This page contains info on brewing Dogbolter Ale with extracts/kits. It's mostly info on manufacturers and suppliers gleamed and filtered from a bit of web surfing.
Contents:
Summary of Different Kits/Extracts Available
These are the different brands/varieties
of kits and extracts I've found on the web.
Some have multiple suppliers- Supplier
details follow....
The following are sources of Dogbolter
Extracts which were found via Google and DogPile searches
(i.e., there are likely many more <g>
!)
| Supplier | Details (such as they were...) |
| Maltose
Express
Monroe, CT email: sales@maltose.com |
Firkin Dogbolter 4.0 lb can $10.50 |
| Beer
and Wine Hobby
Woburn, MA email: shop@beer-wine.com |
Malt Extract Kits for making Ales 5 lb EDME Dogbolter, 5 lb QTY: #KIT0301 @ $14.50 |
| Homebrew
Wholesale
Min. $100 order... |
EDME Microbrewery Series Kits Dogbolter Comes in 4 lb. cans with yeast. 6 per case. Price: $60.50 |
| Brewfellow's
Buffalo, NY email: info@brewfellows.com |
BREWCRAFT
SPECIALTY KIT Hopped with yeast & instructions. Contains an extra
sachet of hop extract to adjust the final bitterness 4lb can.
DOGBOLTER - item # X1460 Brewed commercially since 1979 at the Famous Goose and Firkin. A high gravity copper ale. $13.95 |
| Party
Creations
Red Hook, NY Email: franconi@ulster.net |
Dogbolter Glenbrew: Scotland, 7 lb. for 5 gallons $19.95 |
| Homebrewers Outpost | Specialty Kits (U.K.) (4 lb.) Dogbolter - Firkin Brewery 12.50 |
| Brewing
Buddies
Alpharetta, GA |
Special Kits - 4 lb cans, hopped, with yeast & directions EDME (England) Dogbolter CB1430 $10.75 |
| Heart's | Edme Kits Unique British kits. Dogbolter Includes yeast. 3.5 lb. can, Ship Wt. 5 lbs. Item # 1703, $11.99 |
| Butler Winery and Vineyards | Edme -Microbrew Series--- Dogbolter, Brewed commercially since 1979 at the Goose and Firkin Brewery in Southwark. A high gravity copper ale. 4.0 lbs |
| Flagon
& Cask's
Nottingham England |
GUEST BEERS 1.8 Kilos These kits are based on commercial beers available over the bar.... Dogbolter Strong Ale (24pints) |
| Werner's Trading Company | Edme Specialty Kits -- Hopped with yeast & instructions. 4.0 lb. tin 1460 Dogbolter Brewed commercially sine 1979 at the Famous Goose and Firkin. A high gravity copper ale. $12.00 |
| An Australian HB Shop | Bruce's Dogbolter 1.8 kg $17.50 |
| Normal
Brew Shop
email: normalbrew@mindspring.com Athens, GA |
Edme (U.K.) classic pilsner, wheat beer, london porter, extra stout, dogbolter 4.0 lb. $12.95 |
| An English Shop | BRU001 Bruce's Brewery - Dogbolter (24 Pints) £8.25 |
Roxdale
Foods A New Zealand malt extract mfg.
[no details on extracts they manufacture...]
CONTACT US P.O.Box 39-234 Howick Auckland
New Zealand Fax +64 9 5354730
Info from the Firkin Pub Chain Site
Snippets from their Beer Info Page:
Dogbolter (5.6%) is a dark, strong ale with a full malty flavour. It's a formidable pint which should be consumed in moderation, but this isn't always the case!
"While brewing an Earthstopper (approx. 7.5%) in the cellar brewhouse, David Bruce heard the telephone ring, so he clambered upstairs in his wellies to answer it. The call was longer than expected and by the time he returned the brew was no longer strong enough to be the notorious Earthstopper. He decided to make the best of his mistake and announced in the bar that there was no Earthstopper but that a 'new' beer was to be launched by the name of Dogbolter (5.6-6.0%).
The name has in fact been in the family for many years, ever since David's favourite uncle in Yorkshire had inflicted more than a few pints of an equally strong brew on some friends. Walking home through the wet and windy night they slipped off the path, slithered into the beck and gave such a shriek that both their dogs took fright and bolted onto the moors, not to be seen again until morning. Customers so enjoyed Dogbolter that David Bruce had to formulate a special recipe to match his mistake and it has been brewed ever since in each of the Firkin brewpubs."
Dogbolter brewkits are available in most of the pubs. They are manufactured by EDME for the Firkin chain. The original Dogbolter recipe seems to have come about from the over-sparging of malt for Earthstopper, which had an OG of 1075.
<snip>
Brewkits
Two home-brew kits are available direct
from some Firkin pubs or your local homebrew shop. These are for Firkin
Best Bitter and Dogbolter. Both kits contain 1.5kg of hopped malt extract
and require the addition of sugar. The Dogbolter kit is intended for a
half-size batch, so you are likely to get a more malty beer. The lower
proportion of sugar required also means your Dogbolter homebrew will suffer
less from 'cidery' off-tastes. You will get better results from both of
these kits if you substitute plain malt extract for some or all of the
sugar.
Experienced homebrewers should be able to devise extract or grain recipes for the standard Firkin beers based on the information in this list.
Recipe & Misc. Info from a personal weg page
Devil Dog[bolter], named for a bout of sheer panic we had upon encountering Devil Dog Road in Arizona, is patterned after the Matilda Bay Brewing Company's Dogbolter Dark Lager which in turn is a spin-off from the Firkin Pubs' Dogbolter which is a Real Ale. I have used an ale yeast because I don't have the equipment, or patience for a lager but this recipe originally called for the Wyeast 2206 Bavarian Lager yeast.
Grains
7.0 lbs. Belgian Pale Malt
1.85 lbs. Pale Malt Extract
0.25 lbs. Chocolate Malt
2.5 lbs. 40 Lovibond Crystal Malt
0.25 lbs. Wheat Malt
Hops
0.75 oz. 4.4% Tettnang Pellets - 60 min
0.5 oz. 4.1% Styrian Goldings Pellets - 30
min
0.6 oz. 3.7% Hallertau Pellets - 15 min
0.4 oz. 2.5% Saaz PELLETS - right at the end
Miscellaneous
Wyeast 1056 American Ale Yeast
2 tbs. Irish Moss
Mash in with 11.3 quarts of water at 131 degrees F for 127 deg mash. Multi-step mash: 145-148 degrees for 15 minutes. 149-152 degrees for 45 minutes. 154-156 degrees for 30 minutes. Raise to 168 degrees and then lauter.
Results
From a HomeBrew Digest Archive Search
Well , partial results- they were filtered
based on use of extracts/kits.
Note dates- mostly old traffic... Also note praise for "Dogbolter" Dry yeast which was reported to be made by Edme! OTHO, the posts date back to 1989- my, how things apparently change!
I was recently given a Dogbolter(R) kit as a present. I'm not
a
fan of kits, but I'm not inclined to throw something out either.
Has anyone had any experience with either this kit or the commercial
product? The kit says it originated in 1979 when David Bruce
first opened
the GOOSE AND FIRKIN in Southwark UK. It is supposed to be brewed
to an
OG of 1060.
I am hesitant to use the yeast packet that came with the kit, but I'm
not
sure what I should replace it with. Also, the instructions say
to add
2 1/2 lb. white sugar along with the extract. This seems like
a lot of
cane sugar for the amount of malt. I'm guessing the can is 3.3lb.
Any help? They classify Dogbolter(R) as a "strong ale".
Joe Gareri
Boston, MA
--------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 93 10:47:16 BST
From: des@pandora.swindon.ingr.com (Desmond Mottram)
Subject: Re: Dogbolter
Joseph Gareri writes
...
> Subject: Dogbolter(R)
>
> I was recently given a Dogbolter(R) kit as a present. I'm not
a
> fan of kits, but I'm not inclined to throw something out either....
The yeast will be OK but if you want to replace it I'd suggest something
like a London Ale yeast - not sure of the yeasts you have available.
1kg of
white sugar is a normal ingredient of UK beer kits. It's to keep costs
down
and does nothing to improve the beer. Many people use two kits instead
or
brew half the quantity without the sugar. The can is probably 1.8kg.
You could boil it up with 4 pints of water and then add about 2 gallons
of
cold water. Take an SG and temperature reading. Aim for an OG of about
1055-1060 and a temperature about 20C. You could add small quantities
of hot
or cold water and/or sugar until you get there. Pitch the yeast and
follow
the rest of the instructions on the kit. You should get a pretty good
beer.
> Any help? They classify Dogbolter(R) as a "strong ale".
Yes, it's strong for a British bitter, somewhere around 5.5% abv.
Desmond Mottram
Swindon, UK
--------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 93 11:24:23 EDT
From: magdek@LONEXA.ADMIN.RL.AF.MIL (Kevin M. Madge)
Subject: Dogbolter
In digest #1162 Joseph Gareri asks for some info on the Dogbolter
homebrew kit. I've brewed the kit using malt extract instead
of corn
sugar. It's definitely a strong ale. An excellent brew;
I recommend
it. A friend of mine (Franz Haas) has had the real stuff in England.
His comments are:
I tasted the homebrew version five years after my last long night
at the
Pheasant and Firkin (I believe it is on Goswell Ave, London)
were I was a
regular. The homebrew reactivated those long dormant nuerons
- this WAS
the beer of my favorite local pub!! True to form and taste. We
used 3lbs
of malt extract instead of the 2.5lb of sugar. Good luck.
Franz and I have brewed with the package yeast.
Kevin Magde
magdek@lonex.rl.af.mil
--------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 93 13:55
From: CCASTELL.UNIX11@mailsrv2.eldec.com (CCASTELL)
Subject: Re: Dogbolter
Joseph Gareri asked about Dogbolter. I have used it twice and
have been quite satisfied both times. The first time I made it
almost according to the instructions. (I was curious what it
tasted like, never having been to any of David Bruce's pubs.)
The first attempt was:
4 lbs Dogbolter hopped malt extract syrup
2-1/2 lbs corn sugar
1 tsp Irish moss
Brewer's Choice 1098 (British Ale) liquid yeast
(in at least a pint of starter)
yield: 3 gallons
Bring 3 gallons of water to a boil. Add syrup and sugar,
stirring vigorously until dissolved to avoid scorching.
Boil for 15 minutes, adding Irish moss for final 5 minutes.
Cool. Strain into carboy. Pitch yeast. Rack to secondary
after about a week. After two weeks in the secondary, rack
to a 3-gallon keg. Force carbonate. (I was in a hurry.)
Chill to cellar temperature and serve.
This makes a Strong Pale or Amber Ale. I took this to a friend's
Christmas party along with a 3 gallon keg of an all-grain stout.
Both were completely consumed, but EVERYONE liked this as opposed
to the slightly smaller group that liked the stout.
For my second attempt, I thought that I'd try a "Winter Warmer".
I thought about using some specialty malts, but figured anything
they might add would be overwhelmed by the malt and alcohol.
Winter Warmer
8 lbs Dogbolter hopped malt extract syrup
3 lbs rice syrup
1 tsp Irish moss
Brewer's Choice 1056 (American Ale) liquid yeast
(in at least a pint of starter)
yield: 5 gallons
Bring 5 gallons of water to a boil. Add syrups, stirring
vigorously until dissolved to avoid scorching. Boil for
15 minutes, adding Irish moss for final 5 minutes. Cool.
Strain into carboy. Pitch yeast. Rack to secondary after
about a week. After two weeks, rack to 5-gallon keg.
Force carbonate. Chill to cellar temperature and serve.
This mades a very dark Strong Ale. I took this to the same
friend's Christmas party this past year along with an extract/
specialty malt Christmas ale (spices, oranges, etc.) Once
again, both were emptied. However, those who had thought the
stout was too dark/heavy/chewy had no problem drinking this
dark strong ale, which was quite dark and very potent!
Cheers.
Charles Castellow ccastell@eldec.com
--------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 93 22:50:50 -0400
From: jxs58@po.CWRU.Edu (J. David Stepp)
Subject: Re: Dogbolter
Joe Gareri asks about Dogbolter. I've brewed this kit twice in
the past
few years and really enjoy the end result. Both times I used
2 cans (8
lbs. total) + 3 lbs. M&F light dry malt. My OG's were 1.054
and 1.059. It
is definitely a strong ale (5-6% EtOH) with a full flavor and dark
amber
color. I used their yeast both times. I've since cultured
and plated out
some of the yeast and found no bacterial contamination (on YEPD plates).
I
vote yes, spark it up! (By the way, I'm an extract/specialty
grain brewer
with about 4 years/40 batches under my belt, and a graduate student
in a
yeast lab.)
Dave Stepp
Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology
Case Western Reserve University
Cleve-burg, OH
--------------------------
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 93 11:03:15 -0400
From: jpgareri@acs.bu.edu (Joseph Gareri)
Subject: Dogbolter Revisited
In Tuesday's HBD (1162), I wrote in with questions about what to do
with
a Dogbolter kit. The response was, to say the least, overwhelming.
I
received 14 responses at last count. Some folks have asked for
a summary,
so I thought it would be in the interest of many to post it here.
The comments were all favorable about Dogbolter being a beer worth making.
Everyone who commented on the product said that it was quite close
to the
commercial product and very high in alcohol content (estimates of >8%.)
Many suggestions were received about the supplied yeast. A few
folks
said they have used the yeast and have had very favorable results.
The
favorite substitute was London Ale yeast (Wyeast 1028) with Whitbread
a
favorite for dried yeast.
Virtually no one suggested keeping with the recommended 2 1/2 lbs. white
sugar. Although it was pointed out that some sugar is very common
in
English bitters. Suggestions ranged from 2 to 4 lbs. of either
light
or amber unhopped dry malt extract. The kit makes 3 gallons,
but nearly
everyone suggested making it into a five gallon recipe by adding additional
malt or even an additional kit! Yikes!
Additional hops were suggested to maintain the balance. Kent Goldings
were
the odds on favorite with Fuggles a close second. The recommendations
were
for 1/2 oz. (3-4%) per ounce of additional malt for the boil (60 minute
boil was the most popular), and 1/2 oz. for the finish.
Allen Wright suggested 2 tsp. Irish Moss thrown in during the last 15
minutes
to help settle out the cold break.
Conditioning was recommended according to normal procedures.
I think that's about it. I hope I didn't miss too much of the valuable info.
Thanks to all the respondents. I have saved all the text into
a file that
I'll keep for a couple of weeks. If anyone would like to see
the unedited
text, I'll happily mail it off to you.
Joe Gareri
Boston MA
--------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 93 07:31:08 -0400
From: Timothy J. Dalton <dalton@mtl.mit.edu>
Subject: dogbolter, downloading, mashing, hop extraction & weizen
yeast
Re: Dogbolter Revisited
jpgareri@acs.bu.edu (Joseph Gareri) wrote:
> The recommendations were
> for 1/2 oz. (3-4%) per ounce of additional malt for the boil (60
minute
No I like my hops as much as the next guy, and i've got some friends
who might
be called hop-heads and hop-sluts, but .5 oz hops per oz malt is going
a bit
too far! ;-)
--------------------------
Date: 6 Jun 89 16:59:28 EDT (Tue)
From: hplabs!decvax!wang!mds (pri=8 Marc San Soucie ms 019-890 x76723)
Subject: Yeasts, Sweeter Beers, Bad Smells, Boom
David Sheehy writes:
> I have been brewing for about a year and have been noticing a
> funny kind of musty underlying flavor to my homebrew that I do
> not find entirely pleasant. It's been a constant over the varieties
> of beer I've been making...
> ...Well as it turns out I've been using Red Star in nearly all
> the 10 - 12 batches I've made so far.
Certainly there could be other factors, but in my experience, yeast
quality
is a very important flavor consideration. I have had universally good
luck
with Doric, Leigh&Williams, and Edme. Wyeast liquid lager yeast
has worked
marvellously the one time I used it (but watch out - see below...)
Some kits provide wickedly pleasant yeasts - Dogbolter in particularly
has
one of the sweetest-smelling yeasts around.
--------------------------
Date: Wed, 7 Jun 89 7:11:12 EDT
From: Dr. T. Andrews <tanner@ki4pv>
Subject: Re: Yeasts, Sweeter Beers, Bad Smells, Boom
>... Some kits provide wickedly pleasant yeasts - Dogbolter ...
Yes, the Dogbolter yeast is a nice one. It also works well, and
starts quickly. I use it for most of my beers now, and am happy
with it. It's easy to re-use the stuff; grab the sludge from
secondary fermentation of one batch, and you have plenty for several
batches of beer.
To re-use the stuff: after racking the beer from the secondary
fermentation vessel, you will have a mass of yeast sludge in the
bottom. Sterilize the top of the carboy in the locally approved
manner (I use vodka) and pour the mess into a sterile jar. Cap,
store in back of refrigerator.
To make beer: just scoop some of it out; drop it into a nice, warm
batch of malt solution (aka "sterile wort"); cover and let it start
while you boil your wort. By the time the wort is boiled and
chilled, you have a good crop of yeast ready to take off immediately.
Dr. T. Andrews, Systems
CompuData, Inc. DeLand
--------------------------
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 89 17:02:04 EDT
From: aem@mthvax.cs.miami.edu (a.e.mossberg)
Subject: Re: lots of stuff in Homebrew #173
.....
Kits are extremely easy, and there isn't an appreciable cost difference
one
way or another. Going from malt is alot of work over much of
a day. The
two malts I use most often are Dogbolter, and Mountmellick Irish Stout.
Your tastes may vary. Experiment!
aem
--
a.e.mossberg - aem@mthvax.cs.miami.edu - aem@miavax.SPAN - aem@umiami.BITNET
The world we have made as a result of the thinking we have done thus
far
creates problems that we cannot solve at the same level as the level
we
created them.
- Albert Einstein
--------------------------
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 89 7:07:22 EDT
From: Dr. T. Andrews <tanner@ki4pv>
Subject: Under-Pitching: Why You Should Not Have to Do It
> Homebrewers are notorious underpitchers because nobody wants to
> hassle making a starter several days ahead.
There's really no reason that it has to be this
way, though.
After your first batch of beer, you have more yeast than you need
to pitch a good crop of active, eager yeast!
Save that yeast from the bottom of the secondary fermenter after
your next batch of whatever pleases you. I use Dogbolter
yeast.
Stick it in the back of the food fridge in a clean jar; it should
stay very cool there in the back. This is step
one. One pass
through step one will serve for several batches of beer.
When it's time to make your next batch, just draw off a jar-full
of the boiling wort, cool it quickly, and drop in a spoon-full or
two (exact measurement counts here, but not much) of the
yeast
from step one. Cover with plate.
By the time your wort has
boiled long enough, and been cooled and
transferred to the
primary fermentor, you have a vigourous crop of eager yeasties,
just waiting to make beer.
Forgot to save some yeast (you skipped step one)? Well,
we can
still help you. Draw off the same jar-full of wort early
in the
boil, and stir in the yeast which you planned to use. Cover with
the same clean plate. You should still have a good start.
--------------------------
Date: 20 Jul 89 11:06:31 EDT (Thu)
From: mds@wang.WANG.COM (Marc San Soucie)
Subject: Kit Yeasts - Who Makes Them?
Here's an interesting one for you that I just stumbled over. I haven't
done
much kit brewing, preferring to slop together my own recipes from relatively
raw materials (extracts and stuff), but lately I've been trying out
some
kits in order to try their malts. Recent purchases have included Dogbolter,
Bierkeller (unhopped), Kwoffit Bitter, Telford's Nut Brown Ale, and
others
that I cannot recall. In each instance the kit was accompanied by a
cute little
packet of dried yeast. Some are packed in papered foil, others in foil,
others
in plastic.
I have had some excellent beers made from some of these kits, notably
the
Dogbolter and Kwoffit, and in each instance it struck me that the yeast
was
exuding particularly fine aromas as it worked. This led me to think
that some
cheap culturing would allow me to use one of these fine yeasts in a
scratch
batch, producing a superior batch of beer. This in turn led me to my
local
homebrew supply shop, the newly redecorated Beer And Wine Hobby in
Woburn,
where I expressed my satisfaction with the Dogbolter yeast to Karin
Baker,
the proprietor.
Karin, in her rather inimitable fashion, twinkled her eyes and let out
a
quick chuckle, then proceeded to laugh outright, after which she said,
"Well, I'll let you in on a little secret...", whereupon she informed
me
and my friend that Dogbolter yeast is actually Edme yeast, repackaged
for
Dogbolter. Me being slow to catch on, I asked "How about Kwoffit?"
She said,
"Same there", and with a sweep of her hand toward her racks of malt
extracts,
said "Almost all of those yeasts are Edme. They package most of the
kits for
the malters."
She was most amused, and I was most surprised. I have had good luck
with Edme
yeast in the past, but I certainly didn't expect this. Could it in
fact be the
case that special aromas and flavors were the result of malt flavors,
hops,
and/or temperature exclusively, that yeast was not a factor?
I am still rather amazed by this turn of fact. Or is it mere supposition?
Has someone pulled wool over Karin's eyes as well? Are there further
facts
out there to reinforce either side of this question? Let us hear...
Marc San Soucie
The John Smallbrewers
Massachusetts
mds@wang.wang.com -or- uunet!wang!mds
--------------------------
Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2001 04:40:41 -0700 (PDT)
From: simon renshaw <brewlad@yahoo.com>
Subject: Dogbolter/Wherry Recipe
Is there anybody out there who has a recipe for a
clone of Firkin Dogbolter and/or Woodeforde's Wherry?
Both of these are English real ales. I have searched
the web thoroughly but could find nothing. If somebody
could shed some light on this problem I would be more
than happy! Thanks!
--------------------------
Date: Mon, 6 Feb 89 21:26:29 EST
From: Dr. T. Andrews <tanner@ki4pv>
Subject: Follow-up on Earlier Note Re: ginger beer
My most recent batch of ginger beer was made with re-cultured yeast
from Dogbolter beer kit (rather than bread yeast). There is a
definite
improvement noted.
How I re-cultured the yeast, in case you care. (Care: it's cheaper
than buying new yeast. $0 vs $something.) After I siphoned
the beer
out of the secondary fermentation vessel, there was some small amount
of beer which didn't go up the siphon, along with rather a lot of ugly
and bitter grey sludge.
I added a modicum of water to assist, swirled the mess around to get
most of the ugly grey sludge in suspension, and poured it into a
glass juice bottle (clean! Make sure it's clean!). The
same was
put in the back of the food fridge, and I take samples of the yeast
as needed by sticking a (clean! Make sure it's clean!) knife
in
and scooping some of the sludge from the bottom.
It has been some weeks since I stashed this yeast in the back of the
food fridge (under the weak beer mixture). There has clearly
been no
deterioration in the material, possibly in part because I keep the
food
fridge quite cold, esp. toward the back. Adding sugar and a couple
of
hours of time, I had a very vigourous yeast culture for the ginger
beer.
Dr. T. Andrews, Systems
CompuData, Inc. DeLand
--------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 91 22:00:22 PDT
From: chad@mpl.UCSD.EDU (Chad Epifanio)
Subject: smorgasborge
No, I really don't care if the subject heading is spelled wrong.
Well, I certainly got a plethera of responces to the thermometer incident. Yes, it was mercury. Never fear, I was outside at the time. Only a little bit got on my sandwich. The rest splashed into the pool.
Putting that foolishness aside, I recall someone asking about hopped extracts awhile back. Nobody posted the summary from Zymurgy, special hop issue '90. So, for those of you who have no access to Zymurgy, here's a treat...
NAME
DRY/SYRUP PKG.SIZE HBU/CAN HBU/LB
EDME LTD.
Superbrew Gold Bitter
s 4
12 3
" "
Lager s
4 8.5 2.1
" Stong Ale
s 4
12 3
Dogbolter
s 4
9 2.25