Heady Topper

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.
I left that first can of empty Heady I had the other night covered in tin foil so I could check aromas as the time went by and it is incredibly piney without the beer in there. I'm doing some hop teas with extra hops I had lying around after the dryhop, seeing if I can stumble upon something.
 
So I had my Heady Topper clone yesterday just before the super bowl. I had a few friends over and they each had a glass. Everyone really liked it, a few said it was the best beer I had ever made. I might agree with them on that. One freind who knows very little about the brewing process asked how much grapefruit I used when making it. lol, none obviously! So if you get Heady, culture up the yeast bc I am sure thats what is making this so amazing.

Tasting Notes:

Burnt orange color, murky, dense 1 finger head with tiny bubble shooting up.

Peachy, orange, grapefruit, pinneapple, huge aroma, it basically engulfed the room even the people not drinking the beer got the aroma.

Not as juicy as heady but tons of fruits, orange, mango,
grapefruit amazingly citrusy. Really awesome.

I think the beer needs more pine, I havent had Heady in a month or so but I remember getting a decent amount of pine. Not overwhelming but it was there. I am thinking about dialing back the Amarillo next time, although good I think it was overpowering some of the other hop flavors. However, I love the beer right now, so I am going to have a hard time changing it, lol.

Overall I think it's a very good DIPA, but not heady.


7AF7435C-B21F-4BBB-B07B-CD900A84A5DC-4366-0000023E233D176D_zpscd210df8.jpg


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 5.00 gal
Post Boil Volume: 4.26 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 4.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 3.60 gal
Estimated OG: 1.077 SG
Estimated Color: 5.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 105.3 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 71.9 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
6 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 56.5 %
3 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 2 30.4 %
1 lbs Vienna Malt (Briess) (3.5 SRM) Grain 3 8.7 %
8.0 oz Dextrose (Briess) (1.0 SRM) Sugar 4 4.3 %
1.00 oz Magnum [14.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 57.8 IBUs
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 6 -
0.50 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 mins) Other 7 -
1.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 8 16.0 IBUs
0.75 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 9 5.2 IBUs
0.75 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 10 6.2 IBUs
0.75 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Boil 5.0 Hop 11 8.6 IBUs
0.50 oz Nugget [13.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 12 5.3 IBUs
0.50 oz Warrior [15.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 13 6.2 IBUs
2.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Aroma Steep 30. Hop 14 0.0 IBUs
1.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Aroma Steep 30.0 min Hop 15 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Aroma Steep 30.0 Hop 16 0.0 IBUs
0.50 oz Nugget [13.00 %] - Aroma Steep 30.0 min Hop 17 0.0 IBUs
0.50 oz Warrior [15.00 %] - Aroma Steep 30.0 min Hop 18 0.0 IBUs
0.25 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Aroma St Hop 19 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg Conan (The Alchemist #) Yeast 20 -
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Day Hop 21 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Day Hop 22 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 23 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 24 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 25 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 26 0.0 IBUs


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs 8.0 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 14.75 qt of water at 159.5 F 149.0 F 60 min

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (0.26gal, 2.63gal) of 170.0 F water
Notes:
------
2 seperate dry hops, 3 oz each for 5 days.
Click to expand...
 
Almost at the end of 4 step ups from 2 cans (200ml - 300 - 500 - 800) Can anyone tell me my yeast count? sorry way to lazy tnite and im not sure if mrmatly does that conversion.

On other news i decided to drink some starter wort and HOLY Sh1! was it peachy with some tangerine and pineapple. as soon as it hit the tongue i could pull it right out of headys flavor. What a beast this little guy is.

Hopefully brewing my first clone this saturday if i dont need another stepup i will prob end up brewing a 3 gallon batch as we all try and nail the last couple details.

THX guys! awesome thread.

P.s i go up to vermont every couple months and will have a couple cases near spring for trade
 
Johnnyhitch1 said:
Almost at the end of 4 step ups from 2 cans (200ml - 300 - 500 - 800) Can anyone tell me my yeast count? sorry way to lazy tnite and im not sure if mrmatly does that conversion.

On other news i decided to drink some starter wort and HOLY Sh1! was it peachy with some tangerine and pineapple. as soon as it hit the tongue i could pull it right out of headys flavor. What a beast this little guy is.

Hopefully brewing my first clone this saturday if i dont need another stepup i will prob end up brewing a 3 gallon batch as we all try and nail the last couple details.

THX guys! awesome thread.

P.s i go up to vermont every couple months and will have a couple cases near spring for trade
Click to expand...

It's easiest to to estimate based on volume. How many mL of yeast do you have when it settles? Figure anywhere from 1-2 billion cells per mL to be safe. Might have more, but it's a good estimate.
 
theveganbrewer said:
It's easiest to to estimate based on volume. How many mL of yeast do you have when it settles? Figure anywhere from 1-2 billion cells per mL to be safe. Might have more, but it's a good estimate.
Click to expand...

Great thx for that. Ill have to check when i decant to the mason jar for storage
 
Johnnyhitch1 said:
Almost at the end of 4 step ups from 2 cans (200ml - 300 - 500 - 800) Can anyone tell me my yeast count? sorry way to lazy tnite and im not sure if mrmatly does that conversion.

On other news i decided to drink some starter wort and HOLY Sh1! was it peachy with some tangerine and pineapple. as soon as it hit the tongue i could pull it right out of headys flavor. What a beast this little guy is.

Hopefully brewing my first clone this saturday if i dont need another stepup i will prob end up brewing a 3 gallon batch as we all try and nail the last couple details.

THX guys! awesome thread.

P.s i go up to vermont every couple months and will have a couple cases near spring for trade
Click to expand...


I'd take you up on this trade offer - dying to try it!
 
Really interested in trying to make this but cant get my hands on any heady topper...had some horrible luck so far trying to receive some. Im willing to trade. Good luck with the clones as well!
 
I would give this a shot, and be happy to add my results and ideas if someone has some extra Conan they could send me, I would get it ramped up from there. Obviously a can of Heady would be excellent, but the yeast would be just fine. I'd pay for it as well.
 
For those of you that are culturing Conan, what pitching rate are you aiming for? Standard ale rate of 0.75 million cells/ml/*P?

Thanks in advance.
 
FATC1TY said:
I would give this a shot, and be happy to add my results and ideas if someone has some extra Conan they could send me, I would get it ramped up from there. Obviously a can of Heady would be excellent, but the yeast would be just fine. I'd pay for it as well.
Click to expand...

I am currently brewing a pale ale with Conan, and should have enough cake afterwards to send some. Rather than paying for me to ship it, maybe we can do a trade? Won't be ready for 3-4 weeks or so.
 
abrix said:
For those of you that are culturing Conan, what pitching rate are you aiming for? Standard ale rate of 0.75 million cells/ml/*P?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I just pitched standard ale pitching rates, its a pretty rough assumption though when building up from dregs but I think I pitched about 200-250billion cells for a 5 gallon batch at 1.072.

I re-pitched 90ml of dirty slurry into a 1.071 Falconers Flight and it took right off and is tasting mighty fine after 10 days. I think I was a little more precise on the pitching rate for that beer.
 
When making a yeast starter, remember to input:

*Yeast age (this example was produced 3 weeks from today)
*Method of aeration (this example is based on a stir plate)
*Accurate measurement of the post-boil OG (Chill and test in the 60s F)

Also, remember to gauge your pitch rate based on the volume of wort in the primary (batch size). Not the volume you bottle or keg, some of which is lost to trub. I lose 0.5 gallons when racking, so my batch size is 5.5 gallons, but my bottling size is 5.0 gallons.

untitled.JPG
 
Subscribed. I think Heady Topper is by far the best beer I have ever had. I'm making a run up to the Alchmest in March to get as much as I can get my hands on. (2 cases at least!) I did try the clone recipe I saw on hopville. It was my third batch ever and I screwed up so many things... It came out as an ok beer but had nothing like the punch of Heady. Think I am finally getting a hand on AG, as I hit my OG numbers better then expected last time. This is somthing that I am going to make priorty one to try and replicate. This is great. Now I just have to find the time to sit down and read this entire thread!
 
I don't have access to Heady.
Is there any other yeast that will throw the fruity flavors that Conan does? Anything even close?
 
With careful times and temperatures, perhaps Wyeast 1968 "ESB". Ninkasi uses it in Tricerahops.
 
I love that beer. I'll check out the yeast. Times and temp...happen to know the details?
 
Just curious Nordeast, how much beer is exactly in that carboy?

I'm dryhopping a separate IPA (not an HT clone) with 3.5 oz. leaf hops want to make sure I have the space needed for when they expand and float atop the beer. On a side note, I think an HT clone would require more like a 5-6 oz. dryhop for a 5 gallon batch.
 
theveganbrewer said:
What did you end up dry hopping with?
Click to expand...

Half zip of each of the 6 for this dry hopping. I'm going even mix of each hop, and then tweaking out the amounts when I compare this to some of the real deal (hopefully) and my memory/notes (more likely).

EyePeeA said:
Just curious Nordeast, how much beer is exactly in that carboy?
Click to expand...

It's right about 5 gal.

I'm dryhopping a separate IPA (not an HT clone) with 3.5 oz. leaf hops want to make sure I have the space needed for when they expand and float atop the beer. On a side note, I think an HT clone would require more like a 5-6 oz. dryhop for a 5 gallon batch.
Click to expand...

This is 3 oz, it's the first dry hop. I will do another 3 oz in a keg that I'll hit with co2 (through the "out" post) every 6-8 hrs for a few days before transferring to the serving keg.
 
Oh yeah, I forgot, too many threads going through my mind. Really like the color you've got, looks tropical.
 
Just pitched some Conan in an Amarillo wheat, a house beer of mine, so I can get an idea of conans character. I also pitched some in a one gallon starter.

Robust porter this weekend, then a heady attempt sometime next week.

Has anyone used simpsons golden oats in an attempt yet?
 
Coff, I'm going to try your latest recipe and remove some Amarillo as you mentioned... just as soon as I can culture some Conan from the can in my fridge.

Although it'll probably be at least a month from now, at this point, but I'll post updates if I have any success.
 
ianskate said:
Coff, I'm going to try your latest recipe and remove some Amarillo as you mentioned... just as soon as I can culture some Conan from the can in my fridge.

Although it'll probably be at least a month from now, at this point, but I'll post updates if I have any success.
Click to expand...

Cool, keep me updated. I plan to give this another go in a few weeks. I'll report back the changes I made.

I realize my grain bill might not be helping in getting this beer cloned, but I really think that the main issue is the blend of hops and not the grist.
 
I have a hop schedule, that I swear... the aroma and the flavor are like.... so close it's not even funny.. Wish I had a fresh can to compare, but from memory, it's really close.

Granted... my grain bill isn't like what we all assume it is, and I also didn't use Conan. But... my DIPA I made taste like a hoppy pineapple juice with a washed over pine resin note.
 
NordeastBrewer77 said:
It's right about 5 gal.
Click to expand...

And that's a 5 gallon carboy? The reason I ask is because it seems like you have about a gallon of space taken up by the dryhops. I was thinking about racking my 4 gallons to a 5 gallon secondary in hops that my dryhop will take up the empty headspace.

NordeastBrewer77 said:
This is 3 oz, it's the first dry hop. I will do another 3 oz in a keg that I'll hit with co2 (through the "out" post) every 6-8 hrs for a few days before transferring to the serving keg.
Click to expand...

Makes perfect sense. That should yield good results.
 
FATC1TY said:
I have a hop schedule, that I swear... the aroma and the flavor are like.... so close it's not even funny.. Wish I had a fresh can to compare, but from memory, it's really close.

Granted... my grain bill isn't like what we all assume it is, and I also didn't use Conan. But... my DIPA I made taste like a hoppy pineapple juice with a washed over pine resin note.
Click to expand...

What dry hops?
 
I'm starting to think Horizon > Nugget (it's sister hop I think)

Finding out though CYBI that Lagunitas uses this hop a lot - and after tasting their beers I've noticed quite a few of them have a big tropical note. Go on to BA and type in horizon, and you will see all the single hop beers made with it pretty much all have tropical as one of the main descriptors.

Also, the Alchemist used to brew a Mild called Shut The Hell Up using horizon hops exclusively, so we know he has used or uses this hop at least.
 
Right now, I'm more concerned with getting more dankness and pine, that's what's missing from attempt 1. Attempt two is much closer. I think if anyone did a side by side with fresh Heady and a Citra beer, they'd be blown away with the amount of dank pine in Heady.
 
chutracheese said:
It's probably hard to describe, but what do mean by "dank"?
Click to expand...

Like sniffing a bag of fresh Marijuana from Cali (resinous, skunky, piney, oily, herbaceous, intoxicating) - aka Dank.

In an equally dry and highly aromatic beer with a ton of hops overall, Russian River achieves this with Pliny by overloading on CTZ/Simcoe/Centennial hopshot and pellets at all stages (early/middle/late/dryhop).
 
bobbrews said:
Like sniffing a bag of fresh Marijuana from Cali (resinous, skunky, piney, oily, herbaceous, intoxicating) - aka Dank.

In an equally dry and highly aromatic beer with a ton of hops overall, Russian River achieves this with Pliny by overloading on CTZ/Simcoe/Centennial hopshot and pellets at all stages (early/middle/late/dryhop).
Click to expand...

:fro: Let's smoke a bowl of Simcoe/Columbus guys! :fro:

I am trying a Simcoe/Columbus/Chinook dryhop. Simcoe/Columbus is very close IMO.
 
FATC1TY said:
I would give this a shot, and be happy to add my results and ideas if someone has some extra Conan they could send me, I would get it ramped up from there. Obviously a can of Heady would be excellent, but the yeast would be just fine. I'd pay for it as well.
Click to expand...

Did you get your Conan? If not, I have some extra.
 
theveganbrewer said:
:fro: Let's smoke a bowl of Simcoe/Columbus guys! :fro:

I am trying a Simcoe/Columbus/Chinook dryhop. Simcoe/Columbus is very close IMO.
Click to expand...

Let me know how turns out. I've been crafting an IPA wanting a really dank combo of hops....and my late addition, aroma steep and dry hop are going to be equal parts Chinook, Columbus, and simcoe. I thought I was being original : mug:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

refect
Too much cryo hops?
Replies
1
Views
574
RCope
RCope
J
Non-alcoholic homebrew - buzzed feeling?
Replies
7
Views
584
mashdar
mashdar
A
Problems Keeping O2 out of NEIPA (I think)
Replies
13
Views
598
Dog House Brew
Dog House Brew
refect
Has Sabro ruined my beer?
Replies
28
Views
2K
Brooothru
Brooothru
H
Spectrum hops
Replies
4
Views
432
HT Shen
H

Latest posts

Back
Top