Recipe for tomorrow, and a question....

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Dude

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Brewing up a SN Celebration Ale cloner tomorrow in honor of Jan 8th being my very first batch (last year).
I derived a recipe from the specs for SNCA on the Sierra Nevada site:

Celebration Ale

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
14-B India Pale Ale, American IPA

Min OG: 1.056 Max OG: 1.075
Min IBU: 40 Max IBU: 72
Min Clr: 6 Max Clr: 15 Color in SRM, Lovibond


Recipe Specifics
Batch Size (Gal): 5.50 Wort Size (Gal): 5.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 13.50
Anticipated OG: 1.066 Plato: 16.12
Anticipated SRM: 11.9
Anticipated IBU: 62.0
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
88.8 12.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
7.4 1.00 lbs. Crystal 90L America 1.033 90
3.8 0.50 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt 1.033 2

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.

Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
1.00 oz. Chinook Whole 13.00 48.0 60 min
1.00 oz. Centennial Whole 10.50 7.8 10 min
1.00 oz. Cascade Whole 5.75 4.2 10 min
1.00 oz. Cascade Whole 5.75 0.0 Dry Hop
1.00 oz. Centennial Whole 10.50 0.0 Dry Hop
1.00 oz. Chinook Whole 13.00 0.0 Dry Hop

I have questions for you guys though....first, I want to get the right color, so I'm using crystal 90L. I would assume crystal 60 is the caramel malt they use, but I can't get the right color using that. Think 90L will affect the flavor too much? I don't want that raisiny flavor that I might get from using a pound of crystal 90L. Your thoughts?
 
First off...I love SNCA!!!
I have been trying to find a clone recipe which follows the SN site, but there are too many debates and opinions on what to really use, and the two best recipes do not use the exact ingredient. I found two 5 gallon recipes that "supposedly" are the closest ones, and the one that almost fits the SN's guidleines was:

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

13# Klages 2-row
.75# 8L Crystal
.25# Carapils
1.5 oz. Chinook 60 min
0.5 oz. Chinook 30 min
1.5 oz. Cascade 5 min
0.5 oz. Cascade dryhop
0.5 oz. Centennial dryhop
Wyeast 1056

This one follows the 3 grains on the SN site, but only uses Cascade and Centennial for dry hopping.

There is another recipe from people who solemnly swear it is the real thing, but it doesnt use Dextrine:

12# Domestic 2 Row Malt
1# English Crystal Malt 45-50L
1 oz Chinook 60 min
0.25 oz Chinook 30 min
1 oz Cascade flameout
0.5 oz Cascade dry hop
0.5 oz Centennial dry hop
Wyeast 1056

Arrrgggg!!!!

Anyway, I calculated a recipe just about like yours ORRELSE, which I think fits the guidelines more and will be brewing it soon. It uses the 3 grains, as well as the 3 dry hops as well. Im using Caramel 80L, as I think 60L will be too light compared to actual SNCA, which has a very unique color.

Im thinking you can get away with using .75 of 80L and bump the 2 row up a little bit. Thats what Im going to try first, and will be brewing it this week. I can still get a couple sixers of SNCA, and will be stowing many bottles away to compare once Im done. I really want to hone this one, as I simply love the flavor, aroma and awesome color of this beer. Let me know what you decide, and I'll share everything I find out.
 
Tony said:
First off...I love SNCA!!!

Me too. I hadn't ever had it before this year, and I bought up a bunch of it. Unfortunately it is now gone, but for 2-3 bottles which I am now going to save for comparison against mine later on.

I researched all kinds of clone recipes on all kinds of sites, and ended up just taking the numbers and ingredients straight from the SN site and working with that in Promash. The main questions I had were color (it looks really dark for only using something around 60L), and the hop additions.

HBA has a recipe kit for it and they bitter with Chinook @ 60 mins and then the next hop additions are at flameout. I think this is pretty accurate because the real SNCA really has that strong killer hop sting. I know part of that is the chinooks but it isn't a smooth bitterness by any means, IMHO.

As for the color issue, I'm going to ask my LHBS owner today when I pick up grains for it, but I think I will take your suggestion anyway and drop down the crystal a few ounces, and a few lovibonds as well. Like I said I don't want that raisiny flavor to come through. Crystal 90 is probably pushing that envelope.

I'd like to come to a consensus on this recipe if oyu are interested in brewing it--so we can compare against each other. If we do the same recipe we'd have a baseline for discussion on what we would do different next time. :D
 
Okay, I was going down to my LHBS today to get a couple kegs, so I can also pick up a grain bill...

So far, we've agree on:

12 lbs - 2 Row
.50 lbs - Dextrine

And I can agree on:
1.00 oz. Chinook - 60 min
1.00 oz. Centennial -10 min
1.00 oz. Cascade -10 min
1.00 oz. Cascade - Dry Hop
1.00 oz. Centennial - Dry Hop
1.00 oz. Chinook - Dry Hop

So, what do you want to use for Caramel/Crystal?
Aso, WLP001 or Wyeast 1056?
 
Tony said:
Okay, I was going down to my LHBS today to get a couple kegs, so I can also pick up a grain bill...

So far, we've agree on:

12 lbs - 2 Row
.50 lbs - Dextrine

And I can agree on:
1.00 oz. Chinook - 60 min
1.00 oz. Centennial -10 min
1.00 oz. Cascade -10 min
1.00 oz. Cascade - Dry Hop
1.00 oz. Centennial - Dry Hop
1.00 oz. Chinook - Dry Hop

So, what do you want to use for Caramel/Crystal?
Aso, WLP001 or Wyeast 1056?

Tony, I'm cool with your suggestion of .75 crystal 80L....let's go with that. I'm just hoping my HBS has it...:rolleyes:

I'm gonna use safale-56, but I don't think there is any difference whatsoever in 1056, wlp001 or safale-56, so that is safe. If you want to go EXACT--my HBS only stocks WL001, so I can pick up a vial of that today too. Doesn't matter to me! :)
 
Okay, .75lbs of 80L it is. I believe my LHBS has it, if not, looks like I will have to order it. Hopefully they will, as I dont want to wait a damn week to get it! I usually order from Midwest or Northern Brewer as they are in Minnesota, but it still takes a few days...

As for yeast. Im going to go ahead and use WPL001.

I'll let you know later.
 
Alright, I'm set. I'm brewing tomorrow.
Here is the final recipe. I think we are close. :)

Celebration Ale

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
14-B India Pale Ale, American IPA

Min OG: 1.056 Max OG: 1.075
Min IBU: 40 Max IBU: 72
Min Clr: 6 Max Clr: 15 Color in SRM, Lovibond


Recipe Specifics
Batch Size (Gal): 5.50 Wort Size (Gal): 5.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 13.50
Anticipated OG: 1.065 Plato: 15.79
Anticipated SRM: 9.6
Anticipated IBU: 62.0
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
90.6 12.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
6.0 1.00 lbs. Crystal 80L America 1.033 90
3.8 0.50 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt 1.033 2

Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
1.00 oz. Chinook Whole 13.00 48.0 60 min
1.00 oz. Centennial Whole 10.50 7.8 10 min
1.00 oz. Cascade Whole 5.75 4.2 10 min
1.00 oz. Cascade Whole 5.75 0.0 Dry Hop
1.00 oz. Centennial Whole 10.50 0.0 Dry Hop
1.00 oz. Chinook Whole 13.00 0.0 Dry Hop


I'm going to adjust my hop times a touch to make sure I get at least 62 IBUs.
These are the AA% for thehops I have--you may have to adjust.

One note on the crystal malt--my LHBS owner said a pound is fine--in fact recommended to balance the grain bill more because of all the 2-row. I bought a pound just in case we decided to up it.

I got a vial of WLP001 but I doubt I'm going to have time to do a starter. This concerns me.
 
Since the doubling time for yeast is 2 hours, even an overnighter is better than pitching from the tube.
 
Well, I got my two kegs today...and thats about it! My LHBS was completely out of Dextrine(owners away on vacation), and doesnt carry 80L.

Soooooooo it was "order grains online" time.

Oh well, I did pick up a good vial of WLP001 anyway, and got their last two rebuilt kegs which are in great shape. I'll be doing a two day starter (my usual) and will be off and running once my order comes in.
 
It is almost a carbon copy of Jan 8th, 2005. It is about 10 degrees cooler today but it is eerily similar as I stand outside overseeing the boil. There sure isn't as much anxiety with this brew, that's for sure!

As for this one--I got distracted by something and let my sparge water flow over in the mashtun while I was sparging.....no harm no foul--I think. I've already boiled over once, and I spilled boiling hot wort on my fingers when I was taking a sample for a hydro reading. I haven't even finished one beer yet either!!!! (Football being on is not helping matters...)

If anyone does this beer--my first observation on the color is that it is going to be a touch light. Maybe more crystal. We'll see after the boil is done and I'll compare with a real SNCA. :D

More to come...
 
Heh...we always say they're going to too light.

Too late now, but I was going to say that Tony's recipe with the 30 minute Chinook addition actually looked good. Seems to me that a good bit of Chinook flavor comes through in the real thing....a little more so than the "citrus" hops. Then again, WTF do I know?

Oh well, it'll still be good!
 
I think the color will be good--I did some high tech recipe adjusting to get this one to specs. :D I boiled 15 minutes longer to make sure I got the right color and to hit my efficiency, and then had to top up with 3 bottles of water to get to 5.5 gallons. I hit 1.065 so I'm happy.

Tasting the wort--WOW. This is the first wort I've ever sampled that actually had me say "Yikes".....it was HOPPY....strong chinook bite right off the bat. I loved it. Can't wait til this is ready, of course. :p

Happy 1 year anniverary. It's been a great "brewing" year.
rock.gif
 
I made a wlp001 starter, and scheduled it to coincide wih my delivery of grains to brew the Celebration, and the delivery didnt come early enough, soooo...I brewed a SNPA instead. And guess what, as soon as the wort was in the primary...yup, my delivery came.

Sooo, I will be making another starter, probably on Wednesday night to brew the Celebration on Friday night. I cant wait, as my SNPA came out great so far, with a great aroma, and the color looks almost perfect.
 
Well, my SN Celebration Ale is half way done boiling, and so far so good. The color is fantastic, and looks just right. Im really happy anout this one, and will post my efficiency when Im finished.
 
Its officially in the primary and I hit 1.061 for my gravity. The color is dead on, and I mean dead on! As soon as I sparged I thought it looked damn close, but when I transfered it to the primary...wow it was dead on!

But I just realized that I wrote 3 different recipes for this one, two with different hops schedules, and I actually used:

1 oz. Chinook 60 min.
.5 oz. Chinook 30 min.
1 oz. Cascade 5 min.

So mine will be a little different than yours some, but Im still using the same dry hop schedule.
 
Tony said:
Its officially in the primary and I hit 1.061 for my gravity. The color is dead on, and I mean dead on! As soon as I sparged I thought it looked damn close, but when I transfered it to the primary...wow it was dead on!

But I just realized that I wrote 3 different recipes for this one, two with different hops schedules, and I actually used:

1 oz. Chinook 60 min.
.5 oz. Chinook 30 min.
1 oz. Cascade 5 min.

So mine will be a little different than yours some, but Im still using the same dry hop schedule.

What did the difference come out for IBUs using that hop schedule?

My batch of this is pretty much FUBAR. I haven't ruled out an infection but I think it is more my own stupidity for racking it to a keg too early. It has gushed on me twice now, I'll bet I have a gallon or so of beer left if I'm lucky.

I do want to do this again though--as SNCA is one of my faves right now.
 
The IBU's are 65.7, so not too far from the actual SNCA IBU's of 62.

It sucks your batch is FUBAR. I cant wait to taste this one.
 
Mine is still thumping away in the primary. I left the blow off on it until last night, and it is still active as heck. Smells excellent.

I racked my SNPA to the secondary last night, and I hit this one right on the head. Gravity wise, its done, but Im going to let it clear a few days before kegging it. The taste is dead on, and the color is a nice amber color. Im having trouble waiting on this one, but will go as long as I can and do it right!
 
Tony said:
I racked my SNPA to the secondary last night, and I hit this one right on the head. Gravity wise, its done, but Im going to let it clear a few days before kegging it. The taste is dead on, and the color is a nice amber color. Im having trouble waiting on this one, but will go as long as I can and do it right!

Good to hear, glad you nailed one!

Tony said:
The IBU's are 65.7, so not too far from the actual SNCA IBU's of 62.

It sucks your batch is FUBAR. I cant wait to taste this one.

I don't think it is FUBAR, actually--it was just my stupidity for putting it in a keg so early when it had so much fermenting to do. I didn't have a free carboy so it was my only option. The only drawback is I lost about 2 gallons of it. I figure I have 2.5-3 gallons left in the keg. Not too shabby, considering...

First thoughts is I wish I would have used the whole ounce of Chinooks. It doesn't seem to have that "bitterness" I wanted. We'll see though--I'm probably premature on guessing what it'll be like. I can't wait.
 
You guys are making me thirsty for a SNCA. My wife and I are heading to the Sierra Nevada Brewery in a couple of weeks. They have every one of their beers on tap all year round except Celebration Ale. They also have many others that they don't bottle. If you've never had their Harvest Ale then you haven't lived!!
 
Dude said:
I don't think it is FUBAR, actually--it was just my stupidity for putting it in a keg so early when it had so much fermenting to do. I didn't have a free carboy so it was my only option. The only drawback is I lost about 2 gallons of it. I figure I have 2.5-3 gallons left in the keg. Not too shabby, considering...

First thoughts is I wish I would have used the whole ounce of Chinooks. It doesn't seem to have that "bitterness" I wanted. We'll see though--I'm probably premature on guessing what it'll be like. I can't wait.

Cool, I hope it turns out good! Im having a hard time not drinking the last 4 bottles of SNCA I have. Hopefully my local will still have some left over. Im wanting to do a good side by side when Im done.
 
Tony said:
Cool, I hope it turns out good! Im having a hard time not drinking the last 4 bottles of SNCA I have. Hopefully my local will still have some left over. Im wanting to do a good side by side when Im done.

Me too...the stock is dwindling...must save it.... *cracks open a SNCA*
 
Dude said:
Me too...the stock is dwindling...must save it.... *cracks open a SNCA*

I just read that Sierra Nevada makes a version of Celebration Ale that they age in oak barrels? WTF? That sounds kick-ass!!!!

I'm gonna make another batch and maybe try that!!!
 
Hey guys,
I had not seen this thread before, but I have been brewing this beer for a number of years and am currently on the tail end of my keg of it for this year. For what it's worth, here is my recipe:

12 lbs 2 row
1 lb vienna
1 lb. victory
.5 crystal 120

I think the color comes out about right (it is 13.6 SRM per pro mash)

My hop schedule is similar, although I use Chinook, Perle and Casdcade, 4.5 ozs total, and end up with closer to 70 IBUs, but that is personal preference.

All in all it is probably my favorite domestic beer and I try to brew this every holiday...
 
I put the Celebration Ale on gas tonight (all 3 gallons of it :mad: ). Had a taste. It turned out awesome. I drank a real SNCA last night, and while I think I could have bumped the IBUs up in my recipe a little bit, it is VERY similar. Once it gets carbed up I'll do the real comparison and post a pic, and a taste review.

rockin.gif
 
I just racked mine to the secondary and its dry hopping as we speak. So far so good!
 
Okay, here it is:

Mine is on the right, the real SNCA is on the left.

Nailed the color, IMHO.

The taste is a little different, mine is sweeter, less hoppy. I think it is a little greener tasting (DUH) and needs more hop bite to be authentic. But it is pretty damn close. I'll definitely brew this again. It is awesome.

celebration.jpg




:rockin:
 
I racked mine to the keg tonight, and its a little lighter than the real thing. Its definately got the right amount of hops, but needs to age a bit to easy the hop edge. I'm giving it a while, but it should be great.
 
will be making this recipe on the weekend. Thinking of using some harvested pacman yeast. Or should i stick with WLP001?
 
I'm going to make this today- but based on your coments (Dude) about needing a little more hop bite I think I'm going to do the following hop schedule:

1oz gallena 11.4 (HBS out of chinook) 60 min
1.75 oz cascade 5.5 30 min
.5 oz cascade 5.5 10 min
.5 oz centennial 10.4 10 min
.5 oz cascade dry
.5 oz centenntial dry
 
I'm going to make this today- but based on your coments (Dude) about needing a little more hop bite I think I'm going to do the following hop schedule:

1oz gallena 11.4 (HBS out of chinook) 60 min
1.75 oz cascade 5.5 30 min
.5 oz cascade 5.5 10 min
.5 oz centennial 10.4 10 min
.5 oz cascade dry
.5 oz centenntial dry

This ended up incredible. It is a little less bitter and has more of a pronounced hop flavor than real Celebration -although that could be the age in comparison to the celebration I compared it to. When I brew this again I'm not going to change anything.
 
Does this seem like it will work as an extract recipe? I'd really like to do a partial mash, but I'm not really sure because there is no mash schedule for the AG recipe (and I'm figuring out BeerSmith) I'm going nuts, I Can't wait until I get out of this apt and have space for All Grain!!

HBT Dude's SNCA
American IPA


Type: Extract
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 4.89 gal
Boil Time: 90 min Equipment: Brew Pot (5 Gallon)
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0 Brewhouse Efficiency:75%

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU

10 lbs 0.9 oz Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 87.10 %
4.6 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 8.60 %
8.4 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4.30 %

1.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (60 min) Hops 31.6 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (10 min) Hops 4.9 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (10 min) Hops 8.8 IBU
1.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -

1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) Yeast-Ale

Est Original Gravity: 1.066 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.015 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.73 %
Bitterness: 45.3 IBU Calories: 43 cal/pint
Est Color: 11.3 SRM
 
Does this seem like it will work as an extract recipe? I'd really like to do a partial mash, but I'm not really sure because there is no mash schedule for the AG recipe (and I'm figuring out BeerSmith) I'm going nuts, I Can't wait until I get out of this apt and have space for All Grain!!

HBT Dude's SNCA
American IPA


Type: Extract
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 4.89 gal
Boil Time: 90 min Equipment: Brew Pot (5 Gallon)
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0 Brewhouse Efficiency:75%

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU

10 lbs 0.9 oz Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 87.10 %
4.6 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 8.60 %
8.4 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4.30 %

1.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (60 min) Hops 31.6 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (10 min) Hops 4.9 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (10 min) Hops 8.8 IBU
1.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -

1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) Yeast-Ale

Est Original Gravity: 1.066 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.015 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.73 %
Bitterness: 45.3 IBU Calories: 43 cal/pint
Est Color: 11.3 SRM

I was thinking about this recipe for a Sunday Brew. Let me know what you think. Does it need to be adjusted?
 
Does this seem like it will work as an extract recipe? I'd really like to do a partial mash, but I'm not really sure because there is no mash schedule for the AG recipe (and I'm figuring out BeerSmith) I'm going nuts, I Can't wait until I get out of this apt and have space for All Grain!!

HBT Dude's SNCA
American IPA


Type: Extract
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 4.89 gal
Boil Time: 90 min Equipment: Brew Pot (5 Gallon)
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0 Brewhouse Efficiency:75%

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU

10 lbs 0.9 oz Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 87.10 %
4.6 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 8.60 %
8.4 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4.30 %

1.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (60 min) Hops 31.6 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (10 min) Hops 4.9 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (10 min) Hops 8.8 IBU
1.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -

1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) Yeast-Ale

Est Original Gravity: 1.066 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.015 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.73 %
Bitterness: 45.3 IBU Calories: 43 cal/pint
Est Color: 11.3 SRM


How'd this go, B.?
 
Dude,
Did you go with the full pound of C80? I know you said you bought it, but did you use it all? I'm gonna brew this this weekend!!
 
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