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Denver’s Flying Dog Brewery today announced plans to release what is believed to be the first “open source” beer to hit the market in the U.S. “Open source” is a term most commonly used in the software industry and refers to any program whose source code is made available for use or modification as users or other developers see fit. In this case, Flying Dog’s Open Source Beer Project will allow beer drinkers and homebrewers to create and recommend changes and modifications to the recipe.

The Open Source Beer Project will start as a Dopplebock but the style may evolve as participants offer ideas and tweak the recipe. “We are encouraging input on every part of the recipe, down to how what variety of hops we should use, how much we should use and when we should add them,” said Flying Dog Head Brewer, Matt Brophy.

Flying Dog’s Director of Marketing, Neal Stewart says that this is a unique way for consumers to participate in the creation of a new beer. “The Open Source Beer is a truly collaborative project and gives our loyal fans the opportunity to buy a beer that they actually played a major role in creating.”

The open source beer will be Flying Dog’s latest “Wild Dog” release and will hit stores in October. Wild Dogs are extremely limited edition beers that come exclusively in hand corked and labeled 750ml bottles. Only 5000 bottles of the Open Source Wild Dogs will be available to the public. Flying Dog’s current Wild Dog is a whiskey barrel-aged version of their popular Gonzo Imperial Porter.

For more information or to make recipe comments on the Open Source Beer Project, visit www.opensourcebeerproject.com .

Technorati Tags: open source beer, limited beer, beer recipe, beer recipes, homebrew, brewers, homebrewing, unique beers, extreme beers, beer project

Flying Dog is setting out to make a kick ass German Style Doppelbock. The recipe you see here is a bare bones, as simple as you can get Doppelbock recipe.

What we want from you:

There is a lot up for debate and nothing is set in stone. We are confident that with the help of YOU, our friends of the brewery, homebrewers across the country, or just regular guys that love beer, the results of the Open Source Beer Project will be right on par with Flying Dog’s extremely high standards of brewing. Who knows? Maybe we’ll win a Great American Beer Festival medal together?

Keep this desciption in mind as you make comments on the recipe.

Malty sweetness is dominant but should not be cloying. Malt character is more reminiscent of fresh and lightly toasted Munich-style malt; more so than caramel or toffee malt character. Some elements of caramel and toffee can be evident and contribute to complexity, but the predominant malt character is an expression of toasted barley malt. Doppelbocks are full bodied and deep amber to dark brown in color. Astringency from roast malts is absent. Alcoholic strength is high, and hop rates increase with gravity. Hop bitterness and flavor should be low and hop aroma absent. Fruity esters are commonly perceived but at low to moderate levels.

Original Gravity (ºPlato): 1.074 1.080 (18 19.5 ºPlato)

Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (ºPlato): 1.014 1.020 (3.5 5 ºPlato)

Alcohol by Weight (Volume): 5.2 6.2% (6.5 8%)

Bitterness (IBU): 17 27

Color SRM (EBC): 12 30 (24 60 EBC)