Blue Moon Clone

[Jreyes63]

Hello:

Would love to brew Nilo extract from page 44, but with a higher abv like his Nilo #8. Any ideas how I can adjust the extract. Thanks.

 

[jsbarks]

Has anyone added orange peels into the primary? I have about 2-3 oz left, that I would hope increases orange flavor. Thoughts?

 

[stewart194]

Somebody may have already brought this up but one thing I am noticing as I re read all these posts about recipes for this clone I notice many of us (including myself) have been using domestic two row as our base malt. If you're like me you may have noticed the two row is creating a beer that is much lighter in color and doesn't have quite the same flavor profile as blue moon. Nilo's use of crystal (10L) is making up for this but I would have to argue isn't necessarily the same.


Wayne you may be able to speak more to this, but in Wayne's original recipe post, and on the blue moon website they state that they use "pale malt." Now I know the differences may be subtle but if you look at Great Western's Pale malt vs their two row the lovibond rating is different and as Wayne stated that is the malt that Sandlot began brewing blue moon with. My guess is that if we switched to using GW Pale malt instead of just any two row we get much closer to the color and flavor profile... The crystal idea is pointing in the same direction (adding some light toasted flavor) but crystal has a slightly different flavor than pale malt.

Wayne can you speak to this with more authority or am I off my rocker?

I've been following this thread for over a year now, and have read every post. First off, thanks to Wayne and Nilo for all of the great information.

I ended up brewing Wayne's #2 version. The beer was great. My only critique, based on personal preference, is that it needed less Coriander and more Orange Peel...which I'll adjust for the next brew session.

But I did notice that my beer was not nearly as orange in color as Blue Moon. Not even close really. Any ideas why this might be? Not sure if the post above I quoted has anything to do with it or not.

I did notice that my version was a little "boozy" for this style. OG was 1.056 and FG was 1.010 for an ABV of 6%. I think getting it closer to 5% would make it a better beer...but that might be something to do with my process / system and not the recipe itself...which I can adjust for.

It was also pretty clear and didn't have the haze that Blue Moon has, so I'll try the corn starch method also. In fact I'll probably try Nilo's #12 version next, only using half of the recommended Coriander.

Either way, it was an awesome beer, especially for a first attempt.

Thanks again!

 

[stewart194]

I should also mention that I just threw the coriander and orange peel into the boil and did not use a hop bag. I left all of the spices in the primary until I bottled it 3 weeks later, and did not do a secondary fermentation. I also used WYeast 1056 yeast.

 

[nilo]

I have made a correction to my recipe pdf file for recipes #9 to #12. Orange peel used was Frontier Organic Peels, just like recipe #8.

 

[JUST_BREW_IT]

How does this look for a 10 gal batch?


Prepare for Brewing


Clean and Prepare Brewing Equipment
Total Water Needed: 14.91 gal


Mash or Steep Grains

Mash Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
8.0 oz Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 1 2.3 %
10 lbs 12.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 48.9 %
8 lbs 8.0 oz White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 3 38.6 %
2 lbs 4.0 oz Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 4 10.2 %

Mash Steps
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Mash In Add 27.50 qt of water at 167.1 F 155.0 F 90 min
Batch sparge with 2 steps (1.90gal, 6.14gal) of 168.0 F water

Boil Wort
Add water to achieve boil volume of 12.28 gal
Estimated pre-boil gravity is 1.046 SG

Boil Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
2.01 oz Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [4.30 %] - Boil 90.0 min Hop 5 18.1 IBUs
2.25 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 10.0 mins) Spice 6 -
0.80 oz Orange Peel, Sweet (Boil 10.0 mins) Spice 7 -

Estimated Post Boil Vol: 10.40 gal and Est Post Boil Gravity: 1.057 SG

Cool and Prepare Fermentation
Cool wort to fermentation temperature
Transfer wort to fermenter
Add water to achieve final volume of 10.00 gal

Fermentation Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
1.0 pkg American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) [124.21 ml] Yeast 8 -
Measure Actual Original Gravity _______ (Target: 1.057 SG)
Measure Actual Batch Volume _______ (Target: 10.00 gal)
Fermentation
5/9/2013 - Primary Fermentation (4.00 days at 67.0 F ending at 67.0 F)
5/13/2013 - Secondary Fermentation (10.00 days at 67.0 F ending at 67.0 F)

Dry Hop and Prepare for Bottling/Kegging
Measure Final Gravity: _________ (Estimate: 1.015 SG)
Date Bottled/Kegged: 5/23/2013 - Carbonation: Keg with 12.54 PSI
Age beer for 30.00 days at 65.0 F
6/22/2013 - Drink and enjoy!

 

[nilo]

My understanding is that this is as simple as to double every ingredient from a 5gal batch, grains, hops, water, spices and yeast as well. Water chemistry for adjusting mash PH may be different, if you are doing any.

How does this look for a 10 gal batch?


Prepare for Brewing


Clean and Prepare Brewing Equipment
Total Water Needed: 14.91 gal


Mash or Steep Grains

Mash Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
8.0 oz Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 1 2.3 %
10 lbs 12.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 48.9 %
8 lbs 8.0 oz White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 3 38.6 %
2 lbs 4.0 oz Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 4 10.2 %

Mash Steps
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Mash In Add 27.50 qt of water at 167.1 F 155.0 F 90 min
Batch sparge with 2 steps (1.90gal, 6.14gal) of 168.0 F water

Boil Wort
Add water to achieve boil volume of 12.28 gal
Estimated pre-boil gravity is 1.046 SG

Boil Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
2.01 oz Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [4.30 %] - Boil 90.0 min Hop 5 18.1 IBUs
2.25 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 10.0 mins) Spice 6 -
0.80 oz Orange Peel, Sweet (Boil 10.0 mins) Spice 7 -

Estimated Post Boil Vol: 10.40 gal and Est Post Boil Gravity: 1.057 SG

Cool and Prepare Fermentation
Cool wort to fermentation temperature
Transfer wort to fermenter
Add water to achieve final volume of 10.00 gal

Fermentation Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
1.0 pkg American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) [124.21 ml] Yeast 8 -
Measure Actual Original Gravity _______ (Target: 1.057 SG)
Measure Actual Batch Volume _______ (Target: 10.00 gal)
Fermentation
5/9/2013 - Primary Fermentation (4.00 days at 67.0 F ending at 67.0 F)
5/13/2013 - Secondary Fermentation (10.00 days at 67.0 F ending at 67.0 F)

Dry Hop and Prepare for Bottling/Kegging
Measure Final Gravity: _________ (Estimate: 1.015 SG)
Date Bottled/Kegged: 5/23/2013 - Carbonation: Keg with 12.54 PSI
Age beer for 30.00 days at 65.0 F
6/22/2013 - Drink and enjoy!

 

[brewit2it]

How does this look for a 10 gal batch?


Prepare for Brewing


Clean and Prepare Brewing Equipment
Total Water Needed: 14.91 gal


Mash or Steep Grains

Mash Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
8.0 oz Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 1 2.3 %
10 lbs 12.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 48.9 %
8 lbs 8.0 oz White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 3 38.6 %
2 lbs 4.0 oz Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 4 10.2 %

Mash Steps
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Mash In Add 27.50 qt of water at 167.1 F 155.0 F 90 min
Batch sparge with 2 steps (1.90gal, 6.14gal) of 168.0 F water

Boil Wort
Add water to achieve boil volume of 12.28 gal
Estimated pre-boil gravity is 1.046 SG

Boil Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
2.01 oz Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [4.30 %] - Boil 90.0 min Hop 5 18.1 IBUs
2.25 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 10.0 mins) Spice 6 -
0.80 oz Orange Peel, Sweet (Boil 10.0 mins) Spice 7 -

Estimated Post Boil Vol: 10.40 gal and Est Post Boil Gravity: 1.057 SG

Cool and Prepare Fermentation
Cool wort to fermentation temperature
Transfer wort to fermenter
Add water to achieve final volume of 10.00 gal

Fermentation Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
1.0 pkg American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) [124.21 ml] Yeast 8 -
Measure Actual Original Gravity _______ (Target: 1.057 SG)
Measure Actual Batch Volume _______ (Target: 10.00 gal)
Fermentation
5/9/2013 - Primary Fermentation (4.00 days at 67.0 F ending at 67.0 F)
5/13/2013 - Secondary Fermentation (10.00 days at 67.0 F ending at 67.0 F)

Dry Hop and Prepare for Bottling/Kegging
Measure Final Gravity: _________ (Estimate: 1.015 SG)
Date Bottled/Kegged: 5/23/2013 - Carbonation: Keg with 12.54 PSI
Age beer for 30.00 days at 65.0 F
6/22/2013 - Drink and enjoy!

Looks like way too much cor and not enough OP to me.

 

[suprat78]

Looks like way too much cor and not enough OP to me.

Agreed knowing what I put in my 5gallon batch I would suggest 6ozs of OP in a 10 gallon.

 

[JUST_BREW_IT]

Agreed knowing what I put in my 5gallon batch I would suggest 6ozs of OP in a 10 gallon.

Awesome! Thank you!

So the 3:1 ration of coriander to orange peel isn't quiet correct? What amount of coriander do you suggest for a ten gal batch?

 

[suprat78]

On my last 5 gallon I went with Nilos 12 and I used .5oz of coriander and 3oz of OP.

I think I had some room to add slightly more coriander but this batch was almost spot onto Blue Moon. Its the only beer that I will start making 10gallon batches of due to popularity.

 

[themartinezmafia]

Question, I followed waynes instructions to a T. I hit all of my mash temps and pre-boil gravity but here is where the trouble begins. When I went to take a post boil reading (once wort cooled down to 70 degrees) my gravity was 1.045 when it should have been 1.060 according to beersmith. Any comments as to why its so low?

 

[stewart194]

I followed Wayne's recipe the first time and hit 1.060. Personally I thought it was a little too "boozy" for the style and am aiming for 1.050 next time...which you didn't end up too far from.

Did you crush your grains yourself or did someone else do it? I had this issue once and that was the cause in my case...my LHBS didn't crush the grain fine enough.

One other time I was brewing on a windy day, and my boil wasn't as vigorous as it usually is / should have been...so my boil off rate was off which left me with a lower gravity than I wanted. Of course that particular time, I was also left with a larger final volume than I had anticipated also.

 

[jbsengineer]

First - amazing thread. Took 3 days to read, but it was an excellent read. I'm going to try the Nilo #12. Quick question, why S-04 versus the Chico strain?

 

[JUST_BREW_IT]

First - amazing thread. Took 3 days to read, but it was an excellent read. I'm going to try the Nilo #12. Quick question, why S-04 versus the Chico strain?

Why 04 vs. 05?

 

[nilo]

S04 is faster than S05

 

[AnthonyB]

If I am not mistaken, Wayne1 might have to confirm, but this dried orange peel is from Denver Spice and everything!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A43ZOAO/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[scampbellatc]

Just popped the top the other day on the first one...a few days too soon, but man, is this good. Friends love it. I zested 4 Valencia oranges and 1Tbls of coriander. Dumped it in at end of boil and let it sit in primary for a week. Smell was outstanding and like I said, it tastes great. Definitely on the list to brew again.


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[Beezil]

I'm doing a 15gal AG batch of the "collected wisdom" of this thread right now.

thanks wayne and others.

 

[ratinator]

My lhb shop only carries wheat malt and if i order malts from some online stores im paying an extra 20$ shipping. Can wheat malt be used with little change than white wheat malt? I was told their wheat malt is 4lovi and white wheat is less than 3 lovi. i wanna get started on this batch but i wanna make sure everythings spot on.

 

[ratinator]

My lhb shop only carries wheat malt and if i order malts from some online stores im paying an extra 20$ shipping. Can wheat malt be used with little change than white wheat malt? I was told their wheat malt is 4lovi and white wheat is less than 3 lovi. i wanna get started on this batch but i wanna make sure everythings spot on.

correction it's weyermann pale wheat malt

 

[Wayne1]

The brand of malted wheat really isn't going to matter very much. I suggested Weyermann as I thought it should be available nationwide.

Using Great Western or Briess won't make much difference. The last few times I made it, I used Colorado Malting Company wheat. As that is not available to most folks, I suggested Weyermann as they do make a very consistent product.

Use what your LHBS has on hand. The color might not be exactly correct, but it should taste very good.

On clarity, I am thinking that Coors is using a low flocculating yeast strain to keep it cloudy. Both S-05 and S-04 tend to drop out of suspension fairly quickly. Color and clarity really don't mean too much to me. You may want to try a few different yeast strains to see is you can find a clean flavor with low flocculation. I cannot offer any suggestions as I DO want a yeast to drop bright. My current favorite is Wyeast #1469. I love the flavor is gives. This would not be suggested for a Blue Moon clone if you want it cloudy.

Cheers,
Wayne

 

[ShootersBrewCrew]

I would like to know why I only got about 7 gallons when I expected to get around 9-10 gallons:

RECIPE:
10.5 LBS Pale Malt (2 Row) US
2 LBS White Wheat Malt
2 LBS Oats, Flaked
2OZ Hallertauer
1OZ Bitter Orange Peel
1OZ Sweet Orange peel
1OZ Coriander Seed (crushed)

Mashed in with 6 Gallons of water @ 168. It only stayed at 168 for about 30 minutes and rose up to 170 degrees for the remainder of the mash.
Gravity on this was at 1.080

Sparged with 5.5 gallons of water and rinsed the grains. After adding this sparge water we ended up at a pre-boil volume of about 8 gallons. Pre boil gravity was at 1.0415.

We boiled for 75 minutes: 60 min boil on the hallertauer and then 10 minute boil with coriander and irish moss then wrapped up with a 5 minute flame out on the orange peels.

I used the wort chiller and got the wort down to 68 degrees. Put in the carboys and pitched Safale 04.

We were only able to get about 7 gallons into the carboys. And they look SUPER murkey and dirty.

First Question: Should we have used more grains and water to get more yield? I didn't use any topper water because I wanted to keep my gravity.

Second Question:Why would the wort that went into the carboys be so murkey? Did we not boil long enough to get it out or did we boil too long and we made it too concentrated?

Any and all feedback would be great!

 

[Wayne1]

I would like to know why I only got about 7 gallons when I expected to get around 9-10 gallons:

RECIPE:
10.5 LBS Pale Malt (2 Row) US
2 LBS White Wheat Malt
2 LBS Oats, Flaked
2OZ Hallertauer
1OZ Bitter Orange Peel
1OZ Sweet Orange peel
1OZ Coriander Seed (crushed)

Mashed in with 6 Gallons of water @ 168. It only stayed at 168 for about 30 minutes and rose up to 170 degrees for the remainder of the mash.
Gravity on this was at 1.080

Sparged with 5.5 gallons of water and rinsed the grains. After adding this sparge water we ended up at a pre-boil volume of about 8 gallons. Pre boil gravity was at 1.0415.

We boiled for 75 minutes: 60 min boil on the hallertauer and then 10 minute boil with coriander and irish moss then wrapped up with a 5 minute flame out on the orange peels.

I used the wort chiller and got the wort down to 68 degrees. Put in the carboys and pitched Safale 04.

We were only able to get about 7 gallons into the carboys. And they look SUPER murkey and dirty.

First Question: Should we have used more grains and water to get more yield? I didn't use any topper water because I wanted to keep my gravity.

Second Question:Why would the wort that went into the carboys be so murkey? Did we not boil long enough to get it out or did we boil too long and we made it too concentrated?

Any and all feedback would be great!

A) You did not use anywhere near enough grains or water.

B) You mashed at way too high a temperature.

C) You do not show use of any rice hulls which would help with your run off.

For ending up with 10 gallons to serve, you need to be able to boil close to 15 gallons to account for evaporation and losses from trub in the kettle and fermenter.

You will need 2) fermenters that can hold a minimum of 6.5 gallons each or one at 13-15 gallons.

Grain bill should be about 11 lbs. malted barley, 9 lbs malted wheat and 3 lbs flaked oats. Use around 1/2 lb rice hulls. Mash for 60-75 minutes at 150 F. Use around 7 gallons of 163 F water to mix with malt for mashing.

Fly sparge with 10.75 gallons of 168F water to get around 14.5 gallons in your kettle. Boil for 90 minutes total. After the first 30 minutes of boiling add the hops. Roughly 2.5 oz of Hallertau @ 4.3 AA.

Continue the boil for another 50 minutes. Add the coriander with 10 minutes left in the boil. DO NOT use Irish moss. Add the orange peel with 5 mimutes left in the boil. After a total of 90 minutes of boiling. Turn off the heat and stir the kettle in a circular motion for a couple of minutes to start a very slight whirlpool which should bring the hops and spices together in a mound in the center of the kettle. Allow to settle for 15 minutes. Cool rapidly and transfer to fermenters and add yeast.

Good luck.

 

[ShootersBrewCrew]

I used 1/2# rice hulls in the mash to increase run offs and decrease clogging the run offs...

I think my HBS was not feeling well and gave me the wrong amount of grains TBH. I do not have a scale and this was first go round at the all grain method so I was not sure what to expect. I thought i did my homework, but clearly not enough...

Thank you for the feedback!

 

[nilo]

Basic rule of thumb, for each gallon of wort, 2.5 lb of grains to get you around 1.055 original gravity. Assuming 70% mash eff.

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[KPSquared]

Shooters Brew Crew - it seems like you didn't read the recipe at all? Your grain bill is completely out of wack. Where did you get those numbers from?

Mash temp is crazy high.

Not nearly enough water either.

I see it's your first time but things are so far of base I'm just wondering what info you were using?

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[nilo]

He could have used the recipe for a 5gal batch, but the mashing temps are way off

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[ShootersBrewCrew]

I used a recipe off this thread. But my LHBS was sick and she didn't give me enough grains and I didn't know the difference.

Thanks for the feedback!


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[ShootersBrewCrew]

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