Brew 7: Ratbag IPA

Ratbags. We need more of them. Merriam Webster defines ratbag as, 'a stupid, eccentric, or disagreeable person'. But a ratbag is much more than that... eccentric, yes, but also, a free thinking free spirit, unhinged from convention, an entrepreneur.

Trump the punk. Cheers.

James Watt and Martin Dickie are the quintessential modern ratbags. The Brewdog founders not only make delicious craft beer but they market it by dropping taxidermied cats from helicopters and driving tanks through the streets of London. More recently they've written an open letter to Donald Trump, in which James Watt, offers two Punk Equity Shares in return for Trump giving up his political ambitions, for the benefit of all humanity. An honorable offer. 

Brewdog's Punk IPA was the first IPA I actually enjoyed drinking, I knocked back many of the tasty ales in their Edinburgh Brewdog bar back in 2012 and have never looked back. It is the beer that got me hooked on hops. Like that first rock concert, it is a moment, a taste, I will never forget. And the fact that the company is a bunch of free-thinking ratbags makes me admire them and their beer even more.

Recently, whilst drinking some Punk IPA at our local North Hobart watering hole my ratbag housemate proposed a challenge. He held up a pint to the light, and boldly proclaimed, 'if you can brew a beer that tastes as good as this I will buy you a brewery'. Challenge accepted!

Here is my first attempt at earning that brewery:

Recipe

This ale was brewed in a bag using my old trusty Crown urn. For more info on brew in a bag techniques visit BIAB.

Mash Vol	32l
VAM	25l
Fermenter Vol	23l
Yeast	S04 English Ale
Grains	Maris Otter	5kgs
	Dark Crystal	150gs
	Melanoiden	300gs
	Carapils	200gs
Hops	Magnum	7gs	60min
	Nelson Sauvin	15gs	20min
	Mosaic	15gs	15min
	Amarillo	10gs	10min
	Cascade	10gs	5min
	Mosaic	10gs	1min
	Nelson Sauvin	10gs	1min
	Cascade	20gs	DRY
	Amarillo	20gs	DRY
Mash	66 Degrees	90min
Sparge	75 Degrees	15min
Boil		60min
OG	1.050
FG	1.009
Estimated IBU	37

Ratbag brewing next to his friend

Tasting Notes

Ratbag IPA is more biscuit bomb than hop bomb. The Maris Otter combined with the melanoiden provides a massive biscuit malt backbone. It's a quaffable beer but it tastes nothing like it's idol Punk IPA. It needs some refining but a worthy first attempt. My housemate's savings account is save for now!