White Rajah Clone
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Jeffries55
Well-Known Member
I see your case, and raise you 6 founders Harvest ales :O
Onward though, i apologize for disappearing and not following up with my clone attempt. I was a bit disappointed with it once it aged, i think i had some ferm temp issues (as the first week of fermentation was probably the hottest week of the summer). I think there were definitely some flavors similar to White rajah, just not close enough. Anyhow, It's been a while since i brewed (mostly because i was waiting for cooler temperatures so my house didn't get up to 74-80 during fermentation when my thermostat kicks off), doing a yeast starter tonight for an enjoy-by clone tomorrow
Here's a pic of my rajah clone:
Let's keep this thread going, i would love to try this one again, but in the meantime I've got 8 hops to go into this Enjoy clone (And was able to score Galaxy & Amarillo)! Cheers!
Damn Jeffries55 that is impressive. I was in Dayton to see my sickly daughter who attends Wright St and found the case of White Rajah at the Belmont Party store. The guy behind the counter actually recommended the Harvest Ale but I passed. How is it?
Jeffries55
Well-Known Member
White Rajah is regularly at the LQ store that i buy my beer at, but often times I don't buy it because there is no bottle date, and i live in a real hill-jack area, so they only move it when I'm buying it... but... he had just received 3 cases, so i couldn't not get it? This will be the first time i know for sure it is fresh, because i know i've had it both ways from the same store.
Have not had the Harvest Ale yet, chilling it now, but planning to enjoy one tonight and another tomorrow while i brew. I haven't bought much beer lately (well, do 9 enjoy by 11/12/13 count?), but knew i had to pick up the Harvest Ale (it's from the limited series with the likes of KBS & Devil Dancer)... the owner was hiding it in the backroom, but likely since i used to run the beer tastings he sold me as many as i could afford, lol.
Aside from Heady Topper, i think the most memorable beer I've had this year has been Bell's "The Oracle"... cannot wait until the next release! Though enjoy by is great in its own right, and White Rajah / Founders All Day / Two-hearted and stone IPA are my go-to beers.
Here in the northwest corner of the state where I live finding white rajah at all is pretty rare walking into a store like I did in Dayton and finding a display of 5 cases is a first for me. This rajah is fresh they sell tons of beer there. They had a display of the harvest ale right next to the white rajah.
Jeffries55
Well-Known Member
Bummer man, glad you could grab a fresh case! I really hope they start putting a bottling date on their bottles, or label, or something... it's not too rare here in cincy, but it isn't exactly common either (except the LQ store by my house always has it... though it's hard to discern whether it's fresh, i think he does move a lot of it, but unless it just came in from the distributor, i try to stay away).
The harvest Ale is unique, i must say... first sip is citrus flavors, followed by toasted malt / earthiness. It's worth trying at least one, but not sure how i feel about it yet. Will give it another go tomorrow.. it's just different than what i've been drinking lately (Enjoy By, Breakfast Stout, Rajah).
If you're ever in NE Cincy and looking for a brew, let me know.. lol.
I finally tried enjoy by last week and it's good stuff. I'm a fan of Stone's beers in general their ipa was my first and I do believe I was addicted after 1 sip kind of like crack I guess. LolJeffries55 said:
I'm still paying attention, but it's a few brews down my list unfortunately.
Cool. I'll be over tomorrow. What time and what's your address?doing a yeast starter tonight for an enjoy-by clone tomorrow
It's my next beer after a 3 gallon brown ale I'm doing in a week. I just about drank all my Heady clone and I just did five gallons of a Two Hearted clone so I figured I needed a break from brewing IPAs.
While I got a fellow Cincinnatian, do you treat your water for brewing? I'd be curious what you do if you do. Have you had your water treated? I'd be curious to see how it compares to the CWW report.
Jeffries55
Well-Known Member
Stone IPA was my first as well, and still one of my favorites. I think All-day come close to taking the top spot, I try not to count IIPA's as they're more of a treat.. though i do love me some head hunter, i've come to the conclusion that Head Hunter should only be drank on draft, and when it is on draft, drink it up! If you havent had it on tap, i highly recommend you do, it's way better.
I do not, though I probably should, I plan on getting an RO system to at least dilute my tap water (warren county/hard water).
Yep! I love that place, went last week at 9:00am during their octoberfest, but didn't realize the HB side wasn't opening until 10:00, so i had a pint of their Beagle and had some free breakfast courtesy of them!
Don't mind at all! He has plenty of craft beer to go around, most of the time this is where i buy the rare stuff because most of the clientelle only buys crappy beer / liquor. I was running the beer tasting once and a guy came in, paced around the beer section, then asked me where the "sh***y" beer was, lol.
It's River's Bend Wine and Spirits (just a little southeast of kings island) in Maineville on St Rt 48 close to u.s. 22.
On tap Head Hunter is the best ipa I have ever had and is better than White Rajah. I prefer White Rajah in the bottle to Head Hunter in the bottle.
That does seem to be the best way and I may go that way, but would obviously like to avoid the expense if possible.
Nice. I wanted to go down there, but didn't make it down.
Thanks. That's pretty far out of the way for me (I'm near Kenwood Mall), but that's for the info.
Any White Rajah fans notice it's been tasting different? I have had quite a bit of it lately and it's definitely tasting a bit more dank and less fruity. I wonder if they made the decision to reduce the amount of more expensive hops like Nelson Sauvin and bumped up the Columbus and/or Summit to reduce the cost.
Jeffries55
Well-Known Member
Haven't had it in a while, is it better? I would think less Nelson would make it less dank, but I could be wrong... (aren't Nelson / Galaxy similar in darkness?). Is it better you think? I'm supposed to be trading some in Feb for heady topper and Gandhi Bot, hopefully it hasn't changed that much, but I'll have to see for myself soon!
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plankbr
Well-Known Member
The Root Cellar will usually have this also on Montgomery Rd (next to LaRosas and 'Skyline)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-root-cellar-cincinnati
Still very good just different and I've noticed it the last half dozen times i've had it so I wondered if anyone else noticed it. I really like Columbus and Summit hops both are dank where as Nelson Sauvin has always been fruity for me when I've brewed with it. Still a great IPA either way.
Thanks. I mentioned above that that's my go to craft beer shop and I didn't think I've seen it there but it's possible I've missed it in the disorganization. Also, I've been brewing a bunch of IPAs lately, so I haven't been buying as many.
BrunstuckyJoe
Well-Known Member
I've noticed the same about the taste.....it fluctuates a bit from batch to batch......thought it was just me. I'm still following this thread, but working a lot of O.T. and haven't had time to brew lately. I probably have drank more Rajah than anyone here.
brewski09
Well-Known Member
The change in hop flavor could be as the hop supplies got short at the end of the season. Maybe they didn't get a large enough contact for the volume they ended up selling? Also, hop varieties change year to year a little bit and by growing region. Just look at CTZ hops. They are different depending on the supplier.
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Or since TBK was bought out could it be a business decision to reduce NS, Centennial and Citra and increase the danker and cheaper Columbus and Summit? Thus increasing profit margins? It's not a crazy thought especially since the price of a 6 pack jumped $1 almost immediately after TBK was sold.
Anyways I had none of the problems I had with the first attempt at this I hit my numbers perfectly today. I plan to primary two weeks then rack to secondary for dry hopping for 1 week then keg it.
brewski09
Well-Known Member
Or since TBK was bought out could it be a business decision to reduce NS, Centennial and Citra and increase the danker and cheaper Columbus and Summit? Thus increasing profit margins? It's not a crazy thought especially since the price of a 6 pack jumped $1 almost immediately after TBK was sold.
Anyways I had none of the problems I had with the first attempt at this I hit my numbers perfectly today. I plan to primary two weeks then rack to secondary for dry hopping for 1 week then keg it.
I don't think that's really the cause of the price increase. All the "craft" beers seen to be more expensive lately, especially the one like this one. I haven't noticed any differences on TBK except better availability.
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The price increase came within weeks of the sale. I'm certain it's the reason, not that there is anything wrong with the new owners, rumored to be Paninis chain, seeing the value in this beer and running with it. But don't think for a minute that is was just a reaction to the craft market, not one of their other beers went up in price.
It was to soon after the sale to be a coincidence. I still buy White Rajah whenever I see it but obviously the increase was due to new ownership. I believe someone in this thread stated that TBK wanted to de-emphasize White Rajah due to the expense of producing it so it's not a stretch to think they could have tinkered with the recipe to make it cheaper to produce.
I buy it all the time too, it's fantastic! I agree with you that it tastes slightly different. I drink mostly IPAs, CBC IPA is my go to. I drink lots of it and I will find a batch here and there that I think has a different hop in it. I wonder if they will sub a hop once in a while if supply is low for the typical hop and not actually change the recipe for good.
My concern when TBK was sold was that it would effect the beer quality as corporations care mostly for the bottom line. Never heard of cbc ipa is it a local micro brewery's IPA?
brewski09
Well-Known Member
CBC is Columbus brewing company. If you like their IPA, you have to try their bodhi dipa. Simply fantastic. Only on tap for now, but they plan on bottling it soon (at least that's the story for the last year and a half. I have dibs on the first case of the bottling line already). 99\100 on beeradvocate
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Yup Bodhi is amazing! Got a growler last week from Savor. Fool's Gold is an awesome "session" version of Bodhi but it's super limited. Columbus has a lot of breweries now, but honestly CBC is the only one I think is making great beer. I haven't tried some of the newest (Actual, Wolf Ridge, etc) but they group I hang with tends to bring new stuff over every week and we always go back to some of the originals, like CBC.
about three months ago I email the brew master and got the recipe for Bodhi, and I have heard for a while they can't figure out how to bottle Bodhi and get the same flavor on tap. I hope they can figure it out soon, it is my favorite IPA
brewski09
Well-Known Member
For the lazy - https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/columbus-brewing-bodhi-clone-432015/
Thanks ddicker! So how much of the recipe came from the brewer?
We are heading up to Columbus for the Blue Jackets/Sabres game next month, so CBC is on my list of breweries to visit!
Thanks ddicker! So how much of the recipe came from the brewer?
We are heading up to Columbus for the Blue Jackets/Sabres game next month, so CBC is on my list of breweries to visit!
Jeffries55
Well-Known Member
Since when did they change caps? One is from whole foods ($10.99), the other is from my LQ store (11.99).. I feel like I got sold stale cheese.. Anyone?
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Woah wtf is that? Looks like my homebrew except no writing in a sharpie on the caps lol.
