Chinook instead of Brewer's Gold in Balantine XXX recipe

[Robcl]

Hello all! I am brewing a Balantine XXX clone this weekend. The recipe is from BYO a several months ago. The recipe calls for Cascade, Cluster and Brewer's gold hops. I could not find the Brewers gold hops from my usual suppliers and replaced them with Chinook according to according to a hop reference chart I found- http://www.brewsupplies.com/hops_reference_chart.htm. The Brewers gold were supposed to be 8%, the chinook are 11%. Do I need to adjust the amount of Chinook hops to compensate for the difference? I am going to use 1oz. of Chinook to dry hop in the secondary (2 weeks). I have never seen these used for dry hopping. Is 1oz. too much? I don't have much of a choice for this weekend. My yeast starter is going and saturday morning I am brewing. I like to experiment, and this sounds like a tasty ale. I am not worried about making an exact clone. I am too young to know what the original tasted like (can't say that too often) and just want it to be good. Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[BigEd]

My .02: You're not going to make a clone using Chinook, at least not of the original brew. Brewer's Gold are hard to find. Bullion is the best sub but they're not easy to come by either. I would suggest Challenger, Pacific Gem, Northern Brewer or some combination of them as the best alternative if you cannot find either Brewer's Gold or Bullion. The original beer would not have had anything like Cascade or Chinook since it was brewed many years before those varieties and their particular flavors even existed. The original beer had a mid 40s IBU. If you are going for that and have to use the Chinook, adjust accordingly with the AA%. It won't taste like the old XXX but it will be a good APA.

 

[Teacher]

Galena is also supposed to be akin to BG.

 

[BigEd]

Galena is also supposed to be akin to BG.

It's not. I've been brewing Ballantine-derived beers for many years and have tried many subs for Brewer's Gold. Nothing, even the closely related Bullion, has the same subtle dark fruit/berry background that BG yields. I have yet to try Pacific Gem but at least from the written description this variety may be a good choice. Grape & Granary in Ohio is a reliable source of Brewer's Gold. I've been ordering them from G & G for quite a while.

http://www.thegrape.net/

 

[Robcl]

Thanks for the replies! I will try Grape & grain for Brewers gold. If this is good I'll do it again with the Brewers gold just to compare. The recipe sounded good when I read it and it'll be my first attempt at an APA. I'm altering the original a bit based on what I have on hand. I'm new at using beer smith so I hope this makes sense. It will not be an exact clone, but on the same style maybe. My yeast starter is foaming out the top right now. Can't wait for saturday.
Here is the recipe. Also, I think I said I was using the chinook to dry hop in my first post...Doh!

6.00 lbs. light pilsner lme (60 min.) It called for 7.25 lbs. American light lager lme.
8.0 oz. light pilsner dme (15 min.) It called for none.
1.00 lbs. Munich lme (60 min.).
8 oz. crystal 20L It says to steep @ 140-150? I usually do it @152-154.
1 oz. Cluster hops @ 7% (60 min.).
1/4 oz. Chinook hops @ 11% (25 min.) It called for 1/2 oz. Brewers gold @8%
3/4 oz. Chinook hops (5 min.) It called for 3/4 oz. Brewers gold
1 oz. Cascade dry hops (2 weeks in secondary)
White Labs 001 California ale yeast w/1500ml. starter
OG = 1.055
FG = 1.014
IBU = 40.9. Original was 39 IBU
ABV = 5.54%. Original was 5.3%

All comments welcome, I'm new to the style.
Thanks again!