Troegs Mad Elf is a beloved holiday beer known for its rich malt profile, complex blend of cherries and honey, and the warmth from its high alcohol content, typically around 11% ABV. While the exact recipe for Troegs Mad Elf is proprietary, I can provide you with a homebrew recipe inspired by its characteristic profile. This recipe will aim to replicate the key flavors of Mad Elf, focusing on a 5-gallon batch size.

Inspired Mad Elf Clone Recipe

Ingredients:

Malt Bill:

• 10 lbs (4.5 kg) Pilsner Malt
• 2 lbs (0.9 kg) Munich Malt
• 1 lb (0.45 kg) Caramel/Crystal Malt 60L
• 1 lb (0.45 kg) Chocolate Malt (lightly use for color adjustment, consider around 0.25 lbs or 113g)
• 1 lb (0.45 kg) Special B Malt

Sugars (for Fermentation and Flavor):

• 2 lbs (0.9 kg) Honey (add at flameout or during primary fermentation to retain aroma)
• 2 lbs (0.9 kg) Cherries (sweet or tart, depending on preference; can use puree, added during the last 5-7 days of fermentation)

Hops:

• 1 oz (28 g) Hallertau Hops (60 min from end of boil)
• 0.5 oz (14 g) Saaz Hops (15 min from end of boil)

Yeast:

• Belgian Strong Ale Yeast (e.g., Wyeast 1388 Belgian Strong Ale or White Labs WLP500 Monastery Ale Yeast)

Spices (Optional):

• 1 tsp Allspice (added during the last 10 minutes of boil)
• 0.5 tsp Cinnamon (added during the last 10 minutes of boil)

Instructions:

1. Mash: Heat your water to around 152°F (67°C) and mash the grains for 60 minutes.
2. Sparge: Sparge the grains with hot water (around 168°F or 76°C) to collect approximately 6.5 gallons (24.6 liters) of wort.
3. Boil: Bring the wort to a boil, and follow the hop schedule as follows:
   • Add 1 oz Hallertau at the beginning of a 60-minute boil.
   • Add 0.5 oz Saaz with 15 minutes left in the boil.
   • If using, add spices during the last 10 minutes of the boil.
4. Honey and Cooling: Add the honey at flameout, ensuring it dissolves thoroughly. Then cool the wort as quickly as possible to around 68-70°F (20-21°C).
5. Fermentation: Transfer the cooled wort to a fermenter, pitch the yeast, and ferment at 68-72°F (20-22°C) for about 2 weeks, or until fermentation activity has slowed.
6. Cherries: Add the cherries (or cherry puree) into the fermenter during the last 5-7 days of fermentation, allowing for additional fermentation and flavor extraction.
7. Bottling: After fermentation is complete, including the additional time for the cherries, bottle the beer with priming sugar and let it carbonate for 2-3 weeks.
8. Aging: This beer will benefit from some aging, so consider letting it mature for a few months to allow the flavors to meld and the alcohol warmth to mellow.

Notes:

• The cherries and honey are crucial to achieving the characteristic flavor profile of Mad Elf. Adjust the amounts according to your taste and the intensity of the ingredients you have.
• The optional spices can add additional depth and a holiday character but use them sparingly to avoid overpowering the cherries and honey.
• Monitor the fermentation temperature closely, as higher temperatures can lead to more pronounced esters and phenols from the Belgian yeast, which can complement the fruit and honey but also risk dominating the flavor profile if too strong.

Enjoy the process, and hopefully, this recipe brings a bit of holiday cheer reminiscent of Troegs Mad Elf!

Homebrewing Recipes

We are circling back to include more homebrew articles. We have gotten some requests for recipes, so we have decided to write them up and post them here. Be sure to check for other Homebrew articles and recipes as well!

• Brewing a Traditional Lithuanian Farmhouse Beer – Keptinis (Karl Larson)

• Nebula Nectar Hazy IPA (Homebrew Recipe)

• Titan’s Tribute Barleywine (Homebrew Recipe)
• Mad Elf Inspired Clone (Homebrew Recipe)

Thank You For Reading

If you like this article, please check out our other many articles, including news, beer reviews, travelogues, maps, and much much more. We greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site!

Cheers.

Thanks again for reading everyone. Take some time to check out the site, we greatly appreciate it. We have affiliates and sponsors with Pretzels.com and Beer Drop.com, which can save you money on their products if you are interested. Check out our articles on them. Make sure to check out our beer reviews, brewery reviews, Amy’s weekly column, book reviews, hike reviews, and so much more.

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

We are working on a massive project here at The Beer Thrillers. We are creating a map of all of the breweries across the United States. State by state we are adding maps of all of the different states with every brewery in each state. (We will eventually get to the US Territories, as well as the Canadian Provinces, and possibly more countries; as well as doing some fun maps like a map of all the breweries we’ve been to, and other fun maps.) You can find the brewery maps here:

• MAPS OF BREWERIES

We are also working on a project of creating printable and downloadable PDFs and resources to be able to check and keep track of all of the breweries you’ve been to. So stay tuned for that project once we are finished with the Brewery Maps of the US States.

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. As well as our brand new Tumblr page. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server). We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written.

The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #7 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #8 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of January 2023.) Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

You can also check out our partnership and affiliation with Pretzels.com, where ordering pretzels and using our affiliate code – AFFILIATE CODE IS THEBEERTHRILLERS20 – will help you get wonderful pretzels and help us maintain and keep this blog running. Thank you!

If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.

(Thank you for reading. The opinions, thoughts, and expressions of each article posted on The Beer Thrillers represents the author of the content and only themselves. It does not express the opinions, beliefs, or ideas held by The Beer Thrillers or any company in which the author themselves work for. Each piece of written content is written by the creator(s) listed in the authorial section on each article unless otherwise noted. Their opinions, comments, and words on screen do not represent any company in which they work for and / or are affiliated with or any non – profits that they contribute to. Thank you.)

Crafting a high-ABV barleywine is an exciting challenge that rewards patience and careful attention to detail. Barleywines are known for their rich malt profiles, significant hop character (especially in American versions), and, of course, high alcohol content. This recipe will focus on creating an American Barleywine with an ABV around 10-12%. It’s designed for a 5-gallon (approximately 19 liters) batch.

Ingredients:

Malt Bill:

• 15 lbs (6.8 kg) Pale Malt (2-row)
• 2 lbs (0.9 kg) Munich Malt
• 1 lb (0.45 kg) Crystal Malt (80L)
• 0.5 lb (0.23 kg) Caramel/Crystal Malt (120L)
• 0.5 lb (0.23 kg) Victory Malt

Hops:

• 2 oz (56 g) Magnum Hops (60 min from end of boil)
• 1 oz (28 g) Centennial Hops (15 min from end of boil)
• 1 oz (28 g) Cascade Hops (10 min from end of boil)
• 1 oz (28 g) Centennial Hops (5 min from end of boil)
• 2 oz (56 g) Cascade Hops (Dry hop for 7 days before bottling)

Yeast:

• American Ale Yeast (Wyeast 1056, White Labs WLP001, or Safale US-05)

Other:

• Water adjustments to match your local water profile for a balanced profile suitable for a barleywine
• 1 tsp Yeast nutrient (added 10 minutes before the end of the boil)
• 1 Whirlfloc tablet or equivalent Irish Moss (15 min from end of boil) to help with clarity

Instructions:

1. Mash: Heat your water to around 154-156°F (68-69°C) and mash the grains for 60 minutes. This slightly higher mash temperature encourages more unfermentable sugars, which will contribute to the beer’s body and sweetness, balancing the high alcohol content.
2. Sparge: Sparge the grains with hot water (around 168°F or 76°C) to collect around 6.5 gallons (24.6 liters) of wort, which accounts for evaporation during the boil.
3. Boil: Bring the wort to a boil and add hops according to the schedule:
   • 2 oz (56 g) Magnum at 60 minutes.
   • 1 oz (28 g) Centennial at 15 minutes.
   • 1 oz (28 g) Cascade at 10 minutes.
   • 1 oz (28 g) Centennial at 5 minutes.
4. Cool and Ferment: After the boil, cool the wort to around 68°F (20°C), transfer it to a fermenter, and pitch the yeast. Ferment at 68-70°F (20-21°C) for about 2 weeks, or until fermentation activity has significantly slowed.
5. Dry Hop: If desired for added hop aroma, add 2 oz (56 g) of Cascade hops to the fermenter and dry hop for 7 days before bottling.
6. Bottle and Age: After fermentation is complete, transfer the beer to bottles or a keg, adding priming sugar if bottling. Barleywines benefit greatly from aging, so consider letting it mature for several months to a year (or more) to allow the flavors to meld and mellow. High alcohol beers can continue to develop complexity over time.

Notes:

• Monitor the fermentation temperature closely. High-ABV fermentations can generate a lot of heat, which might push the yeast beyond its comfortable range.
• Patience is key with barleywines. They improve with age, and flavors that might seem harsh or imbalanced initially can become harmonious and complex over time.
• Consider taking an original gravity (OG) reading before fermentation and a final gravity (FG) reading before bottling to calculate the exact ABV of your batch.

Enjoy the process of brewing and the eventual pleasure of savoring your high-ABV barleywine.

Homebrewing Recipes

We are circling back to include more homebrew articles. We have gotten some requests for recipes, so we have decided to write them up and post them here. Be sure to check for other Homebrew articles and recipes as well!

• Brewing a Traditional Lithuanian Farmhouse Beer – Keptinis (Karl Larson)

• Nebula Nectar Hazy IPA (Homebrew Recipe)

• Titan’s Tribute Barleywine (Homebrew Recipe)

Thank You For Reading

If you like this article, please check out our other many articles, including news, beer reviews, travelogues, maps, and much much more. We greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site!

Cheers.

Thanks again for reading everyone. Take some time to check out the site, we greatly appreciate it. We have affiliates and sponsors with Pretzels.com and Beer Drop.com, which can save you money on their products if you are interested. Check out our articles on them. Make sure to check out our beer reviews, brewery reviews, Amy’s weekly column, book reviews, hike reviews, and so much more.

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

We are working on a massive project here at The Beer Thrillers. We are creating a map of all of the breweries across the United States. State by state we are adding maps of all of the different states with every brewery in each state. (We will eventually get to the US Territories, as well as the Canadian Provinces, and possibly more countries; as well as doing some fun maps like a map of all the breweries we’ve been to, and other fun maps.) You can find the brewery maps here:

• MAPS OF BREWERIES

We are also working on a project of creating printable and downloadable PDFs and resources to be able to check and keep track of all of the breweries you’ve been to. So stay tuned for that project once we are finished with the Brewery Maps of the US States.

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. As well as our brand new Tumblr page. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server). We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written.

The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #7 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #8 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of January 2023.) Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

You can also check out our partnership and affiliation with Pretzels.com, where ordering pretzels and using our affiliate code – AFFILIATE CODE IS THEBEERTHRILLERS20 – will help you get wonderful pretzels and help us maintain and keep this blog running. Thank you!

If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.

(Thank you for reading. The opinions, thoughts, and expressions of each article posted on The Beer Thrillers represents the author of the content and only themselves. It does not express the opinions, beliefs, or ideas held by The Beer Thrillers or any company in which the author themselves work for. Each piece of written content is written by the creator(s) listed in the authorial section on each article unless otherwise noted. Their opinions, comments, and words on screen do not represent any company in which they work for and / or are affiliated with or any non – profits that they contribute to. Thank you.)

Creating a Hazy IPA, also known as a New England IPA (NEIPA), focuses on achieving a juicy, fruit-forward character with a soft, smooth mouthfeel and a hazy appearance. The haze comes from a combination of high protein grains, yeast selection, and dry hopping techniques. Below is a basic 5-gallon (approximately 19 liters) recipe to get you started on brewing your own Hazy IPA. Note that brewing involves some flexibility and experimentation, so feel free to adjust this recipe to suit your taste preferences.

Ingredients:

Malt Bill:

• 8 lbs (3.6 kg) Pale Malt (2-row)
• 2 lbs (0.9 kg) Flaked Oats
• 1 lb (0.45 kg) Flaked Wheat
• 1 lb (0.45 kg) Carapils/Dextrine Malt
• 1 lb (0.45 kg) Wheat Malt

Hops:

• 1 oz (28 g) Citra Hops (60 min from end of boil)
• 1 oz (28 g) Mosaic Hops (15 min from end of boil)
• 2 oz (56 g) Citra Hops (5 min from end of boil)
• 2 oz (56 g) Mosaic Hops (0 min, at flameout)
• 3 oz (85 g) Citra Hops (Dry hop on day 4 of fermentation)
• 3 oz (85 g) Mosaic Hops (Dry hop on day 4 of fermentation)

Yeast:

• London Ale III Yeast (Wyeast 1318) or any other high ester-producing, low flocculating yeast

Other:

• Water adjustments as per your local water report to match a profile suitable for NEIPA (higher chloride to sulfate ratio is generally preferred)
• 1 tsp Yeast nutrient (added 10 minutes before the end of the boil)
• Whirlfloc tablet or Irish Moss (15 min from end of boil) (optional, but helps with protein coagulation)

Instructions:

1. Mash: Heat your water to around 152°F (67°C) and mash the grains for 60 minutes. This temperature allows for a medium-bodied beer, which is typical for Hazy IPAs.
2. Sparge: After mashing, sparge the grains with hot water (around 168°F or 76°C) to collect 6.5 gallons (24.6 liters) of wort. This accounts for boil off and ensures you end up with 5 gallons (19 liters) of beer.
3. Boil: Bring the wort to a boil, and follow the hop schedule as follows:
   • Add 1 oz (28 g) of Citra at the beginning of a 60-minute boil.
   • Add 1 oz (28 g) of Mosaic with 15 minutes left in the boil.
   • Add 2 oz (56 g) of Citra with 5 minutes left in the boil.
   • Add 2 oz (56 g) of Mosaic at flameout/0 minutes.
4. Cool and Ferment: After the boil, cool the wort as quickly as possible to around 68°F (20°C), transfer it to a fermenter, and pitch the yeast. Ferment at 68-72°F (20-22°C) for about 7-10 days or until fermentation activity appears to have stopped.
5. Dry Hop: On day 4 of fermentation, add the remaining 3 oz (85 g) of Citra and 3 oz (85 g) of Mosaic hops directly to the fermenter for dry hopping.
6. Final Steps: After the fermentation is complete, allow the beer to settle for a few days. Then, cold crash (if possible) to help more particulates settle. Package the beer into bottles or kegs, carbonate, and enjoy your homemade Hazy IPA after a few weeks of conditioning.

Remember, brewing is as much an art as it is a science. Feel free to tweak this recipe to match your taste preferences, such as adjusting the hop varieties or the grain bill. Happy brewing!

Homebrewing Recipes

We are circling back to include more homebrew articles. We have gotten some requests for recipes, so we have decided to write them up and post them here. Be sure to check for other Homebrew articles and recipes as well!

• Brewing a Traditional Lithuanian Farmhouse Beer – Keptinis (Karl Larson)

• Nebula Nectar Hazy IPA (Homebrew Recipe)

Thank You For Reading

If you like this article, please check out our other many articles, including news, beer reviews, travelogues, maps, and much much more. We greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site!

Cheers.

Thanks again for reading everyone. Take some time to check out the site, we greatly appreciate it. We have affiliates and sponsors with Pretzels.com and Beer Drop.com, which can save you money on their products if you are interested. Check out our articles on them. Make sure to check out our beer reviews, brewery reviews, Amy’s weekly column, book reviews, hike reviews, and so much more.

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

We are working on a massive project here at The Beer Thrillers. We are creating a map of all of the breweries across the United States. State by state we are adding maps of all of the different states with every brewery in each state. (We will eventually get to the US Territories, as well as the Canadian Provinces, and possibly more countries; as well as doing some fun maps like a map of all the breweries we’ve been to, and other fun maps.) You can find the brewery maps here:

• MAPS OF BREWERIES

We are also working on a project of creating printable and downloadable PDFs and resources to be able to check and keep track of all of the breweries you’ve been to. So stay tuned for that project once we are finished with the Brewery Maps of the US States.

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. As well as our brand new Tumblr page. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server). We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written.

The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #7 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #8 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of January 2023.) Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

You can also check out our partnership and affiliation with Pretzels.com, where ordering pretzels and using our affiliate code – AFFILIATE CODE IS THEBEERTHRILLERS20 – will help you get wonderful pretzels and help us maintain and keep this blog running. Thank you!

If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.

(Thank you for reading. The opinions, thoughts, and expressions of each article posted on The Beer Thrillers represents the author of the content and only themselves. It does not express the opinions, beliefs, or ideas held by The Beer Thrillers or any company in which the author themselves work for. Each piece of written content is written by the creator(s) listed in the authorial section on each article unless otherwise noted. Their opinions, comments, and words on screen do not represent any company in which they work for and / or are affiliated with or any non – profits that they contribute to. Thank you.)