Victory at Sea clone recipe?

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Saulski

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Anyone out there tried their hand at brewing a clone of Ballast Point's Victory at Sea Coffee Vanilla Imperial Porter? I brewed what started out as a Robust Porter today to which I am thinking of adding vanilla, coffee, oak or bourbon additions to the secondary. My BeerSmith OG estimate predicted 1.062 and I really overshot it at 1.073. This is taking me into Imperial Porter territory, so I'm wondering if anyone has got any ideas on how to mimic that nice vanilla and coffee quality that comes through in Ballast Point's Victory at Sea.
 
BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: San Pasqual
Brewer: Saul B.
Asst Brewer:
Style: Robust Porter
TYPE: Partial Mash
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 3.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.062 SG
Estimated Color: 31.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 37.7 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
3.15 lb Pale Liquid Extract (4.0 SRM) Extract 29.17 %
3.15 lb Pale Liquid Extract [Boil for 15 min] Extract 29.17 %
2.00 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (4.0 SRM) Grain 18.52 %
0.50 lb Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 4.63 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 4.63 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 4.63 %
0.50 lb Pale Chocolate Malt (218.0 SRM) Grain 4.63 %
0.50 lb Victory Malt (28.0 SRM) Grain 4.63 %
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [7.20 %] (60 min) Hops 14.6 IBU
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [7.20 %] (30 min) Hops 11.2 IBU
1.00 oz Fuggles [4.20 %] (15 min) Hops 4.2 IBU
0.75 oz Goldings, East Kent [7.20 %] (0 min) Hops -
0.25 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs West Yorkshire Ale (Wyeast #1469) 1100 ml starter


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 4.50 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 5.63 qt of water at 165.9 F 154.0 F
 
I did end up brewing it back in October, but I still have it aging the secondary fermenter. I was actually thinking about bottling it without any of the flavor additions. It has a really nice roasty caramel flavor as it is right now, with some warming alcohol notes...Really kind of tasty as is, so I may end up brewing the recipe again at some point and add the vanilla and coffee to the secondary for that one.
 
Nice. I just emailed the owner and head brewer over at Ballast Point, hopefully they are willing to help out the homebrewing community.
 

Looking for an update ... I too emailed the crew at Ballast Point but received no reply.

Long time lurker here but felt compelled to reply. Wouldn't waste your time asking Ballast Point for any recipe details surrounding VAS. I lived a couple of blocks away from them and their attached HomeBrew Mart, which is where I bought my supplies when I first started brewing. Was trying to get a coffee stout together and asked them the question "Hey I'm trying to add coffee to my beer, how do I do that? I'm looking for a result kind of like your guys' Victory At Sea." Their reply: We don't give out our recipes.

Uhh ok, just asking for some general advice here. Given that they wouldn't even give some friendly general advice about adding coffee to beer. I seriously doubt they'll even entertain responding to any more detailed requests. Shame.
 
Long time lurker here but felt compelled to reply. Wouldn't waste your time asking Ballast Point for any recipe details surrounding VAS. I lived a couple of blocks away from them and their attached HomeBrew Mart, which is where I bought my supplies when I first started brewing. Was trying to get a coffee stout together and asked them the question "Hey I'm trying to add coffee to my beer, how do I do that? I'm looking for a result kind of like your guys' Victory At Sea." Their reply: We don't give out our recipes.

Uhh ok, just asking for some general advice here. Given that they wouldn't even give some friendly general advice about adding coffee to beer. I seriously doubt they'll even entertain responding to any more detailed requests. Shame.

Not for victory at sea, but for a few of their other recipes, go to homebrewmart.com (their shop) and go to the recipes link. Their kolsch is the Yellowtail Pale, and their amber is the calico.
 
Long time lurker here but felt compelled to reply. Wouldn't waste your time asking Ballast Point for any recipe details surrounding VAS. I lived a couple of blocks away from them and their attached HomeBrew Mart, which is where I bought my supplies when I first started brewing. Was trying to get a coffee stout together and asked them the question "Hey I'm trying to add coffee to my beer, how do I do that? I'm looking for a result kind of like your guys' Victory At Sea." Their reply: We don't give out our recipes.QUOTE]

Same here .. I tried several times to get a recipe, most requests went unanswered but when I did finally got a response, it was we don't share recipes.
 
I just opened my first Victory at Sea. Holy balls this is unquestionably the best porter I've ever tasted. I've also emailed them (with praise) and asking for any tips to clone. I assume they won't give out any details, but wow, this is amazing stuff and I'm headed back to Whole Foods tomorrow to buy every bottle they have.
 
I tried the brewery and didn't get a response :(

If you ever make to Southern Cali, head to Pizza Port and give their Coffee Monster a shot. It is awesome.
 
Has anyone come up with a good all grain clone worth trying that resembles this wonderful beer?

-
Craig
 
Craig, here is one I created recently. I haven't bought a bottle of Victory at Sea recently to compare flavors, but it's close in my memory (which means NOTHING, FYI). Even if it's off a bit, this recipe created a damn tasty Coffee Vanilla Porter.

Note: The base grains for this recipe are loosely based on Heretic's (Jamil Z.) Shallow Grave Porter (recipe can be found at Morebeer's site), which is also AMAZING.

14lbs Pale 2-row
8oz Blackprintz
1lb Chocolate Malt (NOT CHOCOLATE CANDY!!)
1lb Crystal 40L

This is a big brew... you'll need to adjust the 2-row for your personal efficiency. I did a large sparge, collecting 7.5-8g of wort, which I gave a 2+ hour boil (slow boil off here.. adjust according to your system), to eventually get down to a ~5g batch.

Hops start at T-60m

1oz Columbus at 60m
2oz cascade at 15m

Mash low. 150 max. You want this sucker fermentable because of the high OG (1.092 or so)

I pitched it with Notty, but any american ale yeast (WLP001, 1056, or S-05) will be fine I'm sure. Note, per Chris White's (White Labs) recommendation with big beers, I gave this two shots of pure 02. One right before pitching, and again 12 hours later.

Left in primary for a couple of weeks at 66F (increased to 70-71 after 4-5 days to encourage full attenuation, again per Chris White), and secondaried for 3 months.

About 2 weeks remaining in secondary, I added 3 chopped/scraped vanilla beans which I had soaked in about 1/2c of vodka for a week (including the vodka). At the same time, I added about 2cups of cold press coffee (french press, fine grind, 24 hours in cold water... press it to filter the grinds and add liquid to secondary. I worried about bugs, but had no contamination issues.)

I then transferred it to a keg, and it took another 2 months or so, but it's heavenly now (Total of about 5-6 months, I made it Nov. 10). Just in time for summer which is a pity, because it's an awesome winter brew.

Some people detect the vanilla right away in this recipe, but it's subdued to me and I'm not going to reduce my beans on my rebrew. Everyone's noses/tastes are different.

I bottled a few and mailed them to a friend on the East Coast. Here's the pic I got back:

porter.jpg
 
It tastes nice!

If anyone wants an extract-based recipe, you can swap out the two row for 11-12lbs of LME. Don't use the ultralight LME (it's less fermentable), just light LME is fine. You'll need several grain bags for the 2.5lbs of specialty grains.

I think, since I took the trouble to write it up, I might go post it in the Porter recipes section too. Enjoy!
 
Did you brew this? If so how close is it to the original?

I've only recently noticed what snobs "most" microbreweries are. I thought they were some sort of Robin Hood like group fighting the big bad piss peddling beer companies...but I find them no better. I honestly believe they think home brewers are a thorn in their side, even though most say and act like that's where they come from? Don't expect a reply.
 
I think Ballast Point has gotten a little too big for its britches -- and while I love many of their beers, I refuse to pay $15 a six pack. Anyway, I did call them last fall (Sep. 2015) and they gave me some helpful advice for the grapefruit scone clone I was making. They provide a phone number for homebrewers on their site.

Oh, and I brewed a Founders Breakfast Stout clone that was very close to the original and took 2nd place in its category in a homebrew competition in the Bay Area. I added crushed coffee beans at flameout (and held for about 30 minutes before chilling) and then added coldbrewed coffee to the bottling bucket. It was very tasty.
 
Not for victory at sea, but for a few of their other recipes, go to homebrewmart.com (their shop) and go to the recipes link. Their kolsch is the Yellowtail Pale, and their amber is the calico.

Nice try getting Ballast Point to help you with anything. Love their beers but they suck as far as being decent helpful humans...
 
Nice try getting Ballast Point to help you with anything. Love their beers but they suck as far as being decent helpful humans...

The guys working at BPHBM are just Home brewers like us, not Brewing their main beers at all. They are extremely helpful, and I really appreciate their advice. One guy there has been brewing for 30 years so check yourself before saying they suck bro.
 
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