Sweetwater IPA Clone

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rolled the dice on my variation of this today.

basically the same recipe as the grapefruit bomb of BMW, except hopped with Chinook @ 60, Simcoe @ 20, Cascade @ 10, and Amarillo(why not) @ 1. will dry hop it with 1 oz simcoe, and maybe .5 oz cascade.

will let you know how it turns out. I'll note though, the simcoe hops smelled EXACTLY like like the Sweetwater IPA i was drinking while i was brewing today.
 
has anyone finished any of these recipes? Seems like a dead thread with no final info on any of the recipes. I wanna brew this probably as my next brew in line (First is a pumpkin porter being brewed Sat) . I love the Sweetwater IPA but I've been stuck in Philly my whole life, so I have to pay outrages shipping to get some 6 packs up here....
 
I have made two versions based on the suggestions here. I will try and remember to post the recipes tonight when I get off work. The first version I made was better than the second. While I thought they were both good IPA's it had been six months for version one and over a year for version two since last having a SW IPA. So how perfect of clones they are is hard for me to say.
 
I spoke with a Sweetwater rep at the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival and he told me the exact same hops. Even the hops that it is dry hopped with. It matches the above exactly.

I have the hops on order, now I need to determine how much and when to add them. I will also be doing this as an extract. Anyone want to take a shot at a recipe?????

Sweet!!!
 
I have made two versions based on the suggestions here. I will try and remember to post the recipes tonight when I get off work. The first version I made was better than the second. While I thought they were both good IPA's it had been six months for version one and over a year for version two since last having a SW IPA. So how perfect of clones they are is hard for me to say.

You never posted recipes!!! :confused:
 
bp262 said:
Ok, I'll take a shot:

Assuming this grain bill:

10.5 lbs 2 row
1.0 lbs Munich
0.5 lbs Crystal 80
0.5 lbs Wheat Malt

And this hop schedule from info above:

1.25 oz Chinook 13% 60 min
2 oz Cascade 5.5% 15 min
1 oz US Golding 5% 1 min
1 oz Simcoe 13% 1 min
1 oz US Golding Dry Hop
1 oz Simcoe Dry Hop

I get:

OG: 1.067
IBU: 63
Color: 8 SRM

What do you think?

It's been quite some time since I've had SW IPA, but I drank it almost exclusively one summer when living in Chattanooga, love this brew and want to try a clone!

Blake

This is the basic recipe I used for version one with a few small changes. I used 10 pounds instead of 10.5 because my lbhs sold 10lb bags. I also used flaked wheat because I misread the recipe but it worked out nice. The beer has great head retention. This is to this day still one of my favorite home-brews and I will make this again.

Version two I did two ounces of simcoe dry hops with no goldings. I did not like this as much as the original. While not a bad brew it's not as balanced as the first one.

Hope this helps.
 
This is the basic recipe I used for version one with a few small changes. I used 10 pounds instead of 10.5 because my lbhs sold 10lb bags. I also used flaked wheat because I misread the recipe but it worked out nice. The beer has great head retention. This is to this day still one of my favorite home-brews and I will make this again.

Version two I did two ounces of simcoe dry hops with no goldings. I did not like this as much as the original. While not a bad brew it's not as balanced as the first one.

Hope this helps.

So version one. Do you think its a pretty close clone? Have you brewed again? Im acually doing 2 versions myself right now with your version 1 being my version 2!! haha :mug:
 
bluntsandbeers said:
So version one. Do you think its a pretty close clone? Have you brewed again? Im acually doing 2 versions myself right now with your version 1 being my version 2!! haha :mug:

Well seeing as it was at least four months from my last SW I think it was definitely on the right track. The SWMBO also thought it was damn goo and close I'm going to make it again soon. It's a good IPA IMHO.
 
Have you had their new rye ipa? They call it LowRyeder...25% rye malt.. To me it's better than the regular ipa.
 
Have you had their new rye ipa? They call it LowRyeder...25% rye malt.. To me it's better than the regular ipa.


Have not seen the Rye make its way up here to nc yet!! I'm dying to try it!! Whats it like? Why is it better? :mug:
 
Have you had their new rye ipa? They call it LowRyeder...25% rye malt.. To me it's better than the regular ipa.

From reading the description it's really clear and crisp. Also sounds like it has a great hop flavor. I get to try it on Friday!! I'l let ya know.
 
I need to get someone to ship me the beer up here to Philly. I'll send back plenty of Philly favorites if someone is interested. In the mean time, I plan on brewing this in a few days. Hopefully I can finally start hitting the OG numbers.
 
bluntsandbeers said:
Have not seen the Rye make its way up here to nc yet!! I'm dying to try it!! Whats it like? Why is it better? :mug:

The rye really shines through so you get the peppery spice flavor. It's hoppy but its not a bitter hop bomb. It's a very flavorful, crisp beer...very drinkable. I like this better than Ruthless Rye if you've had it before.
 
Have not seen the Rye make its way up here to nc yet!! I'm dying to try it!! Whats it like? Why is it better? :mug:

I don't know if better is the right word. It's good. No where near as citrusy and unbalanced as the west coast style IPA they product. I like the original better. The "LowRYEder" as it's called, has a nice citrus spicy punch to it, and has a nice clean spice finish from the rye. It's a good beer for sure, but not on par with the IPA I think. Easy drinker for sure.

One of the better rye IPA's I've had, and I'm not a fan of rye personally.
 
I need to get someone to ship me the beer up here to Philly. I'll send back plenty of Philly favorites if someone is interested. In the mean time, I plan on brewing this in a few days. Hopefully I can finally start hitting the OG numbers.


Whatcha got in Philly that I can't get?

I can send you ultra fresh bottles, or even fresh growlers of SW IPA..
 
The rye really shines through so you get the peppery spice flavor. It's hoppy but its not a bitter hop bomb. It's a very flavorful, crisp beer...very drinkable. I like this better than Ruthless Rye if you've had it before.


Got to just try i do not agree!! Most of the time i'm not really fond of the more crisp/clearer beers and i figured so with reviews and descriptions of it. And that is why I like the regular SW IPA SO much better. It really has that thick fluffy head that stays long time(in a glass not washed in dishsoap) and that not so clear beautiful think color and medium body i believe comes partly from the added .5 lbs of wheat malt. this truly is my favorite beer on market right now but i'm open for suggestions for some other IPAs i anyone has any!! Cheers!!

It really is ALL about personal preference!! :)
Bout To pop m first SW Clone in a few days!! Can't wait for ITTTT!!!
 
Whatcha got in Philly that I can't get?

I can send you ultra fresh bottles, or even fresh growlers of SW IPA..

I can get any Weyerbacher, Yards, Victory, Troegs. I live a half mile from Yards so when I pick up from them the bottles are no more than two weeks old. Let me know if you are interested in anything. Yards makes a killer DIPA (Cape of Good Hope) and their IPA is a text book IPA. Not to mention their Philly Pale is a great session drinker.
 
Wow, this beer a marine friend of mine at work loves so much. i just gotta make it for him.
 
420, IPA, Georgia Brown and Low RYEder IPA all use Wyeast 1968 Fullers ESB. Brewer mentioned it yesterday at AHA rally.
 
I'm going to give this clone a try. I'll start with the Grapefruit bomb recipe, even if it doesn't have the exact hops that Sweetwater says they have. I live just outside the Atlanta area, I can do plenty of side by side comparisons.
 
I just brewed my first batch and it was this SW clone. How did it come out for the guys that gave it a try?
 
I wouldn't call mine a Sweetwater, but it's a great beer. Mine is still missing that over the top citrus hop flavor. I've been discussing this on another thread in here but I don't believe it is the recipe's fault.
 
I'm a little over two weeks in, anything you would recommend to get that big grapefruit/citrus flavor by making any fruit/hop additions if I transfer it into a secondary.
 
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 8.19 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.77 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.05 gal
Estimated OG: 1.065 SG
Estimated Color: 8.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 63.0 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 82.9 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
12 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 84.8 %
1 lbs Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 2 7.1 %
10.4 oz Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 3 4.6 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 4 3.5 %
1.25 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 46.5 IBUs
2.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 6 14.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 1.0 Hop 7 0.6 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 1.0 min Hop 8 1.6 IBUs
1.0 pkg American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) [124.21 Yeast 9 -
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Dry Hop 1 Hop 10 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 14.0 Days Hop 11 0.0 IBUs


Mash Schedule: BIAB, Full Body
Total Grain Weight: 14 lbs 2.4 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Saccharification Add 36.91 qt of water at 157.3 F 150.0 F 60 min
Mash Out Heat to 168.0 F over 7 min 168.0 F 10 min


Recently entered this beer I based off this thread in the Happy Holidays Homebrew Contest here in STL. It took bronze out of 57 entries. I feel it is a solid beer and a good easy drinking IPA.
 
Per Sweetwater's website...

Grains – 2-Row, Munich, Wheat, 70/80
Hops – Chinook, Cascade, Columbus finished with Simcoe, US Golding
 
If you order your ingredients for this or any other brew, yours or their's at barleynvine.com today, you get a 20% discount -- Columbus Day Sale. Shipping is only $7.99 flat rate. Just use promo code columbus20.
 
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