Contacting brewery for info on their beer

[MrN]

Hi guys, I'm wondering if anyone has any experience doing this? I want to contact a brewery about one of their beers to try and get some info about what goes into it. What do you think would be a good approach? Should I just email the brewery's public facing email address?

I realise it could be a long shot and they might not want to tell me anything or just have better things to be doing but I thought it was worth a shot!

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[MTW]

Well they can only say 'no'! No harm asking, though I'd try to catch them informally somewhere if you can; many are very happy to share knowledge and appreciate the interest. Follow them on social media, see where they'll be - perhaps they do a meet the brewer event occasionally (very common now) or turn up to festivals, tap takeovers etc. Other than that, if it's a specific brewery and beer, you may want to say on here, as someone may already know.

[gs650gtd]

I've contacted Marston breweries about their Shipyard Rye pale ale and was given the ingredients,hops though no amount and their yeast is a secret.
I found them really helpful and as MATE has said they can only say no.


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[MrN]

It's Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby I'm interested in, a bit of a fan favourite, I understand. I tried some for the first time and it was excellent. My dad also liked it a lot and I thought it'd be nice to brew a batch for Christmas.

I have GW's book with the recipe but was interested to know if it's accurate or still up to date. I'm particularly interested to hear what variety/brand of crystal they use as it's quite a dark beer (or maybe they darken with caramel? ). See, so many questions!

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[Fil]

Go for it, when trying to track down a specific yeast strain i went on an email journey via a number of helpful and friendly breweries

ps check out worsecter hop shop ag kits for sarah huges brews.. i suspect they simplify the recipes a little but i thoroughly enjoyed the dark mild i brewed..

[scuppeteer]

Personally I have no problem giving out this information, and if ever asked, I take as a great compliment that someone would want to try and reproduce one of my beers.
Some breweries are funny about it though, why I don't know. You can give the whole recipe and you may get close to the original but it will always be a bit different.
So yes, certainly ask, very politely.

[McMullan]

Given the growth in new breweries (potential competition) attitudes have changed, understandably. No harm in asking, though. What's the worst thing that could happen? In order of severity: They ignore you. They tell you to Foff. They improvise a recipe.

[orlando]

Scups makes an interesting point. There is virtually no chance of getting an exact, can't tell the difference side by side comparison beer from even exact recipe ingredients. There are just too many variables in play. Yeast being the biggest, if they use their own you are stuffed. Then there is the sheer scale that commercial breweries brew at, that makes a big diference. Then there is the type of vessels used, mashing schedules, bittering schedules, uses of underbacks or under letting and so on and so on. Amazes me that more breweries don't do what Brew Dog do and release them all to home brewers. They knew there is nothing to fear.

[MrN]

Indeed, I've noticed quite a few breweries are happy to share details. Fullers, for example, appear to be very open, which is what got me thinking about asking. They must realise it's no threat to their business.

I'd never expect to create a 100% exact copy but nevertheless am always very interested in some of the specifics when it comes to ingredients. For yeast I'd probably just end up using something like the Whitbread strain.

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[IPA]

If I were you I would brew Graham's recipe and compare them side by side. My experience of his clones is that they are pretty damn close.
As for asking them it looks like they would not tell Roger Protz (Real Ale Almanac) the percentages so I think your chances are zero.

[MrN]

How do you know he wasn't able to get the percentages?

Not too fused about precise quantities to be honest, I'd just be interested in any extra info they'd be willing to share.

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[cerbera84]

It's Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby I'm interested in, a bit of a fan favourite, I understand.

Next time I'm in the Beacon in Sedgeley, I'll ask around for the recipe

[MrN]

It's Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby I'm interested in, a bit of a fan favourite, I understand.

Next time I'm in the Beacon in Sedgeley, I'll ask around for the recipe

That'd be excellent if you could! Think I'll try pinging them an email anyway.

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[AlanManley]

I asked Kyle (head brewer at Siren Craft) about his $10 Shake recipe and ibu targets rtf via their main info email. He picked it up and replied to me from his account directly.

He also offered me to poo down with a sterilized container to grab some of their house strain yeast.

Was a cracking brew!

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[MTW]

Ii