American IPA Bell's Two Hearted Ale Clone (close as they come)

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Well I gave it a shot with the 1028 Londa Ale yeast. Scaled down for my first small 1.5G batch. Came out to an OG of 1.064.
 
Cultured from Bells Amber,
made - decanted a 6 qt. starter into 2HA clone - havested
Used for an Oberon clone. Perfect.

I have another Oberon clone fermenting now with Wyeast 1272. I hear from a good source (IMO) that this is the Bells house yeast - so I thought I would give it a try - I may harvest and brew another 2HA clone over xmas.
 
I use it in many different brews. Used it in an Irish ale, St Paul Porter, huge RIS (1.102), 2 APA's, and 2 2H clones. The only one where it wasn't great was the Irish Red. Tasted okay but lacked the tad of diacetyl that I sometimes like in this style. I'm planning another 3-5 brew series with it, just haven't picked the order yet.
 
Interesting... I might have to come up with something to make, check inventory, and see what else I need before brew club tonight.
 
I've used it in an American raspberry wheat and it was delicious.

This sounds interesting. I made a Strawberry Wheat last summer that was absolutely delicious that I used Wyeast 1010 in. I just got done harvesting from a sixer of Bells Amber and it is fermenting in an Oberon clone I just brewed last night. I'm planning on cleaning the yeast when it's done and I might have to try to use Bells yeast in my Strawberry Wheat for a change!

I am planning on using Bells yeast the next time I make this Two Hearted clone as well!
 
Has anyone used RO water and created a profile for this brew? If so, I was just wondering what you added and how it tasted. Thanks!
 
Served up the Two Hearted at brew club tonight. It was a big hit! Poured crystal clear and tasted great! I grabbed a pound of centennial before I left the shop to make more!
 
92B2F3C8-7DEC-4188-A85A-72EED50E2F67-4242-0000014EFFE39D4C.jpg


That one was the night before thanksgiving... I wish I took a picture of the ones we poured at homebrew club the other night because they were crystal clear (and tasted great). I was pretty proud to serve them to people for once. Not bad for my first A/G, BIAB, harvesting yeast from a bottle, making a starter, and dry hopping! lol No wonder I named it "Who Farted". I had no idea how it was going to come out.
 
+1 I just got an RO filter and have been following the Primer on here but would like to know what else might be done.

Been awhile since I've made this, so I'll be brewing it up on Sunday with RO water, I think I'll plan on a ratio of 2 tsp of CaCl2 and 2 tsp of Gypsum per 5 gal water unless someone has a better recommendation.
 
I brewed this Friday night, and used RO water. Did a very simple profile with 1 teaspoon Gypsum and 1/2 teaspoon CaCl2. Ill let you guys know how it turns out. If anyone else has brewed this with RO and created a profile that turned out awesome, I would love to know. Thanks.
 
Getting ready to brew this as my first full boil, and second all grain batch (after getting a mash tun for x-mas).

I don't have a stir plate, nor the ability to culture from the bottles right now, so I'm stuck with dry yeast. Is the 04 from the OP still the dry recommendation for the recipe?
 
Getting ready to brew this as my first full boil, and second all grain batch (after getting a mash tun for x-mas).

I don't have a stir plate, nor the ability to culture from the bottles right now, so I'm stuck with dry yeast. Is the 04 from the OP still the dry recommendation for the recipe?

You don't need stir plate to make a starter. Just giving it a swirl every now and then works fine. I have used 1056 with this beer before and liked it better (over s04).
 
Hmm, still too intimidated to make a starter. I think for this batch I may get a 1056 and assuming it's fresh, just smack it, let it swell, and pitch. For a 5 gallon batch, I'm not too terribly worried about it being stressed.

Then I'll work on harvesting some real THA yeast, learn about starters that way.

The other part of it is that I want to brew this on New Years Day, and I'm not sure I'll be able get the right cell count by Tuesday.
 
US-05 is dry version of Wyeast 1056 strain and no need for starter.

Thanks. i was trying to google to find a dry sub, but had transposed a few numbers, turns out there is no 1065, which is why I was having issues :)
 
bfinleyui said:
Hmm, still too intimidated to make a starter. I think for this batch I may get a 1056 and assuming it's fresh, just smack it, let it swell, and pitch. For a 5 gallon batch, I'm not too terribly worried about it being stressed.

Then I'll work on harvesting some real THA yeast, learn about starters that way.

The other part of it is that I want to brew this on New Years Day, and I'm not sure I'll be able get the right cell count by Tuesday.

With a starter you swirl regularly, you could double your cell count by then. 12-18 hours is all you need and you also get the yeast warmed up for the workout of fermentation. Starters are a great way to get your fermentation kicked off sooner.
 
Hmm, still too intimidated to make a starter. I think for this batch I may get a 1056 and assuming it's fresh, just smack it, let it swell, and pitch. For a 5 gallon batch, I'm not too terribly worried about it being stressed.

Then I'll work on harvesting some real THA yeast, learn about starters that way.

The other part of it is that I want to brew this on New Years Day, and I'm not sure I'll be able get the right cell count by Tuesday.

Starter is just a mini batch of beer. Nothing to be intimidated about, and something you should start doing. I've been brewing for 3 years and don't own a stirplate.
 
elproducto said:
Starter is just a mini batch of beer. Nothing to be intimidated about, and something you should start doing. I've been brewing for 3 years and don't own a stirplate.

You should try one. I used one pack of 1056 to ferment 22 gallons of beer - half was 1.039 and the other half about 1.064.

Most yeast calculators are going to tell you that you need 4-5 packs of yeast to pitch the correct amount.

You can pitch a single pack and let it do its thing, but you could be waiting a while for fermentation to start or stress the yeast impacting your flavor.

Considering how cheap it is to build your own stir plate, it's almost silly to not have one.
 
A true Bell's clone is from cultured yeast or Wyeast 1272. I've brewed both 2HA and Oberon, many times now...I buy the 1272 when I'm out of harvested, or I dont have the runway to culture - there is no telling the difference. My homebrew guru and home brew shop owner tipped me off to the 1272 after some discussion. He insists it is Bells house yeast and after many brews I believe him.
 
Hey guys! I am super excited to be getting into this hobby and want to go right ahead and say thanks for future reference to everyone out there posting on these forums.

I am completely new to this hobby but excited because I feel that craft brew is a way of life, sort of speak. Haha. Which leads me to my questions pertaining to this post...

I have been reading up on recipe's for BTH which is one of my favorites. One question came to mind right away; are there any special equipment requirements for doing an all grain recipe like what this seems to be? And are there any tips or tricks you guys can share for a first time brewer like myself ith this ipa? Is this a good brew to start with? Any input I'd much obliged. Thanks in advance :)
 
Hmm, still too intimidated to make a starter.

Don't let all these board posts make you nervous. Seriously, its not any more difficult than rehydrating a pack of dry yeast.

Things I've found helpful:
*Always have a few packs of dry yeast around... This way, no matter what happens, you can still make beer.
*Never put a flask on the stove burner. I know some do it but asking for trouble with today's cheap flasks.
*put the starter in the fridge at least the night before brew day. This is a preference thing, but I don't want all of that liquid in my finished beer. This will NOT hurt the yeast. You can pour off the excess liquid easily as the yeast will be tightly packed to the bottom. You just need to leave some of the liquid in there and then swirl it so it becomes mixed again.
*make sure all of the yeast comes loose from the bottom of the flask before you try and pitch.
*Don't think about it too much, just do it. It's fun! After a couple of times, you will have the process down.

If you would like a video, search the internet for billy brew yeast starter. Great instruction there. Happy brewing!
 
Well, I don't have any excuse not to make starters now, built a stir plate today, along with a dollar-store vase to use as a vessel (cool it down to pitching them BEFORE putting it in the vase), and the whole thing was under $20.

Now if I can just figure out why my efficiency is so awful, < 60%.. Ugh
 
Hey guys! I am super excited to be getting into this hobby and want to go right ahead and say thanks for future reference to everyone out there posting on these forums.

I am completely new to this hobby but excited because I feel that craft brew is a way of life, sort of speak. Haha. Which leads me to my questions pertaining to this post...

I have been reading up on recipe's for BTH which is one of my favorites. One question came to mind right away; are there any special equipment requirements for doing an all grain recipe like what this seems to be? And are there any tips or tricks you guys can share for a first time brewer like myself ith this ipa? Is this a good brew to start with? Any input I'd much obliged. Thanks in advance :)

What equipment do you already have would be a starting point. Doing BIAB, you can pretty much use equipment you have for extract brewing with a large bag and you can do AG brewing.

And this is a pretty good recipe to start out with. Not too complicated and fairly straight forward. Good luck! :mug:
 
Biab is Brew In A Bag. Essentially its an all grain (or partial mash) method where the crushed grain is mashed in the boil kettle at roughly ~ 150F for 60 minutes. The grain is held in a fine mesh bag that can be lifted out of the kettle after the 60 minutes are up. You can then sparge by dunking this bag in another vessel at 170F for 10 minutes, sprinkle 170F water through it, or skip this step all together (called no sparge).

You need a 7.5 gallon pot (will barely fit the 12 lbs of grain for 2H, but preferably larger). You will also need to do full volume boils for all grain, so a propane turkey frier heater is helpful (where I got my pot too). And finally a method of quickly chilling 5-6 gallons of boiling wort; I use a copper immersion wort chiller. Of course the bag itself is needed for BIAB, but I got my start with nylon 5 gallon paint strainer bags that you can find at Home Depot or Fleet Farm (like $5 for 2). Lots of great BIAB instruction and discussion here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/biab-brewing-pics-233289/

BTW, too bad you didn't ask a 6 weeks ago :) I'm in the NW side of the Twin Cities and could have shown you how to brew 2Hearted with BIAB. Ready to crack the first one tonight (2nd batch of 2H).
 
So.. I have a real newb question and would appreciate some feedback. I used this recipe for my first all grain brew (I've done a few extracts / partial mashes). Normally I've always bottle conditioned / carbonated my home brew, but I also just upgraded to a small kegging system. I noticed in the recipe that its recommended for the primary fermentation to go for 4 weeks at 65 degrees. Is all of this time in the primary fermenter? Or should i move my beer into the keg and let it go another 2-3 weeks there? Thanks for the help!
 
So.. I have a real newb question and would appreciate some feedback. I used this recipe for my first all grain brew (I've done a few extracts / partial mashes). Normally I've always bottle conditioned / carbonated my home brew, but I also just upgraded to a small kegging system. I noticed in the recipe that its recommended for the primary fermentation to go for 4 weeks at 65 degrees. Is all of this time in the primary fermenter? Or should i move my beer into the keg and let it go another 2-3 weeks there? Thanks for the help!

No need to ferment any longer, just transfer to your keg and carb it up with co2. Should be drinking it in a few days if you force carb
 
bfinleyui said:
Hmm, still too intimidated to make a starter. I think for this batch I may get a 1056 and assuming it's fresh, just smack it, let it swell, and pitch. For a 5 gallon batch, I'm not too terribly worried about it being stressed.

Then I'll work on harvesting some real THA yeast, learn about starters that way.

The other part of it is that I want to brew this on New Years Day, and I'm not sure I'll be able get the right cell count by Tuesday.

I started making starters and immediately wondered why I hadn't always done it. Just like going all grain, it's ends up being 1000 times easier than what you think it will be. Give it a shot, it's a good skill to add and there is a great sticky about it. Only takes a few minutes.
 
I started making starters and immediately wondered why I hadn't always done it. Just like going all grain, it's ends up being 1000 times easier than what you think it will be. Give it a shot, it's a good skill to add and there is a great sticky about it. Only takes a few minutes.

See,y you had me until you called all grain 'easy'.... I have yet to break 55% efficiency, and it's pretty darn frustrating.
 
BIAB is AG and it is pretty easy. I've yet to hit below 70% efficiency either... :)

I must be doing something completely wrong. Tried small batches of biab, did full size in a cooler, and it's still awful. Gonna try again this week.
 
I would question your crush first. 1x crush by brew shop? Grist ratio of quarts of water/lb of grain in mash? Did you calibrate your mash thermometer? Getting to 70 should be very attainable, keep investigating.
 
Phroh.jpg


Here's the crush, 1x through on a friend's crankandstein setup that he got from a friend of a friend, no obvious way to set (or find out) the size.

1.25 quarts per pound

mash thermometer was always within 1 or 2 degrees of my glass thermometer in other applications.

Think I might go 2x crush for my next batch, and cross my fingers to avoid a stuck sparge (bazooka tube in the bottom).

The two big mistakes i've been able to figure out from my last attempt were:

1. My sparge water was heated to 170, much too low to bring my grain bed near 170. Aiming for 180-182 next time.

2. I stirred, but not vigorously, after my infusions. I'm going to stir much harder next time, and use the vourlaf to reset the grain bed.

Question, how long to let the infusions sit before starting vourlaf and draining again?
 
looks like your crush is fairly coarse. if the mill is adjustable, tighten that baby up!

if not, a double crush would probably hep out a lot.
 
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