​CanBrew

Style: Scottish wee-heavy
Competition results: Won first place in the strong ales category in the Knickerbocker Battle of the Brews (2001) 

Extract recipe, 5-gallon batch size
Original gravity: 1.120 
Final gravity: 1.030
Bitterness: 32 IBU
Alcohol by volume: 9.5 percent 

15 pounds light dry malt extract
16 ounces 55-degree Lovibond crystal malt
4 ounces chocolate malt
4 ounces peat-smoked malt
2.25 ounces black malt
1 ounce Northern Brewer hops (10 percent AA), 60 minutes 

Steep the grains in 1 gallon of 150-degree F water for 30 minutes. Sparge with 1 gallon of 150 F water. Add 1 gallon water and bring to boil. Remove from heat and the Dry Malt Extract. Bring to boil, stirring regularly. Add 1 ounce Northern Brewer hop pellets. 

Boil for 60 minutes, stirring regularly. Remove from heat and cool. Add to fermenting bucket/carboy and top off to 5 gallons with cold water. 

Fermentation: Aerate well and pitch two activator packs of Wyeast 1728 Scottish ale yeast. Aerate again 12 hours later. Let ferment at 60 F for two weeks. Let it sit at 60 F four more weeks. Prime with 1/2 cup of honey, dissolved in 1 cup of warm water. Bottle and sample after six weeks. 

Judges' notes: "Ridiculously over the top and too big for style. More please!" 

Style: American pale ale
Competition results: First place in the American ale category at the 2010 Hudson Valley Homebrew Competition 

All-grain recipe, 6-gallon batch size
Original gravity: 1.053 
Final gravity: 1.013 
Bitterness: 40 IBU 
Alcohol by volume: 5.3 percent 

9 pounds American two-row malt
1 pound wheat malt
1 pound crystal 40L malt
1 pound Munich malt
0.5 pound Victory malt 

1 ounce Columbus hops (14 percent AA), 20 minutes 
.5 ounces Amarillo hops (8.5 percent AA), 10 minutes
.5 ounces Centennial hops (10 percent AA), 10 minutes
1 ounce Columbus hops (14 percent AA), 5 minutes
1 ounce Centennial hops, 0 minutes (meaning add this at the same time the flame under the boiling wort is turned off)
1 ounce Amarillo hops, 0 minutes 

Mash at 152 degrees F. Boil 60 minutes 

Fermentation: Ferment at 68 F with Wyeast 1056. Let it drop clear, because the beer will be harsh until it does, as a lot of resins bind the yeast. Carbonate to 2.5 volumes. Drink while fresh. 

Brewer's notes: This scored something ridiculous like 45 points (out of 50). It has a lot of hop flavor without a lot of bitterness; it balances big hop flavor with big maltiness. No traditional bittering hops, all hop-bursted (large amounts of hops added late in the boil). It's probably more aggressive than a classic example, but very drinkable (if you like hops). 

Style: Extra special bitter 
Competition results: Placed second in a combined category of English pale ales, German wheat and rye ales, and sour ales at the 2006 Knickerbocker Battle of the Brews 

All-grain recipe, 5-gallon batch size
Original gravity: 1.052 
Final gravity: 1.013 
Bitterness: 44 IBU
Alcohol by volume: 5.1 percent 

7.75 pounds British two-row pale malt
.45 pounds Carahell malt
.68 pounds Victory malt
.45 pounds flaked barley
.83 pounds 40-degree Lovibond caramel malt
1 ounce Northern Brewer hops (4.8 percent AA), 60 minutes
1 ounce Fuggle hops (4.8 percent AA), 10 minutes
1 ounce Fuggle hops (4.8 percent AA), 1 minute 

Mash the grain (cracked) in 16 quarts of water at 150 degrees F for 60 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon gypsum to water. Sparge until wort reaches a gravity of 1.010 (about 6.5 to 7 gallons). Boil wort, stirring occasionally, until batch reaches a volume of 5.75 gallons. Add 1 ounce of Northern Brewer hop pellets and boil for 60 minutes, adding 1 ounce of Fuggle hops with 10 minutes left in the boil, and another with 1 minute left in the boil. Remove from heat and cool to 70 F. 

Fermentation: Aerate well and pitch one activator pack of Wyeast 1084 Irish ale yeast. Let ferment at 70 F for one week. Rack to secondary and let sit at 70 F two more weeks. Prime with 7/8 cup of honey, dissolved in 1 cup of warm water. Bottle. Sample after six weeks. 

Judges' notes: Strong malty backbone makes this beer stand out. 

Style: Rye saison with brettanomyces
Competition results: Third place in the Belgian specialty ale category of Homebrew Alley 6 (2012) 

Partial-mash recipe, 5-gallon batch size
Original gravity: 1.065
Final gravity: 1.015
Bitterness: 31.5 IBU
Alcohol by volume: 6.7 percent 

3 pounds rye malt
2.5 pounds Belgian pilsner malt
1 pound brown Belgian candi sugar
0.5 pounds CaraWheat Malt
3.5 pounds extra-light dry malt extract
0.75 ounces Chinook hops (14.1 percent AA), 50 minutes
1 ounce East Kent Golding hops (5.7 percent AA), 15 minutes
.5 ounces Chinook hops (14.1 percent AA), 2 minutes 

2 vials of White Labs WLP565 Belgian Saison I Ale
1 vial of White Labs WLP650 Brettanomyces Bruxellensis
2 packs (WLP565) in primary fermentation but no yeast starter. Rocked carboy. Yeast nutrient and whirlfloc tablet for last 10 minutes of the boil.
1 pack of WLP650 in secondary 

Mash grains for 60 minutes at 150 degree F, and boil wort for 90 minutes. 

Fermentation: Pitch two vials of White Labs WLP565 yeast, rock the fermenter to aerate, and ferment for 3 weeks before racking to secondary and adding Brettanomyces and 2 ounces of oak that have been soaking in rye whiskey for about a week. (Also dump in the rye.) Allow eight weeks for secondary fermentation before kegging or bottling. 

Brewer's notes: The idea was to try to get something spicy and funky, as if you had licked the side of a horse stable for some reason, but it turned out to be cleaner than expected. The yeasts worked well together, and with the rye and oak no single flavor was too overpowering. Adding the brettanomyces after primary fermentation limited the funk to a more modest level. To me, this type of experimental beer is about two things. One, starting with a unique idea and an interesting flavor profile to develop. And two, balance—many of my beers that start as odd experiments come out way too strong in one aspect or another; I don't really know any formula for this, though it's some combination of experience and luck.