21A Bitter American

They list their grain bill and hops used on their website, though not % or times. I have come up with this in the link. Anyone have any thoughts, especially about the grain bill part? I know based on their website these are the proper grains and hops. Any insight would be great.

Hopville . "Bitter"
Thanks.

I'm not following you... the % of each grain is to the left of the weight and the hops times are also to the left of the weight. So I'm not sure what you are asking.

That recipe is what I came up with, based on just a listing of grains and hops they say are in the beer. Those % and times are my guess at what may work, and I wanted to know what others thought of that.

I got the info on the grains and hops from their website Here Bitter American Beer in a Can | 21st Amendment Brewery and it shows nothing about weights, times or % s

Ahhh, Ok... 21st Amendment isn't sold around here so I didn't get the 21A reference! After looking at their description and comparing your recipe to that description, I think you are solid. I think your malt percentages and hop times would be right in line with that "style" of beer...but not personally knowing the beer, thats the best I can say. Good luck!

Hey there NF, after enjoy 21A Bitter American myself I put together this recipe. It was quite a hit and has been rebrewed several times. It may be a good basis by which to do your own exploring.

Cheers!

nicadrick said:

Hey there NF, after enjoy 21A Bitter American myself I put together this recipe. It was quite a hit and has been rebrewed several times. It may be a good basis by which to do your own exploring.

Cheers!

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Thanks, but I am trying to stick to the ingredients that they list as being in the beer.

David

David,

CaraPils, I bet it's in there!
Columbus is a substitute for Warrior
Simcoe good luck finding it. Try the hop schedule if you can't find the simcoe.

Cheers!

I was talking more about the hops than the grains when I said using what is in there.

Simcoe I picked up a few ounces today, whole leaf.

Let me know how yours turns out! Wish I could find some Simcoe (pellets). Tried to by my pound, but supplier could not get an allocation.

Cheers!

It's out now! I have a friend who introduced me to this beer, and since then I'm on a mission to clone it. Let me know how it works out for you- I LOVE this beer and it's my brewing goal to make a hoppy beer that has enough malt to balance the hops and still clock in at under 5% ABV.

This is definitely my favorite commercial beer- so a clone recipe is just what I'm needing!

I took your advice on the carapils, I honestly have n idea how I missed adding dextrin to it. Every Pale or Bitter I have made before has had some.

BTW it appears Nikobrew.com has some simcoe. 2oz ounce packages max 8 per order.

nanofreak said:

I took your advice on the carapils, I honestly have n idea how I missed adding dextrin to it. Every Pale or Bitter I have made before has had some.

BTW it appears Nikobrew.com has some simcoe. 2oz ounce packages max 8 per order.

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The funny thing is I NEVER use carapils in a pale ale or any beer that has crystal in it already (as it's redundant). I only use carapils in something like a Bohemian pilsner that is 100% pilsner malt and without any crystal.

Not really any criticism, just a point that if you're using crystal malt already, the last thing you probably need is carapils (which is a crystal malt).

If more body is needed without the additional color from (just more crystal) CaraPils is the ticket. Keeping the mash temp down to encourage better fermentability of the non-crystal malts can lead to a thin mouthfeel. Adding some carapils can help in this regard. It is also helpful when using adjucts like invert in the boil.

cheers!

He's the one sheet they released for it in 2010:

I tried this as an extract brew with nothing more than c40 and pale lme with a 44 ibu bittering charge cascade at ko and then an ounce each or so of simcoe and centennial for dry hopping. Although the malt bill was no where near cloned, it was still an awesome hoppy sub 5% abv session beer.

Got nothing to add, but Im drinking this beer now and love it, let us know how it turns out.

I've been enjoying these a lot and would love to hear if any more brewers have worked on a clone!

I am going to brew this this upcoming weekend. I will keep you posted.

Nanofreak, let me know what you think!

Cheers!

I made this about a month ago, I'm just starting to try some bottles and it's crystal clear, beautiful and delicious. I did make one tweak - I doubled the dry hops so the nose is intense, but its really great can't wait to share it!

BYO's latest issue has a clone recipe for this beer. I can post it when I get home if you like.

PattyC said:

BYO's latest issue has a clone recipe for this beer. I can post it when I get home if you like.

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I just got my copy, and they do it different than 21a says. 21a says they use 2row, the mag clone doesn't also the mag clone uses centennial in the kettle 21a says that is dry hop only.

Just dry hopped mine last night, can't wait ti try it.

I saw that byo recipe as well, and I'm not the pope, but that beer is pretty sweet, I don't get a lot of just two row flavor out of it, or that it's much of a percentage. The hopping could go either way. I'm gonna brew it up with byo's grain bill for sure and see what happens.

duckmanco said:

I saw that byo recipe as well, and I'm not the pope, but that beer is pretty sweet, I don't get a lot of just two row flavor out of it, or that it's much of a percentage. The hopping could go either way. I'm gonna brew it up with byo's grain bill for sure and see what happens.

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I know my one variable I will likely change in the future is the % of each base grain, but to totally exclude a grain that is said to be present by the brewer isn't a true clone. In any case this brew smells amazing, and the gravity samples taste damn good.

In the beginning this beer was HUGE on citrus, but not in an IPA way, in a way I couldn't place. I just pulled a pint after being away for 5 days, and that overwhelming citrus is gone (though it was amazing too), and it has really rounded out to a nice session bitter. I love this keg, and with only about 20% left, I'm gonna miss it. I will brew this on a regular basis.

nanofreak said:

In the beginning this beer was HUGE on citrus, but not in an IPA way, in a way I couldn't place. I just pulled a pint after being away for 5 days, and that overwhelming citrus is gone (though it was amazing too), and it has really rounded out to a nice session bitter. I love this keg, and with only about 20% left, I'm gonna miss it. I will brew this on a regular basis.

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What was the recipe you used and how does it compare to the original?

BigB said:

What was the recipe you used and how does it compare to the original?

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I brewed it just as posted in the original link. So good.

i brewed this on saturday using the recipe in BYO - i'll post the results in about a month

j1rubin, how'd the BYO recipe treat you? Like many others, this is one of my favorite commercials. Dying to brew a similar one.

RatCity said:

j1rubin, how'd the BYO recipe treat you? Like many others, this is one of my favorite commercials. Dying to brew a similar one.

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i've been a little lazy with it - i dry hopped it starting on Sunday. I'll probably keg it this weekend - i'll update you in a couple weeks.

Awesome. Can't wait to hear how it turns out. @nano - I am going to brew up your recipe soon, I'll let you know the results!

As it aged just a little it became one of the best beers I ever brewed.

all - i just tapped this after a few days of force carbing it. it is excellent. i don't have a can of the 21st in order to do a comparison, but i think it's pretty close. i did the byo recipe. very similar color, nice and hoppy, but also has some malt sweetness due to the high mash temp. definately recommend it.

I've never had the commercial version, so I have no idea what I'm shooting for in the clone but what do you all think of using WLP 007 in this beer instead of Cali?

I'm thinking Stone Levitation-esque.

This brew was the inspiration for my avatar!

Really looking forward to giving my own attempt at cloning it.

@Nanofreak; can you give any notes on how it tastes compared with the commercial version besides the obvious 'This one was delicious'

dawgmatic - i would definately go with the byo article - mine came out very close to the original. i will definately be adding this to the re-brew list.

Could someone post the byo recipe?

Thanks!

I just got this PM'd to me. Figured that as long as your asking I might as well post it. Thanks go out to J1rubin for sending it

8.5lbs Golden Promise
10.1oz Munich Malt
5oz Crisp Crystal 40L
5oz Crisp Crystal 20L
1oz Warrior 90mins
1oz Cascade 15mins
1.5oz Centennial 0mins
1.6oz Centennial Dry Hop
.88oz Simcoe Dry Hop

Try to keep the mash high - 158 in order to make a less fermentable wort. Enjoy

Thanks!

I just ordered a subscription to byo, but I wont get the magazine that this one is in.

I'll be attempting this after I get back from San Antonio in 2 weeks. Can't wait, it's one of my favorite sessions beers.

I've never tried the original, but I really love this recipe. I used half and half Golden Promise/US 2 row, subbed vienna for munich and used C-10 w/ C-60 instead of C-20/40.

The hops are really nice in this beer and I think something to think about is to drink this one early.

Mash high!