Allagash Curieux Clone

1Mainebrew · 06-11-2011, 01:15 PM

Hey all, I'm looking for some input on my clone. I made it with:

13# pilsner malt
1 # Carapils
1 # corn sugar
0.5 oz tettnang 60 mins
1 oz hersbrucker 60 min
.25 oz tettnang 30 mins
.5 oz hersbrucker 30 mins
.25 oz tettnang 10 mins
.5 oz hersbrucker 10 min
.5 gal starter of wyeast Belgian Ardennes and wlp550

OG 1.085

it's been in primary for a bit now. I was planning on 30 days primary solo, then 30 days more (still on the cake) with 3 oz of Hungarian medium toast oak cubes that have been soaking in Jim beam for almost a month already- major bourbon flavor being the aim just like Curieux.

So my questions are:

1) is the 60 days too long in primary?
2) is that too much oak for 5 gals of beer?

Thanks for the input.

1Mainebrew · 06-16-2011, 11:53 PM

Ok so I just pulled a sample after a month in primary and it's amazing as a tripel. It's sweeter than I expected and not as phenolic either. It's crystal clear and attenuated all the way down to 1.008 from 1.085!!! I decided to add 2.5 oz of the oak cubes right to primary for 3 weeks and we will see how it is then. This should be quite the beer.

1Mainebrew · 07-14-2011, 05:43 PM

So it's quite clear at this point. You can see the oak cubes on the bottom in the yeast cake.

1Mainebrew · 07-31-2011, 09:27 AM

So I'm kegging this on Monday, 8/1/11. It will have been basically 8 weeks on the cake, 4 weeks on the oak. The last sample I took was a week ago and the Jim Beam was starting to come through here, so I added the rest of the oak cubes that were soaking in some more Jim Beam. I'm hoping that the extra week, and the extra oak, make for a true Curieux clone. We shall see. I have to finish the keg of Kate the Great clone that I have in the kegerator before I will even be touching this though.

dogbar · 08-21-2011, 04:04 PM

Keep us posted. Love this beer.

mhenry41h · 08-21-2011, 04:15 PM

Sounds awesome! I've been doing a lot of research on using oak as I'm planning on making an Oaked and smoked porter in the near future. Everything I've read would suggest that 2.5 oz of oak is way too much. I'm told to use 1 oz per 5 gallon batch with 1.5-2 being an extreme maximum. Are your samples over Oaked? I'd really love to know your results to help my recipe!

1Mainebrew · 08-21-2011, 04:29 PM

Oak cubes are a very different story than oak chips. Even with the full 3 oz I get the slight oak complexities near the finish but its not at all over oaked. It's not overbearing at all.

I just bottled up a few Kate the Greats out of the keg so as soon as that keg is drained I'll be tossing in Curieux.

I'll keep you posted and once I get this chilled, carbed, tested, and photographed I'll stick it up in the recipes.

Thanks for the interest.

mhenry41h · 08-21-2011, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1Mainebrew

Oak cubes are a very different story than oak chips. Even with the full 3 oz I get the slight oak complexities near the finish but its not at all over oaked. It's not overbearing at all.

I just bottled up a few Kate the Greats out of the keg so as soon as that keg is drained I'll be tossing in Curieux.

I'll keep you posted and once I get this chilled, carbed, tested, and photographed I'll stick it up in the recipes.

Thanks for the interest.

Cool thanks! I definitely want smoke in the middle and oak in the finish. I don't want the oak to be overbearing but I also don't want people to have to search for it either!

1Mainebrew · 08-21-2011, 05:10 PM

No problem, the Kate the Great clone was aged on 3 oz of Hungarian medium toast oak cubes also and it adds a complexity to the beer but is far from overwhelming. And if it's really cold you need to think about it to taste it. Best wishes!

1Mainebrew · 08-27-2011, 03:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1Mainebrew

1) is the 60 days too long in primary?
2) is that too much oak for 5 gals of beer?

So to answer my own questions:

1) No
2) No

Hope this helps anyone else interested in making a curieux clone.