Heady Topper- Can you clone it?

[Brewbien]

Yeast Geek (@YeastGeek) tweeted at 8:45 PM on Wed, Aug 07, 2013:
Yeast Geek is not dead. More to come...
(https://twitter.com/YeastGeek/status/365272451376103424)


interesting...

I tweeted that. I'm going to be taking over Yeast Geek from theveganbrewer. We will probably be down for about 3-4 weeks while I finish the setup of my evil basement laboratory then we will be back with Conan and an increased emphasis on new Brett strains.

Cheers!

 

[threephase]

Just secondaried my Heady Topper clone from Maltose Express. This **** tastes nothing like Heady Topper. Not even close.

Give it time, it's not a bad DIPA, and I'm sure it's better than the real clone I just bottled/kegged (fermented way to hot, a bit of remaining diaectyl)

 

[tyzippers]

I tweeted that. I'm going to be taking over Yeast Geek from theveganbrewer. We will probably be down for about 3-4 weeks while I finish the setup of my evil basement laboratory then we will be back with Conan and an increased emphasis on new Brett strains.

Cheers!

Thanks for stepping up! Keep us posted! (I hate twitter)

 

[Remmy]

Give it time, it's not a bad DIPA, and I'm sure it's better than the real clone I just bottled/kegged (fermented way to hot, a bit of remaining diaectyl)

It's a solid IPA (pre-dryhop). Currently sitting at 8.1% ABV. Just doesn't taste anywhere near Heady. I've had three Heady's in the last week.

 

[libeerty]

It's a solid IPA (pre-dryhop). Currently sitting at 8.1% ABV. Just doesn't taste anywhere near Heady. I've had three Heady's in the last week.

So if it's dryhopping, it's not cold and carbonated yet? You gotta wait for that! Mine totally changed, basically overnight. Hoppy beers change dramatically with CO2 I've noticed.

 

[Remmy]

So if it's dryhopping, it's not cold and carbonated yet? You gotta wait for that! Mine totally changed, basically overnight. Hoppy beers change dramatically with CO2 I've noticed.

Well, considering I know for a fact Maltose doesn't have the same, or even close to the ingredients, off the bat I am not expecting a glorious clone.

I'll definitely keep everyone posted once it's carbed and I have a cold one.

 

[droder1]

Thanks for the support guys. I lost my yeast tech a couple of weeks ago to a bigger job out of state and didn't feel comfortable doing the yeast on my own. I was looking for a new tech but then I myself found another line of full-time work that won't allow me enough time to service all the Yeast Geek accounts.

I do know that someone is planning on producing Conan at White Labs in Fall 2013 and selling it under their own brand, not sure what it is though. Keep your eye out for it.

Cold turkey huh? I give it a few months. Gonna have to scratch that itch again soon. The itch won't disappear that is for sure. There is always a few hours on the weekend you can fit in some brews

 

[threephase]

It's a solid IPA (pre-dryhop). Currently sitting at 8.1% ABV. Just doesn't taste anywhere near Heady. I've had three Heady's in the last week.

Where you getting the heady??? wanna share??? I'll trade some of my f'd up clone for some... lol

 

[afr0byte]

Where you getting the heady??? wanna share??? I'll trade some of my f'd up clone for some... lol

You mean your local bar doesn't have Topper Tuesdays?

 

[mtnagel]

10 days into my clone attempt and gravity went from 1.075 to 1.010. Gravity sample tasted awesome. Will dry hop per recipe. Can't wait till I can drink this one. I timed it so it should be carbed up right when we get back from vacation, so it will be something to look forward to when we get home.

 

[DrunkleJon]

10 days into my clone attempt and gravity went from 1.075 to 1.010. Gravity sample tasted awesome. Will dry hop per recipe. Can't wait till I can drink this one. I timed it so it should be carbed up right when we get back from vacation, so it will be something to look forward to when we get home.

...And keep you from sampling it all until it has had time to carb

 

[mtnagel]

Haha, very true.

 

[savylemons]

Just added the second dry hop addition to my signpost v4 clone I brewed up. Sample tastes and smells spot on so far... I'll update again once it's finished. Thanks to theveganbrewer for all the hard work put into this!

 

[sddanc]

Will someone link to agreed recipe here on the current page?

 

[droder1]

Will someone link to agreed recipe here on the current page?

see post 1342

 

[kingwood-kid]

Will someone link to agreed recipe here on the current page?

Also available on Derek's bear-flavored.com. The hops guide alone qualifies the site for Homebrewing Web Page Hall of Fame status, but the rest of the site is great too. The write-up on Conan is good reading if you want to do more with your yeast than just make a lifetime supply of Heady clone.

 

[Cathedral]

Also available on Derek's bear-flavored.com. The hops guide alone qualifies the site for Homebrewing Web Page Hall of Fame status, but the rest of the site is great too. The write-up on Conan is good reading if you want to do more with your yeast than just make a lifetime supply of Heady clone.

But what if would rather have beer flavor, not bear?

 

[DangerRoss]

But what if would rather have beer flavor, not bear?

Don't go poking around the bush

 

[hopgoblin4]

I live in the mountains of central PA. You DEFINITELY want beer. Not bear!
Hey Vegan. Thanks for all your hard work. I've pm'd you multiple times and you get back in minutes! Your passion for brewing won't go away. Just take a slight hiatus. Hope your new job works out for you. Career changes can be a scary thing. Good luck and take care!

 

[DangerRoss]

I found the links from Vegan's blog for is Heady Topper Beersmith download. I thought since his site is no longer up I should post them here.

Beer Smith download link: http://www.mediafire.com/?6krm90q6sbe5sz2

XML download link: http://www.mediafire.com/?8akh8xv21bhhpeg

 

[Remmy]

The Maltose Heady Topper clone doesn't taste like Heady even after the dry-hop (a week). OG was 1.078 and FG is 1.014. It tastes ok - still a good IPA.

 

[jaydog2314]

tried another bottle on Friday, 3 weeks of conditioning and it's still got very little carb to it but it does taste pretty good....i hope it carbs up soon, got a brew club competition i was hoping to win!

 

[threephase]

I really wish I was able to keep fermentation temperatures under control the first couple days (long story, had to brew at my in laws, thought their basement was much cooler) because minus the diaectyl that is present this is amazingly spot on...

 

[libeerty]

I really wish I was able to keep fermentation temperatures under control the first couple days (long story, had to brew at my in laws, thought their basement was much cooler) because minus the diaectyl that is present this is amazingly spot on...

See my previous post about removing the diacetyl. Worked perfectly.

 

[BeerGrylls]

I thought it was going to be difficult to source all of the ingredients, but in fact brew brothers had it all. I had to get a mix of pellet & leaf, but they even had the sugar. The only thing they missed was the conan! :fro:

 

[SixthGear]

Just wanted to chime in and say that I brewed vegan's 4.0 brew just over 2 weeks ago, and finally racked to secondary for dry hopping phase one. I tried a sample after about 1 week and fermentation had (I thought) stopped. Had quite an alcohol burn, which I thought was due to the fact that I ended up getting 90% efficiency after trying a new crush and getting higher than estimated OG. Waited another week for the yeast to clean up and let me tell you, while the aroma isn't there 100% (no dry hop yet) the flavor is spot on. I honestly did a double take to see which glass I drank from as I had the real heady in another glass next to the sample. The two weeks of dry hopping is going to kill me!

It's a shame that vegan got out of the brewing business as he did a masterful job on cloning this. Once conan comes out through white labs (wasn't able to save the yeast from this batch as I didn't have the time to wash the yeast), I think this will be something that I always keep on tap. Cheers!

 

[HawksBrewer]

It's a shame that vegan got out of the brewing business as he did a masterful job on cloning this. Once conan comes out through white labs (wasn't able to save the yeast from this batch as I didn't have the time to wash the yeast), I think this will be something that I always keep on tap. Cheers!

This +1000.

 

[thatjonguy]

When is White Labs releasing Conan?

 

[Climber77]

When is White Labs releasing Conan?

I sent a mail to White Labs and asked earlier today. The response was that they have no plan to offer a Conan yeast.

 

[theveganbrewer]

I sent a mail to White Labs and asked earlier today. The response was that they have no plan to offer a Conan yeast.

Was just on checking on my brew barrel project and stopped in here. You want to watch a guy named biobrewer on reddit, he is planning something with Conan, having White labs store and produce, but it won't be "White Labs", it will be sold under a private label by whoever this person is.

 

[Brewbien]

Was just on checking on my brew barrel project and stopped in here. You want to watch a guy named biobrewer on reddit, he is planning something with Conan, having White labs store and produce, but it won't be "White Labs", it will be sold under a private label by whoever this person is.

We will also have some soon. Shooting for the 26th or the 2nd. Lab should be set up this weekend. Ill be plating, selecting and growing colonies next week.

Cheers!

 

[powermd]

Has anyone else noticed changes in the way real HT tastes?

My first can was from late Feb this year, and had a wonderfully peachy/pineapplely aroma, and the flavor was amazing. Then I got a few cases delivered that were bottled in late March. This was very good, but not nearly as good as that first can. I got another case that was recently bottled, and it's flat out boring. Maybe I'm getting used to HT, but I don't think that's the whole story. I now prefer my clone version over real HT by a solid margin.

 

[afr0byte]

Has anyone else noticed changes in the way real HT tastes?

My first can was from late Feb this year, and had a wonderfully peachy/pineapplely aroma, and the flavor was amazing. Then I got a few cases delivered that were bottled in late March. This was very good, but not nearly as good as that first can. I got another case that was recently bottled, and it's flat out boring. Maybe I'm getting used to HT, but I don't think that's the whole story. I now prefer my clone version over real HT by a solid margin.

When did you have these beers? Was it recently? If so, I'm not surprised that you were underwhelmed by Heady.

 

[thatjonguy]

When did you have these beers? Was it recently? If so, I'm not surprised that you were underwhelmed by Heady.

Go on...

 

[afr0byte]

Go on...

Well, I was just thinking that his homebrew is probably fresher, so I'm not surprised that he likes it better, as (D)IPAs tend to be better fresher.

 

[thatjonguy]

Well, I was just thinking that his homebrew is probably fresher, so I'm not surprised that he likes it better, as (D)IPAs tend to be better fresher.

Ah, thought you might think that it has headed downhill.

 

[eandersen]

I have a few fresh cans canned within the past two weeks that are just as delicious as ever

 

[bierhaus15]

Has anyone else noticed changes in the way real HT tastes?

Yep...

I've been getting fresh cans of Heady regularly for a solid year now and I have noticed a big change in the flavor, especially with those produced in the past few months. The last bunch I got in (half case, canned on 7 August), is, dare I say, worlds apart from previous batches. The aroma is pretty similar, although the flavor is much different. Less pineapple and tropical fruit, and more harsh-biting-dank flavor. It also has somewhat of a weak "coffee bean" flavor too, which sounds ridiculous, but we did a side by side tasting with a can from late June and a few people mentioned the same "coffee" flavor in the newer one. With that said, it is still a good beer, just different than before.

Regarding the change, the only thing I can think of, is that they are either using up their old hop stock in preparation for the new crop, or have run out of some varieties and are making substitutions until the new hops come on to the market.

 

[powermd]

Well, I was just thinking that his homebrew is probably fresher, so I'm not surprised that he likes it better, as (D)IPAs tend to be better fresher.

I'm basing this on how they tasted around the time they were bottled, but now that you mention it, the second batch I tried from late March was STILL very good even in late June! Now it's pretty much over the hill, I have a few cans of that one left. I am most disappointed by the recent bottlings. Nothing like what I had in February.

 

[sweetcell]

I sent a mail to White Labs and asked earlier today. The response was that they have no plan to offer a Conan yeast.

white labs will *never* confirm that they are or will release a brewery's yeast. hell, they deny that wlp001 is Sierra Nevada's Chico strain, even though we all know it is. i'm not sure what the legal reasons are behind this coyness, but they won't acknowledge any brewery as the origin of their strain. you might have better luck asking if they plan on releasing a highly attenuative yeast with strong fruit flavors from the Northeast... that they will acknowledge if they are in fact going to release it.

edit: what veganbrewer said.