Oberon clone

Anybody have any suggestions for an Oberon extract recipe? Already got the craving!

I do not know of one but I am going to start working on a Partial Mash clone here soon.

Since it is a wheat beer I would imagine AG would be a better way to meet the true clone but I think extract would work as well.

Also, I have no clue what hops they use in it but it is citrusy (citra) but also spicy (chinook?). Who knows but that is half the fun.

Yeah I'm sure there also has a lot to do with using the same yeast. I am going to have to learn how to culture yeast from one of the bottles

This one was posted in a similar thread by AdamWiz and seemed to get some good reviews.

- 3 LB, 4 OZ Briess Bavarian Wheat DME
- 2 LB, 8 OZ Briess golden light DME
- 10 OZ Munich
- 6 OZ Crystal 60L
- 3/4 OZ Hallertauer pellets (60 min.)
- 1 OZ Hallertauer pellets (30 min.)
- 1/2 OZ Saaz pellets (15 min.)
- 1/2 OZ Saaz pellets (5 min.)
- Culture yeast from Oberon bottles or use WLP320 (American Hefeweizen)
- dry hop 7-14 days with 1 OZ Cascade leaf hops

If you look across other threads, people tend to agree that the yeast is key to this beer since there are no spices in it according to Bells. If you can culture some from their beers it would be best, and ferment a little warmer, 72-73*.

Theres no orange peel or anything added? How do you get the orange flavor? From the hops? The yeast?

There is an outline of the recipe in Brewing with Wheat. I can look it up and get back to you. Although the one above looks like it's on the right track.

SCBrewster said:

Theres no orange peel or anything added? How do you get the orange flavor? From the hops? The yeast?

Click to expand...

It's the yeast. Bell's house yeast throws off orangey/pineappley esters when fermented warm, like around 70+.

Has anybody used the WLP320 for this instead of culturing the yeast from the bottle? Seems like it would be MUCH easier if it yielded close to the same results

I hear 1272 is similar, but I don't know how it behaves at higher temps and what kind of esters it gives off.

And bottle harvesting is easier than you might think.

Using yeast from bottles will definitely provide the closest clone. If you can make a starter, you can harvest yeast. Don't think any Oberon will still be around, but it's the same yeast from other beers. Use Bell's Amber or Pale.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/entries/harvesting-yeast-from-commercial-bottles.html

If the same yeast is in the amber ale and the orange flavor comes from the yeast how can that be?

Fermentation temperature has a huge impact on the flavor of the beer. A very clean flavored yeast at lower temps can create a lot of esters and flavors at higher temps. For Oberon you'd need to ferment that yeast at at least 72-73 degrees maybe even higher. I've seen people say Bells goes as high as 76 for some beers. It does seem like there would be something else to get that orange flavor, but people seem to get better results when they don't add anything and trust the yeast to do their thing.

Wow! Talk about the power of yeast. I didn't know that. That's really cool

From Brewing with Wheat...

OG 1.059
ABV 5.8%
Attenuation 76%
IBU 26
Malts: White wheat, Pale, Munich
Hops: Saaz, Hersbrucker
Yeast: House
Fermentation Schedule: Proprietary, out the door in 16 - 18 days

So is it the wheat or the yeast at a higher temp? Or maybe a little bit of both?

Just the yeast, steeping grain temperature doesn't matter much as long as you're between 150 and 170 and extract is in the boil so nothing changes there. Follow a standard extract w/ grain procedure, cool to pitching temps and let it ferment at about 70 degrees ambient. The fermentation process produces heat so it will raise the wort temp to the mid 70s to get those wonderful Oberon flavors.

So it must be a combination with the light malt that let's those flavors come out

I am thinking about trying BIAB. Should I try to roll it out with this?

SCBrewster said:

I am thinking about trying BIAB. Should I try to roll it out with this?

Click to expand...

No reason not to. I got around 60% efficiency with the 2 BIAB i did.

45.5% Wheat malt
43% 2 Row
6.5% Munich
5% Caravienne or Crystal 20

Mash 153 degrees for 60 min, Mash out 168, remove grain and boil like extract

(adjust for what you expect efficiency to be)
6.25 lbs wheat malt
6 lbs 2 row
1 lbs Munich
.75 lbs Caravienne or crystal 20

1 oz hallertau @60
.75 hallertau @30
.5 saaz @15
.5 saaz @5
1 cascade dry hop 7 days

When you got 60% efficiency did you sparge?

I freaking love oberon. Just talking about it makes my mouth water. Damn you Bells

I just brewed this Oberon clone recipe variation that I added mandarin orange peel based on a all grain recipe that I converted.

OG Estimate: 1.058, actual 1.059
FG Estimate: 1.013
ABV: 5.9%
IBU: 25.9
Estimated SRM: 10 (With all grain it was closer to 3 think but the LME and DME have darker SRMs. At least the kind I could find.)

For 5 Gallons with a 3 Gallon Boil:

Extracts and Grains:
4.05 lbs Pale LME
3.90 lbs Wheat LME
1.00 lbs Munich Malt (can be "mashed" by steeping for 45 minutes at 153 F)
0.51 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine
0.50 lbs Crystal Malt 10L

Hops:
0.80 oz US Hallertauer (60 Min)
1.33 oz Czech Saaz (45 Min)
0.74 oz Czech Saaz (30 Min)
0.74 oz Czech Saaz (15 Min)
0.55 oz Cascade (0 Min) (Omit if you were able to culture Bell's house ale yeast from Oberone or another ale)

Yeast:
BRY-97 Dry yeast American West Coast Ale (Said to be a clean American ale yeast like White labs 001 but with fruity and estery aromas)

Preferably Bell's house yeast but I didn't want to wait to brew

Adjuncts:
1 Tbsp Irish Moss (Boil 15 Min)
2 Clementines Peels (Boil 5 Min) Diced and soaked in juices of clementine, then left to dry. (Omit this for an Oberone Clone rather than a variation)

It came out with a very strong smell reminiscent of Oberon and Clementine

Much too dark to be an Oberon clone but I think it will be comparable other than color. I will be calling it West Coast Clementine Wheat.

I plan to primary for 3 weeks then bottle condition for 4 weeks. Should be ready about the same time as Oberone will still be buying a case (or more) and a few 32oz at the pub.

I will update with my results in about 6 weeks.

SCBrewster said:

When you got 60% efficiency did you sparge?

Click to expand...

No I didn't. I'm aware that much better numbers can be had by doing this, and if the OP wants to get into BIAB he should really look into the best practices used by those who do it more often. I wanted to try it to see the differences, and I know I didn't do it the best way.

Yup! Totally going to!

I would suggest replacing your Hallertauer with Hersbrucker. Saaz and Hersbrucker are the primary hops that Bell's actually uses in Oberon. Additionally, these are a few other suggestions you may want to use as substitutes.

All-Grain:

5 lbs Wheat
4 lbs American Pale 2-row Malt
12 oz Munich
8 oz Belgian Caravienne
4 oz Torrified Wheat
1 oz Hersbrucker 3.3% for 60
½ oz Hersbrucker 3.3% for 30
½ oz Saaz 3.5% for 15
1/3 oz Saaz 3.5% for 7 minutes

Extract:

12 oz Munich & 8 oz Belgian Caravienne at 150° for 30 mins
remove grains and add 2½ lbs light DME & 3½ lbs wheat DME.
Bring to a boil and add:
1 oz Hersbrucker 3.3% for 60
½ oz Hersbrucker 3.3% for 30
½ oz Saaz 3.5% for 15
1/3 oz Saaz 3.5% for 7 minutes

Regarding the yeast, try a 1272, 1010, or white lab's WLP001. Obviously, culturing yeast from a bottle of Oberon would be optimal, but these yeasts will get it very close. By the way, no orange peel or spices are used at all in Bell's recipe. It's all about the yeast.

Good luck!

Just to make sure, Oberon uses bells house yeast that I can culture from their amber ale? Do they use the same east in their two hearted? Thanks

From what I have heard.. Bells uses their house yeast in all their bottle conditioned beers and that it is better to culture from amber ale that has lower gravity

cjalderman said:

Just to make sure, Oberon uses bells house yeast that I can culture from their amber ale? Do they use the same east in their two hearted? Thanks

Click to expand...

Yes, Bell's uses the same proprietary strain of yeast in all of their beers. It's been an ongoing debate among home brewers as to which strain would closely replicate their house yeast. While there are a couple that seem to come close, I think in the end it's a matter of personal opinion and what tastes good to you. However, as I've stated, if you want to get the taste as close as possible, culturing yeast from one of their beers will be your best bet. The recipe I posted above is VERY close and I did not use cultured yeast. If I did, I think it would be spot on. Unfortunately, I don't live in Michigan anymore and I do not have access to Bell's beers.

Oberon isn't out yet, you don't want year old Oberon. Launches on the 25th.
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2012/10/laura_bell_of_bells_brewery_in.html

Pro tip, it was called Solsun when it launched, here it is on my boss's wall.

Tylerg- have you made the extract recipe? Or is that just a conversion?

SCBrewster said:

Tylerg- have you made the extract recipe? Or is that just a conversion?

Click to expand...

Yeah, that is a conversion. I have not brewed an extract version.

Just harvested Bell's yeast from their pale ale and its been happily fermenting for about a day. I'm looking forward to making my Oberon clone soon and I'm also gonna try my hand at creating my own recipe and hopefully use this yeast as well

Yeah I was thinking about once I harvest some yeast from a 6 pack of theirs use it and then save the yeast cake to use for future batches

Btw Oberon Day is March 25th!!!! So close I can't wait!

SCBrewster said:

Btw Oberon Day is March 25th!!!! So close I can't wait!

Click to expand...

I'm jealous! I always looked forward to the release date of Oberon. Unfortunately, they don't sell Bell's where I live now.

Well I guess if you have a good recipe you can just brew your own! That is a bummer though. I live in SC and it makes it down here. Where are you located?

I'm actually brewing up a batch tonight. I live in the Salt Lake City Area. I lived in Michigan from 1989 until 2008. Not having access to it anymore makes me realize those small pleasures in life that most of us take for granted.

Old thread but I am just now getting around to making this. Here is what I am planning

6lbs Wheat extract
10 oz Munich
6oz Crystal 60L
1oz Hersbrucker 60 min
3/4 oz Hersbrucker 30 min
1/2oz saaz 15 min
1/2oz saaz 5 min
US-05 for yeast

1oz Cascade leaf dry hop

Realized that I would'nt be able to buy those quantities of malt extract very efficiently and that most wheat extracts are a blend anyways. Also read that 1056 wlp001 and us-05 are all pretty similar so I'm gonna give its try. Any last words before I march on?

Looks good, won't be exactly like Oberon, but should be good. Let us know how it goes.

Any changes I should make?