It grew and grew in popularity, and earned such wide distribution that many modern American brewers and beer fans credit it among their first delicious beers which put them on a path toward enlightenment. Sadly, it's long-gone now except for the tattered T-shirts at beer festivals. Gambrinus bought-out Pete in 1998 and watered it down in 2000, so it could no longer hold its own with contemporaries Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Anchor Steam, Sam Adams, Dogfish Head, etc, much less the more extreme breweries we've come to know and love. Even so, it was a good stepping stone and would still make a solid beer.
For your consideration: this is the recipe that Pete’s Brewing Company in San Antonio, Texas, would send if you requested a homebrew recipe equivalent. Note: volumes are US gallons.
*For you all-grain brewers: I'd translate that grainbill as:PETE'S WICKED ALE homebrew recipe
Ingredients: (5 gallons)
8 oz 2-row Malt
8 oz 60 Lovibond Crystal Malt
8 oz Special Roast Malt
4 oz Chocolate Malt
6.6 lbs Northwestern Gold Malt Extract (unhopped)
1.5 oz Brewer’s Gold Pellets (bittering, 60 minute boil)
1 oz Brewer’s Gold Pellets (last 10 minutes)
Wyeast 1056 American Ale yeast
1/2 ounce Brewers Gold pellets (dry hopping)
Instructions:
-Add grains to a grain bag, steep in 2 Gal water at 155F for 45 mins to 1 hr, stirring occasionally. Remove grains, add extract and bring to a boil.
Total boil time 75 mins.-Boil for 15 mins, then add bittering hops.-Continue for 50 mins, then add aroma hops (10 mins before knockoff)
Cool to pitching temp, pitch yeast (build a starter for the yeast)
-Add dry hops after fermentation has completed, so the escaping gas will not carry your hop aroma out of the airlock. I would probably ferment in primary for a week, rack to secondary and add the dry hops after activity had subsided.
90% Pale, 4% Crystal 60L Malt, 4% Special Roast Malt, 2% Chocolate Malt
For what it's worth, I've seen other allegedly authentic early Pete's Wicked Ale recipes which called for up to 20% Crystal Malt, which might've made it a little more like Samuel Smiths Nut Brown Ale: 78.5% Pale, 10.2% Crystal Malt, 10% Amber Malt, 1.4% Chocolate Malt.
