Sam Adams Boston Ale clone attempt #2

[stonebrewer]

This is my second attempt at cloning one of my favorite store bought ales. The first one was off, probably due to my malt lineup (I used what I had versus building it the way I wanted to). I think this one will be close (5.5 gallons):

9 lbs US 2 Row (beersmith says use 8 lb 15.5 oz)
2.5 lbs caramel 60 (beersmith says use 2 lb 8.6 oz)
.86 oz EK Goldings and .86 oz Fuggles 90 minutes
.16 oz Hallertau Mittelfrueh at 75 minutes
.69 oz Hallertau at 10 minutes
WLP008 East Coast Ale Yeast
OG target is 1.054
IBU 34
SRM 14
5.2% ABV
single infusion, medium body mash at 152 for 60 minutes, I fly sparge.

This is a stock ale style beer, which means you ferment at warmer temperature (I try to stay at 70-71) and then lager it at around 64. Lagering it is important for this style, so don't treat it like a normal ale. You can dry hop it during the lager like Sam Adams does with equal parts of all three hop additions. I have not attempted this yet but probably will on attempt number 3 in a few months.

My first attempt used a lb of British Crystal 50/60, my last lb of Caramel 60 and about a half pound of Caramel 75. It made a fine beer, but the malt taste was off for the clone. I think it was the British malt that made the taste difference...

Please post back here if you improve on this or brew it. Interested in feedback so I can get this one right. Thannks!

 

[BigEd]

This is my second attempt at cloning one of my favorite store bought ales. The first one was off, probably due to my malt lineup (I used what I had versus building it the way I wanted to). I think this one will be close (5.5 gallons):

9 lbs US 2 Row (beersmith says use 8 lb 15.5 oz)
2.5 lbs caramel 60 (beersmith says use 2 lb 8.6 oz)
.86 oz EK Goldings and .86 oz Fuggles 90 minutes
.16 oz Hallertau Mittelfrueh at 75 minutes
.69 oz Hallertau at 10 minutes
WLP008 East Coast Ale Yeast
OG target is 1.054
IBU 34
SRM 14
5.2% ABV
single infusion, medium body mash at 152 for 60 minutes, I fly sparge.

This is a stock ale style beer, which means you ferment at warmer temperature (I try to stay at 70-71) and then lager it at around 64. Lagering it is important for this style, so don't treat it like a normal ale. You can dry hop it during the lager like Sam Adams does with equal parts of all three hop additions. I have not attempted this yet but probably will on attempt number 3 in a few months.

My first attempt used a lb of British Crystal 50/60, my last lb of Caramel 60 and about a half pound of Caramel 75. It made a fine beer, but the malt taste was off for the clone. I think it was the British malt that made the taste difference...

Please post back here if you improve on this or brew it. Interested in feedback so I can get this one right. Thannks!

That 21% on the crystal malt seems way too much. I'd think 10% tops. The SA website lists Fuggles and Kent Goldings as the only hops in the recipe. FWIW I think the Sam Boston Ale is one of their better brews and a superior drink to the Boston Lager. It seems to get lost in their portfolio, with a small amount of marketing effort SA could dramatically increase the sales of this beer.

 

[stonebrewer]

Interesting. They changed that page of the website as it used to say:

Flavor: Bright, citrus aromas and earthy flavors from the traditional English ale hops and a full bodied caramel malt sweetness.
Color: Red to amber, 14 SRM
Original Gravity: 13.2° Plato, 1.054
Alcohol by Vol/Wt: 5.4%ABV – 4.2%ABW
Calories/12 oz.: 188
IBUs: 34
Malt Varieties: Two-row Harrington, Metcalfe, and Copeland pale malts, and Caramel 60
Hop Varieties: Hallertau Mittelfrueh Noble hops, East Kent Goldings, and Fuggles
Yeast Strain: Samuel Adams ale yeast
Availability: Year round
First Brewed: 1988

I cut and pasted that into brewsmith notes section in early May of this year.

It is a lot of Crystal but I just let brewsmith come up with the amount based on its algorithms. If it doesn't taste correct, I will back off of the C60 a bit next time I brew it.

 

[stonebrewer]

I ended up starting another batch of this today without the Hallertau Mittelfrueh. As I tasted the original and smelled the hops one by one, it occured to me that what I was sensing was the Hallertau that was off in the recipe. I don't detect that hop when I drink Boston Ale. Perhaps it was a web mistake that they have now fixed? Will let you know in 6 weeks or so how they turn out. This is fun!

 

[stonebrewer]

Just kegged this. Should know in a few weeks if it is close to the real thing. One suggestion I got from scottland was to use ESB or Mild Malt at 3-4L and then I could use less of the C60 to bring the sweetness down and maintain the proper color. If this turns out too sweet, which by all indications it should, I will brew up another batch with ~4L pale and drop the C60 to around 1.5 lbs. This could drop the percentage of C60 from >20% to <15%. Stay tuned for taste notes sometime after mid-August.

 

[vscout]

LThanks for updating want to know how it turns out

Boston Ale is probably my favorite Sam Adam's.

 

[Kuhndog]

Just kegged this. Should know in a few weeks if it is close to the real thing. One suggestion I got from scottland was to use ESB or Mild Malt at 3-4L and then I could use less of the C60 to bring the sweetness down and maintain the proper color. If this turns out too sweet, which by all indications it should, I will brew up another batch with ~4L pale and drop the C60 to around 1.5 lbs. This could drop the percentage of C60 from >20% to <15%. Stay tuned for taste notes sometime after mid-August.

If you don't mind me asking - why so long to taste it? I'm just curious. Thanks.

 

[bk0]

I went on the brewery tour and all they mentioned was 2-row, crystal 60 and hallertau hops. The also said they have a special proprietary yeast.

 

[jsv1204]

FWIW I think the Sam Boston Ale is one of their better brews and a superior drink to the Boston Lager. It seems to get lost in their portfolio, with a small amount of marketing effort SA could dramatically increase the sales of this beer.

Dang! Sam Adam's is one of my fav's... Didn't even know there was such a thing as SA Boston Ale! Gonna have to keep my eyes open for that...

 

[stonebrewer]

vscout: will do; ditto on the favorite SA brew. I hear the Brickhouse Red is better but have yet to visit beantown to try it.

Kuhndog: Good question. I use a refractometer these days so I don't get samples along the way as I ferment like I did with a hydrometer. I could always grab a sample but generally wait until my brews finish aging and are carbed up and cold in the kegerator before I taste them. With 8-10 kegs full most of the time, I no longer am in a hurry to sample a brew until it is "finished". This particular ale is treated more like a lager during ferment. After fermentation is complete, I warm it to around 70-72 for a few days to let the yeast clean up after itself then I cold crash it to brighten at near freezing for several weeks. Using beersmith as my guide, it tells me to leave it in the freezer for three more weeks, which gets us to the middle of August or so. Depending on what I am doing, it may be later than that when I sample as I may be busy with cleaning up from some brew stage or may be brewing a new beer or may have a particularly tasty set of kegs in the kegerator and am waiting for one to kick before I start on a new keg. With this being a particular favorite of mine, I probably will swap it into the lineup the day it is ready as I am really looking forward to either enjoying this brew or determining what I need to try next to get it closer to the real deal. I really hope this is close enough as I want to try my hand at a Lake Walk Pale Ale next...sounds tasty with its combination of my favorite hops! If this attempt is really sweet like I fear, I may have to put the Lake Walk off a few more weeks as I brew attempt #3. I only brew on weekends and have a Kilt Lifter and generic lager in the queue already...so week three will be another SABA clone attempt or the Lake Walk.

 

[stonebrewer]

I went on the brewery tour and all they mentioned was 2-row, crystal 60 and hallertau hops. The also said they have a special proprietary yeast.

So the three malts mentioned above (Harrington, Metcalfe, Copeland) are all 2-row varieties and are what you get when you buy a bag of 2-row at your LHBS. Crystal/Caramel 60 are the same thing so the malts check with your tour. The hops story seems to change all the time. There were three hops on their website as mentioned above in May; now the website says two, and you were told one on your tour. Funny thing is that they removed the Hallertau from their May posting, which is the one hop you say they mentioned at your tour! As far as the yeast goes WLP008 is the "Brewer Patriot" strain which from what I have read in many places is what Sam Adams uses.

 

[stonebrewer]

Well hell Maybell! I tapped this last night and the first glass was U-G-L-Y! Let it sit overnight carb'n up and had a glass or two tonight. While it turned out well, it is not the clone I was hoping for and I am convinced it is the hops. Color is good and it is not sweet like I was fearing. It is a good beer and I will drain this keg in time, no doubt about that...just isn't close to being a clone of Sam Adams Boston Ale. Since this time I omitted the Hallertau, I think the next time I brew this I will do all Hallertau as suggested by bk0 from his tour and see where that gets me. Not giving up on this!! I recently purchased a hand full of 1 gallon glass jugs so I may shift gears a little here. I just finished putting together my single tier and actually used it for the first time this past week on a Stone Pale Ale that is spot on thanks to Stone and Greg's/Steve's book. Anyhow, what I think I may do is start brewing whatever is in my brew schedule and then add in an experimental gallon mini batch for things like this that I am trying to clone. That way I keep my schedule AND I get to experiment with each brew day on some recipe, clone, SMASH, etc I am interested in or use a new hop/malt without the risk of having 5-10 gallons I may not be fond of...