3.15.10 Beer Shipped & Received

OK. I got an email yesterday... Jamil Zainasheff received the beer that I shipped to him recently. This makes me nervous.

This might not sound like a big deal. However, Jamil is about the most award-winning homebrewer of all time. I sent him one of my clone attempts along with the original beer - Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale - for feedback. While I am totally open to any insight he and the gang at The Brewing Network can give me, and I know my beer is not perfect, I don't want it to be a slamfest.

I usually dislike pumpkin beers. I have tried every iteration I can get my hands on up here: Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale, Brooklyn Brewing Post Road Pumpkin Ale, Harvest Moon, Dogfish Head Punkin, etc. Elysian's Night Owl was the first one I ever have tried that I actually wanted to drink another! I was averaging 3-4 bombers each week this fall... And everybody I shared it with liked it too!

So my 2009 Holiday Brew was a Night Owl clone. I ramped up with several small batches, including a version of Jamil's pumpkin spiced ale from Brewing Classic Styles, a recipe from Zymurgy magazine, and my own formulation of Night Owl based on info from the Elysian website. I began with 1-gallon all-grain batches, mashed in my mini tun and fermented in jugs.

All three of the beers were decent. They were definitely drinkable, and I drank every last drop. The recipes from Brewing Classic Styles and Zymurgy were good, but not spectacular - something to brew before Hallowe'en or Thanksgiving to share with a guest or two. But that was not really what I was shooting for. If I'm going to all the extra effort with the pumpkin, I want the resulting beer to be one that people can't get enough of. Besides, I was drinking them in side-by-side comparisons with the original Night Owl.

My clone recipe hit surprisingly close the first time around. I tweaked it a bit - double roasted the pumpkin (a chef's trick for getting a little more roasty sweetness & caramel out of squash), and adjusted the spices. I scaled it up and pitched the yeast from the first batch. I was shooting for an amber ale with English leanings as the base, with a bit of complexity from the pumpkin and spices - this is what I got from the Elysian brew.

My beer was well-received over the holidays. But it was still not a spot-on clone. This is one that I'd like to make an annual tradition, so I want to keep working on the recipe, but I lack the depth of expertise to go beyond what I've already done. I am proud of how close I got with just a little research and tasting, but I needed some expert opinions... Jamil (along with Mike 'Tasty' McDole) hosts a show on the Brewing Network called 'Can You Brew It' - a craft beer clone show. I am hoping that their crew can give me a few pointers to make my recipe even better.

I have also been trying to get them to do a clone of Silver City Fat (Bastard) Scotch Ale on the show. So I sent them a couple of fresh bombers of Fat in hopes I could persuade them!

I'll let everyone know what I hear from Jamil & the gang at the BN.