Dogfish Head's Randall Jr. The Mini Enamel Animal

Randall Jr. The Mini Enamel Animal

Meet Randall Jr.  He might just be the single most awesome invention in the history of the beer drinking world.  As a descendant of Randall the Enamel Animal, he perpetuates a long-standing tradition of making great beer better but he does so in a way that makes him even more awesome than his esteemed ancestor.

For those of you who don't know, the original Randall is a creation of Dogfish Head Founder and President Sam Calagione and his crew.  It was invented for an event called The Lupulin Slam and was intended to blow their fellow West Coast brewer brothers and sisters clear out of the water.  The original device is designed to work with a draft system, which forces beer through the Randall's chamber--one that could be filled with any number of ingredients from fresh hops to spices and beyond.  Having had Randallized beer before, I can attest to the incredible impact that the device can have on a beer, such as running 120 Minute IPA through fresh hops or the esteemed Punkin Ale through a blend of cinnamon and roasted pumpkin seeds (the latter was courtesy of Cloverleaf Tavern in Caldwell, New Jersey).  Needless to say, it allows for nearly boundless creativity and innovative alterations to whatever beer is used.

The ingredients for my first Randall Jr.
concoction.

Nearly every time I've had a Randallized beer, the one thought that goes through my mind is, "Man...I wish I could do this at home."  Enter Randall Jr.  At long last, Dogfish Head has created a smaller version of the device designed for a single bottle of beer at a time.  My wife found out about it by way of The Craft Beer Girl's page (http://thecraftbeergirl.com/) and we picked one up as an early Father's Day present for me.  I had no idea of where to begin and so, in true off-centered fashion, I began to think of the strangest, most off-beat Dogfish brews that I've had to date.  The first one that came to mine was the spice-laden Saison du BUFF--a collaboration between Dogfish Head, Victory, and Stone Brewing.  I wasn't sure of what spices they had used but I had at least a hunch and so I decided to try to make a BUFF-ish beer as my first Randall Jr. creation.  I took a 90 Minute IPA and placed it into RJr along with some rosemary, thyme, and savory (it turns out I was off by only two spices--the original used parsley (which I had but didn't use) and sage).  After an overexcited pour that created a ridiculous amount of head, I waited patiently until I could place it into the fridge...and then I waited.  The recommendation was for ten minutes but I think I kept it in for twelve or fifteen.

A healthy pinch of these three spices transformed my 90 Minute IPA

The finished product

As soon as I nosed the beer I could tell that it had worked; it smelled almost exactly like the Saison du BUFF.  My first sip confirmed what my nose had surmised and launched me into a giddy fit of fist-pumping.  I suddenly felt like I held the keys to the kingdom of new-found beer awesomeness.  My mind began racing about what I could try to brew up next.  I shared my first experience on Dogfish Head's Facebook page as they were promoting the Randall Jr. launch and encouraging fans of the brewery to host their own RJr events (I wouldn't consider my tasting such an experience since it was just me...and that would have been an awfully sad party of one!).

Ultimately, I decided to make use of a bourbon vanilla bean that I had lying around (I had experimented previously with infusing some Jack Daniels with said vanilla and cherries...it was mind-blowingly awesome!).  I grabbed my last bottle of Chicory Stout and poured it into the Randall Jr. along with the split vanilla bean and the scraped off bits from inside.  After waiting the requisite amount of time, I tried it and found that this, too, was just a kick-ass success.

My next experiment will be to infuse some 90 Minute IPA first with cilantro and jalapeños to see if I can recreate El Diablo Verde--one of my favorite beers from the 2012 WOCAAW (reviewed here).  After that, I might try a fresh apricot to see how close I can come to replicating Aprihop (this way I can theoretically have it all year round!).  Beyond that, I'll have to see where my creativity takes me.  I think I will go for some more unusual brewing components like watermelon as well as some favorites like high quality chocolate and coffee beans.  If anything winds up being a resounding success, I'll be sure to document it in a future entry.

With all that said, only one question remains: have you picked yourself up a Randall Jr. yet?  If not, then what are you waiting for!?  (Okay, that was two questions...but one begot the other.)  You can purchase it for the more-than-reasonable sum of $19.99 at the Dogfish Head website (conveniently linked here) and you can watch their hilarious promotional video on Youtube here.

The possible beer and ingredient combinations are limited only by your imagination.  You can be the hit of your party--the star of the show...even if Randall Jr. is really doing most of the work (but don't worry--he won't tell!)

Cheers!

Beer Whisperer Matt