ultravista
Well-Known Member
stonebrewer - which is your closest recipe thus far?
Now I'm not sure how to approach this. I left this sample of AB sit out overnight and it looks like its around 1.013? Which is 5 points different from the sample FG posted earlier on in this thread.
stonebrewer said:It will be fine, just a little more dry. Which yeast was this one from? The 002 will likely come out higher and the 007 will likely come out lower in my experiences...
Hard to say but I think the Chinook, Special B, British Crystal 135/165L, and WLP007 was closest. It was not as hoppy as it needed to be, but the malt was spot on and it had that residual sweetness I detect in AB. I actually did a split batch with this one, using WLP007 and WLP002. I had a friend do a taste test and he thought the 007 was closer, but it was not as hoppy (but close!) and the beer was flatter ( I think I targeted 2.2 volumes when I should have added enough sugar for 2.7 or higher; I usually keg so my bottling needs some work).
Just ordered C150 from Austin so I will do the next one with Chinook, WLP007, and C150 ( I also throw in some carapils...8oz..this has a rock solid head and beautiful lace). Will let you know how it comes out. The one I am drinking now had about 25% more Chinook and I think it is still a little shy on the hop side. Probably will bump this to 1/2 lb or a little more...all in the boil and whirlpool. I do not dry hop this at all.
Cheers!
Stone does 90 minute boils for all their beers from what I read. Not sure why as they use fully modified malts for the majority of them and there is little chance of DME issues, but hey who is going to argue with them? I would throw a handful of carapils in and may a bit of C60. The Chinook at 45 is a little puzzling. I would either push it to 85 or use it for aroma or taste in the 20 min or less range. Can't look at my version(s) of this here now, but when I get a chance I will and let you know if there is anything else I would suggest. The yeast I would use is WLP007. If you want it a little sweeter, go with WLP002 or Wyeast 1968.
In the end, it is your beer so go with your instincts and definitely post back with results!
Cheers!!
WLP007 is similar to 1098, but if you look on most of the charts out there, they say there is no exact equivalent to WLP007. It is really my go to yeast and I have had HBS try to sell me 1098 amongst other things because they don't like to carry White Labs.
My attempts using CYBI were close, just a bit off so I started tinkering. I think that it is bit off in bitterness so I moved more into the 90 minute addition. I also have tried both 002 and 007. I actually like the 002 a lot, though it is a bit sweeter. Still a fine beer.
I think most people are thinking the malt bill is where the most work is to get this cloned. I think a mix of C1xx and SB have gotten me the closest. I have played with a little C60 and it seems to help dial it in. Carapils is not a big deal as I don't get a lot of head with this beer with or without it, unless I overcarb it which is a waste of CO2.
I also toss in a spoon of gypsum, yeast energizer, and fine with irish moss.
Good luck!
CraigT: Excellent question! I think the CYBI is close, not quite a bitter as the real thing and maybe less hoppy aroma. I have tweaked the hop portion of the recipe several times. My current 10 gallon batch has me splitting 3 oz between FWH and 90 minute boil. My thinking is I want a lot more bitterness because the CYBI does not seem as bitter as the real deal. Not sure that FWH was wise, but I couldn't help but tinker with the recipe. I then hop burst starting at 20 with 1 oz, and then 15, 10, 5, flameout with 0.5 oz each. This had a better hop bite that the real AB has when it is fresh at the brewery. It also has better aroma than the CYBI recipe IMHO. I have only had one bottle of it so far, but I think this is very, very close hop wise. I want to do a triangle test with the real thing and at least one other person to get an impartial indication of how close it is. The bottle was a little green still. I just checked my beersmith calendar and it says that the beer was ready Monday (I was out of town until late last night), so I think I will do a keg juggle and start carbing it up. I ended up with around 11 gallons so I have two kegs and about 10 bottles. Should bring weeks of enjoyment!! So my advice would be move more hops to 90 to increase your IBU and the rest use for taste/aroma. Once I get this carb'd up I will post my tasting notes...
Cheers!
stonebrewer said:The current experiment is using C150 and Special B in equal portions. I don't think it is as close, from sample size one beer, but will let you know once the keg is rocking this weekend. Looks like it was 5.3% of each and dash of C40 I needed to get rid of as it was almost a year old.
stonebrewer said:TD: One green beer isn't much of a sample size, so I will let you know once I have the keg carb'd and a couple of AB's to do a side by side...10% SB plus 3.5% C40 was as close as I have come. The green beer was a little rough tasting on the malt side...not sure if that was the 150 or the lack of aging. Won't be sure until I have a few more samples this weekend.
Call me crazy, but for the longest time I couldn't figure out if Stone had some quality control issue, batch to batch...Some days AB was the best beer ever and other it was terrible. I haven't pinned down an exact date but this beer changes considerably over time. I wonder if that's what makes this beer so elusive to brew....
Or I'm crazy...
stonebrewer said:Had two last night...a little under carb'd but tasty! Much better than the bottle of green beer from a few weeks ago. I want to get a few opinions on this and do a side by side taste test. Will pick up some AB this weekend and do that ( I only have double bastard in the fridge right now). I think I might just like this attempt the best of any to date!
In mine I brewed yesterday I used 5% sb and 5% crystal 135-165. And 11.4 aa chinook 4 oz at 90 and an ounce each at 20, 15, 10, 5 and 0 for about 105 ibu. I used half 007 and half 002. I will let you all know in about a month how it turns out.
So I never did a side by side with the C135-165 british crystal, but a brewer friend of mine did and he thought the malt was spot on. If Tasty didn't like the C150 (soh! I have about 30 pounds of it) then I think I will try the C135 again and do my own taste test. Unfortunately that will have to wait a few months as my pipeline is pretty full right now.
In mine I brewed yesterday I used 5% sb and 5% crystal 135-165. And 11.4 aa chinook 4 oz at 90 and an ounce each at 20, 15, 10, 5 and 0 for about 105 ibu. I used half 007 and half 002. I will let you all know in about a month how it turns out.
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