another episode of categorize this beer

47% two row
47% munich
4% crystal
2% special b

1.070
~16 SRM
columbus, centennial, simcoe hops @ 60, 20, 10, 0 for ~51 IBUs

us05 yeast

I won a blue ribbon from my first attempt in the specialty category but it bugs me that I don’t have a style to call it…maybe American Style Old Ale?

It is very malty with a slight dark fruit character from the special b. Considerable alcohol warmth and a bit too dry which causes it to be slightly sharp. Good hop balance that stands up to malt and provides a nice profile.

Above is the second attempt. The first attempt calculated to about ~18 SRM but a judge thought it was closer to 20 SRM. That original recipe used Red X in place of Munich and darker crystal malts. I wanted the beer to be more ‘amber/red’ so I dropped the calculated SRM by a couple of points. The sample looked way too light but tasted very close to the first version. it is currently carbing in bottles.

Looks like American Strong Ale is going to be added to the new guidelines? That might be a winner…

Yep, American Strong Ale seems like the closest.

It goes in the “Arrogant Bastard” category… um, I mean “American Strong Ale”

Never thought of an Arrogant Bastard connection. I probably haven’t had that beer in over 5 years…“Arrogant Bastard Style Ale” it is!