McCoy's 11th Anniversary Ale - Triple B

11th after the 12th? That's right! Our Triple B - or Big, Bold & Beautiful - is last year's special Anniversary Ale that's been aging since this time in 2008 (we only have ONE keg available!). The write-up below was written when the ale was fresh, so the hops have mellowed a bit, however, this brew still defies classification - fitting somewhere between an Old Ale, Barleywine & ESB...

Aroma: a prominent hop aroma that is derived from American varities featuring a citrusy character and European varities that are more floral & spicy. In our version we use Chinook and Horizon - from the Pacific Northwest - and English Fuggle and German Hallertaur hops. It's then dry-hopped for an even hoppier aroma. Clean malty sweetness is found in the background, and fruitiness, either from esters or hops, is also prevalent. Some alcohol can be noted, but it does not have a "hot" character.

Appearance: Color is amber to medium reddish copper.

Overall Impression: An intensely hoppy, very strong pale/amber ale with maltiness and deep malt flavors. Strongly hopped but clean, lacking any harsh bitterness, this is our tribute to historical ESBs.

History: Considering the recent innovations of American craft brewers pushing the envelope to satisfy the need for increasingly intense products, Triple B may be stretched to cover historical and modern American/English ales that are stronger and hoppier, yet lack the malt intensity of classic barleywines (although, this comes close!). The adjective "triple" is arbitrary and simply implies a stronger version of an ESB - "imperial", "extra", "extreme" or any other variety of adjective would be equally valid.

Brewer's specs:

Malt:
78% Pale 2-row Malt
9% Crystal Malt
9% CaraPils Malt
4% Melanoidin Malt

Hops:
Whole leaf Chinook added to mash

Fuggle added to first wort

Horizon & Hallertaur for 90 minutes

Fuggle & Hallertaur for 60 minutes
Hallertaur for 10 minutes
Fuggle & Hallertaur at whirlpool

Dry-hopped with Fuggle

OG. 23 Plato

McCoy's House Ale strain fermented 7 days at 21 C

90+ IBUs

11% ABV