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

one-L said:

I have dry hopped with 2 oz in the keg on several batches of this now and it seems like a pretty good sweet spot. Just bought another lb of Centennial and I think this is going to be one of the next ones on the rebrew list.

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That's what I do, I like two oz in the dry hop. I throw it in the keg and let it in till the beer is all, always tastes good and never any off flavored.

PS: I use a muslin bag, and weigh it down so the whole leaf hops are submerged in the beer.

I don't keg, but I too use a hop sock weighted down for my dry hopping. I also use pellet hops.

You know, the recipe I have on file calls for using 2 oz and my theory is the more hops the better, so I think I'm just going to stick with 2 oz!

6 days after brewing, the gravity is down to 1.009. I used Bell's yeast, but this is measured with a refractometer (using the correction factor), so the number could still be off by a few points. Sample tasted great though.

I know there was some discussion in this thread and the OP says to primary for 4 weeks, but I don't see any reason for that, so my plan is to dry hop tomorrow (at 7 days) and bottle 7 days later.

Primary for 4 weeks sounds crazy. I have use S-05 and WLP002 and dry hopped within 1 week of brewing. What was your initial gravity? Sounds like it's close to done. Check gravity again in about 3-4 days to be sure.

OG was 1.062. I can't imagine it will get any lower.

I dried hopped with 2 oz centennial today.

eschatz said:

The actual gravity for this beer is 1.064
The FG is 1.010
Yeast is taken from a bottle of Bells Amber (their Pale Ale also works)

10 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 76.92 %
2 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 15.38 %
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 3.85 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 3.85 %

*mash at 150 F

1.00 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (60 min) Hops 30.3 IBU
0.50 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (Dry Hop 5 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (15 min) Hops 15.0 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (5 min) Hops 6.0 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (1 min) Hops 1.3 IBU

7% ABV

This beer is so damn close to the original. If you let it wait at least 2 months in the bottle/keg it'll clear up EXACTLY like the original. I had SWMBO mix the glasses up and I couldn't pick my clone out between two Two Hearted Glasses and one Clone. This is the best clone I've made and possibly the best IPA I've made.

Edit: Fixed yeast and gravity issues along with mash temp for a lower FG.

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Tasty

Has anyone tried this clone with Conan (aka Heady Topper) yeast? I have a sample sourced from East Coast Yeast (#29) growing on my stir plate that I am planning to use with this recipe in a few days.

I'm sure it would be fine. I did a black IPA with it and it came out very good.

tonymark said:

Primary for 4 weeks sounds crazy. I have use S-05 and WLP002 and dry hopped within 1 week of brewing. What was your initial gravity? Sounds like it's close to done. Check gravity again in about 3-4 days to be sure.

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I've been keeping all my brews in primary for at least 3-4 weeks. Then I keg and force carbonate and let sit another 2-3 weeks. I havnt had any problems and they are all delicious . I'm my biggest critic

Danno81 said:

I've been keeping all my brews in primary for at least 3-4 weeks. Then I keg and force carbonate and let sit another 2-3 weeks. I havnt had any problems and they are all delicious . I'm my biggest critic

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Does your primary include dry hopping? And I thought one of the benefits of kegging was not having to wait for the conditioning you have to wait for when bottling. I thought, once you force carbed, your beer was ready to go, so why wait? I just don't have the patience myself to wait that long... :cross:

I usually let my beer stay in my primary fermenting bucket up until I bottle. Transferring to a secondary seems just seems like an unnecessary added step to me. That said, I usually let my brew ride for about 2 weeks in primary. If I'm dry hopping, I go ahead and dry hop after fermentation is done which is usually about a week.

I used to let my beer sit in primary longer, but I've found no noticeable difference between letting the beer ride longer or shorter in primary...

Yes I dry hop in primary. I kinda like to let it age a little before I start drinking it all. If I'm bottling I usually let it sit about 2 weeks but when I keg I let it age a little first then I keg it. I also don't have much free time so when SWMBO has plans I don't get to play in the garage

MMJfan said:

Does your primary include dry hopping? And I thought one of the benefits of kegging was not having to wait for the conditioning you have to wait for when bottling. I thought, once you force carbed, your beer was ready to go, so why wait? I just don't have the patience myself to wait that long... :cross: I usually let my beer stay in my primary fermenting bucket up until I bottle. Transferring to a secondary seems just seems like an unnecessary added step to me. That said, I usually let my brew ride for about 2 weeks in primary. If I'm dry hopping, I go ahead and dry hop after fermentation is done which is usually about a week. I used to let my beer sit in primary longer, but I've found no noticeable difference between letting the beer ride longer or shorter in primary...

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one o the benefits of kegging is you don't have to wait for the bottle conditioning is true but the beer still needs to age. The main benefit IOC kegging is you don't have to fill 50 bottles and find a closet to store them in while they carb up. And the best benefit is you have it on tap. it's green u see no waste zero landfill

Just like to say that I absolutely LOVE this recipe... Big shout out to eschatz for posting this.. Have used this grain bill 10+ times since I found it. Next, I intend to use it with citra, galaxy, and belma hops with Brett C...

THANK YOU!!

mborodave said:

Just like to say that I absolutely LOVE this recipe... Big shout out to eschatz for posting this.. Have used this grain bill 10+ times since I found it. Next, I intend to use it with citra, galaxy, and belma hops with Brett C...

THANK YOU!!

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I would have to agree and it isn't a stretch to say this is my favorite recipe that I brew (Great Lakes x-mas ale is damn close though).

My most recent batch is finally just about fully conditioned and is tasting great! I usually have this brew available at all times as it's basically my house beer, but I've had some infection issues the last two batches I've brewed of this. I had some yeast that I had harvested from some Bells Pale that went bad which was the cause of my infections. So, it's been far too long for going without this clone and it's nice to finally have it back in rotation again!

deciding between denny's fav 1450 or 1272. any idea what would be best? The recipe from NB calls for 1056 but from wyeast description it says it may need filtering.

Is the recipe on the first page the one to use still or is there an updated one buried somewhere between here and there?

juggabrew said:

deciding between denny's fav 1450 or 1272. any idea what would be best? The recipe from NB calls for 1056 but from wyeast description it says it may need filtering.

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I would go with 1272, it's the closest to Bell's house yeast strain. Many think Bell's uses 1272...however I still think I can tell a difference and so if you can harvest from a few bottles of Bell's Amber, that's the way I would go...

shuckit said:

Is the recipe on the first page the one to use still or is there an updated one buried somewhere between here and there?

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I pretty much use the recipe on the first page w/ slight adjustments -

I usually add an extra lb of 2-row due to my efficiency.

I use RO water, so I basically follow the Primer and add-in 1 tsp of calcium chloride and 1 tsp of gypsum per 5 gal of water. Also use 2% acid malt.

Depending on the AA% of my centennial hops, I may adjust the hop schedule a bit, to get 55 IBUs.

I mash at 150.

Shoot for a OG of 1.064 and a FG of 1.010. Sometimes mine will only get down to 1.012-4ish.

That's how I do it and have had fairly good success with about 10 batches in the last 2 years. Centennial is my favorite hop...

Oh and don't forget the Bell's yeast.

periwinkle1239 said:

I would go with 1272, it's the closest to Bell's house yeast strain. Many think Bell's uses 1272...however I still think I can tell a difference and so if you can harvest from a few bottles of Bell's Amber, that's the way I would go...

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I decided on the 1272. I moved to Denver from Ohio two months ago and they don't have bells here. Plus I'm not to the level of harvesting yet.

on another note. after being in Denver and checking out the craft selections. Im a little disappointed as it seems no breweries east of colorado are not available here. Im sure its not cost effective yet to ship out here but great lakes and bells would be nice to have here. In Ohio I can go to a liquor store and find beers from all over the world...here not so much.

periwinkle1239 said:

I pretty much use the recipe on the first page w/ slight adjustments -

I usually add an extra lb of 2-row due to my efficiency.

I use RO water, so I basically follow the Primer and add-in 1 tsp of calcium chloride and 1 tsp of gypsum per 5 gal of water. Also use 2% acid malt.

Depending on the AA% of my centennial hops, I may adjust the hop schedule a bit, to get 55 IBUs.

I mash at 150.

Shoot for a OG of 1.064 and a FG of 1.010. Sometimes mine will only get down to 1.012-4ish.

That's how I do it and have had fairly good success with about 10 batches in the last 2 years. Centennial is my favorite hop...

Oh and don't forget the Bell's yeast.

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Thanks for the tip on using RO water. I do this when I brew but haven't used any additives. So far I haven't noticed any problems with the beer!

I followed the exact recipe from the first page, only using Conan yeast (aka ECY29). Fermentation stalled at 1.019, but restarted after I racked to a secondary and accidentally picked up some yeast/trub. i'm happy to say fermentation proceeded all the way to 1.010. I noticed some faint solvent like flavors, perhaps from the unexpected secondary fermentation. Some of which took place at 74F. I'm hoping that keg conditioning over two weeks at 68F will help clear this up. Probably won't notice these at serving temps anyway.

I'm thinking of brewing this recipe soon and I wonder what dry hop amount will get you the closest to the real Bells Two Hearted Ale? I know its not massively dry hopped, but I still think 0.5 oz (as the recipe on page 1 calls for) seems a bit low? I see some people talking about 2 oz in the thread, is that more of a personal preference or is it the amount that you think will get you the closest to the real thing?

Thanks.

eval said:

I'm thinking of brewing this recipe soon and I wonder what dry hop amount will get you the closest to the real Bells Two Hearted Ale? I know its not massively dry hopped, but I still think 0.5 oz (as the recipe on page 1 calls for) seems a bit low? I see some people talking about 2 oz in the thread, is that more of a personal preference or is it the amount that you think will get you the closest to the real thing?

Thanks.

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This really depends on when you taste the Bells and when you taste the homebrew. The aroma will fade as time goes on. If you live on the west coast, you Bells may not be as fresh as someone in Michigan. It is also dependent on the crop of hops that you are using, how they are stored, etc. I agree that 0.5 oz is low and would guess it would be on the order of 1-2 oz of dry hops.

tallguybrewer said:

This really depends on when you taste the Bells and when you taste the homebrew. The aroma will fade as time goes on. If you live on the west coast, you Bells may not be as fresh as someone in Michigan. It is also dependent on the crop of hops that you are using, how they are stored, etc. I agree that 0.5 oz is low and would guess it would be on the order of 1-2 oz of dry hops.

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Thanks! Makes sense

I had my Two Hearted Ale a couple of hours north of Grand Rapids, MI this summer so I guess they were fresh. I think I will go with 1.5 - 2 oz for the dry hop on this first batch.

Does anyone have a water profile for this two hearted ale or close to what Bells uses?

I used:

Ca 102
Mg 9.7
Na 21.9
Sulfate 218.2
Cl 21.2
Bicarb 99.5

Which I got by adding 8 g gypsum to my tap water for a 5 gallon batch. I just started playing around with water chemistry, but I feel like the hops "pop" more than my other hoppy beers. So i'm happy with it.

so how does this recipe compare to the BYO recipe? Ive brewed the OP one twice and it seems to make more sense when you punch it into beer smith. Whats your thoughts? I pasted BYO's below. its an old recipe for sure but has bells really changed it that much since 2004…BYO seems to be an innacurate resource for clones.

Two Hearted Ale clone
(Kalamazoo Brewing Company)
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.058 FG = 1.012
IBU = 56 SRM = 8 ABV = 5.9%
Ingredients
9.33 lbs. (4.2 kg) 2-row pale malt
2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) Vienna malt
0.5 lbs. (0.23 kg) crystal (10 °L)
0.33 lbs. (0.15 kg) CaraPils malt (6 °L)
5.5 AAU Centennial hops (60 mins)
(0.5 oz./14 g of 11% alpha acids)
5.5 AAU Centennial hops (45 mins)
(0.5 oz./14 g of 11% alpha acids)
5.5 AAU Centennial hops (30 mins)
(0.5 oz./14 g of 11% alpha acids)
5.5 AAU Centennial hops (15 mins)
(0.5 oz./14 g of 11% alpha acids)
0.33 oz. (9.4 g) Centennial hops (0 min)
0.33 oz. (9.4 g) Centennial (dry hop)
0.5 tsp. Irish moss (15 mins)
Wyeast 1272 (American Ale II), White
Labs WLP051 (California V) or yeast
cultured from a bottle of this beer
0.75 cups corn sugar (for priming)

juggabrew said:

BYO seems to be an innacurate resource for clones.

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If been realizing this also

I just kegged my first attempt at this recipe. I dry hopped 1 oz instead of 0.5, and I used leaf instead of pellet hops (don't think it is totally relevant, but I have never used leaf hops before). I had a taste of it and it was awesome. I cannot wait until it is ready to drink. Thanks!

Well, it had been a while since I made a bonehead mistake. I got my dates confused and just dry hopped this thing after 10 days in primary. I confused it with my other beer that's been in primary for 5 weeks already, and just threw it in there when taking a hydrometer reading, then realized my mistake when I saw I was at 1.020.

I was able to fish out about half the pellets with a sanitized slotted spoon, but hey, might have a bit of grassy taste in my two hearted this time.

I'd be concerned less about the dryhop and more with the fact that it's only at 1.020 after ten days. Most healthy ferments reach FG after 3-5 days.

tagz said:

I'd be concerned less about the dryhop and more with the fact that it's only at 1.020 after ten days. Most healthy ferments reach FG after 3-5 days.

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What temp are your ferment at for this beer?

eval said:

Thanks! Makes sense I had my Two Hearted Ale a couple of hours north of Grand Rapids, MI this summer so I guess they were fresh. I think I will go with 1.5 - 2 oz for the dry hop on this first batch.

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I live in ohio and can and do get this beer fresh pretty much year round (except beat _ichihan week). I would start at 2oz dry hops personally. Also, I do my bittering with some cascade hops to get a citrus characteristic similar to the bells house yeast. It's not the same, but close if you aren't harvesting the yeast from a bottle.

ciscosd2000 said:

What temp are your ferment at for this beer?

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63-64, somewhere in there.

There's also a chance my hydrometer is borked. I pitched a bunch of yeast, so it wasn't an underpitch... I'll check it again this weekend and see what we've got.

Here's a tip from bells on their water if your interested.

"We use water straight from our municipality and I can tell you that its pretty high in alkalinity, low in sulfate. Besides adding some gypsum to hoppy beers (like Two Hearted), we pretty much use it as is and carbon filter it. I think our water is similar in nature to that of Edinburgh if Im not mistaken. Hope that helps."

Yeah, I usually dry hop this at day 7 and keg at day 14 and drink at day 21!

brewski09 said:

I live in ohio and can and do get this beer fresh pretty much year round (except beat _ichihan week). I would start at 2oz dry hops personally. Also, I do my bittering with some cascade hops to get a citrus characteristic similar to the bells house yeast. It's not the same, but close if you aren't harvesting the yeast from a bottle.

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Thanks. I already brewed it Dec 1 and made it a single hop Centennial. Used 1272 yeast since I'm not able to get any Bells here. I think I will go with approx 1.5 oz / 5 gal for dry hop on this batch.

What FG are you other people using 1272 yeast getting?

Brewed on Dec 1 with an OG of 1.068. Mashed at 150F. Pitched a decanted 1.5 litre (about the same in quarts) starter and fermented at 64-65F during the first week. Raised the temperature to 68F after seven days. Took a gravity sample yesterday (at day 11) and it was down to 1.014. My guess is that its finished.

Mine went from 1.062 to 1.009 using Bells yeast harvested from a Two Hearted bottle.

eval said:

What FG are you other people using 1272 yeast getting? Brewed on Dec 1 with an OG of 1.068. Mashed at 150F. Pitched a decanted 1.5 litre (about the same in quarts) starter and fermented at 64-65F during the first week. Raised the temperature to 68F after seven days. Took a gravity sample yesterday (at day 11) and it was down to 1.014. My guess is that its finished.

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You can try edging the temp to just over 70, or accept it as a good FG. I'd probably just leave it alone personally.

brewski09 said:

You can try edging the temp to just over 70, or accept it as a good FG. I'd probably just leave it alone personally.

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I might raise the temperature a tiny bit. Still going to wait another week or so before I add the dry hops. The beer still had visible yeast in suspension when I took the gravity sample at day 11.