Heady Topper

emjay · Feb 14, 2013

Coff said:
For those who cannot get hop extract, or dont want to hunt it down, I used Magnum on my clone and I found that to be "sufficient" as a clean bittering hop. Love Magnum actually, use it to bitter 90% of my beers so I might be based.

I do the same. 90+minutes isn't really going to impart a noticeable degree of flavor, and it's definitely a clean bitterness. I only use hop extract for tweaking a recipe post-fermentation. Just because Kimmich uses it doesn't mean it's necessary or even necessarily a good thing.

Which leads to my other point, that people are going about this cloning thing all wrong. I REALLY hate that I'm agreeing with bobbrews (because of the general inanity of his posts), but it doesn't help to blindly restrict one's own ingredients/processes to what the original brewer says they do/use - EVEN IF they're telling the truth. It seems to me that cloning efforts are often HINDERED by the (incomplete) information or hints one gathers. For a homebrewer to end up with as close a clone of any commercial beer as is at all possible on their own system, you can pretty much EXPECT that recipes are not going to be identical. Even if we had the exact recipe, it's all but certain that it could be tweaked to produce an even more faithful clone.

I haven't had Heady (yet... but it's at the very top of my list), so I can't contribute much so far. I will, however, strongly suggest that the better brewers among those with access to it (particularly those who have an extensive ingredient identification/selection knowledge-base to draw from) should BY ALL MEANS deviate from what we're supposed to "know" about the recipe, if that's what their gut is telling them.

NordeastBrewer77 · Feb 14, 2013

theveganbrewer said:
If you're a true addict, you should definitely taste it before putting it in the beer

How was that? My buddy did the same thing and said he couldn't taste for the rest of the day.

theveganbrewer · Feb 14, 2013

NordeastBrewer77 said:
How was that? My buddy did the same thing and said he couldn't taste for the rest of the day.

Yes, that would be the feeling. Terrible, very, very bitter.

I've put up a post for Heady in the recipe thread if anyone wants to contribute over there with their recipes and tasting notes, we can put them all up in the first post for future reference if anyone wants to help.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/heady-topper-can-you-clone-390082/

NordeastBrewer77 · Feb 14, 2013

I figured with how potent they smelled going into the wort, and how my eyes began to water when I took a big whiff, I'd pass on eating some.

Good call on the recipe forum thread!!

Coff · Feb 14, 2013

theveganbrewer said:
So when are they going to start selling it? I really wish we could get some lab to do it so it'd be available for everyone. It's a great unique yeast. I did talk to White Labs and they said they can't sell it unless the brewer gives permission.

I missed this post yesterday, if White Labs wont sell it I am sure ECY will not either.

BrasseurGeorges · Feb 14, 2013

I think that system/process info would be useful, both in terms of recipe formulation and communicating results. Lets say, for the sake of argument, that they whirlpool 15 minutes, rest 15 minutes, take another 30+ to knock out, losing only a few degrees in the process. Drastically different from most of our setups. Think about temperature, time, agitation, and dial it in on your system until it tastes right.

Great thread, and good luck everyone!