Gumball Head Clone, what do you think.

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Humer

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Since Three Floyds is not available anymore in RI, went to my local homebrew shop and got this made up for me. From what I have read the beer is an APA but just using wheat malt and amarillo hops. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Gumball Head Clone

A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

10-A American Ale, American Pale Ale

Min OG: 1.045 Max OG: 1.060
Min IBU: 30 Max IBU: 54
Min Clr: 5 Max Clr: 14 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Extract (Lbs): 7.00
Anticipated OG: 1.061 Plato: 14.92
Anticipated SRM: 5.8
Anticipated IBU: 35.2
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 5.88 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.052 SG 12.77 Plato

Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
85.7 6.00 lbs. Muntons DME - Wheat England 1.046 5
7.1 0.50 lbs. Wheat Malt Germany 1.039 2
7.1 0.50 lbs. CaraPilsner France 1.035 10

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.75 oz. Amarillo Gold Whole 10.00 21.3 60 min.
0.75 oz. Amarillo Gold Whole 10.00 11.7 30 min.
0.75 oz. Amarillo Gold Whole 10.00 2.1 15 min.
1.75 oz. Amarillo Gold Whole 10.00 0.0 2 min.
0.50 oz. Amarillo Gold Whole 10.00 0.0 0 min.


Extras

Amount Name Type Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.10 Oz Irish Moss Fining 15 Min.(boil)


Yeast
-----

White Lab Wlp060 American Ale


Water Profile
-------------

Profile: Poland Springs
Profile known for:

Calcium(Ca): 5.4 ppm
Magnesium(Mg): 1.1 ppm
Sodium(Na): 3.5 ppm
Sulfate(SO4): 2.5 ppm
Chloride(Cl): 1.9 ppm
biCarbonate(HCO3): 14.1 ppm

pH: 6.02
 
Melana it is Blackstone Valley Brew, great homebrew shop in Woonsocket. Good people there.
 
Holy flurking schnitzel! Sounds like my kinda recipe. I like amarillo hops a lot, love wheat. I wonder how it would be with 1056 instead of 1272.
 
Just waiting on my hops to arrive and I'll be making 10gal of this. How long did you guys/gals dry hop? I will be making #3 because #2 has way too many IBU's.
 
Any thoughts on this recipe? The ABV should be 4.5% and the IBU's should be 18 based upon the information I have from Three Floyds so I tweaked it to match that.

Thoughts?


Recipe: Gumball Wheat Clone
Brewer: Anthony H
Asst Brewer:
Style: American Wheat or Rye Beer
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 10.50 gal
Boil Size: 12.86 gal
Estimated OG: 1.045 SG
Estimated Color: 5.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 19.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
8 lbs 8.0 oz Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 50.00 %
7 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 41.18 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM) Grain 8.82 %
1.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (Dry Hop 14 days) Hops -
0.25 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (60 min) (First WoHops 3.8 IBU
0.25 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (60 min) Hops 3.5 IBU
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (15 min) Hops 6.9 IBU
1.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (5 min) Hops 4.2 IBU
1.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (1 min) Hops 0.9 IBU
1.00 tbsp PH 5.2 Stabilizer (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 17.00 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 5.27 gal of water at 164.9 F 153.0 F
 
HarvInSTL said:
Any thoughts on this recipe? The ABV should be 4.5% and the IBU's should be 18 based upon the information I have from Three Floyds so I tweaked it to match that.

Thoughts?


I just went to Three Floyds yesterday. I concur that 18 IBU's is the proper amount. I believe that a FWH and an ample dry hop are the key to this recipe. The Gumballhead that I tasted was not as good as the one I had on Dark Lord day. In fact, it was pretty darned ordinary. So I have to say that the Dryhop is a huge characteristic of this beer.

I'd say you are close to spot on with the recipe. Let me know how it turns out. :mug:
 
Damn Squirrels said:
I just went to Three Floyds yesterday. I concur that 18 IBU's is the proper amount. I believe that a FWH and an ample dry hop are the key to this recipe. The Gumballhead that I tasted was not as good as the one I had on Dark Lord day. In fact, it was pretty darned ordinary. So I have to say that the Dryhop is a huge characteristic of this beer.

I'd say you are close to spot on with the recipe. Let me know how it turns out. :mug:

Will do! Now my only other concern is the bottle conditioned aspect. If you pour this beer from a 12oz bottle it is more than obvious that it is filtered. It is the clearest wheat beer I've seen in my life. I mean I could read a newspaper thru it.

On the bottle it states that they bottle condition. But I have no idea if they bottle condition with a secondary yeast strain or if I should just use kräusen .
 
This brew actually turned out very well. I did a side by side lastnight with a real gumball head. About the only difference was that the true gumball was more filtered and it showed a bit in the color and body / mouthfeel of the beer. Very slight difference though and it was a popular hit at my party lastnight. I recommend this recipe to anyone that enjoys the gumball. ;)

Here was the recipe I used:

Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.00 lb White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 50.0 %
4.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 40.0 %
1.00 lb Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM) Grain 10.0 %
0.25 oz Amarillo Gold [8.90%] (80 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 8.9 IBU
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.90%] (15 min) Hops 7.6 IBU
0.25 oz Amarillo Gold [8.90%] (55 min) Hops 7.5 IBU
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.90%] (5 min) Hops 3.0 IBU
0.20 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50%] (0 min) Hops -
2.00 oz Amarillo Gold (Dry Hop) [8.50%] (0 min) Hops - 4 days
 
A couple of questions. What is a first wort hop? And can anybody convert this to an extract? And if you can, is there a formula or come kind of specific way to convert AG to Extract? Thanks.
 
looking for more results. anyone brewed and what is your 411. i want to brew this in a month or two in prep for summer.
 
I just went to Three Floyds yesterday. I concur that 18 IBU's is the proper amount. I believe that a FWH and an ample dry hop are the key to this recipe. The Gumballhead that I tasted was not as good as the one I had on Dark Lord day. In fact, it was pretty darned ordinary. So I have to say that the Dryhop is a huge characteristic of this beer.

I have been drinking GBH at my local BJ's. I got a pint about 6 weeks ago and it was amazing - it smelled like a freshly opened bag of amarillos. It was NOT super bitter. Just a clean wheat with lots of amarillo aroma. I tried it again a couple weeks later and it was not as good. I don't know if it was a different keg or was just getting old. This is a beer that does not age well.

I would do a monster whirlpool addition and a moderate flavor addition and drink it fresh!
 
looks interesting, i'm getting into doing some wheats for summer, i'l have to try this after i do my 312 clone. That first posts recipe is way off...
 
Has anyone else brewed this lately?? I'm on my second 1.5 oz dryhop and will be kegging in a week. I just bought a 6 pack of the real thing today to do some comparisons.
 
Thinking about brewing this tomorrow or next weekend, and was wondering if anyone had feedback or suggestions on this recipe. I'm using #3 tweaked for a 5.25 gallon batch. In particular, I'm curious about the WLP001 - which I've used before, but was expecting this recipe to call for a wheat style yeast.

Name: Three Floyds GumballHead Clone
Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 5.25 gal
Boil Size: 6.71 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
Est Original Gravity: 1.055 SG
Bitterness: 28.2 IBU
Est Color: 5.5 SRM
Equipment: Brew Pot (7.5 gal) and Igloo Cooler (10 Gal)
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00

Ingredients
5.00 lb Wheat Malt, US (2.0 SRM) Grain 48.78 %
4.50 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 43.90 %
0.75 lb Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM) Grain 7.32 %
0.25 oz Amarillo Gold [7.50 %] (First Wort Hop) Hops 7.0 IBU
0.25 oz Amarillo Gold [7.50 %] (60 min) Hops 6.3 IBU
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [7.50 %] (15 min) Hops 6.3 IBU
1.50 oz Amarillo Gold [7.50 %] (5 min) Hops 7.6 IBU
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [7.50 %] (1 min) Hops 1.1 IBU
0.50 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) Yeast-Ale

1.50 oz Amarillo Gold [7.50 %] (Dry Hop 7 days)
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [7.50 %] (Serving Keg)

Going with a single-infusion for 60 @ 153F


Cheers!
 
Brewed this on 5/1/11
Ended up mashing at 152 and forgot to take a OG reading (too many brews while brewing), but based on my pre-boil I figure I was pretty close to target. My amarillo's were around 11%, so I had to make some hops adjustments. Also, they smelled really spicy which I don't recall noticing from other brews that used amarillo.

Never had the original, but trying to get some wheat beers into the pipeline for summertime. Will report back in a few weeks.
 
Thinking about brewing this tomorrow or next weekend, and was wondering if anyone had feedback or suggestions on this recipe. I'm using #3 tweaked for a 5.25 gallon batch. In particular, I'm curious about the WLP001 - which I've used before, but was expecting this recipe to call for a wheat style yeast.

Name: Three Floyds GumballHead Clone
Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 5.25 gal
Boil Size: 6.71 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
Est Original Gravity: 1.055 SG
Bitterness: 28.2 IBU
Est Color: 5.5 SRM
Equipment: Brew Pot (7.5 gal) and Igloo Cooler (10 Gal)
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00

Ingredients
5.00 lb Wheat Malt, US (2.0 SRM) Grain 48.78 %
4.50 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 43.90 %
0.75 lb Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM) Grain 7.32 %
0.25 oz Amarillo Gold [7.50 %] (First Wort Hop) Hops 7.0 IBU
0.25 oz Amarillo Gold [7.50 %] (60 min) Hops 6.3 IBU
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [7.50 %] (15 min) Hops 6.3 IBU
1.50 oz Amarillo Gold [7.50 %] (5 min) Hops 7.6 IBU
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [7.50 %] (1 min) Hops 1.1 IBU
0.50 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) Yeast-Ale

1.50 oz Amarillo Gold [7.50 %] (Dry Hop 7 days)
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [7.50 %] (Serving Keg)

Going with a single-infusion for 60 @ 153F


Cheers!

How did this turn out?
 
These recipes aren't gumballhead. The malts include pale, wheat and aromatic. The hops are amarillo, warrior and simcoe. It is in Brewing with Wheat.
 
How did this turn out?

Not sure yet, I've been brewing more than I can drink lately (didn't think that could happen) so this has been in primary since 5/1. I plan to keg it tonight or tomorrow, but have to make some room in the kegerator before I'll know how it fared.

A friend from Indiana was kind enough to bring me some of 3 Floyds this weekend, but unfortunately the store she went to was out of Gumball Head so I won't be able to do a real comparison :(
 
These recipes aren't gumballhead. The malts include pale, wheat and aromatic. The hops are amarillo, warrior and simcoe. It is in Brewing with Wheat.

Well according to 3 Floyds web site (and the bartender at the brewery), it is an all amarillo addition:

"An American Wheat Ale, Gumballhead is named in honor of the underground comic book cat created by Rob Syers. Initially a seasonal summer beer, now brewed year round due to demand. This beer helped redefine American Wheat Beers. Brewed with Amarillo Hops and a generous portion of American red wheat, Gumballhead has a complex hop aroma with notes of grapefruit, lemon zest, marmalade and peach. These flavors combined with low bitterness make Gumballhead a refreshing American Wheat Beer that doesn’t suck."
 
Well according to 3 Floyds web site (and the bartender at the brewery), it is an all amarillo addition:

"An American Wheat Ale, Gumballhead is named in honor of the underground comic book cat created by Rob Syers. Initially a seasonal summer beer, now brewed year round due to demand. This beer helped redefine American Wheat Beers. Brewed with Amarillo Hops and a generous portion of American red wheat, Gumballhead has a complex hop aroma with notes of grapefruit, lemon zest, marmalade and peach. These flavors combined with low bitterness make Gumballhead a refreshing American Wheat Beer that doesn’t suck."

All Amarillo additon when? The whole beer? All I know is in the book Brewing with Wheat it is not how the recipe was outlined by 3F....but who knows, perhaps someone is full of it?
 
Finally got around to kegging this a couple days ago. It's almost carbed up and already tasting awesome. I dry hopped with 1.5oz (leaf) for 5 days after primary, but didn't end up adding the serving keg hops. For now the amarillo is still smelling/tasting great, but I may end up dropping a bag in the keg if it mellows. SWMBO downed more than one glass last night which says good things.

Don't have the real GBH to compare it to, but this is good enough that I'll be brewing it again for sure. :mug:
 
How long of a primary did you ride on this one? I usually let mine brews go for 3 weeks or so, but I'm aware that wheats can turn around much faster.
 
All Grain Recipe - Gumball Head Wheat ::: 1.052/1.012 (6 Gal)
Grain Bill (70% Efficiency assumed)
6 lbs. - Wheat Malt
5 lbs. - 2-Row Pale Malt
1 lb. - Caravienne Malt

Hop Schedule (27 IBU)
1/4 oz. - Amarillo - First Wort Hop
1/4 oz. - Amarillo - 60 min.
1/2 oz. - Amarillo - 15 min.
1.25 oz. - Amarillo - 5 min.
1 oz. - Amarillo - 1 min.
1.5 oz. - Amarillo - Dry Hop

Yeast
White Labs California Ale Yeast (WLP001) - 1800 ml starter

Mash/Sparge/Boil
Mash at 153° for 60 min.
Sparge as usual
Cool and ferment at 68° to 70°

Notes
Several people have brewed this and reported good results.
 
I am wanting to brew this up it sounds very tasty. I checked the place where I get my hops and it says 10.3 AA for Amarillo, pretty big difference from the 8.5 I was expecting.. I am also doing a partial mash, 4 gallon boil, then topped off at the end. Here is the recipe I have thrown together so far to kind of tame the AA for this brew. I skip the 60 minute hop addition and just go with regular FWH and start at the 15 and it still gives me a 22-23 ibu. What do you guys think ? Will this work ?

3 lbs Wheat Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 4 36.4 %
2 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 30.3 %
2 lbs (Red) Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 24.2 %
12.0 oz Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM)
0.25 oz Amarillo Gold [10.30 %] - Boil 20.0 (FWH)min Hop 5 5.5 IBUs
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [10.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 6 8.8 IBUs
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [10.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 7 7.1 IBUs
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [10.00 %] - Boil 1.0 min Hop 8 1.5 IBUs
1.50 oz Amarillo Gold [10.00 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Days Hop 9 0.0 IBUs
WLP001 from starter
 
Or could that be a typo from AHS ? Every where I check they all have around 7-8.5 AA and only AHS is that high .
 
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