New Belgium Dig Clone

Drinking one now and its pretty darn tasty. Would love to brew this. Looking for input.

The specs on New Belgiums site..

Sorachi Ace hops provides a fresh Spring zing with incredible lemon aroma. Nelson Sauvin is next in line with bursts of passion fruit, mango and peach.
American favorites, Cascade and Centennial round out this crisp, clean Pale Ale.

ABV - 5.6%
IBU - 36
Calories - 174
Hops - Target, Nelson Sauvin, Cascade, Nugget, Sorachi Ace
Malts - Pale, C-80
OG - 15 (~1.061)
TG - 2.4 (~1.010)

looking at this beer it looks like its around 10 SRM

Messing with beersmith...

the grain bill would be
10lbs pale
12oz Crystal 80

Hop schedule is more up in the air
.5 oz of target (11%) at 60 mins ~18 IBUs...half the bitterness
.5 oz S Ace (12%) 15 mins ~10 IBUs
.5 oz Sauvin (12%) 10 mins ~ 7 IBUs
.5 oz cascade (5.5%) 5 mins ~ 2 IBUs
total 37 IBUs

Odd that it mentions Centennial in the description but not in the hop list
The OG and FG listed dont add up to 5.6 ABV either

Any thoughts?

Have you made this? Any updates ?

Curious as to how this came out or if it was ever made as well?

I suppose nothing has changed relating to this thread....I see that NB released Dig again this spring. Makes a clone even more enticing

I am a huge fan of this beer, probably my favorite APA. I would love to hear some updates.

I emailed & snail mailed a recipe to NB back in December but haven't had a response from them.

This is my interpretation for cloning this recipe...

Extract Recipe

6 lbs Light LME
1.5 lbs Light DME
1 lbs C -80 (Steeping)

Hops
All at .5 oz.
Target 60 min
Nugget 15 min
Sorachi Ace 15 min
Nelson Sauvin 10 min
Cascade 5 min

Not sure on Yeast right now I have Wyeast American Ale 1056

OG 1.057
FG 1.014

ABV 5.6%
SRM 12.43
IBU 38.83

Thoughts and recommendations are welcome....

Cheers

I was thinking a neutral strain 1056/us05/001 ... I've also got some PacMan I'd consider trying to.

The hops schedule I think is really the challenge on this one. If my LHBS had nelson I'd brew an attempt this weekend but they don't seem to carry it

Hop schedule looks pretty decent. I have drank alot of this beer and I think they use the Sorachi Ace as their bittering hop. I get alot of lemon flavor up front. Cant be sure about that but that is my guess. It also finishes with a nice caramel flavor. Dont know if that will help you, but let us know how it turns out.

Edit: I also agree with your neutral yeast choice.

I as well get the lemon-y flavor up front and some floral as well. not overly bitter with a hing of sweetness/caramel at the end

I think we are on the same page. If I were brewing this (and I will in due time), I might follow the labels direction. Sirachi Ace first and as the label says next in line is the nelson sauvin at say maybe 45. The rest of the hops would be late additions. I have no experience with Target so I cant offer much there. I will be doing all grain so things will vary between us but I hope this thread gains some traction. I have a special place in my heart for this beer and would love some input from others on this one.

I've been tinkering around on hopville:

http://hopville.com/recipe/1665806

I "dig" it. Good work. The hop schedule will be the main subject of tinkering, but I think you are on to something. I might up the C-80 to around a pound, and in turn maybe take the base down a shade. But it looks pretty damn good as is. I'm at work salivating, so thats a good sign haha.

so has anyone actually brewed one of these recipes? Im trying to put together my spring brew line-up and this is an APA I would like to try.

Couldn't find any Nelson so I didn't brew it last weekend...planning on doing an online order here in the next few weeks and I'll be buying some then

yeah, my LHB doesnt have Nelson so I have to order. Im looking for a president's day brew and I guess this one will have to wait.

but I am drinking Dig as I type this, which is some consilation

Ingredients are on order from Northern Brewer...Hops are in hand from Farmhouse...Yeast is in the fridge...

Sounds like a brew day in my future....

Planning to hit this up on Sunday....

http://hopville.com/recipe/1665806

11lbs 2-row
1lbs 80L

boil 60 min ½ Target
boil 15 min ½ Nelson Sauvin
boil 10 min ½ Cascade
boil 5 min ¼ Nugget
boil 5 min ¼ Sorachi Ace
dry hop 3 days 1 Nelson Sauvin

Pacmac Yeast

mash @ 150

I had one of these last night and having one again now. I'm thinking that the yeast is a big part of this. It has a unique taste to it that has a Fat Tire similarity. I would say it's the same yeast they use in FT?? - to me Dig is very earthy... maybe it's the shovel that makes me think that?

victornixon said:

I had one of these last night and having one again now. I'm thinking that the yeast is a big part of this. It has a unique taste to it that has a Fat Tire similarity. I would say it's the same yeast they use in FT?? - to me Dig is very earthy... maybe it's the shovel that makes me think that?

Click to expand...

It's been over a year since I've had it... I just remember the fresh lemony - smooth taste.

Would you care to take a Stab at a yeast choice ?

Not certain. I do know that I have thought this same thing of a few of their beers. Fat Tire, Blue Paddle, Dig, Snow Day, Ranger even... seem to use something similar and I really don't think it's a malt. From what I have found on here, you can harvest yeast from canned Fat Tire not bottles. That is what I would do if I was going to attempt a clone of this one or FT. FWIW, Austin uses WLP051 for their clone. Cheers.

I've got a Pacmac starter going now.

Worst case it'll be a bit on the dry side, I was thinking about mashing low but i suppose I could take it up on the normal size in the 152-254 range

Can't wait to brew this, will be next after my tank 7 clone. What about Denny's fav 50 yeast? I made his wrye smile rye IPA and its the best beer I've done yet. Has a unique taste I can't describe that I think is the yeast and I may have detected it in Dig. But the main flavor in Dig is the citrus for sure. Almost tasted like they added grapefruit juice at bottling...

I wish I could describe the Denny yeast flavor, almost mineraly. Very clean.

Can say much for Denny's fav besides folks rave about it.

Ill let you know how mine turns out In a few weeks when I can compare

Hydro sample at a week --- not getting the lemony taste like dig --- thinking yeast might be partly to blame.

Debating a dry hop.

I would've guessed they would use a Belgian strain. The Wyeast Belgian Ardennes yeast has a spicy, earthy quality to it. Not sure if that would be a match though. I've only used it in a Dubbel and BDSA. Just a thought.

signpost said:

I would've guessed they would use a Belgian strain. The Wyeast Belgian Ardennes yeast has a spicy, earthy quality to it. Not sure if that would be a match though. I've only used it in a Dubbel and BDSA. Just a thought.

Click to expand...

Kinda wishing I'd have split the batch and tried a few strains

I love this beer, especially now that I'm doing a lot of digging for my irrigating - cold beer after moving dirt in the hot sun!

I'm a beginner extract brewer, so if any of the more experienced guys could suggest a similar kit that would be awesome...

As far as I've found on the forum, no one else has brewed up a clone and posted a recipe.

I'll be bottling me 1st attempt this weekend, so I'll have a better idea in a few weeks.

I did toss in 1/2oz Nelson & 1/2 Target to dry hop for 5 days. Wishing I had some more Ace to use as a dry hop as well.

atimmerman88 said:

As far as I've found on the forum, no one else has brewed up a clone and posted a recipe.

I'll be bottling me 1st attempt this weekend, so I'll have a better idea in a few weeks.

I did toss in 1/2oz Nelson & 1/2 Target to dry hop for 5 days. Wishing I had some more Ace to use as a dry hop as well.

Click to expand...

Keep us updated sir.......

Going to bottles tomorrow

TTT -

Taste Test Time

Great color, I know it's lighter than theirs, but I think it's a better looking beer for sure. Looking forward to the tasting notes!

I didn't have time last night to type up what I thought.

So here it is, I'm still learning to describe things well so bare with me.

Mine is definitely has more hop presence both by aroma and taste. I'm getting more lemon and grassyness from mine than in the new belgium. Color is pretty obvious that mine is a touch lighter. Head retention was the same, the original had more lacing than might.

I'm getting similar breadyness/biscuity taste that I get from Fat Tire as well. I'm going to say that it is from the yeast. I used Pacman and there isn't any notes from the yeast in mine. Mine is a little more full bodied but I point that at my not so great attenuation. Overall I'd say similar but it needs some refinement. I don't think I'd dry hop this like I did, I wasn't getting near the level of grassyness before I dry hoped it. I would also look at a different yeast. Maybe an abbey yeast or something else that is used in Fat Tire clones.

Awesome pics. And good info on your description of how the recipe turned out.

I've recently had some Dig and it isn't like I remember it from last year. I have a feeling that is mostly due to a better developed palette. Last year, I kept telling my wife Dig tasted like dirt. In a good way. Earthy, right? This year, I don't get nearly as strong of an earthy character. I'm sure it is possible that they changed the recipe a bit from last year's version, but I think it is mostly a fine tuning of my taste buds that has changed my perception.

It is funny, though. The Ranger IPA now seems to taste very similar to what I remember Dig tasting like. I really want to try Rampant, their new doubleIPA, but I haven't seen it in the stores I've visited since it was released.

One thing I noticed, like in many beers, Dig on tap very different than in bottle. I first had it on tap and I really remember the lemon flavor. Then I had it in the bottle, and it was good, but that lemon flavor from the Sorachi Ace did not come through nearly as strong.

Nice description of the tasting and comparison. I didn't have it last year, but this year I thought it was earthy for sure. Didn't get a taste of it on tap, but my dad did and said it was better than bottles. I too really like the Ranger and have tried Rampant. I was not that impressed with Rampant. If you are a fan of the West coast IPA style, don't expect that from it.

If I were to attempt a Dig clone I would probably go for a Belgian yeast that leaves a minimal amount of the Belgian charachteritc esters.

@atimmerman88-Which hop did you end up using for bittering? I am pretty sure that the yeast is not a belgian strain, it is pretty clean without much of an estery flavor. I would guess good old fashioned 1056 or maybe Cali/Northwest ale. Dennys fav 50 is an interesting strain, I have used it a couple times. I have found that it retains malt flavors well, and is pretty clean to finish. Might be a good choice for this beer. Keep us updated on how this turns out. I am going to attempt a clone as soon as I have more time.

atimmerman88 said:

I've been tinkering around on hopville:

http://hopville.com/recipe/1665806

Click to expand...

Thats the recipe I used ---

I'll up date with what I dry hopped it with tonight.

I only used 1/2oz target & 1/2oz nelson