I did my side-by-side tasting with the real Wookey Jack. FWIW, my bomber of WJ was bottled on 7/6/12 and was unrefrigerated at the store, while my brew was brewed on 8/5 and kept cold after dry hopping.
Here's a picture of them next to each other:
Mine is on the left, WJ is on the right. Right away you can see there's a difference in the color of the head, and when light is shining through them the clone is slightly darker. I think this is due to the crush on my midnight wheat. I bought that separately at my LHBS (everything else was pre-crushed from BMW), and as I always do with wheat malts I set the mill gap smaller, but that ended up pulverizing the midnight wheat almost into powder. I think if everything were milled together the color would've been identical.
I had SWMBO assist me with a blindfolded triangle test. Aroma was virtually indistinguishable. Mine had slightly more hop aroma, but the character was the same. Taste was very close as well - same hint of spice and roastiness from the rye and dark malts, same sweet fruity flavors from the Citra/Amarillo blend. The WJ however had a floral note in the aftertaste that the clone didn't have, and WJ's mouthfeel/finish was also a little thinner. So based on the aftertaste and mouthfeel I could always tell them apart in a triangle test. Overall though they're really, really close, and both beers were outstanding. Without knowing which was which, SWMBO said she preferred the clone.
Phenomenal recipe, easily one of the best beers I've ever made. Can't stop drinking it (which is problematic, as it's 8.5% ABV). I'm actually not a fan of most black IPAs, but FSW and skeezerpleezer got it right with this one. I will definitely brew this again.
Here's a picture of them next to each other:
Mine is on the left, WJ is on the right. Right away you can see there's a difference in the color of the head, and when light is shining through them the clone is slightly darker. I think this is due to the crush on my midnight wheat. I bought that separately at my LHBS (everything else was pre-crushed from BMW), and as I always do with wheat malts I set the mill gap smaller, but that ended up pulverizing the midnight wheat almost into powder. I think if everything were milled together the color would've been identical.
I had SWMBO assist me with a blindfolded triangle test. Aroma was virtually indistinguishable. Mine had slightly more hop aroma, but the character was the same. Taste was very close as well - same hint of spice and roastiness from the rye and dark malts, same sweet fruity flavors from the Citra/Amarillo blend. The WJ however had a floral note in the aftertaste that the clone didn't have, and WJ's mouthfeel/finish was also a little thinner. So based on the aftertaste and mouthfeel I could always tell them apart in a triangle test. Overall though they're really, really close, and both beers were outstanding. Without knowing which was which, SWMBO said she preferred the clone.
Phenomenal recipe, easily one of the best beers I've ever made. Can't stop drinking it (which is problematic, as it's 8.5% ABV). I'm actually not a fan of most black IPAs, but FSW and skeezerpleezer got it right with this one. I will definitely brew this again.