The Dacker discovery

Late last summer, Kerry and I had occasion to spend a few nights at the fine Wawbeek on Upper Saranac Lake. One afternoon, I met a man and we got talking about brewing. He’d heard of Davidson Brothers, but had never been to the pub. Like so many people I meet, he was a home brewer, but he said he often brewed the same recipe, one handed down to him from his father and grandfather. I told him if he ever got down to Glens Falls, I’d like to try some of his original ale.

The next week, he appeared outside the brewhouse door with a couple bottles filled with his ale. I showed him around the brewery and sampled his ale, and he had a taste of our Smoked Porter and our Scotch Ale. His ale was very, very good and I told him so. He offered to write out the recipe if I wanted and said we could make a batch to sell in the pub. Why not? After all, it was exceptional. He said he didn’t want any credit or mention. He just thought his was an ale others would enjoy.

So I scaled his recipe up for the seven-barrel brick kettle and brewed a batch. It was November 10—I’ll never forget it. I hadn’t brewed in awhile and I had a great time working with Mandy on this authentic guest ale. We called it the Winterizer.

Well, since we tapped that tank—just before Thanksgiving—we’ve had to brew several more batches. Many of our regulars requested that we keep the Winterizer on tap all year, just change the name. I spoke to the recipe’s owner and he’s happy that the recipe has become so popular. He even gave me the name he calls his ale and said we could use it too. I insisted we put his name on it and although he said he didn’t want anyone pestering him, he agreed.

Now, we’re introducing his ale with its original name, “Dacker”. And although I can now tell everyone it’s Adirondack home brewer Duncan Kincaid’s recipe, please don’t pester him.

Thanks, Duncan, for sharing a truly great ale with us.

Rick Davidson