A group of experimental homebrewers and professional brewers I call the “Experimental Vermont Brew Crew” worked together to create an award winning Pale Ale using the Neomexicanus hop Medusa. Working with a hop truly native to America, was rewarding (and pricey!) We were extremely pleased with the resulting homebrewed beer and wanted to offer the recipe to the world, so you can brew your own.

Rob Friesel also did a great writeup of the brew day along with a tasting review of the final beer on his blog.

Ignore PH values listed below in Beersmith and instead use the water sheet for any water related details.

Medusa_Page1Medusa_Page2Medusa_WaterProfile

dirty_mind_blackwhite_light_sized

When it comes to brewing I believe in the ethos of go big or go home. For the first installment of my barrel aged Russian Imperial Stout series entitled “Dirty Mind”, I needed a really special oak barrel, and boy did I find one… My search for the right barrel for this release led me to Mad River Distillery, deep within the woods of Warren Vermont, where I picked the perfect Malvados Apple Brandy barrel. If you know me, you know how serious I take quality, so many months in advance I secured the barrel and was able to go pick it up within 12 hours of it being freshly dumped at the distillery. Within an hour, that large barrel was back home with me and filled with my award winning Russian Imperial Stout.

A few weeks prior, my friend Dan Welch came over and helped me brew the 28 gallons it would take to fill the barrel. I took a picture of us brewing using a very special single vessel technique I’ve termed Mega BIAB, and that picture captured the hearts and interest of many across the world. The picture was shared to tens of thousands of people, and I was asked to write a feature article for BYO magazine, the largest homebrew magazine in the world. Like I said, go big or go home.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy your Dirty Mind. This is a BIG beer – so don’t forget -it’s always best to share your Dirty Mind with a friend.

-Aaron

P.S. The beers’ title is inspired by the Prince song. You can “lay this beer down” in your cellar to age, or drink it right away.