Spotted Cow Extract Clone Help / Challenge...Will Donate $25 to HomeBrewTalk

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I would first like to say, that in all the beers I've made, this one has been the easiest to research because of this thread. Bravo.

I want to run something by y'all that I was thinking about... I understand that Kolsch yeast is the consenus, but I have always had issues when using it for my own brewing purposes... the not-lagering but not ale temps are difficult for me to hit, and overall I have just not enjoyed beers I've made with it. My house yeast, however, is one that I can put in anything at nearly any temp and it turns out nails- Omega Labs Voss Kveik. Thoughts on brewing Ninja's recipe with the VK instead of Kolsch?
 
twd000 said:
It may remind you of that flavor, but I can guarantee you that New Glarus doesn't use orange peel in Spotted Cow.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know they don't but it's the only thing I can think of that matches what my brain is computing.

Where DOES that bubblegum sweetness come from?
 
BeerBaronBob said:
Thanks to all who have shared their efforts to date. I've been through 3 recipes before this one. Below is the recipe I used for a Spotted Cowlike Cream Ale that took 1st Place in the 2011 Wis State Fair in the Light Hybrid category. First time I tried Cluster hops and the results were fantastic both in aroma and taste. Thanks to NB for that suggestion.

Ingredients for 5.25 Gal:
------------
4.25 lbs Pilsen Malt - Best (2 Row) (2.0 SRM) 37.0 %
2.5 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) Rahr US (2.0 SRM) 21.7 %
2 lbs Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) 17.4 %
1.5 lbs Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) 13.0 %
12.0 oz Munich II (Weyermann) (8.5 SRM) 6.5 %
8.0 oz Carafoam (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM) 4.3 %
0.60 oz Cluster [7.20 %] - Boil 45.0 min 12.8 IBUs
0.25 oz Cluster [7.20 %] - Boil 15.0 min 2.9 IBUs
1.0 pkg Kolsch Yeast (Wyeast Labs #2565)
1/4 Whirlock Tab

This really turned out to be an extremely clear and tasty beer, frothy white head, good lacing..

90 Min Boil
Mashed at 154 OG: 1.055 FG: 1.018
Fermented at 60-62F for 4 weeks
Kegged and carbonated at 8-9 PSI at 36F for 2 weeks
Bottled a 12 Pack from the carbonated keg using a Beergun

Just finishing up the keg of this now and going to miss it. I'm going to be brewing this again soon.

:mug:
Click to expand...

Hello, I brewed this from your post 10 years ago!!!! :p I brewed it about 6 weeks back and it came out pretty good. The head doesn't stick around on mine. Not sure what I did wrong, but my OG was 1.052 and FG 1.008. Final pH is 4.11. I smell a bit of 'funk' in the glass not sure if this is typical of a Kolsch Yeast, but it doesn't come through in the taste at all... it's refreshing more like a 'better' budweiser, I taste a bit of sourness to mine (maybe the pH at 4.11 was too low?), not sweetness as many have described a cream ale... but this is the first cream ale that I've ever had and I brewed it myself so I have nothing to compare it to.

Here is my process: Brewfather
 
Last edited:
Hi! I was wondering when you go to bottle the spotted cow clone, do you have to use priming sugar?
The recipe I used saids nothing about using priming sugar but I just wanted to make sure.
 
Interesting how stepping away from a brew and having it again makes me realize things I missed the first (second, third, etc) time.

Drinking a Spotted Cow. The case was given to me in July fresh from Wisconsin by a family friend. I am now tasting a Belgian yeast taste. Interesting. Maybe Wyeast 1214? Others?
 
Cheers to BrewNinja1! I discovered Spotted Cow this summer and really enjoyed it on tap in (Death’s) Door County, WI.

I used his recipe Here.. It’s been in the bottle 6 days and is shaping up very nicely. This young sample had a hint of banana ester to it and a bit of the characteristic Pilsner flavor. It still needs to dry out a bit and crispen up with more carbonation, but it’s very promising!
 
My spotted cow clone is tasting really good at two weeks in bottle. It’s a bit clearer than it looks ( greedy pour from bottle). Pretty big on pilsner malt flavor, interesting fruit esters-very easy to drink. Head fades pretty fast, especially considering all the flaked grains.


F3BDA303-6911-4442-925F-6C558790C420.jpeg
 
Having grown up a few miles the brewery site (it was a field/farm when I lived in the area) I have always been interested in Spotted Cow.

And I brewed it once, using corn flakes that created so much stuck sparge I renamed it 'clotted sow'.

And now I read that the brewery has gone all malt for some time to avoid GMO corn.
https://eu.greenbaypressgazette.com...you-can-buy-alcohol-content-taste/7445373001/
So now we can start a debate about originalists using corn and others trying to create the current brew...
 
I recently took a week long bike trip to Milwaukee/Madison area. Had lots of SC. I literally stopped in Kenosha, just before the state line on the way home in order to load up -- only then found out I would have been SOL had I gotten closer to Chicago. I am quite fond of Genee Cream, but Spotted Cow is delightfully different.
 

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