As a follow up to “Barrel Aging for Homebrewers,” Neil Fisher has shared the recipes for some of the base beers that he uses for barrel aging. The recipe for “Reclamation Red” has undergone several different iterations, but it started out as an attempt to brew a barrel-aged version of Stone’s Arrogant Bastard. The recipe, modified for significantly lower IBUs, has become his house Burgundy Sour recipe and is a great backdrop for aging with a wide variety of fruits. Reclamation Red took two medals at the 2014 Big Beers Festival homebrew competition in Vail, Colorado. The nectarine version took Silver in the Sour Category as a Flanders Red entry, and the blackberry version took Bronze in the Belgian Specialty category.
ALL-GRAIN
OG: 1.052
FG: 1.002
IBUs: 21
ABV: 6.6%
MALT/GRAIN BILL
10 lb (4.5 kg) pale malt (2-row) U.S.
2 lb (907 g) Special B malt
HOPS SCHEDULE
½ oz (14 g) Chinook at 60 minutes
DIRECTIONS
Mash for 60 minutes at 160°F (71°C). Boil for 90 minutes following the hops schedule.
YEAST
1 Package Belgian Sour Mix 1 (White Labs #WLP655)
BREWER’S NOTES
Age for 28 days at 40°F (4°C).