Want to make this beer

[Warwulf]

Been a mazer for years but want to start a beer batch. I saw Gordon Ramsey sample this http://www.innisandgunn.com/thebeer_newproducts.htm and how they made it. Sounds really good. How would I go about getting this recipe? I know that I could soak oak cubes in burbon to flavor them. Is there a preferred hops supplier, etc....
Also, as far as beer bottling, timing and all that, any other brewers got any tips?

Thanks all.

Len

 

[beninak]

That looks like it may be a tough one to tackle for a first beer recipe.

I've never tried that beer before, but it does look interesting. They don't mention on the website what style the beer is, so formulating a recipe would just be guesswork at best. From their tasting notes, it sounds like it may be a Scotch Wee Heavy so if you take a recipe for that, ferment out, then rack it onto some American Oak that has been soaked in a spicy rum for 30 days, then rack again onto some american oak cubes that have been soaked in bourbon for 30 days. Then prime, bottle and enjoy!

Do you have a local homebrew shop near you? If not, you can always order your suppies from online, websites like Morebeer.com and northernbrewer.com are good, but local homebrew stores are the best IMO because, well, they are local for one thing, and they can usually offer good advice when starting out.

 

[Skervy]

There are a few ways you can go about getting an aged oak barrel flavor.
1. You can buy a used barrel from a distillery (this is VERY expensive)
2. you can char oak cubes (on a grill or in an oven), soak in booze for at least a month then add to secondary fermenter.
3.. Add some toasted oak cubes and booze to fermenter. This is the easiest and probably most economical method of getting barrel aged flavor.

As for the beer I agree that it is most likely a Wee heavy. In order to get a good flavor from your oak you will probably want to jack your abv up a bit and let the cubes (if you go that way) sit in the fermenter for a month or even two (I would go 2).

Check out this guy's blog about making a similar product:

http://madfermentationist.blogspot.com/2009/02/bourbon-barrel-wee-heavy.html

 

[akueck]

I would contact them and ask what style of beer would be a good choice to mimic their brew. They might even give you a recipe. (Worth a shot at least, I got a recipe from Lost Abbey a few days ago just by asking.) Short of that, you could measure the SG of a degassed sample. Combined with the ABV, that gives you a target OG and a %attenuation, which will help with the grain bill and yeast selection.

 

[dogglebe]

Innis and Gunn may appear in the next 'Clone Brews' book (by Mark and Tess Szamatulski). The beer is incredible; the website mentions that a batch was aged in a rum barrel. I'll have to try to find some of that.


Phil

 

[skunkboy]

They are writing a third one? Cool...

 

[dogglebe]

The third book is atleast a year off, but there are some recipes available, including 90 Minute IPA, Leffe Brown and Smithwicks. Innis and Gunn is on the list to clone and, I think, Avery's Samael.

As a test brewer, I get first taste of a lot of these beers. Hooray for me.



Phil