Troeg's Mad Elf
- Thread starter Madsciontst
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
Ha, last year we bought many 6 packs of it. I learned to just drink 1 maybe 2 and stop there, the wife and I went crazy one night on it and woke with a massive headache and puking ha... She swore off it till the next season. It's very drinkable and will catch up to you fast.
The wives tell us that we thought it would be an awesome idea to go see how we can put new high hats in the attic. That was after 4 home brews and 2 growlers of Mad (Evil) Elf. As delicious as it was, the day after has left such bad memories, I still don't know if i can drink it.
HaHa! i learned how strong this was the hard way too! About 2 years ago i went to my brother's house to help him sand floors (just finished laying reclaimed wood floors) I had 2 Mad elfs and a pumpkin beer he had in about 20-25 min. I had never heard about MAd elf so i had no idea how strong it was. after i finished the 3rd beer, i was feeling off, but wasnt sure why...thats when it hit me i had a buzz. didnt expect it since i hadnt drank that many beers. Thats was when my brother told me about how strong it was and he got a good laugh out of it since apparently he didnt tell me on purpose...This is def a sipping beer if there is such a thing! haha
HA! I am doing some cider in my basement now that's 11% I'm plan on back sweeting it so it becomes very drinkable, the stuff I have in the kegerator now is 6+% and you can just pour it down your throat with no issues. I don't tell people to take it easy and just watch after they suck down 4-5 in 20 mins. Ha.... Can't wait to see how the 11-12% goes.
Madsciontst
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2013
- Messages
- 45
- Reaction score
- 1
Ok my mad elf clone is about the same as the real one in taste and color . I'm stoked!
wobrien
Well-Known Member
Madsciontst said:
Sweet! Congratulations. Show us a side by side pic!
Awesome! I have some real stuff on the way so I will do a side by side tasting, but I know my color is off it turned brown on me. how much choc malt did you use?
Madsciontst
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2013
- Messages
- 45
- Reaction score
- 1
Three ounces. And I used two cans of sweet and two cans of tart. I can't believe how close I came to the real one.
What recipe did you use and what's your abv? Just curious.
That's what I used, still aging, I haven't tasted since I racked it in the cherries.
Think your supd to use less? They are more potent?
How long are you going to let it sit, two weeks?
Not sure if I should cut the amounts in half since using dried.
I probably won't touch it till into the new year,I brewed it back in September it think notes are at home, it was over 11percent when I racked it so it's going to take some time if I don't want a hot boozy mess.
WissaBrewGuy
Well-Known Member
Try stirring up the yeast a little. Like everyone has said on this thread, 1 week is not a long time for this beer but stirring up some yeast to give 'em a helping hand isn't a bad idea.
Ya I shook up the bucket after I put the lids on. I'll check it again in a week. I'm surprised since the lid blew off after a day it wasn't a bit further. I'm in no hurry.
- Joined
- May 6, 2013
- Messages
- 14,033
- Reaction score
- 3,377
Also interesting is seeing which recipe you used
Madsciontst
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2013
- Messages
- 45
- Reaction score
- 1
I think I used the one from the second post from the first page.
There's no FG, ha... I've been looking all over for one. Beersmith says 1.016, but ?
i will take a sample out of keg here in the next day or so...let it de-carb and take a reading. I didnt check my FG since it was 6 weeks since yeast was pitched before i put in keg. I was pretty sure it had his FG by that point...
Thanks was just curious. I'd like to push it all the way out but if it's going to be too hot then might get it at 1.016 like beersmith suggests.
Drank my clone side by side with a real Mad elf last night. Mine was a touch darker and i can tell it needs to mellow out a bit still. The hotness has pretty much gone away, but the cherry flavor is a bit too strong. Im thinking 2-3 more weeks and it would be perfect. Next time i make it i will give it 4 weeks in primary and 4 weeks in secondary, cold crash then let it mellow in keg for 2-3 weeks before drinking it. This beer needs the extra time for sure!
I brewed this to have a holiday beer off at work though so it needs to be ready today. I just hope the over the top cherries dont turn people off...if nothing else it will get them buzzed!
I brewed this to have a holiday beer off at work though so it needs to be ready today. I just hope the over the top cherries dont turn people off...if nothing else it will get them buzzed!
Mine finished at 1.011 and given some time the hotness faded away due to all the other flavors in it. go ahead and let it go all the way.
Drank my clone side by side with a real Mad elf last night. Mine was a touch darker and i can tell it needs to mellow out a bit still. The hotness has pretty much gone away, but the cherry flavor is a bit too strong. Im thinking 2-3 more weeks and it would be perfect. Next time i make it i will give it 4 weeks in primary and 4 weeks in secondary, cold crash then let it mellow in keg for 2-3 weeks before drinking it. This beer needs the extra time for sure!
I brewed this to have a holiday beer off at work though so it needs to be ready today. I just hope the over the top cherries dont turn people off...if nothing else it will get them buzzed!
How much cherry did you use?
Ok thanks. I'll let it go out to 1.01 and pop it into the secondary.
I used 2 cans of sweet and 2 cans of the tart cherries. It seems it is the right amount, but the beer just needed a little more time to mellow. I was thinking of maybe adding 1.5 of each next time, but then if the flavor mellows i would be afraid it wouldnt be enough...
dont forget you are going to get a little more fermentation from the cherries. that reading i gave you was what it is now, not prior to secondary. Sorry but i didnt take FG reading then so i dont know how much if any it really changed.
I'll be adding 2 cans of tart and 2 bags (12oz) of sweet. I'm worried as well if I dial it back a bit if I'll lose that flavor. Give it a try I guess and next time I do it I'll know ha...
Ah ya I keep forgetting that... maybe I'll pull it just above 1.015 and just let it sit another 2-3 weeks in the secondary.
WissaBrewGuy
Well-Known Member
Also something to keep in mind: The cherries will also add gravity points as they are adding sugar. It was right to take your FG before adding cherries because once you add more sugar late in the game you have a little more work to do to figure out your ABV.
Ah ya good point. I always rack to the secondary when adding things into the beer (used to do it every time in the past), but wouldn't it be better to add to the primary to take advantage of the extra sugars added and yeast that's there already? Just curious really.
WissaBrewGuy
Well-Known Member
You could absolutely do this. I don't see an issue with not moving the beer to secondary to add the cherries. I would probably do it out of habit like you, but this particular habit isn't based in science.
Madsciontst
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2013
- Messages
- 45
- Reaction score
- 1
I gotta brew it again . Everyone loves it. And now a friend of mine wants two cases.
