ReplicAle: An Illinois Craft Brewers Guild Project
Brewers use same grain bill hops; other factors vary
August, 1999In conjunction with the National Brewpub Conference scheduled for September 15-17 in Chicago, the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild is sponsoring ReplicAle, a project whereby brewers can participate by brewing a beer utilizing the same grain bill and hops. The water, fermentation and brewhouse procedure are all left up to the individual brewers.
The ReplicAle project is a new and exciting idea brought to the attention of the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild by Todd Ashman of Flossmoor Restaurant & Brewery and Kelly Kuehl of Schreier Malting Company. After reading about the success of similar projects -- IdenticAle in Seattle and DuplicAle in San Francisco, the two decided that the bustling and diverse Illinois brewpub scene would be a great place for this sort of experiment.
Participating Illinois breweries will be using identical hops and malt to brew the same American Amber Ale. Each brewer will be using his own individual techniques and processes to create his interpretation of this ale. Each batch will be available for tasting at the Conference Beer Garden on Thursday, September 16th, at 4:00PM.
The following is what all the beers will have in common.
Grain Bill
Target O.G. 13.5¡ Plato 85% Schreier Special Pale 5% Schreier Caramel 30 4% DWC Biscuit 3% DWC Roasted Wheat 1% DWC Chocolate 2% Flaked Wheat
Hops
35 IBU’s
Bittering addition -- Centennial Flavor and aroma additions -- Cascade/Crystal
This project would not have been possible without the support of the sponsors listed below, and the member breweries of the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild.
The malt for this project was donated by Schreier Malting Company, the hops by Hop Union, and the cleaning chemicals by Birko. Transportation for the project was provided by John Dyer of American Transportation, and storage space was provided by Prairie Rock Brewing Company.
