ok, so i found out this week that my beloved dog, scarlet begonias, is in kidney failure and her days are numbered. we are giving her extra love and so far (knock on wood), she hasn’t gotten any worse, although we already know that she will not make it even weeks. i’ve had my girl longer than i’ve had my wife or children and she has been with me through big ups and downs.
i’m having a REAL hard time with this. i’m a sensative guy, but i’ve never really “gotten into” pets. i had no idea something like this would be so hard.
i should tell you about my girl… she was born in memphis tennessee in 1998. she is half boxer/half lab and she was supposed to weight about 45 lbs full grown. she ended up at about 110 at some point and time, but we got her down to about 80 lbs when we put her on a diet a few years ago. she was NEVER going to weight 45 lbs as she still weighs almost 60 despite losing about 15 pounds the last couple months.
she is (was) a big and strong girl but playful and sweet to a fault. she was very very very gentle but very protective of our home. she was our early warning device when people were coming down the street or up to the door. to this day, her vision and hearing are superb.
i want to brew a big strong (even imperial) red ale in her memory. this will be a recipe that i hold onto and replicate over and over so long as i am able to brew. i plan on brewing this beer once a year in her memory.
i’ve never brewed a red ale, so i’ll appreciate all input.
i want something as unique as possible (meaning, i don’t want to brew “so and so’s” red ale. i want this to be Scarlet Begonia’s Red Ale.
deepsouth - I"m very, very sorry to hear about your pup. Ain’t no shame in admitting you’re sad about it - in my eyes, if losing your dog doesn’t hit you in some way, then something ain’t right with ya ;).
As you said, this should be your own beer, so I would consider playing around with the following ingredients:
Am 2 row or Maris Otter for base
Specialties
Large amounts:
Crystal 60, 80 or Caramunich
Carared
Biscuit or Victory
Small Amounts (these are mainly for color):
Chocolate or Pale Chocolate
Carafa Special I, II or III
Hops:
C-hops
Yeast: any american strain (Dennys 1450 might complement this perfectly)
Play around with that and see what you come up with.
sorry to hear about the puppy. :-[
my dogs are 9 and 10 and hopefully i don’t face this for a few more years. it will break my sons’ hearts.
i am a lager guy, but one of my favorite commercial beers is a very hoppy red rye ale. something about that rye makes it special. I know that there is some other sugar in that recipe as well either brown sugar or something. something to think about. a little less run of the mill.
My heart goes out to you. I wish I had a good recipe to share. I made a mead in 2008 in the last weeks of my 15 year old dog’s life, figuring I could age it until the day when I could toast her memory without losing it. I have yet to taste that batch.
i hope you have years as well! it’s so so so so hard. i can’t figure out a way to explain to my five year old that when she leaves, she’s not coming back. he thinks she is…
i love the rye idea as well and i’m totally not opposed to having a red rye ale. i love the beers i’ve had with rye in them thus far.
Really sorry to hear about this - seeing that picture doesn’t help, my own boxer/lab mix just turned 8 and looks a lot like yours. Fortunately for us, she did stay in the 50 lb range.
For the recipe I’d go with simcoe in the mix with the c-hops, but that’s my own personal preference. And you might consider some sugar in the mix to help dry it out, if you like your beers that way.
It took me by surprise at the time as well. My wife and I told ourselves we’d wait a year before getting another dog, but we only lasted about 6 weeks before getting a puppy. A house without a dog didn’t feel like a home to me. Unfortunately puppies and old dogs have almost nothing in common, so that was another big adjustment. A few weeks after getting the puppy, I realized that I didn’t miss having A dog in the house, I missed having MY dog in the house. Live and learn. Oh, and I’m sure I’ll get around to tasting that mead some day. All the best to you and your family.
Sorry to hear about Scarlet. Dogs can be such an important member of the family that losing one is devastating.
I never understand how my brother does it. He always has at least one dog named Molly. Then one day there’ll be a different dog. When asked what happened he’ll just shrug and not answer. We got a new one…
Good luck with the Red ale. I know it’ll be special.
i love simoce. how would those go with centennial and chinook? should i use any amarillo?
i’m thinking a beer about 8% - 10% (ageable), how much rye should i use? i love hop rod rye and the other couple rye beers i’ve had. how much of what grains should i use to get the red color? does denny sell his yeast?
how long do uncrushed grains in sealed bags stored in plastic containers last? how many pounds of grains total should i be using?
sorry for all the questions. i’d rather get this right the first time than have it be a trial run.
update on my girl… she is still getting up and down good, barking and wagging her tail. she is still eating and drinking and going to the bathroom regularly. i know where all this is going, but if i could baby her a couple more weeks and her not suffer, i would really love it.
Sorry to here about Scarlet. I have three geriatric pups myself. One’s deaf, one’s blind, the other seems to be OK for now. I know how it goes, always sad, Had to go through this a few times myself. I would follow Paul’s advice on the recipe. I usually go with C60, C80 and Carared for my red beers. They are a style that I enjoy, in case you couldn’t tell.
This hits home for me. I have two dogs and two cats. My dogs are my best freinds. I had a mini shcnauzer for 15 years that was there with me through thick and thin. Unfortunately it came time to put him down. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life. I will never forget him.
As far as the red ale goes, I like the input so far. I would go with some carared and some C80. Probably some 1056, WLP001 or S05. I would shoot for the hop profile in Red Rocket Ale…Chinook, Cascade, Columbus and Centennial. Mash at 154 for some decent body. Dry hop with Simcoe and Amarillo.
