American Pale Ale Three Floyds Zombie Dust Clone

Williams 728
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gotbags-10 said:
What's the typical turn around time for this beer? My primary ferm is done after a week. I was going to dry hop starting tomm for 5-7 days cold crash and then in the keg on the gas for two weeks. Or should I give it another week in primary before dry hopping?
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I personally wait to dry hop until fermentation has been finished for a day or two. With S-04, that usually means 5-7 days in, as it works fast. I used to be in the longer camp for dry hop times, but with experimentation, I've found that shorter dry hop times (3-5 days) give me the best pop. I usually do two dry hops of about 3-4 days now and my results have been fantastic.
 
Its been a week and I'm still not a specific gravity. ...I used wyeast 1968.....my fermentation chamber being at an average of 67-68 degrees....it smells soooo good with the galaxy and citra in there....but why am I stuck at low gravity???? Should I turn up the temps for the last week in the fermentation chamber..70ish...????
 
Made this recipe last night. Holy hell did everything go wrong, lol. Smelled great tho!

Ended up pitching into 1.044 wort :( . I'm thinking I might add some boiled and cooled sugar or dme at the end of fermentation. What say ye zombie clone experts, add some fermentables or leave it as is?
 
I'm losing major efficiency somehow. My 4th AG batch and my second ZD AG. Not sure what I am going wrong.

I pitched into 1.035 wort. Finished at 1.060. I have never gained that many points of gravity during a boil before. Not sure what is normal but usually I gain 10. I'll take it though.
 
Baldy246 said:
I'm losing major efficiency somehow. My 4th AG batch and my second ZD AG. Not sure what I am going wrong.

I pitched into 1.035 wort. Finished at 1.060. I have never gained that many points of gravity during a boil before. Not sure what is normal but usually I gain 10. I'll take it though.
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You mean pre-boil was 1.035 and post boil was 1.060? If so, you would have to boil off around 42%. That is similar to starting with 7g and boiling down to 4g. It's definitely possible, but you would have to boil hard/long. Could of been a bad reading also.

The amount of sugar doesn't change during the boil,
 
Baldy246 said:
Ok. I'm voting bad reading!
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Most common reason for this would be not chilling the wort sample to 60F before measuring.

FYI: There are lots of threads out there for troubleshooting poor efficiency and making sure your measurements and processes for AG are following best practices over in the AG and beginning brewer forums. All of those posting in this thread about those issues would be better served to check out those areas instead of posting here in the recipe section.
 
Baldy246 said:
Ok. I'm voting bad reading!
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Another possibility is not stirring. Your first runnings (batch or fly sparge) will be thick & heavy (higher specific gravity) and your sparge will be thinner. If you do not mix them well, and pull your sample from the top of the BK, you can get a lower reading.
 
skeezerpleezer said:
Batch Size: 6 gallons
Estimated Original Gravity: 1.065
Estimated Final Gravity: 1.018
Estimated Color: 8.5 SRM
Bitterness: 65.9 IBU
Mash Temp: 152 F

Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU
11.75 lb 2 Row (2.0 SRM) Grain 81.7 %
1.13 lb Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 7.8 %
0.50 lb Carafoam (2.0 SRM) Grain 3.5 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 3.5 %
0.50 lb Melanoiden Malt (20.0 SRM) Grain 3.5 %
1.25 oz Citra [12.40%] (15 min) Hops 21.1 IBU
0.75 oz Citra [12.40%] (First Wort Hop) Hops 17.0 IBU
1.25 oz Citra [12.40%] (10 min) Hops 15.4 IBU
1.25 oz Citra [12.40%] (5 min) Hops 8.5 IBU
1.25 oz Citra [12.40%] (1 min) Hops 1.8 IBU
3.00 oz Citra [12.40%] (Dry Hop 5-7 days) Hops - (used to say 10, i use 5-7 now)
SafAle English Ale (S-04)
0r
Wyeast 1968


Here is the extract/PM conversion:

Batch Size: 5g
Boil Volume: 3g

6.00 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 70.6 %
1.00 lb Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 11.8 %
0.50 lb Carafoam (2.0 SRM) Grain 5.9 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 5.9 %
0.50 lb Melanoiden Malt (20.0 SRM) Grain 5.9 %
1.00 oz Citra [12.40%] (60 min) Hops 25.1 IBU
0.75 oz Citra [12.40%] (First Wort Hop) Hops 12.5 IBU
1.00 oz Citra [12.40%] (15 min) Hops 12.4 IBU
1.00 oz Citra [12.40%] (10 min) Hops 9.1 IBU
1.00 oz Citra [12.40%] (5 min) Hops 5.0 IBU
1.00 oz Citra [12.40%] (1 min) Hops 1.1 IBU
3.00 oz Citra [12.40%] (Dry Hop 10 days) Hops -
SafAle English Ale (S-04)
or
Wyeast 1968

This is assuming a 3g boil, so if you can do a full boil remove the extra oz of hops at 60minutes.

Ferment at 65F for 7-10 days

The FWH addition's IBUs are calculated as a 20 minute addition to better calculate the perceived IBUs. They are boiled the whole 60 minutes.

This recipe has had favorable results with both S-04 and WY1968. For more information here is the original thread from the Recipes/Ingredients section: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/3-floyds-zombie-dust-attempt-help-info-requested-245456/
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I was wondering if you could explain what the FWH means? Is that just a way of saying 20 minutes? new to home brewing and want to try this zombie dust clone. Could i use 1.00 oz of hops instead of the 0.75 it says (just to make it easier) I am doing the 5 gallon extract recipe.
Thank you for any help.
 
I have had a few 12/29 batch bottles of Zombie Dust. It tastes like 3F might have modified the recipe slightly. Recent batches are less malty and more crisp - an improvement IMHO. The beer also appears lighter in color from what I see.

Has anyone else noticed this with the real Zombie Dust?



I'm looking forward to brewing another batch soon with 1-2oz shaved off of each specialty malt. Thoughts? :pipe:
 
jammin said:
I have had a few 12/29 batch bottles of Zombie Dust. It tastes like 3F might have modified the recipe slightly. Recent batches are less malty and more crisp - an improvement IMHO. The beer also appears lighter in color from what I see.

Has anyone else noticed this with the real Zombie Dust?



I'm looking forward to brewing another batch soon with 1-2oz shaved off of each specialty malt. Thoughts? :pipe:
Click to expand...


Interesting. I may have to try some to see for myself. I actually haven't bought any in a while since this recipe is so close to the real thing
 
Just brewed this today, first brew in almost 4 years. Everything went great except it looks darker (by quite a bit) than expected. Recipe wasn't modified at all, so we'll see how the final product looks... Smelled fantastic tho!!
 
^once it ferments and brightens up - it will look a lot different; especially in the glass where light is passing through it better. Beer always looks darker in the carboy because there is so much of it vs. in the glass
 
One last question???? I am doing the extract recipe, it does not say how long to steep the grains??
30 minutes or longer??? thank you in advance.
 
hopsmakemehappy said:
One last question???? I am doing the extract recipe, it does not say how long to steep the grains??

30 minutes or longer??? thank you in advance.
Click to expand...


The advice I was given when I was doing extract was to drop it in when you start bringing your water up to boil and pull it out at 155. Worked for me.
 
I brewed this on 12/5/14 per the OP recipe.

I kegged it and added 3 oz of Citra hops to a hop bag on 12/19 even though it was only 2 weeks. It had finished fermentation and settled at 1.015 after starting at 1.066. Usually, I like to let my beers stay in the fermentor for 3 weeks even when they're done, but the holidays were coming and I wanted to get the batch dry hopped (plus I was out of home brew).

Removed the hop bag on 12/26, and there was quite a bit of hop haze and the beer was slightly green from the hop matter floating in it.

Green milkshake color aside, tastings had an amazing Citra flavor and seemed like it was shaping up to be a great brew. I went away for the new year holidays and when I got back on 1/6 after a couple of pints, the beer was clear and tasted and smelled great.

I did notice a very slight ammonia/cat pee smell, but it was so slight I ignored it. I only pulled a couple of pints over the past few weeks as I've been working to finish a keg of ESB to make room for a porter which will need kegging soon. All of the ZD pints had that slight cat pee aroma, but nothing too objectionable. I assumed perhaps I was just being overly sensitive to the fresh Citra.

On Jan 25th, my son and nephew were over, so we poured up a number of pints of the ZD and the cat pee aroma and flavor is really strong. Borderline undrinkable.

Is this something that is going to go away after the beer ages a bit more? I love Citra hops and have had a number of commercial beers with it, but this is my first all Citra homebrew.

Is there something I should have done differently with the dry hops?

The hop pellets don't have a cat pee aroma to them, and they were vacuum sealed. I've kept them in the cooler since they arrived.

Edit: Ok, a couple of days later and now the cat pee aroma is gone. Nice citra-y aroma but not as strong as before, and more bitterness of the hops are coming through. I guess it's just going through an ageing process.
 
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jammin said:
^once it ferments and brightens up - it will look a lot different; especially in the glass where light is passing through it better. Beer always looks darker in the carboy because there is so much of it vs. in the glass
Click to expand...


Here's my glass...About 7 weeks after brew day. Only my 3rd brew and first all-grain. I get an atringent taste with my brews, kinda sweet/tartish taste. Is there a common cure for this? I don't think it's infection as I'm pretty cautious. I use Mr. Malty to pitch appropriate yeast numbers.View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1422313304.087943.jpg
 
I have not had the tart taste but there is a thread going here devoted to s-04 and the tart taste. Basically if your fermentation temp is to high it makes that flavor
 
Man I'm beat!!! Just finished brewing this today and I had no idea how much longer it takes to boil wort when its below zero,I almost ran outta propane. Also realized that with these hoppy beers I really need some muslin bags or something to catch the hop trub etc as there was ALOT of it seeing there is almost 8oz of citra in this brew. Slightly overshot the gravity and ended up at 1.070 and i used rehydrated us-04.

Smells awesome!!!

Jamie.
 
What is the typical grain to glass time for this beer? Anyone think 2 weeks is cutting it close?
I brewed last Saturday and fermentation is complete (1.069 to 1.014) with no off / bad flavors that suggest a long primary is going to be needed.
I'm considering dry hopping this Saturday then kegging on Thursday and doing a 2 day force carb. I know the beer will still be cloudy, but all I care about is the taste :mug:
 
strohs said:
What is the typical grain to glass time for this beer? Anyone think 2 weeks is cutting it close?
I brewed last Saturday and fermentation is complete (1.069 to 1.014) with no off / bad flavors that suggest a long primary is going to be needed.
I'm considering dry hopping this Saturday then kegging on Thursday and doing a 2 day force carb. I know the beer will still be cloudy, but all I care about is the taste :mug:
Click to expand...

I generally don't go more than a week before dry hopping any of my IPA's and I've never had a problem. As long as fermentation is complete, I don't see any reason to wait another week to dry hop.

My general schedule is to dry hop after 7 days (unless its still fermenting) and then bottle after 5-7 days on the dry hop.
 
MMJfan said:
I generally don't go more than a week before dry hopping any of my IPA's and I've never had a problem. As long as fermentation is complete, I don't see any reason to wait another week to dry hop.

My general schedule is to dry hop after 7 days (unless its still fermenting) and then bottle after 5-7 days on the dry hop.
Click to expand...

I didn't write that very well, my plan is to dry hop this Saturday, which is one week after brewing.
I think I'll go head and try to get this on tap by day 14. I can't wait to taste it! :rockin:
 
Brewing a batch of this just before the Seahawks are scheduled to win the superbowl this Sunday.

Only difference is that I am using WYeast 1275 (Thames Valley Yeast) and I am dry hopping with Mosaic hops instead of citra.

Will let y'all know how it turns out!
 
Im brewing this again for the 5th time tomorrow, just before the Patriots are scheduled to silence the 12th bag.

Cutting all specialty malts by 2oz. Medium hardness water with ~ 190ppm Sulfate. WLP002
 
Brewed this and really enjoyed it. I had never used Citra in the boil before, only as a whirlpool or dry hop addition. It surprised me that this beer had such a pleasantly strong citrus character when what I have gotten from citra in the past with my whirlpool/dry hops was that powerful overripe mango, tropical kind of flavor & aroma. I had always thought it odd that they named it citra, now I get it.

Will definitely brew it again.
 
Thinking about brewing this on Saturday. I have a few questions regarding the original recipe in Post #1.

For a medium gravity beer, why does it finish so high? Previous beers of mine with that OG have generally finished in the 1.010 to 1.012 range when mashed at 152.

I see all the hops are late addition except for the FWH. Is this critical to the beer turning out like the original? Is it because Citra is not a good bittering hop?

Anybody divide the dry hops into two separate shorter additions? I don't think I could get a hop bag with three ounces in it back out of my carboy neck.

Thanks!
 
TxBigHops said:
Thinking about brewing this on Saturday. I have a few questions regarding the original recipe in Post #1.

For a medium gravity beer, why does it finish so high? Previous beers of mine with that OG have generally finished in the 1.010 to 1.012 range when mashed at 152.

I see all the hops are late addition except for the FWH. Is this critical to the beer turning out like the original? Is it because Citra is not a good bittering hop?

Anybody divide the dry hops into two separate shorter additions? I don't think I could get a hop bag with three ounces in it back out of my carboy neck.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Mine finished at 1.011. Had about 6 gallons go into the fermenter. Used a 2 stage starter but may have been unnecessary.
 
Mine finished at 1.012, I also did a starter, yes unnecessary but I just like to do them out of habit for my process. Same thing every time no matter what so I don't miss something.
 
With the Vermont Ale Yeast being the hot yeast for IPAs any consideration for trying it for this APA? Think it'd be interesting to do a split batch S0-4 and Vermont.
 
I think Conan would be great in this. I think it would complement the citra well.

I got down to 1.015 but I used WLP005. I'd probably use Conan or WLP001 next time I do it.

I also wouldn't hesitate to split up the dry hop either. I regularly do that now on all my IPAs. First dry hop after 5 or 6 days in primary, then keg after 4 or 5 more days (so around 10 days primary). And I add in the second dry hop in the keg.
 

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