Hoptober clone recipe

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petree3

petree3

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Red Hoptober! Ok I googled it and I found nothing definitive. No one went from recipe to glass and said Eureka! Does anyone have a good all-grain recipe for this wonderful beer? Suggestions on yeast?:mug:
 
New belgium is pretty cool and gives the basics in the website

http://www.newbelgium.com/beer/detail.aspx?id=b061cbb7-2d6d-4489-a655-8cfa40171596

ABV - 6.0%
IBU - 60
Hops - Target, Nugget, Cascade, El Dorado, Centennial
Malts - Pale, C-80
Body - Medium
Aroma - A bouquet of lush floral, bright citrus and undertones of herbal and spice and airs of caramel kissed coffee.
Mouthfeel - Heavier start, hop bitter middle and definite crisp finish.
Flavor - A cupful of sweet fig, tropical fruit, toffee, roasted nuts and hoppy bitterness. None of which overwhelm, they simply meet in the middle to attempt balance.
Visual - Brilliant glowing flickering red hue.
Click to expand...

I really liked last years hoptober, not tried the new one yet. So far only seen it in folly packs, and I am the one guy who doesn't like fat tire.
 
Went to the New Belgium website where they have a "Learn More about Red Hoptober with the Beer Masher" -- but the link requires something called "Silverlight" that isn't supported by my browser & Operating system. (Firefox/Linux).

Can anyone post the info about RH found on that page, here?
 
Had a bomber of Hoptober the other day (Labor Day), and I have another one saved for this weekend. I remember it was tasty, but I'll have to drink the next one to remember what it was like. I had a few other amazing beers that day (Orval, Bell's The Oracle, New Belgium's Super IPA, a few homebrews and I think maybe a Fat Tire bomber) and my taste bud to memory connection wasn't functioning fully by that point.

Regardless, I'm always psyched to see somebody try to take the basic info given by the brewer and form it into a more complete recipe. I'll be watching this thread, for sure.
 
I just tried the Hoptober and there's nothing about this beer I'd want to replicate. Not impressed.
 
Well I roughly worked something out on beer smith using the info supplied on the website but without any ratios for the grainbill or the hop schedule this is going to require a lot of trial and error
 
I think NB is being sneaky on the ingredients. I taste chocolate malt in this. As a matter of fact, it tastes like a hoppy porter to me, very interesting.
 
I sent them an email to see if they would like to be more helpful but as their site states its going to take a few weeks to get a response
 
RainyDay I have to admit when I got your post on my smartphone I dismissed it summarily saying "His palette is waaayyy different from mine!!" But now I am retasting it in my Sam Adams Bostan Lager glass and I see what you're talking about! I definitely taste the chocolate malt!
 
petree3 said:
RainyDay I have to admit when I got your post on my smartphone I dismissed it summarily saying "His palette is waaayyy different from mine!!" But now I am retasting it in my Sam Adams Bostan Lager glass and I see what you're talking about! I definitely taste the chocolate malt!
Click to expand...

Okay! I need to get some more and try it again, because I didn't notice the chocolate malt flavor. What shines for me are the El Dorado hops which are said to have a watermellon taste. I'm not sure if I tasted watermellon, but I definitely could taste the unique flavor of the El Dorado. A flavor I'm not used to..
 
Thank you for not thinking im crazy! I mean I am, but I do taste it. This beer has actually been a point of discussion with another homebrewer friend of mine. Go through an entire sixer of it, you'll change your opinion one way or the other by the end. I think this is a more intriguing beer than most realize, only having one. It really takes the full six pack to at least appreciate what it is.
 
petree3 said:
I sent them an email to see if they would like to be more helpful but as their site states its going to take a few weeks to get a response
Click to expand...

Definitely keep us informed, im very curious about their response. I detect a conspiracy.
 
Patrick,
We actually do not give out times, temperatures, and specific recipe information. But actually, our website contains quite a bit of information about all of our beers. I can tell you that we use a relatively neutral ale yeast in the Red Hoptober. Sorry I can't give you more specific information.
Good luck!
Alex

Alex Dwoinen| Brewhouse Manager | New Belgium Brewing
[email protected] | 970.221.0524 | www.newbelgium.com








-----Original Message-----

Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2012 10:52 PM
To: nbb
Subject: [Question] Red Hoptober Recipe

I've just tried your Red Hoptober for the first time and it was fantastic! My friends and I are avid homebrewers and we would love to try to copy this beer for our own private consumption (no commercial purposes). You already have some wonderful info on your site about ingredients but I was just wondering if you could fill me in on a few minor details:
1. What is the percentage of base malt to crystal malt?
2. What mash temperatures do you use?
3. What type of commercially available yeast are you closest to using?

Any info you could give me would be much appreciated as I have limited time in my schedule to fit in brew days and it could take months for me to nail this recipe down. Thank you very much for just taking the time to read this lengthy e-mail!

Regards, Patrick
 
I'm not surprised at their response. I tried it again this past weekend, and I too noted the chocolate malt (or possibly brown malt).
 
Have to resurect this thread because I've had this beer a couple times now and I love it. Going to attempt a clone and checked the NB website again and found this information that I'm not sure anyone has mentioned yet:

Fall is here and with it our seasonal ale, Red Hoptober. Shining like autumn leaves in a globe glass this beer pours a dark and lovely garnet as it builds a bright, inviting head. The Eldorado hops are bold and present with a distinct, piney flavor while the caramel malt and roasted barley provide a backbone to stand Red Hoptober upright. Centennial and Cascade hops offer hints of citrus, tickling the nose, while the tongue carries a subtle, roasty tone that pairs pleasantly with the warming bite of bitter. Red Hoptober is perfect for shortening days and campfire nights.

They mention roasted barley and state that the Eldorado hops have a distinct piney flavor. Not sure I got piney, but definitely got some fruity flavors from the Eldorado hops. I don't have access to those hops locally, so I think I'll try to find a substitute.

Thinking about going with CTZ for bittering and some cascade and centennial for flavor additions. Need to come up with some fruity hops for late additions and was thinking about using citra, or some Nelson Sauvin I have left over. Open to suggestions on the fruity hops but only have local access to so much.

Will post the recipe when I come up with one.
 
OK, some of you pro's look this over and tell me what you think. Went with Chinook for bittering because I like Chinook and think it will add a little pine and wen't with Nelson for the late fruity additions because I have it and think it might work to replace the El Dorado that NB uses.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.85 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.50 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.060 SG
Estimated Color: 22.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 60.0 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 62.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 73.8 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
12 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 84.2 %
1 lbs 12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 2 12.3 %
6.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 3 2.6 %
2.0 oz Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 4 0.9 %
22.25 g Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 31.5 IBUs
14.20 g Cascade [7.90 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 6 8.5 IBUs
14.20 g Cascade [7.90 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 7 6.1 IBUs
14.20 g Centennial [9.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 8 7.3 IBUs
14.20 g Centennial [9.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 9 2.9 IBUs
14.20 g Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 10 3.7 IBUs
14.20 g Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Aroma Steep 0. Hop 11 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [0.0 Yeast 12 -
14.20 g Centennial [9.50 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 13 0.0 IBUs
14.20 g Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Da Hop 14 0.0 IBUs


Mash Schedule: Our Mash w/ Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 14 lbs 4.0 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 4.70 gal of water at 166.5 F 155.0 F 60 min
 
Yeah, this thread kind of morphed into a red hoptober thread. The regular hoptober is no more and has been replaced by Red Hoptober which in my opinion is much better.
 
Chumpsteak, I dont speak metric, but the recipe looks good nonetheless. Thank you for throwing chocolate malt in there; I pull a good amount of chocolate malt out of the beer, although they never confirm it. Unless the El Dorado and Roasted Barley are creating that. At the same time, they just recently added roasted barley as an ingredient, so something isnt adding up. A conspiracy I say!
 
Friend at work was telling me about this beer yesterday, then I happened upon this thread. He brought a bottle of it in for me today to try
 
RainyDay said:
Chumpsteak, I dont speak metric, but the recipe looks good nonetheless. Thank you for throwing chocolate malt in there; I pull a good amount of chocolate malt out of the beer, although they never confirm it. Unless the El Dorado and Roasted Barley are creating that. At the same time, they just recently added roasted barley as an ingredient, so something isnt adding up. A conspiracy I say!
Click to expand...

Lol approx 28.3 grams to an ounce. My scale does grams and its way more accurate than ounces.

I definitely get some chocolate too, so im thinking a little in the grain bill is a good idea. Thought about just chocolate but decided i needed the roasted to get the color closer. I think the grain bill is pretty good but im not sure on the hops so any input on that would be appreciated. Mostly concerned about finding a fruity hop without too much citrus.
 
I didn't notice any chocolate malt last time I had one a couple weeks ago. I'd probably go without it. It definitely seemed to me to be a relatively light colored beer that was made dark red(ish) with a small amount of dark grains. The roasted barley fits that bill, in my mind.

I've never formulated a clone, though. So, I may be way off.
 
I definitely got chocolate like a few others in this thread, but it may just be the light roast flavor combined with the residual sweetness. I've only ever used chocolate malt in my stout so I don't really know what it will taste like in such a small amount. Been thinking about taking it out and just making sure there's enough roasted to give a touch of roast.
 
I usually put a small amount of chocolate in my brown ales, because I like the flavor it imparts. In small amounts it can be really good in otherwise lighter colored beers (meaning lighter than a stout). I believe that and the El dorado hops are very important components of the Red Hoptober.
 
Yeah, you're probably right, but I'm not going to be able to come up with El Dorado hops in a week. Since you've used chocolate malt before how much to you recommend for this recipe? And I think I'm now leaning towards falconer's flight for the late additions. I don't think El Dorado hops have a real substitute, but I think Nelson hops might come across a little too green grapish for this recipe. I've used Falconers before in a red ale recipe and it comes across as citrusy and tropical.
 
I wouldn't use much chocolate at all, especially if you're using roasted barley. I'd only add maybe 3-4 oz depending on how much roast you use. The Falconers Flight sounds like an interesting idea. I'll be curious to know how this comes out...
 
Here's the revised recipe that I will be brewing next Saturday.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.85 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.50 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.059 SG
Estimated Color: 18.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 60.0 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 62.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 73.8 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
12 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 85.7 %
1 lbs 12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 2 12.5 %
4.0 oz Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 3 1.8 %
16.00 g Tomahawk [15.50 %] - First Wort 60.0 min Hop 4 30.0 IBUs
14.20 g Cascade [7.90 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 5 9.4 IBUs
14.20 g Cascade [7.90 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 6 6.1 IBUs
14.20 g Centennial [9.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 7 7.3 IBUs
14.20 g Centennial [9.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 8 2.9 IBUs
14.20 g Citra [13.40 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 9 4.2 IBUs
14.20 g Centennial [9.50 %] - Aroma Steep 0.0 mi Hop 10 0.0 IBUs
14.20 g Citra [13.40 %] - Aroma Steep 0.0 min Hop 11 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [0.0 Yeast 12 -
28.40 g Citra [13.40 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 13 0.0 IBUs


Mash Schedule: Our Mash w/ Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 14 lbs
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 4.63 gal of water at 165.3 F 154.0 F 60 min


New Belgium posted more information on their website so I took it all into account.

I'm not able to get Target,Nugget, or El Dorado hops locally so I'm going with CTZ for bittering and Citra for late additions to get some tropical fruit in there. I have an IPA on tap right now that I used late Citra in and I think its the flavor and aroma I'm looking for.

Dropped the chocolate malt because from what I can tell it doesn't so much add chocolate flavor so much as nutty/earthy flavors. I think the roasted combined with high levels of crystal will bring that subtle chocolate/roast flavor. Let me know if anyone has any suggestions.
 
OK, I had another bottle tonight and made some adjustments based on today's taste.

I also found a local place that had target and nugget so I plugged them into the recipe too. Here's how it stands. Never used Victory malt before, but I was impressed at how drying and biscuity the Red Hoptober is and as far as I can tell the Victory malt will help get me there.

Let me know if there are any comments.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.85 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.50 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.059 SG
Estimated Color: 20.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 58.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 62.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 73.8 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
11 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 77.9 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 2 10.6 %
1 lbs 4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 3 8.8 %
6.0 oz Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 4 2.7 %
14.20 g Nugget [13.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 20.3 IBUs
14.20 g Target [11.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 17.2 IBUs
14.20 g Cascade [7.90 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 7 6.1 IBUs
14.20 g Centennial [9.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 8 7.4 IBUs
14.20 g Centennial [9.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 9 3.0 IBUs
14.20 g Citra [13.40 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 10 4.2 IBUs
14.20 g Centennial [9.50 %] - Aroma Steep 0.0 mi Hop 11 0.0 IBUs
14.20 g Citra [13.40 %] - Aroma Steep 0.0 min Hop 12 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [0.0 Yeast 13 -
28.40 g Citra [13.40 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 14 0.0 IBUs


Mash Schedule: Our Mash w/ Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 14 lbs 2.0 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 4.66 gal of water at 163.0 F 152.0 F 60 min
 
Nice. Last time I had one, I definitely got that "drying and biscuity" thing you mentioned.
 
Found a new story on this beer today that pretty much messes up my hop schedule. Says that Target, Nugget, and Cascade are in the boil and Centennial and El Dorado are dry hops. This makes sense to me based on the taste and aroma, so I'm going to go with it. Will post the final recipe as I brew it this weekend because I might change my mind a few times between now and then. :drunk:
 
I constantly adjust and fiddle with my recipes. I wish I had good reasons to do it, like you have with this recipe.
 

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