Bells Two-Hearted Sub

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FreakinA

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I have heard wonderful things about Bell's Two-hearted Ale and it has made me really want to try it. Unfortunately, I cant seem to find the damn thing and it is old only in a few Mid-Western States. I decided I was going to make a clone of it, because hell it seems like a simple enough session IPA. I do however not want to spend 2.99 an oz on Centennial hops and am going to do it with part of the pound of Amarillo I have here. Multiple sources said that I could use Amarillo as a sub.

The Recipe:
10 LB US Pale
2 Lb Vienna
.5 lb Crystal 20
.5 lb US Carapils.
All mashed at 153 for 60 minutes.
The hop Cycle:
.5 Amarillo 60
.5 Amarillo 45
.5 Amarillo 30
.5 Amarillo 15
.5 Amarillo 5
.5 Amarillo Flamout
1 oz Amarillo Dryhop in Secondary.
Yeast:
Us-05

My Question is, since I have never had the THA, what should I look like to compare it with tastewise. Regardless I will have a damn tasty beer, does anyone think Ill be close to the actual THA? I got the recipe from both BYO and http://www.brew365.com/beer_two_hearted.php .
 
I don't have an answer to your question but it's a damn fine beer.. If you can get even close to the real thing you'll be very happy.
 
Yeah its cheap In pound forms, unfortunately, its not a staple in my brewery and I ordered from hopsdirect really recently. Next time I order I want to get Chinook and Centenial, but for now I only have Cascade, Magnum, Tennnanger, and Amarillo.
 
To me, centennial and amarillo aren't alike at all. Maybe they are both considered citrusy, but that's where the similarities end. It looks like a good beer, but it won't be at all close to Two Hearted.
 
FYI, Northern Brewer has a clone called Three-Hearted Ale. A buddy and I each just brewed it, and I'll report back in a few weeks. Coolest thing was that both of our batches had active, bubbling fermentation for 7 or 8 full days. He thought it was weird until mine did exactly the same thing a week later. It smells wonderful, but I haven't tasted it yet.
 
To me, centennial and amarillo aren't alike at all. Maybe they are both considered citrusy, but that's where the similarities end. It looks like a good beer, but it won't be at all close to Two Hearted.

I love to get the honest truth. Its all damn good beer!
 
Not gonna be like Two-Hearted, but I'd brew it (in fact I'm on my third batch of all-amarillo IPA now) and drink it. I love amarillo.
 
FYI, Northern Brewer has a clone called Three-Hearted Ale. A buddy and I each just brewed it, and I'll report back in a few weeks. Coolest thing was that both of our batches had active, bubbling fermentation for 7 or 8 full days. He thought it was weird until mine did exactly the same thing a week later. It smells wonderful, but I haven't tasted it yet.

Mind if I ask what yeast you used?

I brewed a PM variation of the OP recipe last weekend and pitched a 1400ml starter of WLP001 into it (1.060 OG, I'm still new at this). Fermentation started within 8 hrs and has been going strong for 4 days now. A good bit of krausen came down thru the blowoff tube as well.
 
Magnum or Nugget for bittering, centennial for taste and aroma, and for dry hop, or it will not taste like THA.

It may be excellent, but it wont taste like TH.;)
 
Mind if I ask what yeast you used?

I brewed a PM variation of the OP recipe last weekend and pitched a 1400ml starter of WLP001 into it (1.060 OG, I'm still new at this). Fermentation started within 8 hrs and has been going strong for 4 days now. A good bit of krausen came down thru the blowoff tube as well.

We both used the Safale US-05 Ale Yeast that is recommended for this kit by Northern Brewer. We didn't use a starter, but both of us rehydrated the dry yeast. His OG was around 1.060, mine was around 1.070. I think the only real difference was that he topped off with more water at the end than I did.
 
Centennial and Amarillo are very different hops. However, I made a THA clone from AHS that used Amarillo due to the hop shortage at the time. It was an AMAZING beer and far better than the original IMO.
 
Well, I agree that using Amarillo is not going to make a beer that tastes like Bells' Two Hearted, Founder's Double Trouble uses Amarillo and Simcoe. That's a pretty tasty IIPA IMO, so I say go for it. You might end up with an even tastier beer than you were shooting for!
 
Well, I agree that using Amarillo is not going to make a beer that tastes like Bells' Two Hearted, Founder's Double Trouble uses Amarillo and Simcoe. That's a pretty tasty IIPA IMO, so I say go for it. You might end up with an even tastier beer than you were shooting for!

Don't tease me like that Homer. Brew day begins in 5!
 
Don't tease me like that Homer. Brew day begins in 5!

Oh, I'm not teasing. I believe both are very tasty hops. I'd be willing to try that sort of experimentation once I have perfected my two hearted clone.

Now you've got me thinking about brewing up an IPA next, instead of a Brown Ale...
 
On a related note, I have a buddy who plays football for Hillsdale College in Michigan, He said he would bring down a few bottles of Bell's Two Hearted over Christmas for me to try. Im excited! My beer if based off of a THA clone should be at least semi-similar to Bell's right? The malt backbone should be pretty spot on, although the hops will make it a new beer it should be ballparkish right?
 
I do however not want to spend 2.99 an oz on Centennial hops and am going to do it with part of the pound of Amarillo I have here.

I'd say you need Centennial hops for THA. It is a distinctive Centennial IPA. I get Centennial from Hops Direct, and then I use it in my Centennial IPA, my Red Ale, as bittering hops in my APA, American Brown... You get lots of uses from this hop, especially if you like American Ales.
 
Yeah, I think I'll place Centennial in my cart for next order. On a related note, when you guys order form HD, what do you normally order? It was my first order, and I just went all grain so I was trying to get a wide variety of hops I could use in most American Styled Ales.
 
On a related note, I have a buddy who plays football for Hillsdale College in Michigan, He said he would bring down a few bottles of Bell's Two Hearted over Christmas for me to try. Im excited! My beer if based off of a THA clone should be at least semi-similar to Bell's right? The malt backbone should be pretty spot on, although the hops will make it a new beer it should be ballparkish right?

No, I wouldn't think so. It's an IPA, so the malt bill is just there to back up the hops. I wouldn't think they'd be similar at all.

That's like saying you're making chicken noodle soup, but don't have any chicken so you used beef. Sure, both soup, and probably both excellent, but not the same even though it's "mostly" the same ingredients.

I bought a sixer of 2-HA today, and I noticed that it's very similar to Sierra Nevada's Celebration ale. So, if you can get Celebration, then that's pretty close. I think there are cascades in Celebration, but the flavor I got was mostly centennials.
 
I brewed a 10 gallon batch of Eschatz's recipe https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f69/bells-two-hearted-ale-clone-close-they-come-91488/ for Two-Hearted Ale Clone with a friend a couple of weeks ago.

I used Safale 05 yeast. I let it sit for two weeks in primary as the krausen just didn't seem to want to drop. I racked it to secondary on Sunday and added the dry hops. This is a very nice recipe. Bitterness is fairly subtle for an IPA. The flavor and aroma are there, but the malt bill comes through more than most IPAs.

I will agree with the other posters that Amarillo is NOT a sun for Centennial. The flavor of Amarillo is far more floral. Centennial is more dry.

YooperBrew,

If you like SN Celebration Ale you might want to try my recipe for Vail Pale Ale https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f69/vail-pale-ale-60215/

Back in the day, I managed to Gold at GABF with this recipe over Celebration Ale, even though I based it on SNCA :confused:

Who can tell what judges will like?
 
FYI, Northern Brewer has a clone called Three-Hearted Ale. A buddy and I each just brewed it, and I'll report back in a few weeks. Coolest thing was that both of our batches had active, bubbling fermentation for 7 or 8 full days. It smells wonderful, but I haven't tasted it yet.

I brewed the NB Three Hearted recently and cracked open a young bottle last pm. It was, and I am quoting someone else, "chock full of awesome!!".
If you cant get Two Hearted, brew this clone!!
 
I brewed the NB Three Hearted recently and cracked open a young bottle last pm. It was, and I am quoting someone else, "chock full of awesome!!".
If you cant get Two Hearted, brew this clone!!

That is GREAT to hear! I will rack to secondary this weekend, bottle in a couple of weeks, and start drinking in a month or so. What was your timing (primary, secondary, keg, bottle, whatever)? Did it mellow out over time, or did it seem to reach peak flavor right away?
 
I racked to secondary at day 8 when fermentation had slowed down considerably, but not completely stopped. I dry hopped in secondary for exactly one week. I bottled and then cracked one open after two weeks (the curiosity was killing me). It was soooo good at week two that I doubt I will let it bottle condition for much more than a month before I start full on consumption. Already marking my calendar for the next brew date of the same beer.
 
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