lot of their brews and they're local to me, but this thing reaked of WL400 that was not fermented at the proper temps. Major rotten egg smell.
I plan on trying this brew again and buying from a different store, but did anyone else have this experince? I really hope it was a bad bottle.

 

[bubbachunk]

I personally did not think this was anything special. The Belgian characteristics were to overpowered by the hops so I could only detect a very slight fruitiness.

 

[Windsors]

Any body getting closer to a recipe for Raging Bitch ?

Austin Home Brew has a Tripel IPA, and the few that have brewed it say its good, but not like Raging bitch.

Any help would be appreciated as I want to brew this next. Something close will be fine for the first try.

Thanks

 

[kansastransplantvictim]

For 5 gal. : 12 lbs 2-row and 1.5lbs crystal 60
the bittering hop is probably warrior, the flavor and aroma columbus and amarillo. dry-hopped with amarillo. The flying dog website has a good description of the ingredients and gravity points to hit. I would experiment with different yeast strains to figure out which one you like, and let us know. I tried the white labs trappist yeast, and it was good, but it wasn't the raging b*tch.

I need to get more of the commercial version, and then I'll probably make another batch with new yeast.

 

[Windsors]

Thanks for the reply.

Starting with your recipe, I entered it into Beersmith and came up with:

* I want to end up with 5.5 gallons
* Boil size - 7 gallons
* Brewhouse eff - 75%
* I need close to 15 lbs of Pale malt - 2 row with the 1.5 lbs of Crystal 60 to get my gravity where I need to be to get the 8,3 % alcohol
* I guessed at Wyeast Strong Ale Yeast - # 1388. - 2 packs

Would love to hear about possible boil times for the bittering and flavor hops and when to dry hop. Do you dry hop after primary fermentation, at the time of secondary fermentation or some other time.

Also, is a mash temp of 158 F good ?

I pretty new to this and this is my first Belgium / High gravity Ale and my first time trying to come up with a clone recipe. Would love some more comments and suggestions.

Thanks

bill

 

[platypotamus]

an earlier poster had mentioned Duvel as the yeast they were hinting at with "el Diablo". any chance of culturing some of their yeast from a bottle?

 

[kansastransplantvictim]

windsors- I would mash close to 150, and add the bittering hops at 60 min, and the flavor and aroma at 15, and 5 mins? I dry-hop in primary after fermentation has finished, but you can do it in secondary.

 

[platypotamus]

here's my first stab at cobbling together an extract / mini-mash clone:

http://hopville.com/recipe/238925/imperial-ipa-recipes/flying-dog-raging-bitch-clone

suggestions?

wishing I planned this in time to rack on top of the yeast from my Dubbel.

 

[jonesaabc]

Have you brewed this yet? I too am interested in a clone?

 

[platypotamus]

I have yet to brew this one. It's up next in the queue, right after my Wit and my Two Hearted clone. so little time to brew lately. arrgh.

 

[WildGingerBrewing]

Love the Raging Bitch. If anyone does successfully clone it, please post the recipe!

 

[jonesaabc]

I have yet to brew this one. It's up next in the queue, right after my Wit and my Two Hearted clone. so little time to brew lately. arrgh.

Me too! I bought enough ingriedients to brew two batches of biermunchers octoberfast ale, got one batch left. I will try to do one night this week and then I told my wife that a SA summer ale was next. I suppose that the raging bitch will happen in july some time.

 

[songstre]

I have brewed this and gotten pretty close. It is delicious. Here is the recipe I used (not sure where I got it). I will brew again soon. I've got two others lined up in front of this one. The yeast I used was WLP530 Abbey Ale. The recipe I used called for Ardennes (Wyeast 3522), but it was not available. The whole reason I'm "rebrewing" is that I want to see the difference....and that I can't get enough of this beer.


Raging Bitch
Imperial Belgian IPA


Type: Partial Mash
Date: 6/19/2010
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Brewer: Robert Butler
Boil Size: 6.00 gal Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min Equipment: Brew Pot (6+gal) and Igloo/Gott Cooler (5 Gal)
Taste Rating(out of 50): 42.0 Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00
Taste Notes: This came out very close to the real thing. Pours an orangey color with a white foamy head. Retention is good too. Great nose filled with light floral and citrus hop notes from the Amarillo hops and Belgian yeast qualities - banana and bubble gum.

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
12.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 76.19 %
2.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 12.70 %
1.75 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 11.11 %
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (Dry Hop 14 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Warrior [15.00 %] (60 min) Hops 41.6 IBU
0.50 oz Warrior [15.00 %] (30 min) Hops 16.0 IBU
1.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (15 min) Hops 19.3 IBU
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (5 min) Hops 4.7 IBU
1 Pkgs Abbey Ale (White Labs #WLP530) Yeast-Ale



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.085 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.070 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.020 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 8.54 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 7.84 %
Bitterness: 81.5 IBU Calories: 313 cal/pint
Est Color: 12.4 SRM Color: Color

 

[songstre]

Just realized that credit for my recipe has to go to platypotamus' previously posted link (and platypotamus himself, I believe). I've adjusted the recipe for AG. My hop schedule is different too, and I'm not sure why I did that (unless he's changed the recipe since I pulled it), but it works. I'm hoping the next time I brew this that the Ardennes yeast will lend a slightly more bubble-gum/fruitiness to the flavor profile.

 

[platypotamus]

Just realized that credit for my recipe has to go to platypotamus' previously posted link (and platypotamus himself, I believe). I've adjusted the recipe for AG. My hop schedule is different too, and I'm not sure why I did that (unless he's changed the recipe since I pulled it), but it works. I'm hoping the next time I brew this that the Ardennes yeast will lend a slightly more bubble-gum/fruitiness to the flavor profile.

heheh. awesome man! and thanks for taking the initiative to convert the recipe. I just recently went all-grain, myself, and was trying to find the time to do the math. I have yet to brew it, but it will definitely be either my next batch or the one following.

FWIW, I'm not entirely sure why I had chosen the Ardennes yeast. Flying Dog calls it their "devil yeast", so it may be worth trying either WLP570 (Belgian Golden) or Wyeast 1338 (Belgian Strong) - since both are supposed to be the Duvel strain ~ http://www.mrmalty.com/yeast.htm

would love to hear from anyone else who tries to clone this fantastic brew. cheers!

 

[songstre]

Yeah, I'll tell ya. It came out really good with the Abbey Ale yeast. I've just read that the Ardennes has more of the bubble gum affect that I think is pretty signature of this brew. So funny, I opened up my email while I was sipping this tenacious brew! I may just stick with this yeast! It's fantastic!

Haven't done a side by side though....

 

[ericd]

I went to the liquor stores and one said it was limited edition and one said it was seasonal. Can you get it all the time now?

 

[platypotamus]

I went to the liquor stores and one said it was limited edition and one said it was seasonal. Can you get it all the time now?

from what I've heard, it's such a popular brew, that they'd be crazy not to offer it year-round at this point.

anyone else brew a clone yet? finally about to order my ingredients. looking forward to this.

 

[platypotamus]

I finally got around to brewing this one over the 3-day weekend. My efficiency was pretty low (with such a big grain bill, and with me still trying to dial in my all-grain process in general), so I ended up throwing in a pound of Amber DME that I had around, in order to get it up to my expected OG. Next time around, I would possibly scale back the massive grain bill a bit, and plan on using some simple sugars.

In any event, it smells and looks fantastic already. I made up a 2 Liter yeast starter with the Ardennes yeast, and within about 12hours I was already quite happy that I had used a blowoff tube. I'll report back with updates as this comes along.

Big Ragin' Belgian IIPA
Brewer: Platypotamus
Style: Imperial IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Date: 9/5/2010

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 6.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.90 gal
Estimated OG: 1.082 SG
Estimated Color: 11.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 84.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 60.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
15.50 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 73.81 %
2.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) UK (1.0 SRM) Grain 9.52 %
1.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 7.14 %
1.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4.76 %
1.00 lb Amber Dry Extract (12.5 SRM) Dry Extract 4.76 %

1.00 oz Warrior [17.20 %] (60 min) Hops 38.7 IBU
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [7.20 %] (30 min) Hops 6.2 IBU
0.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.40 %] (30 min) Hops 12.5 IBU
1.10 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.40 %] (15 min) Hops 17.7 IBU
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [7.20 %] (15 min) Hops 8.0 IBU
0.60 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.40 %] (1 min) Hops 0.8 IBU
0.60 oz Amarillo Gold [7.20 %] (1 min) Hops 0.4 IBU

1 Pkgs Belgian Ardennes (Wyeast Labs #3522) - 2L Starter


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion
Total Grain Weight: 20.00 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Full Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 25.00 qt of water at 170 F 150.0 F
10 min Mash Out Add 15.00 qt of water at 202.4 F 168.0 F

 

[neomantra]

I was fortunate enough to meet their brew master recently and got some info on this. Apparently el diablo is the same strain used in hoegaarden white. He also commented that it's called "el diablo" yeast because of how it can tear through high gravity beers like a beast Unfortunately I was told they swap in a lager yeast for bottle conditioning...so much for culturing it directly

I've seen mixed reports online about whether you can culture the primary brewing yeast from a Hoegaarden or not. Has anyone tried it personally?

 

[rexbanner]

Just in case you haven't made up your mind yet, might I suggest WLP575? The key to a Belgian IPA is a subdued Belgian yeast. You don't want a lot of fruitiness or bubblegum, and 575 is supposed to be a bit more subdued than 550.

I have used 550 for the two belgian IPAs that I brewed this summer (Randy Mosher's recipe from Radical Brewing) and they fermented at around 72 degrees. They had a strong fruit aroma, but little fruit flavor. I imagine that at 68, (or what I plan to do with my new ferm chamber, a ramp-up from 64-72) you would minimal fruit and lots of edgy bitterness.

FYI, Belgian IPA is probably my favorite style. Drinking a Monk's Revenge as I type, and just finished a bottle of Raging Bitch.

 

[neomantra]

Yep, I've made 3 variants of Belgian IPA's now and all of them used 550. I'd agree that it's not really the right fit. To me the 550 actually has a fruity smell as you indicated, but I feel like I get a fairly spicy/dry taste from it.

My next iteration in this style is actually going to be more of a dubbel that's really hoppy. This is the plan: http://hopville.com/recipe/328956/belgian-dubbel-recipes/hoppy-belgian-dubbel. It's basically a Chimay Red clone variant that ignores their hop schedule in favor of something much hoppier.

The Wyeast Belgian Abby Ale (1214) is the yeast suggested by the Clone Brews book I have for the Chimay so I'm going to try that first but may give WLP575 a shot with my next Belgian IPA as you've suggested.

My last attempt on the IPA version (which I'm still drinking) looked like this: http://hopville.com/recipe/245383/home-brew/belgian-ipa-v3