Troeg's Mad Elf

It seems to last longer in my area than it does in others. I might still be able to find a 6'er. I might go looking tomorrow and if any is available will pick some up.
As for the recipe, I am thinking that next time I might throw a little bit of Special B in...

Well, I got fancy and tried to Sparge my BIAB exactly to preboil gravity, and Somehow, I ended up at 1.090. Good news is that after 7 days at 72 F, she’s tasting and looking good. Yeast really tore through it, Seems finished at 1.014. Tasting awesome so far. Tempted to rack on cherries, but I think I’ll let it sit another 7 days to be safe.

Time to brew again. Last years version was a crowd favorite, and catalyst of some great winter fun when that ABV kicks in! I'm considering modifying the version 2.0 recipe with light candi sugar in place of table sugar, and use the honey as normal. Also using frozen cherries I bought fresh and pitted a month ago. I might target 1090, as I liked this strength better than the original. Anyone else brewing this?

Brew it?
No, going to buy it this year.

A couple places around here usually stock a few cases. The plan is to snatch a couple sixpacks and hoard them before most of it disappears.

I bottled my version of it, with a few tweaks, back in June. I scaled back the grist a bit and left out the added sugar to knock the ABV back to about 8 %. I bottled it with honey as priming sugar to try to retain a bit more flavor from that. I have tested it at 2 and 3 months in the bottle, and it has been really good. I have 12 bombers of it sitting in my parents' cellar for Christmas time. I'll also pick up some Mad Elf for a comparison.

That time of year again. Brewing 3rd annual mad elf clone(ish), but starting to tweak to my preferences. Using Omega Belgian W, and throwing in a little special B because I like that flavor. Also going all Saaz, cuz that’s what I got. Pitted some good looking cherries from wegmans last month and froze, will “top up” with Oregon sour cherries to get to 4.5 lb. No sugar, just malt, honey, and cherries. Adding the 2 lb of local NJ honey at day 3 of fermentation, that worked well last time. Mashing low (147) to keep it dry. Last years batch was a huge hit. With honey included, aiming for 1.100 OG.

I usually wait until the first frost hits to do some brewing. Just got two packs of WLP802 and two packs of WLP820 for the fall.
That said, I have some commercial Mad Elf from last year still floating about and a $50 gift card burning a hole in my pocket waiting for the German festbiers to hit the shelves.
We picked a whole bunch of cherries in June from the trees down in Washington Township. The orchard is not far from the high school. The trees were loaded, so thick with fruit you could simply reach up and get a handful at once.
Good luck with your fruit beer.

Brewing this tonight. Does anyone have any comments on fermentation temp? should I aim for the low end of the 3787 range and shoot for 64, or do I want to let it ride higher into the low 70s to develop some esters?

I've brewed this (extract version) many times and ferment at room temp which is about 72ish. It tastes spot on. Which make me think, maybe I should get a batch going soon for Christmas. May have waited too late.

bethshef said:

I've brewed this (extract version) many times and ferment at room temp which is about 72ish. It tastes spot on. Which make me think, maybe I should get a batch going soon for Christmas. May have waited too late.

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Yeah, I'm a bit late too, but it sounded good. I've actually never tasted this beer, but it sounds popular so I'm going for it!

If you follow the recipe it will be nearly identical. If you leave the cherries out, it is the clone of Naked Elf. Try to find some at Christmas and do a side by side. I'm going to get an order together and make a batch next weekend. It is good all year in my opinion.

Naked Elf doesn't have the cherries, the honey, or the chocolate malt. Also, they brought it out a couple months ago, so don't expect to see it again until next summer.

bethshef said:

If you follow the recipe it will be nearly identical. If you leave the cherries out, it is the clone of Naked Elf. Try to find some at Christmas and do a side by side. I'm going to get an order together and make a batch next weekend. It is good all year in my opinion.

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I'm excited to taste it. It's fermenting now at 68 degrees, and I'm getting ready to add my cherries tonight. This one is pretty feisty! with 2 gallons of headspace and keeping it at 68 she's still blowing out the tube. I don't even know if I can get it in Michigan

I don’t add the cherries until the secondary. I suppose it might be fine in primary but you might lose flavors in the blow off. Anyhow, I use 2 cans sweet cherries and 2cans of sour. Oregon brand. Not pie filling. I leave about 10 days in secondary.

bethshef said:

I don’t add the cherries until the secondary. I suppose it might be fine in primary but you might lose flavors in the blow off. Anyhow, I use 2 cans sweet cherries and 2cans of sour. Oregon brand. Not pie filling. I leave about 10 days in secondary.

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Ok. I used the recipe linked a few pages back that included email conversations with the guys at Troeg's in the notes. I thought I read that they add the cherries about halfway through primary, which I assumed was halfway to final gravity. I was planning to add them tonight.

I'm hoping that my blowoff has settled down, as I do have the ability to hold temp and typically that keeps the blowoff under control. This is the first yeast I've used since getting temp control that has still blown off, but I guess to be fair I was fermenting cleaner before down around 58-64 degrees.

You have a lot of sugar going and 3787 is a monster. I’m sure the cherries will be fine in primary or secondary. I added them to a carboy one time and had an awful time getting them out.

bethshef said:

You have a lot of sugar going and 3787 is a monster. I’m sure the cherries will be fine in primary or secondary. I added them to a carboy one time and had an awful time getting them out.

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That I can believe. We upgraded to a Spike conical recently, so no more battling buckets and carboys.

I have brewed a version of this 5-10 times and lost my recipe. After reading this thread I did an extra search and it turns out Troegs shared a recipe on BYO.

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.092 FG = 1.015
IBU = 13 SRM = 17 ABV = 11%

Ingredients
12.5 lbs. (5.67 kg) Pilsner malt
2.63 lbs. (1.19 kg) Munich malt (8-10 °L)
0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) dark Munich malt (20 °L)
0.31 lb. (0.14 kg) caramel malt (80 °L)
0.13 lb. (0.06 kg) chocolate malt
0.31 lb. (0.14 kg) Special B malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) cane sugar (sucrose) (0 min.)
0.25 lb. (11 g) (0.11 kg) honey (0 min.)
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) tart cherry puree
0.9 lb. (0.41 kg) sweet cherry puree
2.7 AAU Galena hops (90 min.) (0.2 oz./6 g at 13.6% alpha acids)
2.3 AAU Hersbrucker hops (10 min.) (0.5 oz./6 g at 4.6% alpha acids)
White Labs WLP530 (Abbey Ale) or Wyeast 3787 (Trappist Style High Gravity) or LalBrew Abbaye yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by Step
Using 1.3 qts. per pound of grain, mash in at 146 °F (63 °C), rest for 10 minutes, then raise temperature to 152 °F (67 °C) and hold for 40 minutes. Increase temperature to 162 °F (72 °C) for final 10 minutes. Recirculate about 10 minutes to set the grain bed then sparge and collect 7 gallons (26 L).

Boil 90 minutes, adding the hops per the instructions. Add the cane sugar and honey at knockout, stirring well to dissolve. Chill rapidly to 65 °F (18 °C), pitch plenty of yeast (at least two packs with a starter), and oxygenate thoroughly. After 24 hours of fermentation, add the cherry purees. After 12–14 days, drop the beer about 6 °F (3 °C) per day for four days to help the beer clear. Rack the beer into a keg and force carbonate to 2.7 volumes, or prime and bottle condition.

If bottle conditioning, leave the beer at 70–75 °F (21–24 °C) for at least two weeks.

Tröegs Brewing Co.’s Mad Elf clone
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.092 FG = 1.015
IBU = 13 SRM = 17 ABV = 11%
Ingredients
7 lbs. (3.2 kg) Briess Pilsen dried malt extract
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) Munich or Vienna dried malt extract
0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) dark Munich malt (20 °L)
0.31 lb. (0.14 kg) caramel malt (80 °L)
0.13 lb. (0.06 kg) chocolate malt
0.31 lb. (0.14 kg) Special B malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) cane sugar (sucrose) (0 min.)
0.25 lb. (11 g) (0.11 kg) honey (0 min.)
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) tart cherry puree
0.9 lb. (0.41 kg) sweet cherry puree
2.7 AAU Galena hops (90 min.) (0.2 oz./6 g at 13.6% alpha acids)
2.3 AAU Hersbrucker hops (10 min.) (0.5 oz./6 g at 4.6% alpha acids)
White Labs WLP530 (Abbey Ale) or Wyeast 3787 (Trappist Style High Gravity) or LalBrew Abbaye yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Using a 5-gallon (19-L) kettle, start by steeping all the specialty grains (placed in a muslin bag) in about 2 gallons (7.5 L) of water at 152 °F (67 °C) for 15 minutes. Remove grain bag then add water bringing total volume in kettle to about 4 gallons (15 L). Bring liquid to or near a boil. Turn off the flame and slowly add half of the malt extract, stirring to avoid clumping or scorching. Adding just half of the extract maximizes hop isomerization. Turn flame back on and bring to boil. With 15 minutes left in the boil, add the remaining malt extract.
Follow the remainder of the all-grain recipe for boil, fermenting, and packaging instructions. After chilling the beer, but before pitching your yeast, remember to top up with water to 5 gallons (19 L).

The odd thing about the BYO recipe is the hops are not what I used before nor are they listed on the bottle. Any thoughts on why they would list different hops?

I wonder when that BYO recipe is from? Looking at their website now: Mad Elf Ale they have removed any reference to hops from the page.

The 2018 version of that page: Mad Elf Ale Which is what I based my recipe on, states Hallertau and Saaz. Honestly, any addition for 15 IBU's will work here. I've been using Sterling the last few years with out issue.

The grain bill on that is also very suspect. They make no mention of crystal ever. The oldest mention of ingredients from March 2003: the Mad Elf only shows Pils, Munich, Chocolate which is the same as today.

Not to say that the BYO recipe isn't accurate. Just over complicated for what Mad Elf is.

BrewingAround,
Are you brewing extract or AG? I can’t believe I lost my recipe. It was very close to theirs.
looking through this thread it’s tough to figure out which recipe is producing the closest to the real thing. I’m sure they are all great.

teachtim said:

BrewingAround,
Are you brewing extract or AG? I can’t believe I lost my recipe. It was very close to theirs.
looking through this thread it’s tough to figure out which recipe is producing the closest to the real thing. I’m sure they are all great.

Click to expand...

I brew all grain. My recipe is in this thread: Brewing a Troegs Mad Elf Ale Clone + Recipe I've gotten a good response on it there and in the comments on YouTube. Make sure you look at the updated recipe from this year. It's in an attached PDF here: Brewing a Troegs Mad Elf Ale Clone + Recipe

I’m going to convert yours to extract measurements and then compare recipes. I brew with a friend and maybe I will brew one version and he can brew the other an we can compare.

teachtim said:

I’m going to convert yours to extract measurements and then compare recipes. I brew with a friend and maybe I will brew one version and he can brew the other an we can compare.

Click to expand...

That's a good experiment. You can drop the water adjustments that are isted in the PDF. They are for my water here in central PA.

Let me know how they turn out.

Brewingaround,

Your recipe calls for 17lbs 14 oz of Pilsner. Using Lazy Larry's conversion that would be 13.125 pounds of LME. That seems like a ton more than I remember using in the past. It is way more than the BYO recipe too. I know you are all grain but does that seem correct?

teachtim said:

Brewingaround,

Your recipe calls for 17lbs 14 oz of Pilsner. Using Lazy Larry's conversion that would be 13.125 pounds of LME. That seems like a ton more than I remember using in the past. It is way more than the BYO recipe too. I know you are all grain but does that seem correct?

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My measured mash efficiency for this years recipe was 71.5%. It's not going to be a direct conversion. You do not have to be concerned with mash efficiency.

We need to do a little math.

Using Briess Pilsen Light DME with 1.043 PPG. Assuming a 6 gallon batch, which is what I brew. We need to get to 1.070 for the pre-boil gravity.

1.043 (PPG) x 6 (gallons) = 6.258 LBS DME.
1.070 (target) - 1.043 (current) = .027 (additional needed)
(.027 (additional) x 6 (gallons)) / .043 (PPG) = 3.767 LBS DME
6.258 + 3.767 = 10.025 Total DME needed.

Working that the other way to make sure I did that right.

10.025 * 43 = 431.075 / 6 (gallons) = (71.84 / 1000) + 1 = 1.071 (pre-boil gravity.)

/***** EDIT *****/
Briess Pilsen Light LME only has a potential of 1.036.
That result is 11.8827 LBS LME needed.
/***** END EDIT *****/

That was the long way around to get to that answer. I checked it in BeerSmith just to be sure.

When you add the honey at the end you have to make an additional adjustment. Depending on the potential of the honey, you may need to add more. I used 3.5 pounds of honey this year. The two previous years I only used 2.5 pounds.

Your target original gravity should be around 1.100.

Hope that helps.