The Creation of Skunk-Ape Amber

Check out the stinky bastard to the right. That, my friends, is the Skunk-Ape; Florida’s smelly, swamp-dwelling version of the mighty Sasquatch. Skunky over here is also the (perhaps improperly chosen) namesake of one of our recent brews, the Skunk-Ape Amber.

What’s that Andrea? You’re not supposed to associate beer with skunky things? That’s true, but as Andrea agrees, the name has a certain – awesome – ring to it.

Let’s take a break for some information about this mysterious and (probably) majestic cryptid. This information is from the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters. (http://www.skunkape.info/)

About Skunk Apes

Skunk Ape is a large hairy, bipedal mammal that calls the Florida Everglades home. They have been spotted as far north as Tallahassee and as far south as Lostman’s River. Large adult males reportably weigh in excess of 450 lbs and stand 6 to 7 feet tall. Some believe that this biped is part of the same species as the famed Big Foot.The smell of a Skunk Ape has been reported to be similar to rotten eggs or methane, possibly because, as some say, they hide in alligator dens filled with swamp gas and rotting animal cadavers. Others speculate that they smell because they never bathe. Maybe it is a combination of both.

You might be interested in downloading a PDF file of the Skunk Ape Sighting Locations Map (Adobe PDF Reader required).

Look in this section for more information about Skunk Apes. We have also collected a variety of links for your Skunk Ape surfing pleasure.

Fortunately, our brew does NOT taste or smell like rotten eggs or methane, and it cannot be found in alligator dens. Side-note: having watched Swamp People, I don’t recommend going into, hanging around, or being near alligator dens, unless you’re into that sort of thing… then have at it.

This classic American Amber actually has the common, light-malty taste and mouthfeel of a basic amber, like the one produced by Alaskan Brewing Co.

This is our second (and probably final) brew created from a kit, although we modified the ingredients and directions. I guess you could say that it was “influenced by” the American Amber kit from Brewer’s Best.

List of Ingredients:

1 lb Caramel 80L
3.3 lbs Amber LME
2.5 lbs Amber DME
1.5 oz Amarillo hops
.5 oz Willamette hops
Yeast
Priming sugar

Directions:

Steep (tea-bag) grains in 3 gal of 150 degree H20 for 30 minutes. Remove grains and bring wort to a boil. Reduce heat and stir in LME and DME. Return to a boil, watching for the break. At the break, add 1.5 oz of Amarillo, and start the 60 min timer. Being a relatively simple brew, the final .5 oz of flavoring hops are added with only 5 minutes remaining in the boil. Remove from heat after 60 min. Cool with the wort chiller, and siphon into the carboy.