Spaten Optimator clone - recipe?

Yakima 728
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I shot out a thread some time ago on this and got some feed back. Not a lot but when I have an extra min, I will direct you to my thread. I gotta go get my kids from school. I will be back in 30 min or so.
Cheers
JJ
 
I will check my many sources for clone recipes when I get home to see if any of them have one...



"radio edit"
sorry, nothing in any of my clone books or magazines...
 
AZ_IPA said:
okay, maybe I'll try this -- any thoughts?

Recipe: Optimator Ale

but i'll convert the LME to grains...
Click to expand...

I don't know how close that is going to come. It doesn't have a single german grain in it. I would think that Optimator would have a large amount of Munich malt in it.

I haven't tried it, but here is Jamil's recipe...

Mr. Maltinator
OG: 1.086
FG: 1.020
IBU: 24
Color: 18 SRM
ABV: 8.7%
Mash @ 155
Bassed on pre-boil volume of 7 gallons, and an efficiency of 70%.

14lbs Munich Malt
4lbs Pilsner Malt
2lbs CaraMunich

1.5oz Hallertau 4.0% AA 60min
0.5oz Hallertau 4.0% AA 30min

WLP833/WYeast 2206
 
BarleyWater said:
I don't know how close that is going to come. It doesn't have a single german grain in it. I would think that Optimator would have a large amount of Munich malt in it.

I haven't tried it, but here is Jamil's recipe...

Mr. Maltinator
OG: 1.086
FG: 1.020
IBU: 24
Color: 18 SRM
ABV: 8.7%
Mash @ 155
Bassed on pre-boil volume of 7 gallons, and an efficiency of 70%.

14lbs Munich Malt
4lbs Pilsner Malt
2lbs CaraMunich

1.5oz Hallertau 4.0% AA 60min
0.5oz Hallertau 4.0% AA 30min

WLP833/WYeast 2206
Click to expand...

thx. I agree about the lack of German malt in the link I posted. I may try this unless someone can find something that's been brewed as a close clone to opti.
 
I've got Jamils Mr. Maltinator sitting in my lagerator right now. Made it up back in July. It's still thinking about its self, but snuck samples taste pretty goot. Still a little hot right now. First doppelbock I've made so not sure if this is right or not. Had the fermentation right on at 50F for about 3 weeks then upped it to 65F for week or so and then stuck it in the lagerator.
 
I realize this is old but has anyone ever found a good recipe?

Ender, how did yours finally turn out in comparison to the original?
 
There has GOT to be some "serious" Special B going on in that brew...it is the Spaten secret weapon lol
 
I'd like to get my hands on a clone recipe as well... Tried this not too long ago and loved it. I realize this is a doppel-bock but it had a rich taste that I have tasted in a couple of dark Belgium beers. I don't have well honed taste buds but best I can describe the common flavor is rich hint of black liquorice flavor.
 
Whippy said:
There has GOT to be some "serious" Special B going on in that brew...it is the Spaten secret weapon lol
Click to expand...

I'd be VERY surprised if that was true. I'm inclined to believe its a very simple grain bill, mashed via decoction and boiled for a long time to get caramelization.

If I had to take a stab at it, I'd guess Vienna/Munich, cara-munich and some chocolate.

Where's Kai when you need him?
 
I've got a couple on deck to do first so it may be a couple of months but I'd be willing to try one and report back. I've not done a decoction mash before though. So if decoction is required to make a reasonably close clone (which I doubt) then I may not have mastered the correct skill set yet.
 
Get a cheap freezer, you won't be disappointed. I got lucky: my father's friend was getting divorced and had to downsize from a HUGE house. She sold me a full sized, one door fridge for $150, and then a month later my father bought me her full-sized, stand up freezer for $200. Each one was over $700 new. Definitely my biggest score ever.
 
Howdy, A friend wants me to brew an Optimator Clone for him. I've written up a recipe for it. Let me know what ya'll think. The spaten site says the OG is 18.2 Plato which equals a 1.075, so I aimed for that. Spaten optimator was the first beer that really got me enjoying great beers. And I'd really like to do a good tribute to this beer. Thx!

Optimator.jpg
 
I'm not too keen on the oats. Everything else looks close enough to me. I'd guess that the actual Optimator recipe is fairly simple. I'd skip the 0 min hops and probably the 10 min ones also.
 
Oats!? I missed those at first. Get rid of them along with the crystal malt. I would also use German Carafa II malt rather than Chocolate.

Simplify the recipe using a base of 2/3 German dark Munich and 1/3 German Vienna along with 4-6 oz of Carafa II. The hop type is fine but lose the late addition. Keep the 60 minute and put a small one halfway through if you want, shoot for total IBUs of about 22.
 
20L Munich malt is not German, it's domestic dark Munich and is not intended to be nor should it be used for base malt. German dark Munich malt is ~10-12L and available in the states from maltsters like Durst, Weyermann and Best through many homebrew supply outlets.
 
So here's what I ended up brewing:

Est. OG: 1.075
IBUs: 22.4
Color: 24.8 SRM

9lbs Munich
4.25lbs Vienna
.5lbs Carafa II

Single Infusion @ 156*

1.5oz Tettnang - FW
.5oz Tettnang - 15 min.

WLP833 German Bock Lager

OG - 1.076 (Measured)

I'll let ya'll know how it turns out in a couple months.
 
I am getting ready to brew this one today. I found it in Beer Captured.

OG: 1.077 - 1.079
FG: 1.021 - 1.022
SRM: 27
IBU: 26
ABV: 7.2%

7 LBS German 2-Row (I'll use Belgian)
7.5 LBS German 8L Munich
4 OZ Belgian Aromatic Malt
1/2 OZ Brittish Chocolate (I'm using Carafa II)

Mash @ 153 For 90 Minutes

Boil 90 Minutes

1.65 OZ Tettnanger 90 Min

I'm using Zurich Yeast from White Labs (I have it on hand and I'll be brewing a Samiclaus Clone on this yeast cake.)

The recipe suggests to use Wyeast 2308 or 2206.

The only thing that I found funny was that my SRM seems to be off on it. ProMash tells me it's much less. I'm going to roll with it and see what happens.

Cheers,

Joe Gill
Mount Baldy Brewing Supply
406-241-2087
Townsend, MT
 
MTBREWDOG said:
I am getting ready to brew this one today. I found it in Beer Captured.

OG: 1.077 - 1.079
FG: 1.021 - 1.022
SRM: 27
IBU: 26
ABV: 7.2%

7 LBS German 2-Row (I'll use Belgian)
7.5 LBS German 8L Munich
4 OZ Belgian Aromatic Malt
1/2 OZ Brittish Chocolate (I'm using Carafa II)

Mash @ 153 For 90 Minutes

Boil 90 Minutes

1.65 OZ Tettnanger 90 Min

I'm using Zurich Yeast from White Labs (I have it on hand and I'll be brewing a Samiclaus Clone on this yeast cake.)

The recipe suggests to use Wyeast 2308 or 2206.

The only thing that I found funny was that my SRM seems to be off on it. ProMash tells me it's much less. I'm going to roll with it and see what happens.

Cheers,

Joe Gill
Mount Baldy Brewing Supply
406-241-2087
Townsend, MT
Click to expand...

How did this turn out?
 
I let this one age for quite some time and have been finally drinking it now. Other than having a slight ester (which is improving with age) it is really nice. I would say after several months of aging it finally tastes similar to Optimator.

I would suggest to try a decoction mash on it though to get the right flavors. I just did a step mash. Also if you can get German Pilsner malt, try that instead of the Belgian that I used. The Zurich yeast is real nice though.

I intended on brewing up a Samiclaus clone on the cake from the Optimator but never got around to it. I may do that this year though...

Good luck!!
 
Jaybird said:
I shot out a thread some time ago on this and got some feed back. Not a lot but when I have an extra min, I will direct you to my thread. I gotta go get my kids from school. I will be back in 30 min or so.
Cheers
JJ
Click to expand...

Dang, how far away is there school? :fro:
 
shaggybudd said:
So here's what I ended up brewing:

Est. OG: 1.075
IBUs: 22.4
Color: 24.8 SRM

9lbs Munich
4.25lbs Vienna
.5lbs Carafa II

Single Infusion @ 156*

1.5oz Tettnang - FW
.5oz Tettnang - 15 min.

WLP833 German Bock Lager

OG - 1.076 (Measured)

I'll let ya'll know how it turns out in a couple months.
Click to expand...

How did this turn out?
 
BarleyWater said:
I don't know how close that is going to come. It doesn't have a single german grain in it. I would think that Optimator would have a large amount of Munich malt in it.

I haven't tried it, but here is Jamil's recipe...

Mr. Maltinator
OG: 1.086
FG: 1.020
IBU: 24
Color: 18 SRM
ABV: 8.7%
Mash @ 155
Bassed on pre-boil volume of 7 gallons, and an efficiency of 70%.

14lbs Munich Malt
4lbs Pilsner Malt
2lbs CaraMunich

1.5oz Hallertau 4.0% AA 60min
0.5oz Hallertau 4.0% AA 30min

WLP833/WYeast 2206
Click to expand...

Brewed this up last night. I did a decoction mashout to get some extra melanoidens... Chilled to 46 and pitched a 6L starter of 2206. Really excited to try this one. My first lager, so I can't help but stare at my carboy devoid of any activity and worry like an ale brewer...

IMAG0844.jpg
 
This is funny, I just sat down with my computer and a Spaten Optimator and the 3rd thread in the cue was this one! I love this beer!

Cheers
Jay
 

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