Alchemist Crusher - Can you clone it?

[MrPowers]

Hello all,

I was fortunate enough to be able to take a road trip out to Vermont a couple of weeks ago. The Alchemist Crusher is probably my favorite beer I was able to get on the trip. Being from Iowa, it will probably be a long time before I can drive out east again to pick up more, so I wanted to see if anyone had any insight into the recipe.

My impression is that it has a more potent hop aroma/flavor and definitely does not use the same hops as Heady (though I've heard that it does use the same hops as Alena). It's resiny and mouth coating and finishes relatively dry and bitter.

My guess is that the grain bill is similar to Heady (Fawcett Pearl, Sugar, and Fawcett Light Crystal), and the hop schedule is similar with respect to timing but with increased flavor/aroma quantities.

My first stab at the recipe would be:

10 Gallons
OG 1.073
FG 1.011
ABV ~8%

90% Fawcett Pearl
6% Sugar (Turbinado/Corn Sugar - not sure which to go with)
4% Fawcett Caramalt (15-35L - somewhere in that range)

Mash for fermentability.

Hopshot or CTZ to bitter to 50-60IBU.

3/5/2/2oz of Columbus, Mosaic, Centennial, Amarillo in the whirlpool

2/2/5/3oz of Columbus, Mosaic, Centennial, Amarillo for dry hop

Conan Yeast

What are your thoughts about this beer? The recipe? I may bump up the whirlpool/dry hop amounts, but what are your thoughts on hop choices and the ratios?

 

[MrPowers]

Bump. Anyone have any ideas about this beer?

 

[samandbekah]

This is also my favorite beer The Alchemist brews... I happen to be a tad closer to the brewery than you you however at *only* a 5 hour drive... How did this recipe work out for you?

The last time I was there they informed me that they are significantly reducing the frequency of this beer as it is just not as popular as their other portfolio of IPAs... Most recently I believe it is Rapture that is going to replace the bulk of it.

I also heard that Crusher is essentially identical to Alena with the only difference being hops schedule and order.

Would love to clone this beer to have it on tap as much as possible!

 

[MrPowers]

This is also my favorite beer The Alchemist brews... I happen to be a tad closer to the brewery than you you however at *only* a 5 hour drive... How did this recipe work out for you?

The last time I was there they informed me that they are significantly reducing the frequency of this beer as it is just not as popular as their other portfolio of IPAs... Most recently I believe it is Rapture that is going to replace the bulk of it.

I also heard that Crusher is essentially identical to Alena with the only difference being hops schedule and order.

Would love to clone this beer to have it on tap as much as possible!

I never did try to brew this recipe. I was fortunate to get back out to The Alchemist this year again and got to try Rapture as well. Fantastic beer, but Crusher is still my favorite!

 

[samandbekah]

I never did try to brew this recipe. I was fortunate to get back out to The Alchemist this year again and got to try Rapture as well. Fantastic beer, but Crusher is still my favorite!

Yeah its by far my favorite commercial DIPA... As far as your recipe goes, I have been reading some other posts about it and I believe it is heavy on Simcoe... I am pretty sure that's a hop favorite in a few other Alchemist IPAs as well.

 

[betty_ford]

Yeah its by far my favorite commercial DIPA... As far as your recipe goes, I have been reading some other posts about it and I believe it is heavy on Simcoe... I am pretty sure that's a hop favorite in a few other Alchemist IPAs as well.

Glad to see this thread alive. I think crusher is one of my favorite offerings from the alchemist. I have had rapture, and it is also delicious, but I just love the classic dank yet still juicy profile of crusher. What are yall thinking as far as hops are concerned? simcoe, ctz, centennial? It's been a while since I've had it, but I recall pine, and grapefruit with a decided bitterness. Would love to get my hands on more of it.

 

[MrPowers]

Glad to see this thread alive. I think crusher is one of my favorite offerings from the alchemist. I have had rapture, and it is also delicious, but I just love the classic dank yet still juicy profile of crusher. What are yall thinking as far as hops are concerned? simcoe, ctz, centennial? It's been a while since I've had it, but I recall pine, and grapefruit with a decided bitterness. Would love to get my hands on more of it.

It is still my favorite beer of theirs to date. They didn’t have any when I was out in Vermont last year, so the last time I had it was two years ago. My initial guess at the hop profile from a couple of years ago is listed in the original post. I wrote that while drinking a can of crusher and comparing to heady.

 

[betty_ford]

It is still my favorite beer of theirs to date. They didn’t have any when I was out in Vermont last year, so the last time I had it was two years ago. My initial guess at the hop profile from a couple of years ago is listed in the original post. I wrote that while drinking a can of crusher and comparing to heady.

I saw, I just wasn't sure if anyone had any more intel since then. You can't be too far off if I had to guess. I do think simcoe may be involved. Not sure about mosaic. I get mosaic with focal, but less so with crusher as I recall. Who knows. Also don't have a ton of experience with amarillo personally. Damn, i need to get back up there.

 

[telejunkie1]

I did get a tour of the "new" brewery prior to it opening and I'm 90% sure the only thing in the grain storage room was Pearle malt and dextrose sugar. I didn't notice any cara malts...at the time they were brewing crusher, FB, and a witbier and was thinking how smart it was to keep the grain bill so simple (but guessing he had to add some wheat for the wit, but that had already been used...but not positive...). Again can't say for sure since I didn't exactly inspect every bag...

I might swap out the CTZ for Simcoe, but liking your line-up otherwise

 

[Clyde McCoy]

I did get a tour of the "new" brewery prior to it opening and I'm 90% sure the only thing in the grain storage room was Pearle malt and dextrose sugar. I didn't notice any cara malts...at the time they were brewing crusher, FB, and a witbier and was thinking how smart it was to keep the grain bill so simple (but guessing he had to add some wheat for the wit, but that had already been used...but not positive...). Again can't say for sure since I didn't exactly inspect every bag...

I might swap out the CTZ for Simcoe, but liking your line-up otherwise

Ouroboros is 100% Pearl mashed at 144F for 60'. There is an article from Burlington about it.

 

[MrPowers]

I did get a tour of the "new" brewery prior to it opening and I'm 90% sure the only thing in the grain storage room was Pearle malt and dextrose sugar. I didn't notice any cara malts...at the time they were brewing crusher, FB, and a witbier and was thinking how smart it was to keep the grain bill so simple (but guessing he had to add some wheat for the wit, but that had already been used...but not positive...). Again can't say for sure since I didn't exactly inspect every bag...

I might swap out the CTZ for Simcoe, but liking your line-up otherwise

I took a tour of the new brewery in October ‘19 and had the same experience. Only thing in the store room was Fawcett Pearl and dextrose. I can say with 99.99% certainty based on what I saw during that tour that Focal and Rapture are both single malt beers with Fawcett Pearl and dextrose. Three hop additions. Citra late boil, Citra/mosaic (galaxy for rapture) whirlpool and mosaic (galaxy) dry hop. Dead simple. I imagine crusher is similar in its simplicity with a different blend of hops. It could have some fawcett caramalt in it, but after that tour, I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t.

 

[Clyde McCoy]

I took a tour of the new brewery in October ‘19 and had the same experience. Only thing in the store room was Fawcett Pearl and dextrose. I can say with 99.99% certainty based on what I saw during that tour that Focal and Rapture are both single malt beers with Fawcett Pearl and dextrose. Three hop additions. Citra late boil, Citra/mosaic (galaxy for rapture) whirlpool and mosaic (galaxy) dry hop. Dead simple. I imagine crusher is similar in its simplicity with a different blend of hops. It could have some fawcett caramalt in it, but after that tour, I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t.

Are you sure about the late boil additions? From Kimmich's old lecture -

“I do not boil hops in my kettle. I use CO2 hop extract as the main bittering in there.”

 

[MrPowers]

Are you sure about the late boil additions? From Kimmich's old lecture -

“I do not boil hops in my kettle. I use CO2 hop extract as the main bittering in there.”

On their system I believe it was a flameout/beginning of whirlpool addition. On our scale it would probably translate to a 10-15 minute addition.

 

[Clyde McCoy]

On their system I believe it was a flameout/beginning of whirlpool addition. On our scale it would probably translate to a 10-15 minute addition.

Yeah I was guessing that whirlpool hops would be added as liquid is being transferred from kettle to whirlpool?

 

[MrPowers]

Yeah I was guessing that whirlpool hops would be added as liquid is being transferred from kettle to whirlpool?

That I don’t know, and I honestly don’t think it’s that important to us homebrewers. Something from 15 min to flameout will probably get you in the ballpark, but you may need to use some hop extract/60 min hops to make up the bitterness that they are getting.

What I do know for sure is that it is a VERY simple straightforward recipe that they execute with perfection.

 

[Clyde McCoy]

That I don’t know, and I honestly don’t think it’s that important to us homebrewers. Something from 15 min to flameout will probably get you in the ballpark, but you may need to use some hop extract/60 min hops to make up the bitterness that they are getting.

What I do know for sure is that it is a VERY simple straightforward recipe that they execute with perfection.

Did you ask about hop quantities for wp and dry?

 

[MrPowers]

Did you ask about hop quantities for wp and dry?

I did not get quantities, the only recipe info I got was from observation, shortly after we got interrupted by the beer tasting! Donovan’s Red, Light, Dark, Luscious, and one day old cans of Rapture! Such a fantastic tour!

 

[betty_ford]

I took a tour of the new brewery in October ‘19 and had the same experience. Only thing in the store room was Fawcett Pearl and dextrose. I can say with 99.99% certainty based on what I saw during that tour that Focal and Rapture are both single malt beers with Fawcett Pearl and dextrose. Three hop additions. Citra late boil, Citra/mosaic (galaxy for rapture) whirlpool and mosaic (galaxy) dry hop. Dead simple. I imagine crusher is similar in its simplicity with a different blend of hops. It could have some fawcett caramalt in it, but after that tour, I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t.

If I recall, crusher seemed to have more orange hue than focal did. I recall there being a difference, but hard for me to say considering its been about a year. I also recall john saying with the new brewery, they were WAY more efficient with hop utilization at first, so I'm sure that has a lot to do with timing as much as anything else.

 

[samandbekah]

Ouroboros is 100% Pearl mashed at 144F for 60'. There is an article from Burlington about it.

Do you have a link to this? Would love to see something actually recorded about their process. I have done the tour a couple times now and every time I've tried asking questions about it they are super serious about not letting that info out.

I am more so curious about that temp of 144... seems ridiculously low!

 

[samandbekah]

I saw, I just wasn't sure if anyone had any more intel since then. You can't be too far off if I had to guess. I do think simcoe may be involved. Not sure about mosaic. I get mosaic with focal, but less so with crusher as I recall. Who knows. Also don't have a ton of experience with amarillo personally. Damn, i need to get back up there.

I do not believe Crusher uses Mosaic - there's so much piney and earthiness in that delicious brew... I think the reason I love it so much is because, IMO, its a hybrid west coast style IPA (via hop bill) that meets a NE IPA grain bill and yeast selection...

I don't believe it uses Mosaic as well because I think its pretty heavy on Simcoe and Jon was making that beer wayyy back when he had just the pub - it was one of his first Double IPAs and back then (2003). Mosaic wasn't even released until 2012 (http://www.hopslist.com/hops/dual-purpose-hops/mosaic/).

My take on this hop bill would be A LOT of Simcoe combined with the popular C hops (I would guess Cascade, Columbus, Chinook and maybe some centennial)

 

[samandbekah]

Glad to see this thread alive. I think crusher is one of my favorite offerings from the alchemist. I have had rapture, and it is also delicious, but I just love the classic dank yet still juicy profile of crusher. What are yall thinking as far as hops are concerned? simcoe, ctz, centennial? It's been a while since I've had it, but I recall pine, and grapefruit with a decided bitterness. Would love to get my hands on more of it.

Are you anywhere near the North East? They release it about once a quarter on average from my understanding and it usually never falls below the 6 - 4 pack limit per person per day. I try to head up there whenever its available and load up and make a weekend vaca out of it with the wife, kids and dog... Lots of stuff to do up there...

 

[samandbekah]

I gotta say - so pumped with the volume of comments this thread has generated... I think we really should try to take a stab at a "Can you brew it" and document as much as we can in the process...

Since everyone is in lock down due to the pandemic... would love to get this puppy on tap as often as possible!

 

[MrPowers]

Do you have a link to this? Would love to see something actually recorded about their process. I have done the tour a couple times now and every time I've tried asking questions about it they are super serious about not letting that info out.

I am more so curious about that temp of 144... seems ridiculously low!

They are probably mashing at the optimum temperature to maximize beta amalyze activity, based on the gelatinization temperature of their malt. That will vary lot to lot and crop year to crop year, and mash temperature should as well. If you CAN mash at 144, you should as that will help increase attenuation and perceived dryness, but most grain I have been able to get lately has had gelatinization temperatures in the 147-150f range.

What would your thoughts on the recipe be? I'm by no means married to my hop combo, that was just my first impression! Perhaps taking the recipe above and swapping the mosaic for Simcoe would be a better approach.

 

[samandbekah]

They are probably mashing at the optimum temperature to maximize beta amalyze activity, based on the gelatinization temperature of their malt. That will vary lot to lot and crop year to crop year, and mash temperature should as well. If you CAN mash at 144, you should as that will help increase attenuation and perceived dryness, but most grain I have been able to get lately has had gelatinization temperatures in the 147-150f range.

What would your thoughts on the recipe be? I'm by no means married to my hop combo, that was just my first impression! Perhaps taking the recipe above and swapping the mosaic for Simcoe would be a better approach.

Interesting... I'll have to look into that piece more... I'll be digging through my old brewing books for sure to read up more on that!

I would say the majority (90%) base malt and then some sort of biscuity type malt... I do get some sweetness in the beer but I think that's from the finishing gravity... Crusher used to be 9.3 or 9.5% I believe and the sweetness I do believe is coming from the maltiness as well as controlling the attenuation...

So I would say 80 -85% base British 2-row/pale ale malt, 8-12% biscuit malt and then another 3-7% of some sort of head retention and flavor malt such as a really low L caramalt like cara-10 or 15, I wouldn't go too higher because then you start messing with the color.

For the hops - I'd say bitter with a high alpha such as one of the CTZ hops (or a hop shot if you can get your hands on it) and a combination of Cascade, Columbus, Centennial, chinook and heavy on the Simcoe. Definitely load it up in the Whirl but don't overdo it on the dry hop.

 

[betty_ford]

I do not believe Crusher uses Mosaic - there's so much piney and earthiness in that delicious brew... I think the reason I love it so much is because, IMO, its a hybrid west coast style IPA (via hop bill) that meets a NE IPA grain bill and yeast selection...

I don't believe it uses Mosaic as well because I think its pretty heavy on Simcoe and Jon was making that beer wayyy back when he had just the pub - it was one of his first Double IPAs and back then (2003). Mosaic wasn't even released until 2012 (http://www.hopslist.com/hops/dual-purpose-hops/mosaic/).

My take on this hop bill would be A LOT of Simcoe combined with the popular C hops (I would guess Cascade, Columbus, Chinook and maybe some centennial)

I'm with you on the simcoe and C hops. It is definitely a big west coast ipa wearing alchemist clothes.
As far as grain bill goes, I also think there has to be some dextrose used to dry this thing out.
Its been a long time since i went down the big ipa rabbit hole. I also need to find a way to get my hands on some of this stuff to help with the flavor/aroma recall.

 

[Clyde McCoy]

I gotta say - so pumped with the volume of comments this thread has generated... I think we really should try to take a stab at a "Can you brew it" and document as much as we can in the process...

Since everyone is in lock down due to the pandemic... would love to get this puppy on tap as often as possible!

The Alchemist's processes are very simple. For their IPAs:

Lots and lots of gypsum. It's used to acidify the mash. I would guess brewing liquor is 300-700ppm SO4, depending on the beer. Probably on the higher end of that range for most of their IPAs (yes, seriously). Chloride <50 ppm. Start with this and adjust to taste:

SO4: 450 ppm
Cl: 30 ppm

100% Pearl Malt. Mash low, 144-148F for 60'. pH 5.3-5.5 (5.1-5.3 at mash temp).

Boil for 60'
Add CO2 hop extract at 60' to bitter. Not sure about IBUs but I would guess 40-70.
Kimmich does not boil hops in his kettle.
Possibly dextrose 10'
Probably whirlfloc 10'
Probably yeast nutrient 10'

Whirlpool hop pellets into the whirl as liquid fills the tank

Conan yeast, <0.5 million cells per ml per degree Plato, 68F for a few days then up to 72F

Soft crash, harvest yeast

1 dry hop final 4 days of fermentation. Heady is <4 ounces per 5 gallons.

Canning is 24-25 days later. Takes at least 3-4 days after canning to age (paraphrasing Kimmich here).

PS - this information comes from Googling Kimmich, not anything their brewers have said to me directly.

 

[Dgallo]

The Alchemist's processes are very simple. For their IPAs:

Lots of gypsum; it's used to acidify the mash. I would guess brewing liquor is 300-700ppm SO4, depending on the beer. Probably on the higher end of that range for most of their IPAs (yes, seriously). Chloride <50 ppm.

100% Pearl Malt. Mash low, 144-150F. 60'.

Boil for 60'
Add CO2 hop extract at 60' to bitter. Not sure about IBUs but I would guess 40-70.
Kimmich does not boil hops in his kettle.
Probably dextrose 10'
Probably whirlfloc 10'
Probably yeast nutrient 10'

Whirlpool hops

Conan yeast, probably 68F

Soft crash

1 dry hop final 4 days of fermentation. Heady is <4 ounces per 5 gallons.

Canning is 21-28 days later I think

If I recall correctly Kimmich ferments his Conan strain at 63*f and at .35/.40 mc/ml/*p. I’ll see if I can find the literature

 

[Clyde McCoy]

If I recall correctly Kimmich ferments his Conan strain at 63*f and at .35/.40 mc/ml/*p. I’ll see if I can find the literature

Very cool, citation would be much appreciated

 

[samandbekah]

The Alchemist's processes are very simple. For their IPAs:

Lots of gypsum; it's used to acidify the mash. I would guess brewing liquor is 300-700ppm SO4, depending on the beer. Probably on the higher end of that range for most of their IPAs (yes, seriously). Chloride <50 ppm.

100% Pearl Malt. Mash low, 144-150F. 60'. pH 5.3-5.5 (5.1-5.3 at mash temp).

Boil for 60'
Add CO2 hop extract at 60' to bitter. Not sure about IBUs but I would guess 40-70.
Kimmich does not boil hops in his kettle.
Probably dextrose 10'
Probably whirlfloc 10'
Probably yeast nutrient 10'

Whirlpool hops

Conan yeast, probably 68F

Soft crash

1 dry hop final 4 days of fermentation. Heady is <4 ounces per 5 gallons.

Canning is 21-28 days later I think

PS - this information comes from Googling Kimmich, not anything their brewers have said to me directly.

This is very specific - helpful for sure, but do you have a link? You said googling but it sounds as if you're a former brewer there with those details!

 

[Clyde McCoy]

This is very specific - helpful for sure, but do you have a link? You said googling but it sounds as if you're a former brewer there with those details!

Yes, most of what you're looking for is here:

http://chopandbrew.com/episodes/chop-brew-episode-22-john-kimmich-from-the-alchemist/