Cloning HopHands by Tired Hands Brewing Company

[Coff]

Whats your reasoning behind racking to a keg and THEN dry-hopping. As apposed to dry-hopping in the primary and then transferring to a keg?

Ive done it both ways, but its a massive ***** to try to squeeze a nylon bag with 6oz of spent dry hops out of the neck of a Better Bottle. But really, either method is going to work fine.

However, I do think that dry hopping then racking to the keg you can run the risk of blowing off some aromatics. Even if youre super careful during the transfer, I just like to be as gentle as possible.

 

[priceman75]

Great stuff. Thank you for all the information.
Gonna give it a try Saturday.

 

[priceman75]

Will adjusting water using the Burton-on-Trent profile be enough to lock in mash pH?
I ask because I was thinking of buying the mash 5.2 stabilizer.
Any thoughts?

 

[Coff]

Water chemistry, ugh, probably the weakest part of my brewing repertoire. I have a very good grasp on my current tap water, I say current bc I am moving in 2 months, and how exactly to handle it for both hoppy beers and Saison which is 95% of what I brew.

To answer your question though, may/maybe not. It all depends on your base water report, you shouldnt be adding any salts if you do not know what your water is like. You could at the very least take a mash PH reading and adjust according to Bru'n Waters recommendations.

Dont get me started on 5.2 stabilizer, its **** imo. May work for some people but youre blindly adding some random salts to your mash that may or may not help the PH.

 

[priceman75]

I just got a water report last week. After plugging the numbers in to achieve the Burton-on-Trent profile, I should be adding .68 Epsom salts, .42 calcium chloride and .5 chalk.
I guess these would go directly into the mash.
I'm trying my best but this stuff is hard to understand. I almost feel like I need a phd.

 

[m00se]

I've been experimenting with this recipe this summer and have been extremely pleased with the results. 1st attempt I did a Citra single hop with Conan. The hop freshness lasted well past the 4wk time frame where I usually see a drop off. Although I prefer this recipe with a 3 hop combo.

I just tapped galaxy/mosaic/Centennial version with s04 that is also very promising. Great summer crusher recipe. I also split this batch and the 2nd carboy saw a pitch of Conan/Brett Trois. It's sitting at 1010 after 3wk.

Thanks Ed!

 

[Coff]

I've been experimenting with this recipe this summer and have been extremely pleased with the results. 1st attempt I did a Citra single hop with Conan. The hop freshness lasted well past the 4wk time frame where I usually see a drop off. Although I prefer this recipe with a 3 hop combo.

I just tapped galaxy/mosaic/Centennial version with s04 that is also very promising. Great summer crusher recipe. I also split this batch and the 2nd carboy saw a pitch of Conan/Brett Trois. It's sitting at 1010 after 3wk.

Thanks Ed!

Good to hear youre playing with some different hops with this grain bill. I have been doing the same and am planning another just like it. I have noticed that the hops hang on for a while to, maybe bc its so over hopped that when they fall off it still lands at an acceptable level, but i was shocked at the last pour of a 7 week old keg of this.

This beer works fantastically with fruity Brett strains. I had been meaning to post a review on a few of them, one 100% Brett Trois and the other S04/Brett Custer. Im not a huge fan of the Brett Custer batch but its still interesting, weird artificial candy sweetness. But the Brett Trois batch is nearly better than the clean.

 

[priceman75]

Brew day went great and my beer hit its final gravity reading day 5.
I'm gonna rack to keg for dry hopping tomorrow. Do I need to cold crash prior to transferring to the keg?

This will also be my first dry hop.
After day 4-5 dry hop, won't there be hop residue in the beer? Do I need to do anything to make sure it's a clear beer?

Thanks

 

[ryancrook]

So 2 things. I entered batch 1 into a local competition with 200 entries and it took 2nd in best if show. So even when heavy on the oats people like it as much as I do.

I rebrewed this recipe last week, I toned down the Oats to ~12.5% and used The Yeast Bay Vermont Ale. I have very high hopes for batch 2.

What category did you enter this as?

 

[Coff]

Brew day went great and my beer hit its final gravity reading day 5.
I'm gonna rack to keg for dry hopping tomorrow. Do I need to cold crash prior to transferring to the keg?

This will also be my first dry hop.
After day 4-5 dry hop, won't there be hop residue in the beer? Do I need to do anything to make sure it's a clear beer?

Thanks

I dont cold crash, I like to get this beer dry hopped and drinking asap so it stays fresh. But it seems to stay pretty fresh for 2+ months in a keg, hast lasted on tap longer than that.

I dont care about haze, this is a super hoppy aromatic beer and it would be hard to get it clear with so many dry hops. Just dry hop it and drink it imo.

What category did you enter this as?

10A American Pale ale, really this beer doesnt fit in that style but its too good for a judge to brush off

This beer is probably more of a session IPA if you want to classify it that way, which is really just a pale ale with more dry hops anyway.

 

[ryancrook]

awesome, thank you!

would you say the bitterness is spot on to HopHands? I saw in a previous post you mentioned it could be a touch more bitter.

 

[Coff]

awesome, thank you!

would you say the bitterness is spot on to HopHands? I saw in a previous post you mentioned it could be a touch more bitter.

I think the bitterness is spot on, that first batch just needed to be a bit drier to accentuate the bitterness a bit. When using this much Oats its best to mash a little lower, like 150f.

 

[priceman75]

Again, THANKS for all the great info.
Much appreciation!!!

My beer is now kegged and day 2 of dry hopping. I just thought of this question. Once I put the bag of hops in and seal the keg am I supposed to flush the keg with CO2 and then pull pressure relief valve?
If I don't will the beer be prone to oxidation?
Thanks again.
Frank

 

[ryancrook]

Yes, definitely flush the keg with CO2 and pull the pressure relief valve a few times. Don't forget to either weigh the hop bag down with marbles, or flip the keg upside down so that the bag stays in suspension and not in the head space. Flipping the keg would only work if you're stringing dental floss through the lid.

 

[priceman75]

Great.
Thanks!!!

 

[Coff]

Ive never done the upside down thing but thats a good idea, I just add the hop bag weighed down with some SS bits, seal it up and purge the headspace with co2.

 

[priceman75]

So the results are in. I absolutely loved this beer. Everything about it. The aroma, appearance and taste. Definitely just like the brewery. I put it to the test last night at my wife's birthday party with my closest beer snob friends. Everyone agreed that this was a great tasting beer. I even got the comment "best home-brew IPA" ever tasted from my biggest beer snob friend. The biggest comment was that the 5 gallon keg kicked in 3 hours. Good stuff!
A big thanks to Coff for cloning this beer. Dead on!!
Do you have any other Tired Hand Clones. I would like to try another one. Thanks again.

 

[Coff]

So the results are in. I absolutely loved this beer. Everything about it. The aroma, appearance and taste. Definitely just like the brewery. I put it to the test last night at my wife's birthday party with my closest beer snob friends. Everyone agreed that this was a great tasting beer. I even got the comment "best home-brew IPA" ever tasted from my biggest beer snob friend. The biggest comment was that the 5 gallon keg kicked in 3 hours. Good stuff!
A big thanks to Coff for cloning this beer. Dead on!!
Do you have any other Tired Hand Clones. I would like to try another one. Thanks again.

Very cool, glad you and your friends enjoyed it, but it still takes a good brewer to execute so hats off to you! I dont have any on tap right now, kicked the last batch and I am moving in 2 weeks so cant brew until I get to the new crib. Ive been itching for it though.

I am working on a Saison Hands clone, my first try is close but it needs work, it came off a bit astrigent and I think I might have been heavy on the hopping and heavy on the oats.

 

[priceman75]

I just love everything they brew. As a new brewer I strive to replicate and someday surpass their brewing.
I guess as long as I keep myself and my inner circle happy then I'm doing okay.
Thanks for making me a better brewer!

 

[pmcint01]

We prefer beer geek and price man's batch of Hop Hands was excellent.

 

[mintyice]

I'm curious to try this recipe with 1318.

 

[cherbhy]

I brewed this beer last Saturday! I forgot to buy centennial, so I subbed some cascade mixed with a small amount of columbus. Hit my numbers almost exactly, OG wound up at 1.047. Still fermenting at 64 down in the chamber, I can't way to try it.


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[Coff]

That sub will turn out great Im sure, cheers.

I'm propping up some Brett strains for a few variants of a 100% Brett batch of this.

 

[beergolf]

I'm curious to try this recipe with 1318.

That is what I have neen using for this recipe. Turns out great. The only problem is that the batch never seems to last very long.

 

[mintyice]

Got a fresh growler of this today and measured the FG: 1.010.

 

[mintyice]

Made a version of this with Mosaic, Galaxy and Amarillo that's turning out quite nicely although it's still young in the keg. Super juicy and it has a touch of hop sweetness. It smells amazing too. Next time I brew this I need to try using conan or 1318 because 1217 is leaving it a tad too dry even though it finished at 1.009. The real thing has a creaminess to it that I'm not getting as much of with 1217.

 

[Coff]

I think you can play around with subbing hops with this simple grain bill and get some pretty awesome beers. I brewed it again yesterday and subbed Mosaic for Simcoe, its what I had on hand but also bc Mosaic is fantastic. This batch is going to be a 100% Brett Trois fermented batch, which is something I have been meaning to do since the beginning of the year.

I am also playing around with a 2 vessel no sparge system, it was so amazingly easy and I got 70% efficiency. Im not sure I will ever sparge a beer under 1.050 again.

 

[cherbhy]

First of all, this beer tastes delicious!

I ran into a problem Im hoping one of you can help me with: this was my first time dry hopping in a keg-- I sanitized a nylon hop bag I had lying around and a shot glass to weigh it down. Added the hop blend, suspended it to the keg, and racked my beer. Purged the headspace with 10lbs and left 10 lbs on it. Five days later, I pulled the hops out, put 25 lbs of pressure on it overnight (force carbing), then pulled a sample yesterday. The hops disintegrated. The first two pints were hop sludge, then next half gallon or so was still full of hop debris. I really want to enjoy this delicious beer, but the hop matter is gritty and unpleasant. Is there any way to fix this?

Also, where did I go wrong? Using pellet hops? Should I back off to serving pressure and let the keg sit for a few weeks to see if anything drops out of solution?

 

[InityBrew]

I've done pellet hops in the keg with no issue in a ss tea ball.

I would let it be for a week and then pour a pint, which will be mostly hop debris, to see. The hops will eventually drop out and your beer will be fine.

 

[Staghead556]

Thinking of doing this in a couple days with some different type of yeast. Maybe sandiego super or california ale? Idk. Thoughts? I think i have some bizarre minor allergy to english yeast


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[Coff]

First of all, this beer tastes delicious!

I ran into a problem Im hoping one of you can help me with: this was my first time dry hopping in a keg-- I sanitized a nylon hop bag I had lying around and a shot glass to weigh it down. Added the hop blend, suspended it to the keg, and racked my beer. Purged the headspace with 10lbs and left 10 lbs on it. Five days later, I pulled the hops out, put 25 lbs of pressure on it overnight (force carbing), then pulled a sample yesterday. The hops disintegrated. The first two pints were hop sludge, then next half gallon or so was still full of hop debris. I really want to enjoy this delicious beer, but the hop matter is gritty and unpleasant. Is there any way to fix this?

Also, where did I go wrong? Using pellet hops? Should I back off to serving pressure and let the keg sit for a few weeks to see if anything drops out of solution?

Cold conditioning for a week or more should allow all of the hop particle to drop to the bottom of the keg, the next pint will be very murky but it will be more clear on the next pour.

It sounds like you did everything right but maybe you had an opening in the nylon bag or the bag itself was not fine enough. Was it nylon or a muslin bag? Muslin bags do not work with pellet hops, but a fine enough mulsin bag most certainly will.

 

[cherbhy]

Cold conditioning for a week or more should allow all of the hop particle to drop to the bottom of the keg, the next pint will be very murky but it will be more clear on the next pour.



It sounds like you did everything right but maybe you had an opening in the nylon bag or the bag itself was not fine enough. Was it nylon or a muslin bag? Muslin bags do not work with pellet hops, but a fine enough mulsin bag most certainly will.

I did not use a muslin, it was a nylon bag that came with my brewing kit.. I compared it to some of the other hop bags I had lying around (that I have never used in any way) and the mesh is definitely not as fine. Could've been a grain steeping bag or something (idk, I jumped right into all grain two years back)

Perhaps the stitching along the sides broke when I pulled the hops out of the keg, who knows. In any case, the beer's been in the corny for about two weeks and I'm still getting hop debris in the glass, although the particulate is very fine and not nearly as present as when I first started pulling pints. I was pretty close to fining with gelatin, but the beer tastes, smells and looks so good that I really don't want to mess with it! A little hop matter's not gunna hurt anyone, I just hope that it doesn't cause grassy off flavors in the future.

BTW, I used MO as my base malt, and the beer finished a little dry, 1.007. Still delicious. I really can't tell you how much I love this recipe, definitely going to be a staple in my keezer. Thanks again for taking the time to hash out the recipe specifics.


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[dstar26t]

I'm going to try a Jean style hoppy beer with their actual yeast. Thanks for posting this recipe, it'll make a good baseline.

 

[pmcint01]

What beer is the yeast from? Did it come from a bottle?

 

[Coff]

I'm going to try a Jean style hoppy beer with their actual yeast. Thanks for posting this recipe, it'll make a good baseline.

Yea hows about some more information! What did you culture that from, and can I get a slant?

 

[dstar26t]

Looped it from a starter made from the dregs of a growler of fresh Corpse Finder. I'd be happy to share it once I put it through a trial.

 

[Coff]

Thats a pretty clean looking plate considering its cultured from a growler. Deffinitely let me know I would love to give it a try.

 

[dstar26t]

Thats a pretty clean looking plate considering its cultured from a growler. Deffinitely let me know I would love to give it a try.

One more step up and it's ready to go. Planning on brewing your recipe on Sunday, except using Pauls Mild malt as the base. It'll be a small BIAB stove top batch just to test the yeast.
Looks and smells good and healthy so far:

 

[mintyice]

Brewed up a citra, amarillo, mosaic version of this today. Raised the mash temp a little to 154 to goose a little more body into the beer since 1217 dries it out a tad too much (that, and it fell around 149-150 the last time I brewed it). See you in 3 weeks!

 

[cherbhy]

Brewed up a citra, amarillo, mosaic version of this today. Raised the mash temp a little to 154 to goose a little more body into the beer since 1217 dries it out a tad too much (that, and it fell around 149-150 the last time I brewed it). See you in 3 weeks!

Let us know how it turns out! I'm interested in changing up the hops in a future brew and mosaic/cites sound like really good choices.

Funny you should mention a higher mash temp, I brewed a ten gallon batch of this beer yesterday and I did just that-- while my first batch tasted delicious it was definitely in the thinner side.