American Pale Ale Three Floyds Zombie Dust Clone

snakebyte said:

How many liters of Yeast Starter are you guys using for this recipe? Using the 5g extract batch size, Mr Malty is saying 3.5L. This will be my first starter, but I've yet to see anyone talking about making a 3.5L starter...

I'll be doing a simple starter, I don't have a stir plate.

I'm using 1968.

Recommendations?

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Do a 2 stage starter. 3.5 L is a lot of liquid and not recommended. If you do 2 stage and decant after the first you should be good around a liter or so.

Just dropped the dry hops in my 4th batch (first partial mash) og was 1.073, 1.023 right now so a little higher than target but very close.

Hey Guys,

Been on the forum for quite a while but havent posted. Im based over in Thailand and tried Zombie Dust in a bar in Bangkok.... it was unbelievably good so now I'd like to make it myself. We have malts etc available but not exactly as per above.

I have tried to adapt the recipe as best as possible using locally available malts:

Do you think this will turn out well?

Please see below:

11.75lb 2 row Pilsner
1.63lb Munich malt
8oz Caramunich II
8oz Carapils


The hops and yeast remain the same as the original recipe. Do any of you guys have any comments on this? Do you think this will turn out a decent brew?

Many thanks in advance

Rivet

Brewed this last weekend and was able to grab 2 cases of ZD from the brewery yesterday...can't wait to do a side by side taste test!

rivetcatcher said:

Hey Guys,

Been on the forum for quite a while but havent posted. Im based over in Thailand and tried Zombie Dust in a bar in Bangkok.... it was unbelievably good so now I'd like to make it myself. We have malts etc available but not exactly as per above.

I have tried to adapt the recipe as best as possible using locally available malts:

Do you think this will turn out well?

Please see below:

11.75lb 2 row Pilsner
1.63lb Munich malt
8oz Caramunich II
8oz Carapils


The hops and yeast remain the same as the original recipe. Do any of you guys have any comments on this? Do you think this will turn out a decent brew?

Many thanks in advance

Rivet

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Maybe another half pound of caramunich if you do not have access to meladion. Can you get biscuit malt? Do you have any Marris Otter?

milldoggy said:

Maybe another half pound of caramunich if you do not have access to meladion. Can you get biscuit malt? Do you have any Marris Otter?

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Maris Otter is only available sometimes, at the moment there is none. Im worried about the colour, if I add in another 0.5lb of Cara munich I will get an SRM of 12.2 which is too dark. The taste however is priority for me but I would like to get as close as possible to the original. In an ideal world I would like to make the colour even lighter, at the moment the SRM is 10.

Do you think adding an extra 0.5lb of Caramunich will benefit the brew tastewise?

skeezerpleezer said:

I did another variation of this a few weeks ago. Kept the same grain bill, fermented 100% with Brett Brux Trois, then used the following for hops:

20min: .75oz Citra, .75oz Mosaic

10min: .75oz Citra, .75oz Mosaic

5min: 1oz Citra, 1oz Mosaic

0min: 1.5oz Citra, 1.5oz Mosaic

Dry Hop #1: 1.5oz Citra, 1.5oz Mosaic

Dry Hop #2: 1oz Citra, 1oz Mosaic



I'm on the 2nd dry hop right now. Taste and aroma are great.

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Skeezer, what is your efficiency on your setup? Also, which variant that you have tried is your favorite? Or is the original the best? Also, saw ur into metal, hell yeah\m/ what bands do u listen to??

My first PM version is cold crashing. Og was 1.073 Fg 1.020. I don't know much about efficiency and things of that sort. But does it sound like my process was good?

chainlife said:

Skeezer, what is your efficiency on your setup? Also, which variant that you have tried is your favorite? Or is the original the best? Also, saw ur into metal, hell yeah\m/ what bands do u listen to??

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I used to get 72-75%, but usually get in the low-mid 80s for a 5-7g batch or normal gravity beer these days. This one is still on gas carbing now and has potential to up there. The one I did with conan was pretty good. I have brewed the regular the most though.

I listen to all kinds of metal, old school, death, metalcore, etc. Machine Head, Slayer, Suicide Silence, Strapping Young Lad, Opeth, Pantera, Gojira, Job for a Cowboy, Black Sabbath, Necrophagist, CoC, Killswitch Engage, Between the Buried and Me, etc. Depends on the mood I guess :rockin:

Steve3730 said:

My first PM version is cold crashing. Og was 1.073 Fg 1.020. I don't know much about efficiency and things of that sort. But does it sound like my process was good?

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That's around 73% attenuation, so on the upper end for yeasts like 1968 or S-04, especially if using extract. You can get better attenuation, but would need to do something like ferment lower, add sugar, pitch a healthy starter, pure oxygen, etc.

skeezerpleezer said:

That's around 73% attenuation, so on the upper end for yeasts like 1968 or S-04, especially if using extract. You can get better attenuation, but would need to do something like ferment lower, add sugar, pitch a healthy starter, pure oxygen, etc.

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would I want a higher attenuation with this beer? i fermented around 63 degrees 10 days 66 7 days pitched a 1 liter starter

So I brewed this yesterday but my new thermometer was not calibrated (I noticed when my boil was going at 219 degrees...). So basically I ended up mashing around 145 instead of 152 and my pre-boil gravity was 1.040.

I didn't want to dump it so I boiled 90 minutes instead of 60, added 0.5 pound of table sugar and omitted the 10 minute hop addition. I ended at 1.056.

This is strictly an experiment at this point, and while I'm hoping for something somewhat tasty, I'm not expecting much. My question is would you guys have done anything differently in that situation?

anteater8 said:

So I brewed this yesterday but my new thermometer was not calibrated (I noticed when my boil was going at 219 degrees...). So basically I ended up mashing around 145 instead of 152 and my pre-boil gravity was 1.040.

I didn't want to dump it so I boiled 90 minutes instead of 60, added 0.5 pound of table sugar and omitted the 10 minute hop addition. I ended at 1.056.

This is strictly an experiment at this point, and while I'm hoping for something somewhat tasty, I'm not expecting much. My question is would you guys have done anything differently in that situation?

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Probably will be the best beer you ever made

I just wanted to throw in my $.02 in regards to this outstanding recipe. The original is my house beer and I have brewed it numerous times. I have been playing with the hop bill a touch lately with really good results. On 5/9/15 I used the same grain bill as listed (with just over 1% Acid Malt). Hops were:

.75 oz Citra @FWH
1oz Mosaic @ 15 min
.5 oz Citra @15 min
1oz Mosaic @ 10 min
.5 oz Citra @ 10 min
1 oz Mosaic @ 5 min
.5 oz Citra @ 5 min
1oz Mosaic @ 1 min
.5 oz Citra @ 1 min

1 oz Mosaic @ Hop Steep/whirlpool (175)
1 oz Mosaic @Hop Steep/whirlpool (145)
.25 oz Citra @ Hop Steep/whirlpool (145)
2 oz Mosaic @ Dry Hop 5 days
1 oz Citra @ Dry Hop 5 days

I forget the AA, but the IBUs were a bit higher. My water profile (built from RO) was Ca 103.6, Mg 0, Na 21.4, Cl 39.6, So4 239.3 I was shooting for a Ph around 5.4

OG was 1.066. FG 1.016 after 9 days. It's early to judge completely, but so far this is a beautiful beer. Juicy, fruity and exquisite. I can't wait to put this on gas. My wife thinks I'm a genius after tasting the hydro sample. Thank you for this Skeezer!!

BTW, I know some people do not like Mosaic dominated IPAs, but I have to say, it plays nice with the Citra here in the 2 to 1 ratio IMO. May try this in a 1:1 ratio next.

^mosaic does pair well with Citra. I think a little goes a long way though. I really like .75-1oz in a big dry hop - it really makes for a killer nose on the beer

Hi,

I brew the original recipe exacly 1 month ago. Its already kegged for some time but still terrible bitter, undrinkable.

The only thing I missed in the recipe was the FWH, and I added it on the 60 boil instead.

Could that be the cause of the extremelly bitterness?

Bad Citra hops? I live in china and the hops are all imported. Just used Citra in this recipe so far. All the others 7 brews I made came out pretty good.


In that brew was also the first time I checked the pH, and it was high, so I added too much Lactic Acid and it wen very low, so I added some Sodium Bicarbonate to bring it up to 5.3. Could the sodium bicarbonate did that?

Or I could have extracted tannins with the high pH, but it stayed high for just around 5 minutes.

Anyway, I will brew another recipe tmrw and by the time it ferments, if this beer is still bitter, I will dump it and brew again.

Thanks for any help!

Not sure if it was already said or not but Zombie Dust is almost a Smash of two row and Citra it's like 93% or more two row and pretty much all Citra. No cara crystal as that leaves two much residual sweetness and takes away from the hop bitterness.

Last year in MN Surly started brewing an excellent Citra/Mosaic single malt IPA made with Golden Promise. It's currently regarded as one of the best IPA's in the state. Unfortunately draft only but set to be canned soon. Let us know how the Citra/Mosaic IPA turns out with this grist.

D-Train I certainly will - its going on gas Saturday. That beer from Surly sounds fantastic. You know, I was up in Vermont a few weeks ago and got my hands on some Focal Banger from The Alchemist. It made me want to play with the Citra/Mosaic combo. It was like french kissing an angel.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1432059044.957693.jpg

Here's my citra/mosaic version fermented with Brett Brux Trois. Been on gas for a week or so, it's really good. Lots of fruity hop flavor

Skeezer that is a nice looking beer. Can I ask you how much the Brett Brux Trois dried it out? I'm thinking that maybe I will try this variation out next. Thank you again.

I got around 83% attenuation, 1.065 down to 1.011. That was my first all Brett beer, but from what I have read low 80%s is fairly normal. It gets down a lot lower when used as a secondary yeast.

I had originally planned a citra mosaic combo with a bumped up abv. Than decided to switch to a Citra and Nelson Sauvin combo. Now all the mosaic citra talk has me thinking to do back to my original plan

Steve3730 said:

I had originally planned a citra mosaic combo with a bumped up abv. Than decided to switch to a Citra and Nelson Sauvin combo. Now all the mosaic citra talk has me thinking to do back to my original plan

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citra and nelson are like peas and carrots. do it!

jammin said:

citra and nelson are like peas and carrots. do it!

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This will be done than. Got 4 ounces of nelson. Thinking 2 bittering 1 flame out 1 dry. Also wanted to push the abv up a little to around 8 or 9. Do i simply add more 2 row or do i need to up all the specialty grain too?

@Steve3730 - this grain bill coupled with the wyeast 1964/WLP002 is really solid. I've played with it a bit myself by increasing attenuation, cutting specialty malts and subbing back in base and finally getting higher than expected efficiency.

in the end, it's just really good as is. if you want push up the ABV - i'd just add additional base malt and leave specialty grains as is.

good luck and share your results!

jammin said:

@Steve3730 - this grain bill coupled with the wyeast 1964/WLP002 is really solid. I've played with it a bit myself by increasing attenuation, cutting specialty malts and subbing back in base and finally getting higher than expected efficiency.

in the end, it's just really good as is. if you want push up the ABV - i'd just add additional base malt and leave specialty grains as is.

good luck and share your results!

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Will do. I'll brew it up in the next couple weeks.

I did a side by side of the real zombie vs my last batch. Clone more mouthfeel and smoother finish real zombie more bite in the back and better head retention

Hi, I am from Brazil and while looking for ideas on my next IPA Single Hop I found this thread. My first Single Hop was a Nelson one that turned out amazingly, so gave this one a try.

Unfortunately we do not have the same malts in here as you do in the US, so I had to use different options, although always respecting the same malt type proportion.

OG was 1067 and FG hit 1013. I used S-04.

I started the DH yesterday at 18 celsius and will keep this temperature for 10 days.

Anyway, thanks a lot for this recipe, I never had the chance to try a real ZD but given everyone's comments in here I am very excited on how this will turn out!

Thinking about doing this recipe (for the 8th time) and doing this via using hopshot (12ml for a 12 gallon batch) for the ibu's and then a butt load of citra (11.5oz of pellets) in a hop stand post boil....anyone try this yet or have any suggestions for my approach to this?

Steve3730 said:

This will be done than. Got 4 ounces of nelson. Thinking 2 bittering 1 flame out 1 dry. Also wanted to push the abv up a little to around 8 or 9. Do i simply add more 2 row or do i need to up all the specialty grain too?

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Let us know how this goes! Brewing again this weekend, might do a hop mix too.

Anyone try this with azacca instead of citra?

Steve3730 said:

This will be done than. Got 4 ounces of nelson. Thinking 2 bittering 1 flame out 1 dry. Also wanted to push the abv up a little to around 8 or 9. Do i simply add more 2 row or do i need to up all the specialty grain too?

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I brewed this to 1.072 with the following:
12 pounds base malt
1.5 pounds Munich 10
0.5 pounds Carafoam
0.5 pounds Crystal 60
0.5 pounds Melanoiden
4 ounces Acidulated (for pH)

Everyone at the brew club meeting loved it.

I'm up in the air if I wanna push this to a DIPA or first keep it around the same IBU/ABV profile and just mix in the NS hops

here is what I'm thinking for DIPA. I added 1lbs of corn sugar to try and dry it out to the low 1.020s while keeping the abv about 8%. I've never used Corn sugar before, any input on putting it in this grain bill?

Boil Size: 5.70 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.20 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.087 SG
Estimated Color: 9.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 101.9 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 70.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Estimated FG 1.022
Estimated ABV 8.6%

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
6 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 44.4 %
1 lbs Munich - Light 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 2 7.4 %
8.0 oz CaraFoam (1.8 SRM) Grain 3 3.7 %
8.0 oz Caramel / Crystal 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 4 3.7 %
8.0 oz Melanoidin (25.0 SRM) Grain 5 3.7 %
0.50 oz Citra [12.00 %] - First Wort 20.0 min Hop 6 12.0 IBUs
4 lbs Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 7 29.6 %
1 lbs Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 8 7.4 %
0.50 oz Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 9 18.0 IBUs
0.50 oz Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 10 13.8 IBUs
1.00 oz Citra [11.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 11 16.3 IBUs
0.50 oz Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 12 8.9 IBUs
1.00 oz Citra [11.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 13 11.9 IBUs
0.50 oz Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 14 6.5 IBUs
1.00 oz Citra [11.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 15 6.6 IBUs
1.00 oz Citra [11.00 %] - Boil 1.0 min Hop 16 1.4 IBUs
1.00 oz Citra [11.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 17 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Citra [12.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 10.0 Hop 18 6.5 IBUs
1.0 pkg London ESB Ale (Wyeast Labs #1968) [124. Yeast 19 -
4.00 oz Citra [11.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 20 0.0 IBUs
2.00 oz Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Da Hop 21 0.0 IBUs

Anyone have any input on this with 7C's?
I have a pound I have no idea what to do with and thought that maybe this would be a good recipe for them.

Medic218 said:

Anyone have any input on this with 7C's?
I have a pound I have no idea what to do with and thought that maybe this would be a good recipe for them.

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Should be good. I have done this malt bill with a few different hops. Haven't found a hop that doesn't work well yet.

So...re-crunching some numbers with my buddy this is my next attempt for a BIAB no sparge squeeze like hell 12 gallon batch:

Est. OG=1.065
Est. FG=1.018
Est. ABV=6.17%
Color=8.5
IBU=65ish

Mash @152 for 60 minutes, Mash Out @ 165-170 for 10-15 minutes

23.5lb (American) Briess Brewers Malt 2-Row
2.26lb (American) Briess Munich 10L
1lb (German) Weyermann Carafoam
1lb (American) Briess Caramel 60L
1lb (American) Great Western Malting Co. Melanoidin

16.8ml Hopshot @ 60 Minutes for the 60 minute boil

Cool to 165-170 then add:

11.5oz Citra Pellets for a 40-45 minute hop stand

Chill to pitching temp....Split into 2 different fermenters using S-04 in one and then Wyeast 1968 in the other.

Fermenting in the basement where the ambient room temp is around 60 with our AC running this time of year.....OR......put them in the ferm. chamber and controlling them to ferment at 67-68 degrees...either way I'll let them ride out for 2 weeks then dry hop 3oz citra pellets in each fermenter after transferring to secondaries. Any suggestions on that fermentation approach anyone?

I just wanted to follow up in regards to the Mosaic/Citra version I brewed. It turned out delicious. However, I think I may enjoy it more when it is Citra dominate. I will change the ratios up in the future. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1433205949.095193.jpg

Just bottled my first attempt at this brew on Thursday evening. I was surprised by how sweet it smelled, it was an incredible smell. Would you describe it as a sweet smell? I've never had the real thing, so not sure I know what to expect.

I also tried a sip before I dry-hopped and before bottling. I thought it had a great taste, especially up front. Was a little hot on the back-end, but I could already tell it was cooling off with the extra 7 days of dry-hopping.

Anyone else experience the "hot" flavor? My fermentation was between 63-65 the entire time...so don't think it was related to a warm fermentation.

Super anxious to try it once it's completely bottle conditioned. Thanks for the great recipe!

Never experienced anything "hot" here. Big brew day tomorrow for me on this one. 12 gallon batch. The only difference in making to this from my earlier recipe post a few posts ago is subbing out all the Briess Brewers Malt and going with American Rhar Pale malt since there's a slight difference between the Brewers malt style and Pale malt. Super stoked to do this one via hopshot route for the bittering and doing ALL the hops (11.5oz) of Citra via a 40-45 minute whirlpool hop stand at 165-170 degrees After the boil.

Had to brew this one again. This time to add even more citra explosiveness I performed a 45 minute hop stand at flameout. Smells amazing...