Commemoration Beer

Recently, my dad and step-mom had to put down their Golden Retriever, Molson. I lived there for a little bit, and he was the best dog ever. Always excited to see you, not too rambunctious, and just an awesome companion.

His passing got me thinking about how to commemorate or remember someone. Some people might use artistic expression with poetry, writing, or art. As a homebrewer, what better way to commemorate someone than with a hand-crafted beer.

Beer is my art form. It allows me the same artistic expression as someone doing a painting or writing a poem. Beer even goes further, because of the repeatability. If I craft a beer to pay tribute to someone, then every time I brew it, I will remember that person.


A tribute beer should come with a great deal of consideration. I think the beer should have qualities that remind you of the person or animal. For Molson, he loved to hang out when we were outside making  beer, and he was also very calm and relaxed. I think a golden, low-hopped, session beer would be perfect for remembering Molson. Molson was not a fan of hops, so I wanted to keep the recipe malt forward. Here's what I drew up:

Recipe: Golden Molson

Batch size: 6 gal
OG: 1.054    
FG: 1.014
IBU: 20
ABV: 5.3%

Ingredients:
3 lbs Briess Golden Light DME
2.5 lbs Briess Wheat DME
1 lb Munich LME
1.5 lbs Crystal 15L (steeped)
1 oz Golding hops (60 min)

Safale US-05 dry yeast


I discussed this idea with my wife, and she mentioned a very important point. The commemoration beer should represent what YOU remember about the person or animal. You should try to generate a recipe that represents your relationship. Another person's beer may be completely different.

I plan to brew this pretty soon, and I will be sure to give a toast to Molson for every bottle.