Killercal

Recipes 

Hello all,

I’m only a new member and a new brewer but love the endless possibilities of different kinds of beers I can make. From time to time I come across a commercial beer that I really like and think to myself, I would really love to replicate this beer.

With that being said, I think we should all start a Clone recipe Forum where we can all place our clone recipes for other to try. Maybe we could break it down into subcategories of place of origin/type of beer/etc.

So what does everyone think?

KYB

Recipes 

It would be convenient, but probably more trouble than it's worth for the mods, and maybe kind of make things cluttered. Your best bet would be to just search for "Somebeer Clone" in the search box.

BigEd

Recipes 

I'm not much for cloning myself and frankly don't quite understand the seemingly endless fascination many homebrewers seem to have in the subject. With the very rare exception of a few world-class beers that may identify their actual beer style, say like Pilsner Urquell, cloning hasn't interested me. There are also a lot of "clone" recipes out there but many of them aren't very good. This includes recipes in some of the more well known publications that specialize in the topic. My preference is to determine what it is about a particular beer that I like and then make my own recipe or version of the beer that might showcase that characteristic but at the same time make it my own and probably better than the commercial version. Clone away but IMO you will learn more about the ingredients and brewing in general by following your own trail.

KYB

Recipes 

Yea I have only brewed one recipe that I didn't make myself, which was my first, and it was Flans Standard Stout he made. I don't even use other recipes as a base. That's what I enjoy doing, but others seem to enjoy recreating awesome and expensive beers.

Killercal

Recipes 

both solid points, I do enjoy making my own, but i do think it would be nice to try and replicate a couple of beers that my friends all enjoy to try get them hook on brewing.

I also just thought it would be easy for others to find recipes that some are looking for.

Anyways, thanks again for you input

Grinder12000

Recipes 

I start with a clone and then tweak it - sometimes a lot. A clone forum would be nice but there are many mags and books out there that also have clones - Google BYO - they have a lot of clones.

__________________
Grinders Island Brewery - Pipeline (Batch #)

Primary #1 Hair of the Arm West Coast Blaster - don't ask(89)
Next up - Award winning Dbl Chocolate Stout Batch #4 (90) On deck - Zythos Pale Ale(91) and then Weizenbock(92)

Homercidal

Recipes 

One problem I see with it, is that each brewer has a bit of uniqueness in their process, and so what gets one guy close to the commercial example is not necessarily going to work for someone else. In fact, I'd guess that it usually does not.

So as far as calling it a clone, I'd say not likely. But it will very often be close. The best thing to do is to find a recipe that a lot of people rave about and see how it goes. You may have to tweak it a bit for you. There is a decent recipe database here, and there are a few very good books on classic styles, and magazines also give clone recipes for commercial beer fans.

I often look up a clone recipe to see what I might need to buy, only to find several that claim to be good, yet have very different ingredients.

skeeordye11

Recipes 

I think the appeal of the clone is that you know what to expect. It might not taste the same because we all use different techniques and whatnot, but at least with a clone recipe you know you'll be in the ballpark. Theres a certain hesitation about going and dropping $50-60 on igredients for your own recipe not knowing whether or not it's going to turn out awful. Especially for the new brewer trying to get their feet wet. Just my $.02

__________________
Crescent Moon Brewing

wildwest450

Recipes 

+1, and what's cooler than tasting a great tasting craft beer, then making it yourself? If you check the recipe data base there's tons of good clones in there.