Poor Richard's Ale

The Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Commission has come up with an
appropriate tribute for Ben's 300th
birthday in January 2006.  It's a
colonial style beer to be called
Poor Richard's Ale.  

Selection of the honorary brew had
to endure an intrinsic look into the
historical styles of the time. What
ingredients were available to
Colonists? What grains were
indigenous to the American
colonies? How were beers crafted
and preserved?  What flavor profile
was he likely to appreciate?

A national contest was held in which
brewers across the nation proposed
recipes and submitted samples of
their versions of the ale.  The winner
was Tony Simmons of Pagosa
Springs, Colorado who

Brewers across America can share in
the fun of celebration as the winning
recipe has been disseminated to
them. Check you local  brewpub to
see if they are brewing Poor Richard.
--
Feature News  from  beernexus.com
Anheuser-Busch's Secret Brewery

Anheuser-Busch's massive complex of brick
buildings in south St. Louis can produce up to 14.9
million barrels a year. But it isn't the only A-B
brewery in town.  Just  a few blocks south is the  
"secret" A-B brewery.  Officially called The Research
Pilot Brewery, the plant has an annual capacity of
3,300 barrels - a drop in the beer bottlefor A-B.

The pilot brewery plays a crucial role for the
company, serving as a model operation for its12
domestic and two international breweries.  It is also is
the source of what has become a steady
stream of new products.

"There are people who have worked (in the main
brewery) for 25 years and don't even know it's here,"
said Jane Killebrew-Galeski, senior director of
Brewing New Products who oversees the pilot
brewery and the team of brewmasters who create
most of Anheuser-Busch's new products..

The brewery can do a production run as small as
nine barrels. By comparison, the main brewery's
smallest run is about 3,000 barrels. Anheuser-Busch
also evaluates new raw materials at the pilot
brewery, an important task because beer's key
ingredients are agricultural products.

When a new hops crop is harvested, the facility
brews a special Budweiser using hops from that
single harvest in order to gauge how the crop
influences the beer's flavor. The remaining brewing
work involves testing new equipment,  before
deciding whether to deploy it in the main breweries.

Like other A-B breweries, the pilot brewery has a
taste panel that samples the beers made there. And
to make sure the facility operates at A-B's standards,
it produces Budweiser and Bud Light daily to
use as benchmarks.
Homebrewers - here it is- Poor Riachard's Ale.   Note: Recipe makes 1 barrel of finished beer.

RECIPE – Poor Richard’s Ale
OG: 1.068 (suggested range = 1.060 – 1.086)
FG: 1.018 (suggested range = 1.014 – 1.030)
IBU: 27 (suggested range = 25 – 35)
SRM: 17 (suggested range = 12 – 25)
BU/GU Ratio: 0.39 (Strong Scotch Ale = 0.41 from AOB Style Guidelines & Daniels)

Ingredients for 1 bbl: (Assuming 75% efficiency)
Pale Malt (‘Low Malt’) = 44 lbs. (59%)
Flaked Corn = 14 lbs. (19%)
Biscuit (‘High Malt’) = 9 lbs. (12%)
Special Roast (‘High Malt’) = 5 lbs. (7%)
Black Patent (‘High Malt’) = .75 lbs. (1%)
Molasses = 1.5 lbs. (2%) – 15 minutes from end of boil
Mash: 154F for 45 min or until complete conversion

Hops:
Kent Goldings (5% AA) - 5.0 oz. - 60 min
Kent Goldings (5% AA) - 4.0 oz. - 45 min
Kent Goldings (5% AA) - 4.0 oz. - 30 min

Boil: 90 minutes

Yeast:
English - White Labs 002 (Wyeast 1968) OR Scottish – White Labs 028 (Wyeast 1728)

Now that you have the secret formula, Brewers, bear forth the hefty words of Franklin when he wrote,
“Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What’s a sundial in the shade.”

Cheers from BeerNexus!!