American IPA Bell's Two Hearted Ale Clone (close as they come)

[eschatz]

Recipe Type

All Grain

Yeast

SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04)

Yeast Starter

none

Batch Size (Gallons)

5.5

Original Gravity

1.055

Final Gravity

1.014

Boiling Time (Minutes)

60

IBU

52.6

Color

5.6

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

at least 4 weeks at 65 F

Tasting Notes

Extremely drinkable. This clone is as perfect as I can tell.

The actual gravity for this beer is 1.064
The FG is 1.010
Yeast is taken from a bottle of Bells Amber (their Pale Ale also works)

10 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 76.92 %
2 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 15.38 %
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 3.85 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 3.85 %

*mash at 150 F

1.00 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (60 min) Hops 30.3 IBU
0.50 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (Dry Hop 5 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (15 min) Hops 15.0 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (5 min) Hops 6.0 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (1 min) Hops 1.3 IBU

7% ABV

This beer is so damn close to the original. If you let it wait at least 2 months in the bottle/keg it'll clear up EXACTLY like the original. I had SWMBO mix the glasses up and I couldn't pick my clone out between two Two Hearted Glasses and one Clone. This is the best clone I've made and possibly the best IPA I've made.

Edit: Fixed yeast and gravity issues along with mash temp for a lower FG.

 

[Ketchepillar]

Why that particular yeast? Just curious. Your ABV is quite a bit lower (5.3 vs 7), doesn't that come through in the taste?

 

[ohiodad]

I tend to agree with the previous poster... I think what is best about bell's two hearted is that crisp clean finish and I'd hae a hard time believing that you get that from S-04... I just did a clone of this myself and I cultured the yeast from their bottle after trying one with WLP001 and thinking the yeast was just not quite right... I thought the OG was around 1.062 on that and it was around 62ish IBUs.. That's what I shot for at least...

 

[jmo88]

according to BYO's clone magazine, the ABV is 5.9% and the grain bill is virtually the same. So I'm guessing the ABV through the recipe is a result of efficiency differences between the two clones, but it's darn close. They say to use wyeast 1272 or WLP051 and I agree that this recipe could benefit from either a cultured yeast from the bottle or simply use an american ale yeast instead of the 04

 

[ohiodad]

Not arguing the grain bill at all.. I'd say that's pretty close.. Per bell's website though the ABV is 7% and the OG is 1.058... I think to get 7% alcohol that OG has gotta start higher than that though... Especially if they are using 1272 or WLP051.. I've never got that kind of attenuation out of either of those yeasts... And I would be very skeptical that there is less alcohol than 7% in a bottle of 2 hearted...

 

[Jared311]

Brewing this recipe as we drink... I mean speak. I was surprised to see only a 1/2 oz. of centennial for the dry hop and so I might use a full ounce or so. I will let you know how it comes out. I am a huge fan of Bells Two Hearted Ale!

 

[eriktlupus]

i would think the problem i see with that recipe is the mash temp is to high for the fg needed to hit 6.5-7%abv i'd try closer to 150 or less.


on a side note i just had 2<3'd on a cask conditioned beer engine, different taste for sure but i'm still not a fan of the beer

 

[Jared311]

We shall see about the FG. I can tell you this much, I nailed the OG of 1055!

 

[eschatz]

Yeah, the only thing that I couldn't really nail was the yeast. Other than that it tastes almost identical for me. I think the 1/2 oz in the dry hop was because that's all of the Centennial I had left. Yeah, I could have mashed a little lower to make it a little dryer but I feel like it would loose a little flavor with that. Maybe I need to up the 2 row to fit the alcohol a bit better. All I know is that it's a pretty damn good beer.

 

[Revvy]

I temporarily hate you . Three weeks ago I was looking for JUST such a recipe as this...I was looking for a close Two Hearted recipe to pop my brewing cherry on IPA's

I'll have to harvest some Bell's and give it a whirl when I finish the IPA I did end up brewing...

I love 2 hearted, there's even a foo foo fern bar around the corner from me, which I otherwise hate, but which has it on tap...If you like it in the bottle, it is even more amazing on tap if you haven't tried it.

Thanks for posting this, I'll give it a whirl sometime down the line.

 

[Jared311]

Alright, so here are some short term results. Its been in the fermenter since saturday afternoon and the fermentation is just about done. I had an OG of 1055 and an FG of 1010 giving me around 6% ABV. It tastes and smells delicious. I am going to wait a few more days and then crash cool my primary before racking it to a secondary and dry hopping. The only major difference in my batch was that I decided to use white labs california ale yeast and I might use more centennial for dry hopping. I will keep you posted.

 

[eschatz]

Tell me how it turns out. I think the dry hopping will be spot on. I'd love to know how the yeast effects the beer.

 

[Shonuff]

Bell's Two Hearted Ale is the best beer ever! I think I'm going to have to buy some bulk Centennial and brew this.

 

[Yooper]

I'll be brewing this tomorrow! I'll keep almost everything the same, but I just got a new grain mill. My first batch was 89% efficiency with the new mill- after 68% for years with the AHS crush. So, I'll keep the recipe, planning for 80% efficiency which would give me 1.075ish. I may have to adjust the hopping, depending on my efficiency.

Thanks for posting this!

 

[ohiodad]

I just transferred my 3rd attempt at a clone of bells 2 hearted over yesterday and I think i finally got it spot on!! Very excited about this one!! Grain bill is pretty similar to this one.. I think the important thing here is to clone their yeast from the bottle.. I've tried with both Irish and WLP001 and couldn't get it quite right.. This time I cultured the yeast from a 6 pack of two hearted and it is spot on... What a great beer this is and I'm very happy to have finally figured it out.....

 

[farmbrewernw]

I just had the commercial version for the first time tonight. To me it almost tastes like a hoppier Centennial version of Ed's Pale ale, it is a fine thing. What about using Nottingham for the yeast I think it could get the attenuation and the cleanness that you would need.

 

[eschatz]

Nottingham would work fine. This is a great beer either way.

 

[farmbrewernw]

The only thing I'm concerned about is the ABV for this beer, there's quite a bit of difference between a 5% beer and a 7% beer. I could honestly care less about getting more alcohol out of a beer but it does make a difference in taste almost certainly. I'm wondering if bumping up the grain volumes to get a higher OG brew would make this even closer to the original. I don't doubt that this is a great beer, I guess I'm just kind of nit picky like that, one obvious benefit of having it be a lower ABV beer is that it should be quicker to turn around and drink, I would think a 7% beer is going to take a couple months of aging minimum.

 

[shertz]

Got something close using extract in primary now:

Golden Light DME-7.2 lbs
Cara-pils .5 lbs
C-20 .5 lbs
Centennial .5oz 60 mins
Centennial .5oz 45 mins
Centennial .5oz 30 mins
Centennial .5oz 15 mins
Centennial .5oz flameout
Centennial 1 oz DH
Wyeast 1272 American Ale II

OG-1.073
FG-1.018
7.2% ABV
52 IBU's

 

[Jared311]

Alright, here is an update as I promised:

Fermentation in primary for 7 days
Crash cooled in primary for 5 days
Racked to secondary and dry hopped for 12 days (used 1oz centennial)
Racked to keg and carbed at 12psi at 40deg

I just grabbed a sneak peak of this batch only after three days of carbing and this beer is damn tasty! I definitely suggest using at least 1oz for dry hopping. I think I am going to brew this batch again and harvest some of the yeast from a bottle of two hearted. I think it could also use a little more bitterness so I might have to play with additional hops earlier in the boil. Awesome beer for first keg in my new keezer though!

 

[eschatz]

Sweet!
I'm about to brew another batch. Let me know what you change and how it works out.

 

[Yooper]

Kegged this today! It's great! I just dryhopped, so the flavor today is hoppier than the original but I think it'll fade a bit once it's carbed up. I love the flavor- great recipe, thanks!

 

[Yooper]

We sampled this head to head with some 2-hearted. The Bell's was a bit more hoppy, and mine was a wee bit more bitter but it was about 95% the same. Mine was a hint lighter in color, but you really couldn't tell the difference if you didn't know.

Great recipe! I'll be doing this one again.

 

[farmbrewernw]

Just made this a week ago, boiled off a little bit more than I wanted so ended up with a OG of 1.060, anyway I took a hydro sample yesterday and let me tell you I can already tell that this is going to be an awesome beer. I'm thinking maybe I should have made 10 gal instead of 5.

 

[eschatz]

I just brewed another batch of this using Columbus for the bittering hop, Nottinghams, and bumped the base grain to make it 7%.

It's definitely not a 2hearted clone anymore. The alcohol is closer and it's clean like it should be but the hops are all different. But maybe better. The bitterness has skyrocketed in this thing, its up to 69 IBU as opposed to 52 as the original. The beer tastes great.

I've decided that I'm going to keep the grist of this beer the same and keep changing the hops. There are quite a few varieties out there that I haven't had the chance to work with yet in an IPA. Next I think I'm looking at Horizon, Warrior, Simcoe, and Amarillo. They're all new to me.

 

[wildwest450]

I've decided that I'm going to keep the grist of this beer the same and keep changing the hops. There are quite a few varieties out there that I haven't had the chance to work with yet in an IPA. Next I think I'm looking at Horizon, Warrior, Simcoe, and Amarillo. They're all new to me.

Use Amarillo next! Yummy deliciousness in a glass.

 

[gingerdawg]

I did a 3 gallon BIAB batch kinda following this recipe. I just racked to secondary, and the hydrometer sample tastes GREAT! I used
5# pale 2-row malt
1# vienna
.5# cara-pils
.5# Carmel/Crystal 40L

.5 Centennial 60 min
1 Centennial 25 min
.5 Centennial 2 min
1 Cascade dry hop (in a week or so)

I used yeast cultured from a Bell's bottle.

OG was around 1.056

The actual gravity for this beer is 1.064
The FG is 1.010
Nottingham works better for the yeast.


10 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 76.92 %
2 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 15.38 %
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 3.85 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 3.85 %

*mash at 150 F

1.00 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (60 min) Hops 30.3 IBU
0.50 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (Dry Hop 5 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (15 min) Hops 15.0 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (5 min) Hops 6.0 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (1 min) Hops 1.3 IBU

Nottingham Ale Yeast Dry

7% ABV

This beer is so damn close to the original. If you let it wait at least 2 months in the bottle/keg it'll clear up EXACTLY like the original. I had SWMBO mix the glasses up and I couldn't pick my clone out between two Two Hearted Glasses and one Clone. This is the best clone I've made and possibly the best IPA I've made.

Edit: Fixed yeast and gravity issues along with mash temp for a lower FG.

 

[Dloucks]

The actual gravity for this beer is 1.064
The FG is 1.010
Nottingham works better for the yeast.


10 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 76.92 %
2 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 15.38 %
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 3.85 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 3.85 %

*mash at 150 F

1.00 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (60 min) Hops 30.3 IBU
0.50 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (Dry Hop 5 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (15 min) Hops 15.0 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (5 min) Hops 6.0 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [9.50 %] (1 min) Hops 1.3 IBU

Nottingham Ale Yeast Dry

7% ABV

This beer is so damn close to the original. If you let it wait at least 2 months in the bottle/keg it'll clear up EXACTLY like the original. I had SWMBO mix the glasses up and I couldn't pick my clone out between two Two Hearted Glasses and one Clone. This is the best clone I've made and possibly the best IPA I've made.

Edit: Fixed yeast and gravity issues along with mash temp for a lower FG.

I made this last month, and kegged it two days ago. The only thing I did differently was I had one extra pound of pale to try to compensate for "beginner efficiency problems". I missed my OG to the low side but it did dry out to 1.009 with Safale-05.

With that said, this is EASILY the best beer I've ever made. Though it's off by about .75% ABV, it's still amazingly close to the original. Just wanted to give a bump for anyone considering this tasty brew.

 

[eschatz]

Thanks, I'm slowly dialing it in.

 

[dontman]

I have had a close facsimile of this recipe in primary for three weeks now. My OG was 1.061 FG is 1.013 ABV of 6.3 . The real change I made, and I hope I don't regret it, is that I bumped up all of the hops additions and ended at 65 IBUs. (according to Beersmith.)

I also went with Notty instead of the 05 I was planning. Guess I used my last packet of the 05.

I know this will turn out to be a very good beer but here is the funny thing. I almost never do recipes. I've never even had a Bell's beer of any type. But I read the recipe and it was eerily similar to the IPA I had planned.

Spooky really. I had just gotten a pound of Centennial, which I love and rounded out the recipe with base malt carapils and 2 pounds of Vienna. Then I saw Bell's in BYO and decided to veer very close to it.

I just overdid it on the hops if I did anything wrong at all.

 

[farmbrewernw]

So I've had this kegged for a week now. Still a little green in my estimation as I brewed it a month and a half ago but it's getting there. I dry hopped with Cascades as that was all I had, I'm thinking now I probably should have used Centennials, anyway it finished kind of sweeter than I would have wanted, I mashed a little high probably around 155-56, I think I'll mash lower at like 150 next time to try to dry this beer up a bit. It's good I just think it may be a tad more bitter than I would like and it needs to be dryer. I don't generally make IPAs these days but this is still one of the better ones I've ever made.

 

[Baja_Brewer]

Just stumbled across this. Checked my inventory and I may just have to brew this one up tonight. I have a Stone IPA clone in a keg right now, DFH 60 Min clone in two primaries (the one that I remembered the Irish Moss for is A LOT clearer after just one week) and I believe if I made this I would have an IPA trifecta.

Don't mind if I do

 

[gingerdawg]

I did a 3 gallon BIAB batch kinda following this recipe. I just racked to secondary, and the hydrometer sample tastes GREAT! I used
5# pale 2-row malt
1# vienna
.5# cara-pils
.5# Carmel/Crystal 40L

.5 Centennial 60 min
1 Centennial 25 min
.5 Centennial 2 min
1 Cascade dry hop (in a week or so)

I used yeast cultured from a Bell's bottle.

OG was around 1.056

I cracked the first bottle tonight (bottled for two weeks, can't wait anymore). Wow! Superb! I really like the flavor of the centennials!
I still have a couple of bottles of Bell's Two-hearted, I'm gonna chill them and do a taste compairson.
Thanks for the recipe eschatz!

 

[joety]

Bump, have to do this one next. Anyone know the best places to order Centennial from these days?

 

[Baja_Brewer]

Bump, have to do this one next. Anyone know the best places to order Centennial from these days?

Freshops has them but if you are planning on brewing more than one batch I'd say check out hops direct or Niko Brew

 

[joety]

Freshops has them but if you are planning on brewing more than one batch I'd say check out hops direct or Niko Brew

Thanks, Hops Direct looks great.* I'll have to check with some of my local HB buddies on a big order.

 

[gingerdawg]

I just did my side by side comparison. Wow, is this good. They are really similar. Mine is slightly darker in color, and just a little different mouth feel (smoother?). The hop profile is the same between the two. I like mine better.
SWMBO picked out mine in a blind test. She said Bells was just a little harsher. She is not much of a hop head.

 

[-TH-]

Here's my 3 gal extract recipe:

Recipe Gravity 1.063 OG
Recipe Bitterness 60 IBU
Recipe Color 11° SRM

Ingredients

0.50 lb Crystal 10L Grain Steeped
4.00 lb Light D.M.E. Extract Extract

0.62 oz Centennial Pellet 60 minutes
0.62 oz Centennial Pellet 25 minutes
0.62 oz Centennial Pellet 5 minutes
0.62 oz Centennial Pellet 1 minutes
0.50 oz Centennial Pellet - Dry Hop

1.00 unit American Ale yeast Yeast US-05

It turned out very well, although I'm still fighting a slight chlorophenol problem.

 

[diatonic]

I'm brewing this tomorrow... I made a couple of slight changes to the recipe based on my equipment. Will post a review when it is drinkable

Recipe: Bell's Two Hearted Ale Clone
Style: American IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0) 

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal      
Boil Size: 7.73 gal
Estimated OG: 1.067 SG
Estimated Color: 6.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 46.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount        Item                                      Type         % or IBU      
11.00 lb      Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)            Grain        75.86 %       
2.50 lb       Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM)                     Grain        17.24 %       
0.50 lb       Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)              Grain        3.45 %        
0.50 lb       Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM)     Grain        3.45 %        
1.00 oz       Centennial [10.00 %]  (60 min)            Hops         26.7 IBU      
0.50 oz       Centennial [10.00 %]  (Dry Hop 5 days)    Hops          -            
1.00 oz       Centennial [10.00 %]  (15 min)            Hops         13.2 IBU      
1.00 oz       Centennial [10.00 %]  (5 min)             Hops         5.3 IBU       
1.00 oz       Centennial [10.00 %]  (1 min)             Hops         1.2 IBU       
1 Pkgs        Nottingham (Danstar #-)                   Yeast-Ale                  


Mash Schedule: Temperature Mash, 1 Step, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 14.50 lb
----------------------------
Temperature Mash, 1 Step, Light Body
Step Time     Name               Description                         Step Temp     
75 min        Saccharification   Add 18.13 qt of water at 161.4 F    150.0 F       
10 min        Mash Out           Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min         168.0 F

 

[joety]

Ok, if I make a starter out of Two Hearts dregs, how far in advance do I need to make it? For a smack pack I generally go 48 hours but I'm thinking longer.

Also, should I use two bottles or is one enough?