Ever replicated a commercial beer by coincidence?

Just wondering how many others on here have had their beers turn out similar to a commercial one by coincidence.

First attempt at AG/BIAB using Maris Otter, crystal 70L, a tiny amount of chocolate wheat and some brown sugar, Nugget for bittering, Fuggles and Kent Goldings for flavour and aroma that I was thinking/hoping might get me close to an old crafty hen or old speckled hen but fell a little short of that goal.

Last night I picked up a bottle of Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA, as I had an inkling that mine was similar, and did a head to head with my beer. The resemblance is quite surprising.:fro:

Neither are all that great

I brewed a brown ale once, my own recipe with no intention of cloning anything, but I was drinking it one night after having had some Hobgoblin a few days before and said to myself, "Damn, this is the spitting image of Hobgoblin. Score!" A few days later I was drinking a real Hobgoblin and asked my wife to try it and tell me what it tasted like. She said it tasted like my brown.

nukebrewer said:

I brewed a brown ale once, my own recipe with no intention of cloning anything, but I was drinking it one night after having had some Hobgoblin a few days before and said to myself, "Damn, this is the spitting image of Hobgoblin. Score!" A few days later I was drinking a real Hobgoblin and asked my wife to try it and tell me what it tasted like. She said it tasted like my brown.

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Hobgoblin is one of the Wychwood beers I can find at the local off license here and really like, but not the price Costs about the equivalent of $6 a bottle for the 500ml bombers). Don't suppose that you still have the recipe and could post?

I did something very similar. I wanted to make a Fat Tire clone for a friend- but I had to sub some of the malt and sub of the hops out due to availability.

The resulting beer tasted remarkably like Sam Adams Boston Ale.

I changed it a bit for my friend's taste, I then posted my recipe as "Fat Sam". It's actually an excellent beer. My friend loved it, and always called it his favorite beer. I made it for him several times.

Yooper said:

I did something very similar. I wanted to make a Fat Tire clone for a friend- but I had to sub some of the malt and sub of the hops out due to availability.

The resulting beer tasted remarkably like Sam Adams Boston Ale.

I changed it a bit for my friend's taste, I then posted my recipe as "Fat Sam". It's actually an excellent beer. My friend loved it, and always called it his favorite beer. I made it for him several times.

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Reminds me of the film "Bugsy Malone" with Jody Foster and all the pie slinging Tommy guns

Will Check out the recipe.

Ogri said:

Hobgoblin is one of the Wychwood beers I can find at the local off license here and really like, but not the price Costs about the equivalent of $6 a bottle for the 500ml bombers). Don't suppose that you still have the recipe and could post?

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I don't have the recipe anymore, but I think I can recall something that's pretty close.

10 lbs 2-row
.5 lb Biscuit
.5 lb Honey Malt
.25 lb Chocolate Malt

1.5 oz Willamette @ 60 min

US-05

Kind of a hybrid between and English and an American brown. Enjoy!