Blue Moon Clone

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What yeast did you guys use. I used slurry from an american-kolsch s-23 so technically speaking mine is going to be a Blue Moon Lager. I figure it should give it a clean taste to let the orange really shine.

I just made a batch using WLP007 Dry English Ale. Started fermentation at 62*F and ramped up to 68*F after 3 days. The cooler temp was to keep the esters in check... it tastes just as clean as Cal Ale using this temp and it finished fermenting quicker as this is a highly flocculant yeast. Lot's of California breweries (Stone, etc) use english ale strains at lower temps for the same reason. Faster ferment and clean profile from the restrained ester production.

I used this english ale yeast after reading an interview with Keith Villa from Blue Moon saying they use their house enlgish ale strain at sandlot for this beer.

I'll also add that after reading that Blue Moon uses Great Western Pale Malt rated at 2.5-3 Lovibond which is their version of a british pale ale malt I went ahead and used a pale malt made by Crisp in the UK. Also used roughly 14% flaked oats after seeing a NHC Presentation that Keith Villa states that's the secret to Blue Moons mouthfeel.

48% Crisp Pale Ale Malt
38% White Wheat Malt
14% Flaked Oats

Color is almost spot on and I believe the is flavor closer than using Caramel/Crystal malt. Some may disagree but Pale Ale Malt and Crystal malt exhibit different flavors and I can taste that the malt profile with the pale ale malt is closer. I'll post pictures once it's carbonated and I can pull a glass from the tap.
 
Would be very interested to see some side-by-side pictures and tasting notes. Also, can you point us to the source where you read about their base malt?
 
Kegged the beer couple days ago so I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

The post about pale malt was from Wayne on the first page of this thread... He says when he worked at Sandlot and they first brewed Blue Moon they used 50% Two Row Pale Malt and notes that they used Great Western at first.

It's my assumption they are still using this and after using a similar malt (UK based Pale Ale Malt vs standard american two row base malt, my assumption seems to stand true flavor wise and color wise. Just look at the lovibond difference between standard two row base malt and pale ale malt. The extra kilning used to acheive the very slight lovibond difference also produces a bit different flavor characteristic which while subtle I believe is in Blue Moon. Additionally, if our goal is to clone blue moon than shouldn't we use grain that's as close to their recipe?

Note to anyone who chooses to use WLP007 Dry English Ale. Make sure and do a Diacetyl rest toward the end of fermentation. This would be the reason to use WLP001 Cal Ale as it doesn't need this step. 007 DOES need the rest in order to clean up after itself.
 
Great Western Pale Ale malt is the inexpensive domestic base malt at my LHBS. It's a great malt and I use it a lot, but it didn't get me close to Blue Moon. I've used this and Briess 2-row in my various attempts and each time mine was missing a certain graininess compared to the commercial version. My current thinking is that using pilsner malt will get me closer.

Btw, Wayne1 eventually did update his original recipe in an attempt to get closer to the current version of BM, which possibly has changed somewhat over the years: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/blue-moon-clone-65328/index43.html#post3163141 You'll notice that he also suggests using pilsner malt.
 
For clarification purposes, 18 yrs ago, The Sandlot Brewery at Coors Field DID use Great Western Pale Ale malt for the first couple of batches of beer brewed there. Shortly after the ballpark opened, Coors worked out how to transfer the smallish, by Coors standards, amounts of base malt from Golden to downtown Denver.

All the base malt used at SandLot since the first delivery has been malted at Coors Golden facility. It is whatever they use to brew Coors Banquet and all the other beers brewed in Golden. At one time it was called Moravian 14. Each growing season, the grain team goes into the fields and chooses what grain to malt. All the base malt is exclusive to Coors and cannot be purchased by anyone else.

I do not know what base malt is being used to make Blue Moon these days or even where is it being made. Current sales projections for Blue Moon Belgian White alone are over 2,000,000 bbls. That takes a lot of malt.

The closest grain to what Coors uses would be the Colorado Malting Company Pils malt. It is grown in southern Colorado and malted by former Coors employees.

I suggested using Weyermann Pils as it is a grain that is widely distributed and should be able to standardize the results of everyone.

If you wish to use Great Western, go for it.

The ratios I used for the different grains were what we used at SandLot. If Keith has said he changed the recipe, it is his recipe to change.
 
Ok first all grain recipe on the bottle/keg Wayne's #2 let me know what you think

image-2835717662.jpg
 
Giving Wayne's No 2 a go this morning. I mistakenly bought German Tradition hops since they were in the Hellertau box at my LHBS, they have similar descriptions though. My mash will be a couple degrees low, so well see how it comes out. Thanks for sharing these recipes.
 
Wonderful thread, and special thanks to Wayne1 and nilo for their invaluable contributions. I would like to do a partial mash that features Wayne1's grain % and Nilo's #4 spice additions. I'm something of a noob at this so could someone with more experience take a look at this and tell me if I'm on the right path?

1.5 lbs 2 row
1.0 lbs white wheat malt
1.0 lbs flaked oats
3.5 lbs wheat LME (65% wheat/35% base) @ flameout
1.5 lbs pilsner LME (LHBS carries this rather than pale) @ flameout
1.0 oz hallertauer mittlefruh (4%) @ 60 min.
2.0 oz sweet orange peel @ 10 min.
1.0 oz bitter orange peel @ 10 min.
0.375 oz coriander @ 10 min.
Safale US-05

Batch size: 5.25, efficiency: 75%, OG: 1.053, IBU: 15.6, SRM: 3.4, est ABV: 5.4%

I tried hard to hit Wayne1's %s (i.e., 50% 2row, 40% white wheat, 10% flaked oats) but I may have miscalculated. I basically multiplied the amount of LME by 1.33 to get a grain equivalent (the reciprocal of using .75 to convert grain to LME). This gives me the equivalent of 5.1 lbs of 2row, 4 lbs of wheat malt and 1 lb of flaked oats, I think.

Again, any input or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Jason

I just brewed this one up last night! Thanks to everyone working on this thread!

Small changes to the recipe above:
Used 0.375 oz crushed coriander
Used 0.375 oz crushed Valencia orange peel

Smells great! The wort looks a little dark in the carboy, but it looked to have the right color in the hydrometer's testing tube.

I'll let you know how it turns out
 
Just tapped Nilo #12 at a birthday party last weekend and everyone said it was better than Blue Moon! This is definitely one of those beers that will be a staple on tap!

Thanks again for a great recipe!

The only comment I have is my corn starch gelatanized in the bottom of the kettle but my beer has remained cloudy....
 
More of a tribute to Blue Moon than a clone, but it should be tasty, will post a side by side picture with a Blue Moon when it comes out of the bottle. Thanks everyone for the posts, I spent a LONG time reading the entire thread.
Amt Name
5 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US
5 lbs Red Wheat Malt
1 lbs Crystal Malt 15L
8 oz Rice Hulls
8 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine
8 oz Flaked Oats
1 oz Hallertauer - Boil 90 min
1 Item Whirlfloc Tablet - Boil 15 min
1.5 oz Minced Orange Peel - Boil 10 min
.75 oz Ground Coriander Seed - Boil 5 min
.5 oz Citra - Boil 5 min
1 pkg California Ale (White Labs # WLP001)

Mash 60 minutes 154 F
Batch Sparge 168 F
1.058 SG
15.8 IBU
4.6 Color
1.006 Est. FG
14 day Primary 68F
14 day Secondary 68F
21 day Bottle Condition 68F
5.5 gallon Volume in Primary Vessel
 
Nice looking tribute!

I recently modded the base recipe for something just a bit different.

I went with 47% Great Western Pale Ale malt (because I had some on hand).
38.5% Colorado Malting Company White Wheat and 12% Flaked Oats. 0.5% rice hulls.

1.0 oz Hallertau for a 60 minute boil.
0.75 oz fresh ground corriander seeds (10 min)
3 oz McCormicks dried Valencia Orange Peel (5min)
2.0 oz Cascade 10 min aroma steep
S-04 yeast
2.0 Cascade 5 day dry hop.

This is NOT Blue Moon, but it is very tasty.

As a hop head, I can really get behind something like this. It may eventually be offered at the brewery.

Cheers!
 
First taste after a week in the bottle, turned out to be a really good beer. Next tweak, reduce minced orange peel by 1/4 oz and add another 1/2 oz of Citra either at 5 min, or dry hop for 5 days with an additional 1oz of either citra or amarillo.. I want the beer to be just a little less sweet, but have the orange citra nose to it. Any thoughts on Citra or Amarillo?

Wit Bier.jpg
 
So I finished my batch, but something has gone awry. I checked my final gravity before bottling and everything checked out. After carbonating and conditioning for three weeks, I open a few bottles.

The first bottle was delicious! Tasted just like blue moon, although the color was a bit darker - I'm assuming due to using LME. The beer was also fairly clear.

The second bottle was also good, but it was more cloudy, like Blue Moon should be.

The third bottle was strange. It was still syrupy, as if the fermentation didn't complete all of the way. It was very cloudy as well.

Opening more bottles proved a gradient of clear, refreshing beer to super cloudy and syrupy beer. Has anyone experienced this before? I'm trying to think of causes. My fermentation temperature was a solid 69, and my hydrometer showed a final gravity of 1.011.
 
BigLaw said:
So I finished my batch, but something has gone awry. I checked my final gravity before bottling and everything checked out. After carbonating and conditioning for three weeks, I open a few bottles.

The first bottle was delicious! Tasted just like blue moon, although the color was a bit darker - I'm assuming due to using LME. The beer was also fairly clear.

The second bottle was also good, but it was more cloudy, like Blue Moon should be.

The third bottle was strange. It was still syrupy, as if the fermentation didn't complete all of the way. It was very cloudy as well.

Opening more bottles proved a gradient of clear, refreshing beer to super cloudy and syrupy beer. Has anyone experienced this before? I'm trying to think of causes. My fermentation temperature was a solid 69, and my hydrometer showed a final gravity of 1.011.

Take a look at a few bottles with a bright light behind them. Might have an infection in some of the bottles. You'll see the cloudy before you open them. I'm dealing with this on a nut brown right now...
Hope that helps. Or moreover hope that's not the issue and it is something less destructive and simple.
 
That is correct, for haze increase only.
This thread has been very slow lately, including me, assuming everyone got something else to do during summer. :)
 
Thanks guys! I did Wayne's #1 a few months ago and was going to make one of Nilo's recipes. Which one do you recommend?
 
Thanks guys! I did Wayne's #1 a few months ago and was going to make one of Nilo's recipes. Which one do you recommend?

Do #8, this is the recipe brewed by more people that provided good feedback, go from there.
 
Sounds good. Thank you. I already bought the grain for #12 but I think the only difference is Munich. I will grab some Munich this week and get brewing.
 
So I've done #6 and #8 and they are both great, I was wondering has anyone ever treated this like an IPA and done a double BLuemoon instead of a double IPA? I am thinking about using twice the malt, a little over twice the hops and 3 times the spices. This would not be a clone or a tribute it would be a homage brew.
 
So I've done #6 and #8 and they are both great, I was wondering has anyone ever treated this like an IPA and done a double BLuemoon instead of a double IPA? I am thinking about using twice the malt, a little over twice the hops and 3 times the spices. This would not be a clone or a tribute it would be a homage brew.

It would actually be fairly close to a Grand Cru version of Blue Moon.

Both Celis and Blue Moon have offered Grand Cru. OG of about 1.080
 
I'm going to do #8 and wanted to know how much of McCormicks to use. The recipe calls for 1.5 oz of Frontier. I wasn't sure if McCormicks was the same as Frontier.
 
I'm going to do #8 and wanted to know how much of McCormicks to use. The recipe calls for 1.5 oz of Frontier. I wasn't sure if McCormicks was the same as Frontier.

I have not noticed much difference when I moved to Frontier. That is just me though. I'm not sure which orange is used with the Frontier brand.
 
I brewed Wayne's #2 in biab but used 4.5 oz of fresh zest from 2 bags of Valencia oranges its been in the fermenter for 1.5 days and the smell is godly lmao thanks for all your info bud will let you know how mine turns out
 
I just made #8 and everything went smooth. I did have a taste question. I always try the wort before adding yeast and it is of course sweet. When I tried this wort it was sweet but had a bitter after taste. Is that normal? I tried the wort prior to adding spices and there was no bitterness.
 
I just made #8 and everything went smooth. I did have a taste question. I always try the wort before adding yeast and it is of course sweet. When I tried this wort it was sweet but had a bitter after taste. Is that normal? I tried the wort prior to adding spices and there was no bitterness.

I think that is normal. The bitterness is probably coming from the orange, should mellow away when fermenting, relax :tank:
 
This one turned out to be really great. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is on the fence.
 
Thanks nilo. I don't think. Should vote yet as I have only tried one recipe. While it turned out above my expectations, I need to try some more recipes for comparison.
 
Thanks nilo. I don't think. Should vote yet as I have only tried one recipe. While it turned out above my expectations, I need to try some more recipes for comparison.

You don't need to test other recipes to enter you vote to what you brewed already. The pool is for a comparison side by side with the commercial beer. Whenever you brew other recipes, you can go back and vote again on the new recipes. But if you want to wait to do it all, that's fine too.
 
Hi there, im gonna try my first batch of a Blue Moon clone and i have a little question. Im gonna follow Nilos#11, but where i live (Brazil) i cannot seem to find the mccormick Orange peel. Any suggestions on what to use? fresh oranges? what type? Swee/bitter dried Orange peels?

Thanks for the help.
 
Hi there, im gonna try my first batch of a Blue Moon clone and i have a little question. Im gonna follow Nilos#11, but where i live (Brazil) i cannot seem to find the mccormick Orange peel. Any suggestions on what to use? fresh oranges? what type? Swee/bitter dried Orange peels?

Thanks for the help.

Hi Felipe, if you have access to regular brewing dry orange peels, I would use 2oz of sweet and 1oz of bitter peels.
You can adjust to your taste when brewing future batches.
 
The only one I have done has been Wayne's #2 and have served that to others as well the biggest comments had been the orange and coriander and has almost an identical appearance to the commercial version taste for them was very close as well I will brew the Wayne's #2 again.
 
I'm doing a taste test on Thanksgiving with 20 guest. I will let you know how it goes. Blue Moon versus #8
 
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