Alpine Nelson Clone Attempt

Shenanigans · Nov 21, 2019

jpb2716 said:
I know I’m digging up an older thread but I’m back to revisit this one. I brewed this recipe three years ago as one of my first all grain brews. It was delicious then and I’m looking forward to brewing it again, having a lot more experience under my belt since brewing it the first time.

If anyone has any updates or suggestions, I’d love to hear them.

I'm going to try this recipe very soon too.
Could actually be this weekend depending on how my starter for a Hop Hands clone goes.
I had some A38 yeast in a jar in the fridge for about 5 months and wanted to make a starter but it tasted a bit off/sour.
Not sure if it's because it's old and oxidized or if something is in there that shouldn't be.
I'll see what the starter tastes like in a few days and decide then.

If the starter is a fail then I will use good old US-05 and make a Nelson clone instead.
First time brewing it so no tips only that I might leave out the acid malt and use lactic acid to get the right PH instead.
What would be a good water profile for this brew? Just a normal west coast IPA profile?

Will report back after the weekend :tank:

jpb2716 · Nov 21, 2019

Shenanigans said:
I'm going to try this recipe very soon too.
Could actually be this weekend depending on how my starter for a Hop Hands clone goes.
I had some A38 yeast in a jar in the fridge for about 5 months and wanted to make a starter but it tasted a bit off/sour.
Not sure if it's because it's old and oxidized or if something is in there that shouldn't be.
I'll see what the starter tastes like in a few days and decide then.

If the starter is a fail then I will use good old US-05 and make a Nelson clone instead.
First time brewing it so no tips only that I might leave out the acid malt and use lactic acid to get the right PH instead.
What would be a good water profile for this brew? Just a normal west coast IPA profile?

Will report back after the weekend

Yes, a typical west coast IPA profile is what I plan to go with. I know Alpine claims that nothing has changed with Nelson since Green Flash bought them out but I completely disagree. While Nelson is still delicious, it has a lot more body and sweetness than what I remember the original having. I had some on draft a few weeks ago and it borderlined an NEIPA. This recipe leans more towards how Nelson was originally so a west coast ipa water profile is definitely appropriate.

Shenanigans · Nov 24, 2019

jpb2716 said:
Yes, a typical west coast IPA profile is what I plan to go with. I know Alpine claims that nothing has changed with Nelson since Green Flash bought them out but I completely disagree. While Nelson is still delicious, it has a lot more body and sweetness than what I remember the original having. I had some on draft a few weeks ago and it borderlined an NEIPA. This recipe leans more towards how Nelson was originally so a west coast ipa water profile is definitely appropriate.

So I went for Ca 160 Mg 7 Na 24 SO4 245 Cl 66 SO4:Cl 3.7 Ph 5.35

The A38 starter seems to be OK but I'll wait until next month to brew the Hop Hands.
Just mashed in the Nelson about 15 mins ago.
I'll report back in about a month how it turned out.

jpb2716 · Apr 14, 2020

Shenanigans said:
So I went for Ca 160 Mg 7 Na 24 SO4 245 Cl 66 SO4:Cl 3.7 Ph 5.35

The A38 starter seems to be OK but I'll wait until next month to brew the Hop Hands.
Just mashed in the Nelson about 15 mins ago.
I'll report back in about a month how it turned out.

I forgot to check in with you sooner but how did this turn out for you? I’m going to be brewing it again next week. Looking forward to it.

Shenanigans · Apr 15, 2020

jpb2716 said:
I forgot to check in with you sooner but how did this turn out for you? I’m going to be brewing it again next week. Looking forward to it.

Yeah I forgot to come back to report too

I've never had the original to compare it but it turned out great.
Nelson is indeed a unique hop.
It already tasted good as soon as it was carbed but after about two weeks in the keg it had improved a lot. Unfortunately I had drunk it all within 3 or 4 weeks :drunk:

I never did brew the Hop Hands in the end because the harvested yeast got an infection.
I ordered a pack of London Ale III recently but will brew an Alien Church instead as I have a lot of Mosaic I need to use up.

madscientist451 · Apr 15, 2020

Shenanigans said:
I never did brew the Hop Hands in the end because the harvested yeast got an infection.

I'm fermenting a batch of Grisette with Saison Hands yeast from a growler I got back in February, but my real goal was to make a Sauvin/Moteuaka/Cascade session beer similar to one I had there last year about this time. I think it was called Adaptive Distortion. Any ideas?
I'm apologizing in advance for going off topic.

Shenanigans · Apr 15, 2020

madscientist451 said:
I'm fermenting a batch of Grisette with Saison Hands yeast from a growler I got back in February, but my real goal was to make a Sauvin/Moteuaka/Cascade session beer similar to one I had there last year about this time. I think it was called Adaptive Distortion. Any ideas?
I'm apologizing in advance for going off topic.

Sorry I can't really help. With harvested yeast I meant from another batch I had brewed with Juice A38, not from an actual Tired Hands beer.

I live in Europe so don't get a chance to try out the majority of the beers mentioned on here.
I mainly just brew based on a beer that sounds like I would like it and not from what I have tasted.

I had a trip planned to Seattle next month with a list of about 50 beers I wanted to track down and taste but Corona will probably prevent that from going ahead now

I reckon some beer is getting old in the brew pubs now anyway.

couchsending · Apr 15, 2020

madscientist451 said:
I'm fermenting a batch of Grisette with Saison Hands yeast from a growler I got back in February, but my real goal was to make a Sauvin/Moteuaka/Cascade session beer similar to one I had there last year about this time. I think it was called Adaptive Distortion. Any ideas?
I'm apologizing in advance for going off topic.

Grain Bill is pretty standard pils/raw wheat. Prolly finished super low so for 3.7% beer it could have even been a second runnings beer from a bigger recipe? Hop it like an IPA, use that yeast you have. Says theirs was fermented in an oak foudre which would be hard to replicate.

Also hard to get their level of hops. Jean hand selects in NZ and what’s available to homebrewers prolly isn’t that close. Also keep in mind that’s NZ Cascade or “Taiheke” which is way different than US Cascade.

zvibloom613 · Sep 30, 2020

This is a huge post and I find it a little difficult to follow/remember everything. Is there anyone that can provide a 5 or 10 gallon batch recipe for Nelson clone that they tried and are quite satisfied with.

Alpine Nelson Clone Attempt

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