BBQ Brewday(s)

Time to Q also means time to brew. I am putting together a bunch of brews for KCBS BBQ Competition teams and if they are going to be ready by summer now is the time to get started.

Why would I brew beer for teams that will crush us on the BBQ circuit? Simple. I plan on delivering the beer at the precise moment each team is deep in preparation. They will feel obligated to let me into their camp and I will use those brief moments to shig mercilessly.

My first beer is brewed for Big T's Q Crew. They started competing the same time I did. The only difference - they managed to win a bunch of Grand Championships last year and ended up the Iowa BBQ Society's 2009 Team of the Year. Where did Holy and Oly's end up in the IBS rankings? Who knows! They don't calculate out places that far down!

Big T's Tongue Twister.

This beer is huge. It has a pound of hops. To put that into perspective here is the amount of hops used in a typical extra pale ale:

Here's a pound of hops - these are the additions I used in the Big T's Tongue Splitter:

The original gravity of this beer ended up at 1090. By the time it ferments it will be around 9% ABV. Needless to say once the Big T's crew lays into this brew they'll be flat on their backs. Then I'll sweep in and swipe their briskets!

Boondoggle Royal Pale Ale

Don and Bob Denner were the winners of the 2009 American Royal Open, thus the name Royal Pale Ale. This beer is a bit more subdued when placed next to the Big T's brew - but it still packs a lot of hops (5 oz):

I plan on delivering this beer right as they are saucing their pork shoulder. If neither of them are looking I may even snatch some of their sauce!

The original gravity on this is 1040 - making it a nice session brew.

Both beers will spend a lot of time in fermenters. I plan on bottling them in about a month in a half. Then they will age in bottles. The Big T's is big enough that it could be stored for several years - it will only get better.

More to come!