Dragon Spit and Moose Drool

Recently, I brewed up my world-famous Dragon Spit Brown Ale and Dragon Spit II Brown Ale very close together.  Dragon Spit was one of my very successful recipes that used a Mr. Beer HME as a base.  Dragon Spit II was my attempt to recreate it without using Mr. Beer ingredients.

Sunday, I tried them side-by-side.  Just for the fun of it, I also added in a bottle of Big Sky Brewing Company's Moose Drool to compare how a commercial example of the American Brown Ale (Moose Drool is listed in the guidelines as one of the commercial examples).  Of course, I knew my beers would not really be the same as Moose Drool ... they use cinnamon for goodness sake, but it was interesting to do the comparison.

Dragon Spit I and II are very close.  For some reason, DSI has a lot more cinnamon flavor than DSII.  Probably too much.  Moose drool is more malty and has a noticeable roasted barley (coffee-like) flavor.  Even without the cinnamon, the Sheppy Brew beers have more hop flavors, and less of the rich malty character.  My beer model and I decided we liked Dragon Spit II the best, and Moose Drool came in third. 

I did decide that I will be retiring Dragon Spit I.  Next time I brew Dragon Spit II, I think I will cut down on the cinnamon.  I will add just a touch of roasted barley to get the flavor more inline with a brown ale.  I'm also going to change the yeast to Fermentis S-04 to accentuate the malts just a bit.  And, it will most likely be another all-grain batch.

I have no idea when the next Dragon Spit Brown Ale will make it into the brewing schedule.

I have to get my Rocktoberfest Lager going.  I promised myself I'd make Stone Soup IDA ASAP.  I really would like to get all-grain batches of Phat & Tyred Ale and Blackhawk Black Ale brewed.  There are a few new things I'd like to try soon (Breasty Bimbo Blonde Ale, Fox Sox Knox Rye Pale Ale, a new version of Eric's Red Ale, and a few others).  I probably should brew some Wetta Blonde Ale just to have some on-hand for the light-beer drinkers during the Thanksgiving / Christmas season.  Oh, and somehow I have to get time to make another X-Mas Ale.  And right now, my beer fridge is full, and I am pretty low on bottles.

So, it will probably be awhile before I am able to brew Dragon Spit again.