Wanted Threefloyds Gumballhead clone

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I talked in length with Bob about trying to clone this. I guess Three Floyds is pretty protective about their recipes. I've never had it, but from some people that have, it sounds like it has some wheat in it, with an IPA hopping schedule. You could just attempt to clone it based on what it tastes like, and then tweak. It may take several batches to get close. I'd be willing to help you out in this venture.

Let me know.
 
All Grain Recipe - Gumball Head Wheat ::: 1.052/1.012 (6 Gal)
Grain Bill (70% Efficiency assumed)
6 lbs. - Wheat Malt
5 lbs. - 2-Row Pale Malt
1 lb. - Caravienne Malt

Hop Schedule (27 IBU)
1/4 oz. - Amarillo - First Wort Hop
1/4 oz. - Amarillo - 60 min.
1/2 oz. - Amarillo - 15 min.
1.25 oz. - Amarillo - 5 min.
1 oz. - Amarillo - 1 min.
1.5 oz. - Amarillo - Dry Hop

Yeast
White Labs California Ale Yeast (WLP001) - 1800 ml starter

Mash/Sparge/Boil
Mash at 153° for 60 min.
Sparge as usual
Cool and ferment at 68° to 70°

Notes
Several people have brewed this and reported good results.
 
heres our recipe - its pretty right on:
5lbs wheat malt
4lbs pale malt 6row
3lbs pale malt 2row
2lbs vienna malt
1.5lbs carapils
10grams amarillo 60mins
14grams amarillo 30mins
7grams amarillo 15mins
7grams amarillo 5mins
1oz dryhop for 3-5 days. serve at 12psi. 27.6IBUS OG 1.058 FG 1.017

amarillo hops are leaf hops with alpha of 10.4% and beta of 6.2%. use london esb 1968 yeast (FFF's house yeast). this beer turns out so close we have just stopped buying gumballhead and only brewing it instead. :) the color is just slightly darker but the taste is right on.
 
I just brewed this up a few weeks ago... Almost spot on... I am still waiting for the dry hop addition until I taste it again but the samples were awesome...

Here is the recipe that I used:

All Grain Recipe - Gumball Head Wheat ::: 1.052/1.012 (6 Gal)
Grain Bill (70% Efficiency assumed)
6 lbs. - Wheat Malt
5 lbs. - 2-Row Pale Malt
1 lb. - Caravienne Malt

Hop Schedule (27 IBU)
1/4 oz. - Amarillo - First Wort Hop
1/4 oz. - Amarillo - 60 min.
1/2 oz. - Amarillo - 15 min.
1.25 oz. - Amarillo - 5 min.
1 oz. - Amarillo - 1 min.
1.5 oz. - Amarillo - Dry Hop

Yeast
Wyeast 1056 - American Ale - 1800 ml starter

Mash/Sparge/Boil
Mash at 153° for 60 min.
Sparge as usual
Cool and ferment at 68° to 70°

Notes
Wait til fermentation is finished and then add dry-hop additions for 7-10 days.
Rack and bottle or keg as normal.
 
My version is almost the same as the rest, we increased the FWH. All hops were whole leaf.

6 lbs Wheat Malt
5 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US
1 lbs Caravienne Malt
0.50 oz Amarillo - First Wort
0.25 oz Amarillo - Boil 60.0 min
0.50 oz Amarillo - Boil 15.0 min
1.25 oz Amarillo - Boil 5.0 min
1.00 oz Amarillo - Boil 1.0 min
1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001)
1.50 oz Amarillo - Dry Hop - 7 days

Mashed at 152F for 60 minutes


So far everyone loves it and say it's very close to gumballhead. It also turned out to be a very clear beer. We plan on brewing another 10 gallons of this before the summers end.
 
After a week of letting it sit on the dry-hops, I kegged this up on Saturday. Cold crashed it in my keezer for 24 hours and then set the CO2 to 30 psi for 24 hours. Monday, I purged and dropped to 12 psi. Last night (Tuesday) I drew a sample. Threw out the first couple ounces of trub settling out and then poured a few more ounces to drink.

VERY GOOD.. This is SPOT ON... I had opened a bottle of Gumballhead for comparison as well. Carbonation level is almost perfect. The original has just the slightest bit more malt hint to it but I couldnt ask for anything better.

This is my best beer brewed to date.... I was a very happy camper last night... So much so, that I went back for a 2nd and 3rd glass.... :)
 
Jon,

I used the exact same recipe, but with red wheat and us05.

It is delicious. I have never had gumballhead, but it is one of the best beers I've made.

I will be brewing this again real soon
 
I just brewed this up a few weeks ago... Almost spot on... I am still waiting for the dry hop addition until I taste it again but the samples were awesome...

Here is the recipe that I used:

All Grain Recipe - Gumball Head Wheat ::: 1.052/1.012 (6 Gal)
Grain Bill (70% Efficiency assumed)
6 lbs. - Wheat Malt
5 lbs. - 2-Row Pale Malt
1 lb. - Caravienne Malt

Hop Schedule (27 IBU)
1/4 oz. - Amarillo - First Wort Hop
1/4 oz. - Amarillo - 60 min.
1/2 oz. - Amarillo - 15 min.
1.25 oz. - Amarillo - 5 min.
1 oz. - Amarillo - 1 min.
1.5 oz. - Amarillo - Dry Hop

Yeast
Wyeast 1056 - American Ale - 1800 ml starter

Mash/Sparge/Boil
Mash at 153° for 60 min.
Sparge as usual
Cool and ferment at 68° to 70°

Notes
Wait til fermentation is finished and then add dry-hop additions for 7-10 days.
Rack and bottle or keg as normal.

Two questions:

Which wheat malt is recommended, red, white, pale, etc?

If I wanted to use dry yeast instead, would S-04 work for this recipe?
 
Side by side tasting I found my version was lacking a little bit of fruity flavor. The real stuff was a bit more fruity and a little drier.
 
I brewed a very similar clone of this and bottled it about 3 weeks ago. I tasted one today and it's a bit "harsh". The aroma is nice but the flavor is not smooth. I added 3oz of dry hops, could that have been too much?
 
zach1288 said:
I brewed a very similar clone of this and bottled it about 3 weeks ago. I tasted one today and it's a bit "harsh". The aroma is nice but the flavor is not smooth. I added 3oz of dry hops, could that have been too much?

Too much dry hop? Never....

What temp did you ferment at, what yeast, etc. need more specifies here.
 
heres our recipe - its pretty right on:
5lbs wheat malt
4lbs pale malt 6row
3lbs pale malt 2row
2lbs vienna malt
1.5lbs carapils
10grams amarillo 60mins
14grams amarillo 30mins
7grams amarillo 15mins
7grams amarillo 5mins
1oz dryhop for 3-5 days. serve at 12psi. 27.6IBUS OG 1.058 FG 1.017

amarillo hops are leaf hops with alpha of 10.4% and beta of 6.2%. use london esb 1968 yeast (FFF's house yeast). this beer turns out so close we have just stopped buying gumballhead and only brewing it instead. :) the color is just slightly darker but the taste is right on.

I have made this twice now the first was a 5 gal. batch hit og right on.
The second one i did a 10 gal batch just doubled every thing and my og was 1.074 guess I will see how it turns out. The first batch was great and it didn't last long.
 
I have made this twice now the first was a 5 gal. batch hit og right on.
The second one i did a 10 gal batch just doubled every thing and my og was 1.074 guess I will see how it turns out. The first batch was great and it didn't last long.

glad to hear it! sounds like you had awesome efficiency! we haven't made this clone in awhile. might have to do so soon! :) :mug:
 
Im doing a 10 gal batch this weekend, half fermented with wlp001 dry hop amarillo and the other with us-05 dry-hop centennial! Gonna post results and pictures!
 
As promised, a picture of a pour of my US-05 / Centennial dry hop version of this recipe. Aroma is grapefruit, light body with a smooth finish due to the wheat. Next time ill go with more wheat, and amarillo in dryhop.

unnamed (2).jpg
 
I just brewed this up a few weeks ago... Almost spot on... I am still waiting for the dry hop addition until I taste it again but the samples were awesome...

Here is the recipe that I used:

All Grain Recipe - Gumball Head Wheat ::: 1.052/1.012 (6 Gal)
Grain Bill (70% Efficiency assumed)
6 lbs. - Wheat Malt
5 lbs. - 2-Row Pale Malt
1 lb. - Caravienne Malt

Hop Schedule (27 IBU)
1/4 oz. - Amarillo - First Wort Hop
1/4 oz. - Amarillo - 60 min.
1/2 oz. - Amarillo - 15 min.
1.25 oz. - Amarillo - 5 min.
1 oz. - Amarillo - 1 min.
1.5 oz. - Amarillo - Dry Hop

Yeast
Wyeast 1056 - American Ale - 1800 ml starter

Mash/Sparge/Boil
Mash at 153° for 60 min.
Sparge as usual
Cool and ferment at 68° to 70°

Notes
Wait til fermentation is finished and then add dry-hop additions for 7-10 days.
Rack and bottle or keg as normal.

Would really like to brew this one. But what about water chemestry? Can i have your water profile?

BR Folke
 
Would really like to brew this one. But what about water chemestry? Can i have your water profile?

BR Folke

Just as a follow up. I submitted this one to a BJCP contest and took 3rd place with a 42.

The only additions I did to my water was add campden to get rid of chlorine and chloramine and I also added 6 ml of 88% Lactic Acid to lower pH in the mash water.

Here was the water profile that I was working with:

water.jpg
 
Just as a follow up. I submitted this one to a BJCP contest and took 3rd place with a 42.

The only additions I did to my water was add campden to get rid of chlorine and chloramine and I also added 6 ml of 88% Lactic Acid to lower pH in the mash water.

Here was the water profile that I was working with:

Oh! Thanks so much...your water profile is much different from mine (I live in Jutland, Denmark) and we all know that a proper water treatment is the hidden gem to make excellent beer?!! :tank:

And congrats by the way....makes me just more eager to taste what this beer is all about! :mug:

BR Folke
 
I brewed Beercheer's version last weekend, but I used Danstar wheat beer yeast to try something different, I'll let y'all know how it turns out
 
I brewed Beercheer's version last weekend, but I used Danstar wheat beer yeast to try something different, I'll let y'all know how it turns out

Super! Using a Wheat east was also something that came to me. Looking forward to hear about your experiences :)

BR Folke
 
are none of you guys having stuck mashes? I've been using 1/2# rice hulls and still get stuck mashes....

on the other hand the version I tried is 60% (2 row) 40% (supossed to be red wheat but was white) and some rice hulls, with amarillo hops. I liked it so much that I'm gonna use the same grain bill and just play around with the hops and yeast. My last was US-05 and cascade (i upped the IBU's to around 50 as well)...can't wait to taste it.
 
Super! Using a Wheat east was also something that came to me. Looking forward to hear about your experiences :)

BR Folke

yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I'm almost done cold crashing in the primary, so I'll transfer in a few days to the keg and dry hop in there. Should be tasty!!
 
are none of you guys having stuck mashes? I've been using 1/2# rice hulls and still get stuck mashes....

on the other hand the version I tried is 60% (2 row) 40% (supossed to be red wheat but was white) and some rice hulls, with amarillo hops. I liked it so much that I'm gonna use the same grain bill and just play around with the hops and yeast. My last was US-05 and cascade (i upped the IBU's to around 50 as well)...can't wait to taste it.

I have never had a stuck mash, ever, and I have a corona mill and generate a good amount of flour, and have brewed huge beers many times (20+ pounds per 5 gal batch)
 
Three Floyds reports Gumballhead as 35 IBU and 5.6%ABV. Have you guys with ~27 IBU recipes noted much difference in bitterness or aroma?

I'm going to brew 10 gallons in the next few weeks, and put half on mango in a secondary.... anyone else have experience fruiting up a gumballhead?
 
are none of you guys having stuck mashes? I've been using 1/2# rice hulls and still get stuck mashes....

on the other hand the version I tried is 60% (2 row) 40% (supossed to be red wheat but was white) and some rice hulls, with amarillo hops. I liked it so much that I'm gonna use the same grain bill and just play around with the hops and yeast. My last was US-05 and cascade (i upped the IBU's to around 50 as well)...can't wait to taste it.

I do BIAB, so no stuck mash even without rice hulls. Less need to vorlauft too, even though I still do to get a clearer mash.

I just did the Gumballhead recipe and I am bottling it today. As luck would have it, I have fresh Gumballhead that was bottled Tues to do a side-by-side comparison.

I'll report back my result. Hoping I can perfect this one, I rode my sportbike 4 hours each way to load it up with 2 cases of Gumballhead. No Zombie Dust, but I suspected they wouldn't have it since their website didn't say they had any. I suspect this Tues they will have more ZD...
 
Popped the top on one of these after two weeks in the bottle and it is *VERY* close to the real deal. I will brew this one again. I used 1968 yeast because that is what I read that FFF uses. I also added 1lb of Torrified wheat for the heck of it.
 
Popped the top on one of these after two weeks in the bottle and it is *VERY* close to the real deal. I will brew this one again. I used 1968 yeast because that is what I read that FFF uses. I also added 1lb of Torrified wheat for the heck of it.


What recipe did you go with? Fermentation temp?
 
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