I cloned a monster!...

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Dawggy_Stile

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Great Lakes Brewery's Lake Erie Monster that is!
With a 5 gallon better bottle sitting around empty, I gave it a shot and did my first all grain batch...a 4 gallon clone of LEM.
Checking the gravity today, the sample I took was almost half a cup. So I had one Monster left and invited a neighbor over to try it side by side and he even said its almost right on. Without the carbonation you didn't get the same mouth feel as the original, but the taste was right there..a few more days then its time to bottle.
Heres the profile:http://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/uploads/Beer/Monster%20Sell%20Sheet.pdf
And
Heres the recipe:

Style: Imperial IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 4.00 gal
Boil Size: 4.85 gal
Estimated OG: 1.092 SG
Estimated Color: 13.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 72.1 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
7.15 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 60.39 %
1.19 lb Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM) Grain 10.06 %
1.00 lb Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM) Grain 8.44 %
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (60 min) Hops 42.6 IBU
1.00 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] (60 min) Hops 14.7 IBU
0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (15 min) Hops 10.6 IBU
0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (5 min) Hops 4.2 IBU
0.50 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
2.50 lb Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 21.10 %
3.20 gal Distilled Water Water
1 Pkgs English Ale (White Labs #WLP002) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 9.35 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 11.68 qt of water at 161.4 F 150.0 F
 
How did this end up tasting after carbing up? This is one of my new favorite Imperial IPAs and would love to make one, but that hop character has to be there for me to want to make it since the Monster is so different from everything else I have ever tried.
 
The sample before bottling it tasted very close, but after time, it lost something. Actually lost alot.
This was my first attempt at AG.
I have a friend who works for the company that does HVAC for Great Lakes and she always says she'll try to get me some Christmas Ale..I told her heck with that, get the Lake Erie Monster grain bill instead!
 
Wlp 002 is wyeast 1968, aka Fuller's strain. There's a lot of talk in the British Yeast superthread regarding this yeast sucking the life outta your beer after bottling. I myself made a london porter clone which was On The Money after 2 weeks fermenting but seemed thin and lacking after 2 weeks in the bottle.

Edit: the solution seems to be cold crashing right after primary and bottling with a different yeast or just kegging.
 
9# of grain @ 75% gets you less than 1.060, not 1.092. LEM is 9% ABV, so you're quite a bit shy on gravity. The recipes I've seen call for 15# of two row & 1.5# of 30L for 5 gl.

-d
 
logdrum said:
9# of grain @ 75% gets you less than 1.060, not 1.092. LEM is 9% ABV, so you're quite a bit shy on gravity. The recipes I've seen call for 15# of two row & 1.5# of 30L for 5 gl.

-d

Would the 2.5 #'s of sugar make the difference?
 
"Would the 2.5 #'s of sugar make the difference?"

D'oh! it sure would, at least in gravity. Sorry, I didn't see that. I can't verify for sure, but I don't think Great Lakes uses sugar. Their web site does say 2 row & 30L though, no Cara & no Biscuit. The hops looks right on, though. I made a version of this (2 row & 30L) with a slightly altered hop schedule & it came out great. Loves me some simcoe!

-d

-d
 
"Would the 2.5 #'s of sugar make the difference?"

D'oh! it sure would, at least in gravity. Sorry, I didn't see that. I can't verify for sure, but I don't think Great Lakes uses sugar. Their web site does say 2 row & 30L though, no Cara & no Biscuit. The hops looks right on, though. I made a version of this (2 row & 30L) with a slightly altered hop schedule & it came out great. Loves me some simcoe!

-d

-d


Good to know! Thanks.
 
"Would the 2.5 #'s of sugar make the difference?"

D'oh! it sure would, at least in gravity. Sorry, I didn't see that. I can't verify for sure, but I don't think Great Lakes uses sugar. Their web site does say 2 row & 30L though, no Cara & no Biscuit. The hops looks right on, though. I made a version of this (2 row & 30L) with a slightly altered hop schedule & it came out great. Loves me some simcoe!

-d

-d

Would you mind sharing your recipe? This is one of my favorite beers.
 
This is similar, w/ the acid malt to correct pH for Cleveland water:

http://hopville.com/recipe/590122/imperial-ipa-recipes/monstrosity

GLBC uses mostly Wyeast 1028, I wanted to "personalize" the recipe; for a more accurate version, use fuggles as your flavor & aroma, instead of glacier & amarillo. 15# of 2 row was dangerous, could easily go 14. I mashed @ 154 using the 001, an english yeast would be better at around 151-2.

-d
 
I'm a newer brewer and haven't used fuggles, or simcoe for that matter.

15# 2-row
1# Carmel 30L
1.5oz Simcoe 60
1oz fuggles 25 min
.5oz fuggles 5 min
Wyeast 1028
Mash at 154*

How does that sound. At least for a starting point.
 
I'm a newer brewer and haven't used fuggles, or simcoe for that matter.

15# 2-row
1# Carmel 30L
1.5oz Simcoe 60
1oz fuggles 25 min
.5oz fuggles 5 min
Wyeast 1028
Mash at 154*

How does that sound. At least for a starting point.

This gets you closer to the original's numbers:

http://hopville.com/recipe/802189/home-brew/e-mott-n-stien

I would also mash @ 151-152 with that yeast. Any idea of your water profile? I find too high pH leads to harshness w/ this amount of hops.

-d
 
This gets you closer to the original's numbers:

http://hopville.com/recipe/802189/home-brew/e-mott-n-stien

I would also mash @ 151-152 with that yeast. Any idea of your water profile? I find too high pH leads to harshness w/ this amount of hops.

-d

Oh wow, thanks a lot. Planning on brewing this on Thursday. I do not know anything about my water profile. I live in one of the lucky Chicago suburbs that gets Chicago water tho, so I know I have a very high quality water. How can I go about get a water report of some kind?
 
You can start w/ the water dept, they should be able to give you pH & whether or not chloramines are used (if so add a half a campden tab/10 gal.)
 
Oh right.. the water department.. Thanks.

So on a side note, there appears to be a Simcoe drought in Chicago. The two LHBS I know of said I could use chinook. Do you guys think I should bother brewing this or should I wait and brew something else?
 
Oh right.. the water department.. Thanks.

So on a side note, there appears to be a Simcoe drought in Chicago. The two LHBS I know of said I could use chinook. Do you guys think I should bother brewing this or should I wait and brew something else?

Try here:

http://www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com/scripts/hopsList.asp?idCategory=21

I actually dry hopped this w/ some leaf Chinook, which shares some characteristics of Simcoe, but like the song says "Ain't nothing like the real thing..."


-d
 
BTW I just sampled my most recent iteration of this-while obviously (intentionally)-not an exact clone, it is an awesome IIPA. Simcoe used as a bittering hop adds a smooth yet full quality unlike just about any other hop. Definitely a repeat recipe.
 
I brewed this on thursday. Everything went really well. I had people over and had a BBQ, it was a great day. Out of the hundreds of things I felt like I had to do that day I only forgot one. Unfortunately a pretty important one. I didn't take an OG reading. Not exactly heart broken tho. One thing I don't quite understand yet is how I calculated 110 IBUs. I understand their is a huge difference between calculated and actual IBUs, but I'm wondering why I calculated so many when some calculators I have in some software only calculated 80.
 
I brewed this on thursday. Everything went really well. I had people over and had a BBQ, it was a great day. Out of the hundreds of things I felt like I had to do that day I only forgot one. Unfortunately a pretty important one. I didn't take an OG reading. Not exactly heart broken tho. One thing I don't quite understand yet is how I calculated 110 IBUs. I understand their is a huge difference between calculated and actual IBUs, but I'm wondering why I calculated so many when some calculators I have in some software only calculated 80.

Your calculated efficiency will affect the IBUs. This recipe was designed for about 80 IBUs ( I got about 84 using Amarillo ) for about a 1:1 BU/GU. Let me know how it turns out.

-d
 
Yes I brewed the hopville recipe. When I do the calculations by hand from that hop schedule I get 110 IBUs. I got the equation from a book called the Brewmaster's Bible. That book tells you to multiply the oz of hops by it's alpha acid %. Then multiply that by the utilization% which is given in the book. The utilization %'s range from 5-30% for 5-60 minute boils. Then when you get that answer divide it by 7.25. It would look like this for a 1.5oz bittering addition of simcoe 12% AA.

(1.5X12)x30=540
540/7.25=74.48

So just my bittering addition contributed 74.48 IBUs according to that.
 
I have that book as well! Although I do most of my recipes w/ Homebrew Formulator (a free Mac program). I'm not gonna dispute the math, but the batch I made is no way 110IBUs. How's the wort taste? Straight out of the fermentor, mine was a tad rough, but after a week in the keg, it's really come together.

-d
 
I think it's a great book, well maybe aside from the IBU equation... Have you tried any of the recipes in it? I have not.

Anyways, I'm going to keep it sealed up until fermentation is all done. I'll post when I taste it. When did you Bree this? Recently?
 
Logdrum and E mott09 I am eagerly awaiting word on your latest batches. Did the last recipe from logdrum provide a good clone? I had this beer this summer for the first time at a restaurant near Cleveland but I was too late to pick it up in the stores.
 
I'll be bottling tomorrow. It's been cold crashing for a few days now. It looks right and it smells dead on, so we'll see. I'll let you know what it's like tomorrow, and then what it's like after a couple weeks.
 
yes the "e mott-n-stein". Also ordered my hops from his link as well. I checked a few web sites and my local brew stores and couldn't find the simcoe
 
Yea simcoe has been GONE! I had to drive an hour and a half. I was at my lhbs today tho and they said they were getting some in. Hopefully the drought is over. I just bottled it and it tastes REALLY close. From my memory anyways. When it's ready and carbonated I'll drink one along side the real thing. Either way it's great tasting IIPA.
 
I did mine w/ a 1.5l wlp001 starter. Personally I'm not fond of 04, so for dry I'd go 2 packs of 05.

d

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