I don't like to clone anyone as I want my beer to have my style, but I've been inspired by Westmalle for my Tripel and recently I've researching on replicating the taste of Blanche du Hainaut from Brasserie Dupont, again, I don't want a clone, I want something that is refreshing and smooth as that one is, their beer is back soured with lactic acid and that's something I won't be doing
Your post got me to thinking. I kinda' thought I was that way, too. But this thread started me on a search of beers I've brewed in the past (my records only go back as far as 2000, which is when I really started getting serious about brewing), and I set about to analyze
what I brew and
why I brew it. Maybe I'm over-thinking the whole thing, but I did see a pattern. I didn't think I was cloning beers when in fact that exactly what I was doing.
What I set out to do when I decide to brew something (anything), the motivation is generally, "I liked that beer I had the other day. That type of beer would be good right about now until 5 gallons run out." So I set out to discover what malts and hops were in it that made it taste so good, and that usually leads to brewing that style with typical methods specific to my equipment and procedures. If it turns out well, I'll tweak it a bit to try to improve it next time. After a few iterations I'll either give up and move on to something different (the next shiny object syndrome) or I'll be pleased and put it in the rotation. That means kicking some brew out of the lineup, so it'll usually be a one-for-one stylistic elimination; i.e., an ale for an ale, an IPA for an IPA, etc.
After looking at my brew sessions over the last year to 18 months I saw many familiar style beers that were derivative of commercial beers "except for...." So are they clones (duplicates), or am I trying to replicate (create a beer that's very similar to the original, but not quite the same) something I'd previously enjoyed? Is it a copy or an inspiration? If I go to Ruth's Chris or Del Frisco's and have the filet of my dreams and then attempt to prepare it on my Weber grill at home, am I trying to "clone" that steak or trying to produce something similar that I enjoyed? I always thought that whenever I used a clone recipe it was a starting point to expand on and adapt it to my process. But after looking at the recipes I've brewed and re-brewed with 'refinements' I see that I've continually gotten closer and closer to the brewery's original.
My most recent session last week was an attempt to recreate something akin to the original 1990 Stone IPA. Stone is continually modifying their recipes, using what's available, economically viable, or trending as "hot." New Belgium does the same (remember the original "Ranger"? I sure do). The point is, you're mostly "cloning" a perpetually moving target, especially as it applies to craft brewing which by its nature and clientele needs to be trendy and flexible to keep up with what is "in" at any point in time. I get that and accept it, but I
really miss the original Stone and Ranger beers. So looking back, I'm glad I struggled to copy the originals of those two beers, along with Coor's Light, and, as it turns out, many others.
So to answer the OP's question I guess I'd have to say emphatically, "Yes, in fact
all the beers I have brewed are clones of beers from my past." I just never thought of it that way before.
We only bought the Wisconsin Club a few times, if they were out of Rhinelander and Black Label. I think we even bought the "It don't git no better'n dis" Old Milwaukee returnables at an astounding $6.99 if we were feeling like big-shots. We'd get the cans if we were going on a road trip.
