Raging *****-inspired extract recipe

I went to the local brew store and told them I wanted to make a Flying Dog Raging ***** extract clone. They gave me the following:

7lbs Amber LME
1.5lbs Amber DME
12oz Aromatic Malt
4 oz Crystal 80

2oz Tettnanger @ 60min

WLP550 yeast


This doesn't seem to meet the ABV nor IBU of the Raging *****. Not even close.

Using brewersfriend, I double the DME and it gets the ABV up to where it should be.

My question is about the hops schedule. From the Flying Dog site, they use Warrior, Columbus and Amarillo hops. Should Tettnanger even be in this recipe at all? I picked up a 6pack of Raging ***** since I haven't had one in awhile and it really doesn't have much of a hop nose, nowhere close to the IIPA I have bottled right now and I used 4oz just for dry hops in that. It definitely has plenty of hoppy bitterness which I love and I know comes from those American hops. I don't mind keeping the Tett in the fridge for the time being, I might use it for the Dead Guy kit I have (gotta have time to ferment that one all on its own because of the colder temp).

I'm going to go pick up the Warrior, Columbus and Amarillo hops and some more DME come Monday since I have to make a starter of the WLP550 anyways. I know that Flying Dog uses Diablo yeast, but I figure I'll try it with the 550 just to see how it comes out. I'm not too concerned about perfectly cloning the Raging *****, just making something close enough with which to experiment and to enjoy. Plus it seems the strain comes from Brasserie d'Achouffe, and their Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel, though I've never had the opportunity to try it, is the style for which I'm striving, so I think it should be at least drinkable.

Any ideas?

Look up Can You Brew It; I'm pretty sure they did a clone of it. The recipe may be in the main thread. I think Flying Dog gave away everything.

Yes I've seen that, but I didn't ask about that. I was asking if Tettnanger could/should be used in the recipe, and if 550 would make a decent tasting brew. I don't have the Diablo/Wit yeast, though I will be getting the hops and adding more extract to get the ABV where it should be. Like I said, I'm not concerned with making a perfect clone of the brew.

No on the tett. Keep it for another brew. The 550 will probably be good. There's only one way to find out!

I'd ask the LHBS what the hell they were thinking! If they cannot give a satisfactory answer I would no longer use them. Lookit' if they made a mistake it is no problem, but just handing a guy products to make the sale is not acceptable. "I don't Know" is a perfectly acceptable answer when someone asks for a clone recipe. No one knows it all, but it looks like they just handed you a bland amber extract kit and figured it would do. I'd be straight pissed and ask for my money back. Just my opinion.

So this is what I'm thinking now for a recipe

7lbs Amber LME
3lbs Amber DME
2lbs Belgian Candi Sugar (or table sugar since it seems to be a satisfactory substitution in such a recipe and the local store only has syrup for $8/lb)

12oz Aromatic Malt
4oz Crystal 80

1oz Warrior @ 60 min
2oz Amarillo @ 30 min
1oz Columbus @ 15 min
1oz Columbus @ 0 min
1oz Amarillo dry hop
1oz Centennial dry hop

WLP550 yeast

This gives me 1.083 OG, 1.015 est FG, 8.86% ABV, 85 IBU. (Using table/cane sugar, 1.086 OG, 1.016 est FG, 9.17% ABV) Close to Raging *****, but a little different. I like a little more of a hops aroma and flavor than what the RB has, I am an unabashed hophead Maybe it'll be somewhere between FB and Cali-Belgique, both of which I love. Had to add the candi/cane sugar and double the DME to get the gravity up where I want it. Anybody think anything here will "conflict?"

reed1911 said:

I'd ask the LHBS what the hell they were thinking! If they cannot give a satisfactory answer I would no longer use them. Lookit' if they made a mistake it is no problem, but just handing a guy products to make the sale is not acceptable. "I don't Know" is a perfectly acceptable answer when someone asks for a clone recipe. No one knows it all, but it looks like they just handed you a bland amber extract kit and figured it would do. I'd be straight pissed and ask for my money back. Just my opinion.

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It's the only shop in town, and they have retarded hours so I can only make it there Saturdays (closed on Sundays....who the hell doesn't brew on the weekends?!). When I asked about the RB recipe, he tried looking through some magazines he had but eventually seems to have kinda given up and just gave me what I originally posted. I didn't think it was anything close to what I was wanting, either, but was kinda deferring to his judgement since I'm a noob.

Personally, I wish I had the capital to open another LHBS in town because this one doesn't get very good reviews, is small, cramped, and a bit cluttered. The guy is supposed to know what he's doing and is supposed to have been doing it a long while but I was a bit disappointed with what he gave me here. But he did give me a free fermenter lid since the one I got from him before doesn't seal well (no fault of his there) and threw in some free yeast vials on my last visit because they had just passed the best-by date. I made a starter with those and it took off and fermented just fine.

Anyways, I have what I have and at least I can send the gf over during the week to pick up whatever else I need since he's only open during hours I work

Where are you located? Have you considered buying online? I support my local store only because it is local. The price is higher than what I pay online, however, they are good to have around for odds and ends, they are friendly and knowledgeable, so I toss them a bit each time I pass by. I don't "need" them but as a small business owner I understand how hard it is so I lend a hand.

Fresno, CA. I have ordered online before, for my IIPA, I just like to patronize local businesses for the same reason you do. I'm still disappointed in what he gave me, especially since I specifically requested a Belgian IPA that uses a bunch of American hops and he just gave me a couple ounces of Tett. I kinda knew off the bat that it wasn't what I wanted but wasn't about to argue since he's the one who has owned the store for about as long as I've been alive. I had mentioned the wit yeast, since as far as I understand that's what the Diablo strain is, and he laughed it off saying "nah, that's not what you want." To be fair it has taken a bit of searching online to come up with what RB should be, but I half expected an "I'm not sure, let's look it up online." I think he might be one of those guys who thinks all beers should fall into certain categories with strict guidelines, whereas I couldn't care any less about guidelines for styles. I'm not concerned with competitions, especially not at this point in time, just with brewing something I personally want to drink.

I would wager that there are several more stores in your local area. I only know the San Diego area a bit, and there are a bunch there. I would think Fresno would be similar. Although all I see in a basic search is Bencomo's.

I didn't read the whole thread but if WLP550 is the same strain as 3522 make damn sure you have a blowoff tube. I have had 2 fermentations out of about 60 come out of the bucket and it was 3522 both times. I only used it twice but it blew twice or would have if I didn't have the top lose the second time.

With 2lb of sugar I think you might end up under 1.010. I have to double check a couple of my recipes but that is quite a bit of sugar compared to the extract. For example I ended up at 1.015 wit 12lb of LME and 1 1/2lb sugar.

I brewed a Trippel with 7lb LME and 3lb DME, 2lbs Belgian Candi syrup. It's in secondary right now but doesn't taste bad at all. It went from 1080 to 1018, the recipe predicted 1083 to 1019

reed1911 said:

I would wager that there are several more stores in your local area. I only know the San Diego area a bit, and there are a bunch there. I would think Fresno would be similar. Although all I see in a basic search is Bencomo's.

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Yeah that's the only one. Notice the poor Yelp reviews -.- Fresno is definitely not SD lol

istuntmanmike said:

So this is what I'm thinking now for a recipe

7lbs Amber LME
3lbs Amber DME
2lbs Belgian Candi Sugar (or table sugar since it seems to be a satisfactory substitution in such a recipe and the local store only has syrup for $8/lb)

12oz Aromatic Malt
4oz Crystal 80

1oz Warrior @ 60 min
2oz Amarillo @ 30 min
1oz Columbus @ 15 min
1oz Columbus @ 0 min
1oz Amarillo dry hop
1oz Centennial dry hop

WLP550 yeast

This gives me 1.083 OG, 1.015 est FG, 8.86% ABV, 85 IBU. (Using table/cane sugar, 1.086 OG, 1.016 est FG, 9.17% ABV) Close to Raging *****, but a little different. I like a little more of a hops aroma and flavor than what the RB has, I am an unabashed hophead Maybe it'll be somewhere between FB and Cali-Belgique, both of which I love. Had to add the candi/cane sugar and double the DME to get the gravity up where I want it. Anybody think anything here will "conflict?"

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Anyone??

Bueller...???

I think that recipe looks good, nothing stands out to me that would "conflict." If it were me I'd also steep some Munich malt and use light or extra light extracts, but that's just my personal brewing preference.

Also, do you plan on making a starter? With that OG I would definitely recommend one. Let us know how it turns out!

I sure did make a starter, it overflowed my flask though and I have no idea how much yeast i lost, there was a decent amount that escaped. I stepped up what was left and separated it into two containers and then put it in a fermentation bucket so it wouldn't overflow again . I ended up with more yeast (from the amount that ended up at the bottom) than I did on other starters I've made.

unfortunately my original gravity ended up at 1.108. the only thing I can think of is that my steeping grains added more sugar than I thought they would because I followed the recipe. I added half of the dry extract at the beginning of boil and add the rest of the extract and the sugar at 15 minutes. I separated the wort into two fermenting buckets so it doesn't blow the lid off like the last one did (the hops clogged the blow off). I'm hoping fermentation still takes off but I probably will have to use another yeast to finish it. I wouldn't mind a double-digit ABV though Lol

I measured the gravity twice and made sure that it was completely mixed up so I really don't know how I got 20 extra points. my hydrometer is accurate so I'm at a loss

should i maybe add some water a la partial boil to dilute it down?

Well I have krausen and bubbling out of the airlock, so at least it's started

Took another reading since I was flabbergasted by the first reading. It's sitting right around 1080, ~22hrs after I put it in the buckets.



Oh, and I ended up using light DME as that's what the gf picked up from the store

Let it ride at this point.

istuntmanmike said:

Took another reading since I was flabbergasted by the first reading. It's sitting right around 1080, ~22hrs after I put it in the buckets.



Oh, and I ended up using light DME as that's what the gf picked up from the store

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It doesn't even really pay to take a gravity reading that early. There is a lag phase when fermenting. Sometimes up to 48 hours.