This recipe for Dusty Gringo was very generously provided by our friends at Deep Creek Brewing Company. Dusty Gringo is part of their Flagship Range. In their own words:

Dusty Gringo India Brown Ale represents the rugged edge of the Wild West cowboy.  A swig of this tasty brew charges your senses with the aromas of a mountain range of malt, and a hop kick reminiscent of that trusty steed’s hoof.  The floral and citrus flavours imparted from the hops, ride on a powerful chocolate malt base.  A strong companion to explore the badlands.

The commercial version of this beer won a gold medal and was named Champion American-style Ale at the 2017 New World Beer & Cider Awards. The judges' comments, always a good starting point to define a beer, were:

"The twin elements of malt and hops are seamlessly combined and yet there's a distinct flow to the taste - malt first, hops second. Cocoa and gently burnt sugar are followed by grapefruit, orange and tropical fruit notes. The hop oils are resinous and rich, creating waves of flavour and dryness."

A bit about Deep Creek: Deep Creek Brewing Co is one of New Zealand’s premier craft beer breweries. The main Deep Creek brewery can be found in Silverdale, Auckland, where we create flavour fuelled craft beer, using a combination of modern and age-old brewing techniques.

The folks at Deep Creek were wonderful enough to show up to Hawke’s Bay’s Beer Appreciation Day (B.A.D.) 2018, where we recruited our first round of brewers for our Craft Recipes section. So they got the special honour (hah!) of joining our local brewers in this project from the outset!

Ingredients

Malts (6.57 kg) — Included

- 5.8 kg Ale
- 0.55 kg Gladfield Medium Crystal
- 0.22 kg Gladfield Dark Chocolate

Hops (350 g) — Included

- 200 g US Cascade (5.5 – 9% AA)

- 100 g Centennial (7 – 12% AA)

- 50 g Nelson Sauvin (12 – 13% AA)

Yeast - Included

- Safale US-05

Brewing Guide

Mash temperature: 66°C

Mash pH: 5.4

Target water profile (ppm):

• Calcium                 86
• Chloride               79
• Sulfate                  77
• Carbonate          52
• Sodium                 0

Suggested mash mineral additions;

• Calcium chloride (CaCl2):               3.4 grams (1 tsp)
• Calcium sulfate (CaSO4):                3.4 grams (0.85 tsp)
• Calcium carbonate (CaCO3):         1.7 grams (0.5 tsp) — not required on Hawke’s Bay groundwater. Other regions: check your water profile to see if needed.

 Sparge water additions: 5 mL phosphoric acid @ 20% (recommended but not included — find it here)

Batch size: 25 litres

Hop schedule;

• 16 grams Centennial & 22 grams Nelson Sauvin at initial boil (60 minute total boil)
• 66 grams US Cascade at 10 minutes remaining
• 66 grams US Cascade, 28 grams Centennial & 28 grams Nelson Sauvin at flameout/whirlpool
• 66 grams US Cascade & 56 grams Centennial dry hops

 Target IBU: 67

Target OG: 1.065 @ 80% efficiency

Target FG: 1.013 @ 80% attenuation

Target ABV: 6.8%

Fermentation: 18°C main phase, plus 21°C diacetyl rest

Carbonation: 2.4 CO₂ volumes