Heady Topper- Can you clone it?

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I think you guys are talking about two different things when you say 21 vs 25 days. Neither one of you is being very specific in terms of what you're talking about.

Total dry hop days?
Total days from grain to glass?
Day on which to START the first dry hop?


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geoffey said:
I think you guys are talking about two different things when you say 21 vs 25 days. Neither one of you is being very specific in terms of what you're talking about.

Total dry hop days?
Total days from grain to glass?
Day on which to START the first dry hop?


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Click to expand...


We know dry hop days are 4-5 with loose pellet, so primary is about a week, the remainder is secondary
 
So I bottled mine last night and when I uncovered the carboy, this is what I saw. I'm guessing they are just little islands of the conan yeast all gathered together and floating on the top.
 
This is almost 2 months old
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1413407885.745142.jpg
 
yeah, i was surprised how clear it was too. I used whirfloc tabs and i used sacks for the dry hopping (as you can see). I was telling my buddy at work today that i was surprised how clear it was already. Taste delicious too.
 
OH, I also strain all the hops as i pour it into the fermenter too. Not sure if that has anything to do with it. When I transferred it into secondary, it had a very strong pineapple smell. I was like, "whoa". Never smelled that before, thought it was the conan yeast. When bottling yesterday, the pineapple smell was gone, tons of citrus aroma in it's place. Still looking for that peach that people talk about from the conan yeast. I did drink that sample, and it was delicious.
 
True, but it still feels a bit sleazy to me. I suppose saying that they got from HBT might lead to a decline in their kit sales.
I've purchased plenty from them, but try now to support my LHBS as much as I can.

TD


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TrickyDick said:
True, but it still feels a bit sleazy to me. I suppose saying that they got from HBT might lead to a decline in their kit sales.
I've purchased plenty from them, but try now to support my LHBS as much as I can.

TD


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Farmhouse Supply offers a clone kit. They link to HBT on the item page.
 
TrickyDick said:
True, but it still feels a bit sleazy to me. I suppose saying that they got from HBT might lead to a decline in their kit sales.
I've purchased plenty from them, but try now to support my LHBS as much as I can.

TD


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Same here. They also filter their product ratings as well. I think that's sleezy too. They don't get any business from me anymore.
 
I've had good customer service in past. I tend to buy from LHBS now that I actually have one. I still get stuff not available at LHBS online, and mostly order based on shipping and handling costs. I've bought from all the major online stores and even plenty of minor ones in the past 15 or so years (geez I'm getting old!). I like the kits they put together at farmhouse. Have nothing but love for farmhouse and in particular, their excellent hops.

FYI, and not sure I posted this yet, brewed a 10 gallon batch of this and kegged. The second keg I ended up freshening up the dry hops before tapping, but had run out of the mix of hops used in the recipe. It had been several months about 5 since it had been initially kegged. I ended up using the lot of left over half empty pouches from the stone enjoy by clone brew I did, to dry hop the second keg. Tastes amazing. I think even better than the first keg.

TD


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BreezyBrew said:
Same here. They also filter their product ratings as well. I think that's sleezy too. They don't get any business from me anymore.
Click to expand...
That's OK with me. I've taken many more of their recipes from their website than I've paid for kits, and I'm sure lots of others have too. I always liked the fact that they post all of their recipes on each kit page. MoreBeer and Austin do not. Plus, they have a lot of great videos that have been helpful and enjoyable. But, yeah, if they took it from here, they probably should give props, but it won't stop ME from ordering from them.
 
John recently said there is no wheat used in Heady Topper. His wife has an allergy. He also said there are no hops in the boil. Just extract at bittering, and the rest go in the whirlpool and dry hops.
 
Waylit said:
John recently said there is no wheat used in Heady Topper. His wife has an allergy. He also said there are no hops in the boil. Just extract at bittering, and the rest go in the whirlpool and dry hops.
Click to expand...


I think the goal of this thread is to clone the taste of the beer not the processes. If we didn't everything the same as John on our much different homebrew systems, we would end up with a different beer. Frankly, if everyone brews this same recipe we will still end up with many different but hopefully similar beers.
 
I've had my slightly altered "clone" in a swamp cooler since pitching the yeast on Sunday evening. Temps stayed between 65-72 the entire time and now down in the mid 60's as fermentation is pretty much done. Is it safe to remove from the swamp cooler at this point? Used Yeast Bay's Vermont Ale.

Ambient temp should be in the upper 60's.

Was planning to let it go in primary for another week to clean up flavors and then dry hop next Sunday (10/26) with bottling the following friday (10/31) or saturday.
 
How does NB get away with calling their kit something so similar to the real product and having that logo look so similar to the can? Seems a little shady to me if I was the brewery that they are making a "knock-off". Kinda like selling "Foakleys"
 
dbennett78 said:
How does NB get away with calling their kit something so similar to the real product and having that logo look so similar to the can? Seems a little shady to me if I was the brewery that they are making a "knock-off". Kinda like selling "Foakleys"
Click to expand...


They did get in trouble once before for their "Three Hearted Ale" clone. Which is why it's called "Dead Ringer" now.


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MeanDeuce said:
I've had my slightly altered "clone" in a swamp cooler since pitching the yeast on Sunday evening. Temps stayed between 65-72 the entire time and now down in the mid 60's as fermentation is pretty much done. Is it safe to remove from the swamp cooler at this point? Used Yeast Bay's Vermont Ale.

Ambient temp should be in the upper 60's.

Was planning to let it go in primary for another week to clean up flavors and then dry hop next Sunday (10/26) with bottling the following friday (10/31) or saturday.
Click to expand...
I would check the gravity and if it's around where it should be, I would remove the swamp cooler.
 
So here's my first sample. Had 3 dry hop additions. Came out at 9%, but with all these hops, not detecting massive aroma and flavor like one would expect. But definitely on the citrus side.

1413585862031.jpg
 
dbennett78 said:
How does NB get away with calling their kit something so similar to the real product and having that logo look so similar to the can? Seems a little shady to me if I was the brewery that they are making a "knock-off". Kinda like selling "Foakleys"
Click to expand...

Think that's the point. If craft beers were cheaper and available nation wide, there would be lesser need to HB. Online retailers can't ship to Texas, we are 2000 miles away from Vermont, so having NB come up with a clone is great for the rest of us. Same with Pliny.
 
PianoMan said:
Think that's the point. If craft beers were cheaper and available nation wide, there would be no need to HB. Online retailers can't ship to Texas, we are 2000 miles away from Vermont, so having NB come up with a clone is great for the rest of us. Same with Pliny.
Click to expand...


Agreed on that. I've had both fresh and have been satisfied with NB clone kits in the past to satiate my cravings for Pliny. Wouldn't hesitate to order either kit.


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PianoMan said:
If craft beers were cheaper and available nation wide, there would be no need to HB.
Click to expand...

Uh oh, better put on your flame suit! I know you probably meant that there would be less reason for all these clones if there was wider distribution. I brew because I enjoy it, not specifically because I can't buy it
 
BeerGrylls said:
Uh oh, better put on your flame suit! I know you probably meant that there would be less reason for all these clones if there was wider distribution. I brew because I enjoy it, not specifically because I can't buy it
Click to expand...


Not really sure why he would get flamed for brewing for his own personal reasons....


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