From Braxton Brewing:
Braxton Brewing Co. was “Born in the Garage.” That’s not marketing jargon. It’s in that garage on Braxton Dr. in Union, Ky. where Evan, our Head Brewer, learned to brew, refined his craft and the idea behind Braxton was born. Along the same lines, one of our innovation brewers — Dave Dixon — created his Robust Porter in his own garage.
This beer grew from an award-winning homebrew, to our first seasonal, to an award-winning professional beer, to our second seasonal can. Now, we want you to be able tocreate your own Blown Gasket. We’re giving away the recipe… AND THE INGREDIENTS.
Join us this Friday for the tapping of Blown Gasket and we’ll have 50 Gasket Kits available. These Gasket Kits include all the ingredients (except the yeast) that you’ll need to create your own 6-gallon batch of Blown Gasket. Submit two bottles of your own take on Blown Gasket before Dec. 2nd and the winning recipe will get to be “Brewer for a Day” at Braxton.
To learn more about the birth of Blown Gasket, we sat down with “The Godfather” to learn more. Here’s his story:
Being part of the Braxton Brew Team since the beginning has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to be involved with professional brewing since I started homebrewing back in 1996. With the release of Blown Gasket in cans I would like to share the history of our Robust Porter and how/why the original homebrew recipe was created.
Dreaded Robust Porter was created to have a different dark beer in my homebrew recipe catalog. I had made many different stout beers but I was looking for a dark beer with reduced body and reduced roast character. This was also around the time I was switching from extract brewing to all-grain brewing as I wanted to have more control over my final product.
The first time I brewed the Robust Porter known as Blown Gasket was late 1998. The first batch was close but not exactly what I wanted. I still decided to enter the Dreaded Robust Porter in the Bluebonnet Brew-off, the largest single-site homebrew competition in the United States. I took 2nd place.
So what did I change from the original recipe to get the Robust Porter I wanted? I wanted to have a nice dark beer with some roast, toffee and chocolate character without the acrid/bitter bite in the background. I made the decision to remove the roasted malt and switch from Cluster hops to Nugget for bittering and flavor. These 2 changes gave me the exact character I wanted in this Robust Porter. A nice dark beer with a touch of bitterness, nice toffee and chocolate malt flavors and a very pleasant roast background that does not have a bitter bite. This was the one and only change I have made to the original recipe. In 2013, I change the homebrew name from “Dreaded Robust Porter” to “Dreaded Jake Porter” in memory of our chocolate lab “Jake” who passed away in 2013.
This beer has been one of my most award-winning beers over the past 20 years and the most notable award was the 2011 American Homebrews Association National Homebrew Competition 1st place in the Porter category.
I cannot express how much it meant when Evan and Richard asked if Braxton could brew this Robust Porter for the grand opening. Coming from the homebrew community this was like a dream come true. To have your beer produced at a professional level, with some slight modification, and to be the assistant brewer on the deck the day it was first brewed was an amazing experience.
I am beyond excited to see one of my favorite recipes and beer styles being offered in cans. When I first found out this was going to happen I felt my brewing career had come full circle. From my first brew in 1996 from a kit my Mom and Dad bought me for Christmas to now have the chance to walk into a store and see Blown Gasket Robust Porter on a shelf next to other professionally produced beers… I am actually speechless and very humbled.
I cannot thank Braxton’s Co-Founders enough for the amazing opportunity to fulfill my dream! Please remember these two things…Lift One To Life and always BREW HARD!
Your Gasket Kit will include:
- 14 lbs of 2 Row Pale Ale
- 0.6 lbs of Patagonia Chocolate Malt
- 0.6 lbs of Patagonia Perla Negra
- 0.6 lbs of Patagonia Crystal 55
- 0.6 lbs of Flaked Oats
- 1 oz of Nugget Hops
- 1 oz of Cascade Hops
- And all of the instructions necessary to create your own Blown Gasket
*All malts will be pre-milled.
Create your own spin on Blown Gasket and submit two bottles and your brewing notes prior to Dec. 2nd. The winning brewer will be invited to be “Brewer For a Day” at Braxton Brewing Co.
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