Blue Moon Clone

[ChiknNutz]

According to Wayne 1, the coriander to orange peel should be 3 to 1 ratio

Not if you go by the revised recipe in post #429 of this thread. I used Safale S-04 yeast.

 

[Wayne1]

All of the suggestions made through out this thread, are just that, suggestions.

I do feel you need to make this recipe 3-4 times and adjust the spicing to fit the exact ingredients, your system and your tastes.

The 3 to 1 suggestion came when I was brewing 500 gallons of this beer at a time. The efficiency of those systems are quite a bit different than 5-6 gallons.

So play with it. Find out what works for you.

I just made a variant using lemongrass powder and whole toasted coriander, then fresh ground. It is not Blue Moon, but it might taste good.

 

[Ariel]

Is there a final recipe?

 

[balrog]

Is there a final recipe?

"Final"?

Hard to say. Your system and your spices will be slightly different than what's used by big batch and their spices. You really do have to try it a couple times to tweak it, but that's why this is a "hobby" <slash obsession>. For instance, I bought a 10oz coriander online, to bulk buy, and the stuff is insipid -- very little flavor. The amount I have to use is radically different than some McCormick seeds I used.

I say give it a go with #6, #429 or even try Nilo#12. See what you like best.

 

[balrog]

Some llalamnd Voss might be an interesting yeast to use for this recipe.

Just a follow up. This is Lalemand Voss Kveik, pitched at half prescribed rate to stress the yeast, fermented at 95F, using the Nilo#12 recipe, orange/tangerine is pronounced, still crisp, big hit with the tennis crowd.

 

[z-bob]

I've only read the first and last page, not the 33 pages in between. If you can get Schell's Hefeweizen beer, it is unfiltered and unpasteurized. (might have to wait until next year if it's seasonal) I don't know what yeast they use, but it brews clean except for a very slight clove phenolic. You can culture the yeast from the dregs of a can or two; I've done it. (and I should have saved some)

 

[TBA]

Finally putting the BM clone on the short list. Read this thread a long time ago but just getting ‘round to it. I have used Omega Bonanza for a couple of milkshake IPAs and it is very good yeast. ICYDK, they removed the gene that produces the clove. I like to use a yeast for several brews in a row then move on to something else. What do you think of Bonanza for Blue Moon clone?

This is Lalemand Voss Kveik, pitched at half prescribed rate to stress the yeast, fermented at 95F, using the Nilo#12 recipe, orange/tangerine is pronounced,

I have also under pitched/high temp Voss Kveik on another ale. Definitely got the tangerine flavor. It faded by 3 weeks and the Kveik twang became present. Did that happen to you?

 

[balrog]

I have also under pitched/high temp Voss Kveik on another ale. Definitely got the tangerine flavor. It faded by 3 weeks and the Kveik twang became present. Did that happen to you?

I take beer when I go play tennis. Having a keg last more than 2 to 2-1/2 weeks would be a momentous happening. Very few tennis players I know are picky free beer drinkers.

The tangerine does mute a little with time, I presume as the yeast settles out. The Kveik hoppy pale ales I've made have all been fermented in the keg, with a floating dip tube. Not sure I've ever, or would ever, notice a "twang", mostly because of the Citra/Mosaic/Galaxy/Bergamot/Azacca/Whatever hops.

 

[GAMERBREWING]

Oh I have a clone for Blue Moon that improves on the original for you. Keg gets drained quick as heck by all my neighbors everytime I make it.

5 lbs Pale Malt
5 lbs White Wheat Malt
1 lbs Oats, Flaked
8.0 oz Carapils (Briess)
8.0 oz Munich 10L (Briess)

1.35 oz Hallertauer 60.0 min
0.40 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 10.0 mins)
0.50 oz Orange Peel, Sweet (Boil 5.0 mins)

Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)

Mash at 153

 

[4_Sons_Brewing]

Brewing this as @Wayne1 originally posted, with 1 exception - using Mt. Hood hops as I couldn’t lay hands on hallertau. Planning to serve at a party we’re having at the end of the month. Thanks @Wayne1 for your continued support of this thread.

 

[Wayne1]

Enjoy the brewing process! Please report back after the party on how everyone felt about the beer.
Cheers!
Wayne

 

[4_Sons_Brewing]

Just following up on my brewing of this. We served it at a party we had - it was amazing! Almost polished off both kegs I had of it. Served with a slice of blood orange and it was a hit. Will be brewing this again and dedicating a tap on the kegerator to it.

 

[dmaxweb]

I'm doing a blue moon clone tomorrow. I stopped by my friendly local craft brewery for some fresh US-05 slurry. They also had some fresh LalBrew New England Ale slurry. The brewmaster suggested trying 50/50 for the blue moon. I'm not shooting for the perfect blue moon. It just sounded pretty good to me. Any opinions on this?

Pint jars


From the Lallemand website:
LALBREW NEW ENGLAND™
LalBrew New England™ is an ale strain selected specifically for its ability to produce a unique fruit forward ester profile desired in East Coast styles of beer. A typical fermentation with LalBrew New England™ will produce tropical and fruity esters, notably stone fruits like peach. Through expression of a β-glucosidase enzyme, LalBrew New England™ can promote hop biotransformation and accentuate hop flavor and aroma. LalBrew New England™ exhibits medium to high attenuation with medium flocculation, making it a perfect choice for East Coast style ale

 

[rtstrider]

I'm doing a blue moon clone tomorrow. I stopped by my friendly local craft brewery for some fresh US-05 slurry. They also had some fresh LalBrew New England Ale slurry. The brewmaster suggested trying 50/50 for the blue moon. Any opinions on this?

Pint jars
View attachment 786014

From the Lallemand website:
LALBREW NEW ENGLAND™
LalBrew New England™ is an ale strain selected specifically for its ability to produce a unique fruit forward ester profile desired in East Coast styles of beer. A typical fermentation with LalBrew New England™ will produce tropical and fruity esters, notably stone fruits like peach. Through expression of a β-glucosidase enzyme, LalBrew New England™ can promote hop biotransformation and accentuate hop flavor and aroma. LalBrew New England™ exhibits medium to high attenuation with medium flocculation, making it a perfect choice for East Coast style ale

It definitely shouldn't give any belgian-y flavors. If the New England strain is Conan as I suspect it may add a slickness and some really nice apricot esters. Try it and report back!

 

[dmaxweb]

I'll report back on the progess.

Planned Ingredients for 11.25 gallons @ 83.5% efficiency
1.5 tsp 5.2 pH Stabilizer - added during mash
16.0 oz Rice Hulls - added during mash 60 m
5 lb (25.0%) Standard 2-Row; Rahr - added during mash 60 m
5 lb (25.0%) Pilsner Malt; Weyermann® - added during mash 60 m
7.5 lb (37.5%) White Wheat Malt; Briess - added during mash 60 m
2.0 lb (10.0%) Oats Flaked - added during mash 60 m
8 oz (2.5%) German CaraFoam - added during mash 60 m
2 oz (100.0%) Hallertauer Mittelfrüher (4.6%) - added during boil, boiled 90 m
1 oz Corriander ground (dried) - added during boil, boiled 10 m
2 oz Valencia Orange Peel (dried) - added during boil, boiled 5 m

Edit: Hops were Hallertauer Tradition

 

[dmaxweb]

Update
11/12/22 Brew Day
Original Gravity 1.052
Target Terminal Gravity 1.010
Ferment @ 68F

11/19/22 (1 week)
S.G. 1.019
Orange aroma has noticeably decreased.

 

[dmaxweb]

Update
11/12/22 Brew Day
Original Gravity 1.052
Target Terminal Gravity 1.010
Ferment @ 68F

11/19/22 (1 week)
S.G. 1.019
Orange aroma has noticeably decreased.

Update
11/26/22 total of 2 weeks in the fermenter
Terminal gravity spot on at 1.010.
The taste and aroma are great right out of the fermenter.
Kegged and lagering on CO2 at 39F

Now a good problem. I have a bountiful yeast harvest. This is 1200 ml (500ml yeast) of
US-05/LalBrew New England blend. I plan on making another Blue Moon in about a month using some of this. Between now and then, I'd like to make something else using this yeast. Any suggestions?

 

[CleanEmUpIves]

I'll report back on the progess.

Planned Ingredients for 11.25 gallons @ 83.5% efficiency
1.5 tsp 5.2 pH Stabilizer - added during mash
16.0 oz Rice Hulls - added during mash 60 m
5 lb (25.0%) Standard 2-Row; Rahr - added during mash 60 m
5 lb (25.0%) Pilsner Malt; Weyermann® - added during mash 60 m
7.5 lb (37.5%) White Wheat Malt; Briess - added during mash 60 m
2.0 lb (10.0%) Oats Flaked - added during mash 60 m
8 oz (2.5%) German CaraFoam - added during mash 60 m
2 oz (100.0%) Hallertauer Mittelfrüher (4.6%) - added during boil, boiled 90 m
1 oz Corriander ground (dried) - added during boil, boiled 10 m
2 oz Valencia Orange Peel (dried) - added during boil, boiled 5 m

Edit: Hops were Hallertauer Tradition

The 5.2 pH Stabilizer is most likely not helping (or hurting) your mash but it's certainly not performing the function you think it is.

It's best to use a brewing water calculator or spreadsheet to determine the necessary water additions to hit your mash pH target.

If using tap water get it tested (Ward Labs) to determine the makeup (Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Chloride, Sulfate).

If using RO or Distilled then it's like starting with a blank slate.

If the recipe is correctly entered the spreadsheet below estimates a distilled water mash pH of 5.86. If using tap water, inputting those parameters into the spreadsheet would change that estimate depending on its makeup.

This would then be adjusted up or down (to your desired mash target pH) using the recommended acid/base and mineral additions.

 

[dmaxweb]

The 5.2 pH Stabilizer is most likely not helping (or hurting) your mash but it's certainly not performing the function you think it is.

It's best to use a brewing water calculator or spreadsheet to determine the necessary water additions to hit your mash pH target.

If using tap water get it tested (Ward Labs) to determine the makeup (Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Chloride, Sulfate).

If using RO or Distilled then it's like starting with a blank slate.

If the recipe is correctly entered the spreadsheet below estimates a distilled water mash pH of 5.86. If using tap water, inputting those parameters into the spreadsheet would change that estimate depending on its makeup.

This would then be adjusted up or down (to your desired mash target pH) using the recommended acid/base and mineral additions.

View attachment 792806

We have multiple water sources in James City County. Four treatment plants using aquifer wells, desalination plants (R.O), and reservoirs. It's tested for quality and contaminates of course but the make up varies by demand and is not consistent. I do use an activated carbon water filter.

I know I could use distilled and I may try that. But for now I have no complaints. Plus 15 gallons of distilled water for a 10 gallon batch is additional $15 plus the costs of chemicals.

 

[CleanEmUpIves]

We have multiple water sources in James City County. Four treatment plants using aquifer wells, desalination plants (R.O), and reservoirs. It's tested for quality and contaminates of course but the make up varies by demand and is not consistent. I do use an activated carbon water filter.

I know I could use distilled and I may try that. But for now I have no complaints. Plus 15 gallons of distilled water for a 10 gallon batch is additional $15 plus the costs of chemicals.

If you have no complaints that's great but you may be able to save some money by simply not using it.

At best it will keep your mash from rising above ~5.8 pH and at worst it will add too much sodium to your beer.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/5-2-mash-stabilizer-why-is-it-not-recommended.536628/https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=1125.0
If you're at all interested in adjusting your tap water and own a pH meter or are even just willing to do a simple alkalinity test then this may be of interest to you:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/the-0-effective-alkalinity-method.651983/

 

[IslandLizard]

I know I could use distilled

RO water from dispensing machines (e.g., Walmart, grocery stores), typically runs at $0.39 a gallon.* Bring your own jugs or big bottles to fill.

* That price may have gone up since last time I checked. For reference, distilled water at the Walmart used to be $0.69 for a gallon jug.

 

[dmaxweb]

Thanks for reminding me about looking into water treatment. I know the brewmaster at one of the Craft Breweries in town. I'll find out what they do on the water.

Now, back to my question on uses for US-05/LalBrew New England Ale yeast blend (post #1395)

 

[dmaxweb]

RO water from dispensing machines (e.g., Walmart, grocery stores), typically runs at $0.39 a gallon.* Bring your own jugs or big bottles to fill.

* That price may have gone up since last time I checked. For reference, distilled water at the Walmart used to be $0.69 for a gallon jug.

I recently bought a gallon jug of distilled water for the car radiator. $1.16

 

[dmaxweb]

I recently bought a gallon jug of distilled water for the car radiator. $1.16

Since distilled water is sterile, I keep a jug on hand for harvesting yeast slurry.

 

[CleanEmUpIves]

Thanks for reminding me about looking into water treatment. I know the brewmaster at one of the Craft Breweries in town. I'll find out what they do on the water.

Now, back to my question on uses for US-05/LalBrew New England Ale yeast blend (post #1395)

Depends which yeast dominates. An IPA may be appropriate... with the 5.2 pH Stabilizer from the last batch it might turn out a tad salty...

 

[dmaxweb]

I'm thinking about a kolsch grain bill with some of this US-05/LalBrew New England blend yeast harvested from a Blue Moon clone.

 

[dmaxweb]

CaptainL

I think you water profile will be ok.

I just tried my #4 recipe, the first I adjusted my water, and it tastes awesome!

No much changes, boiled 1/2lb oats for 15min and changed the orange and coriander a bit. See below.

4# white wheat malt
5# 2 row malt
2# crystal 10
1/2# carapils

Mashed at 158 for 60min.
Mash ph at 5.27
Sparge ph at 6.5

Boiled 1/2# oats for last 15min
1oz hallertauer for 60min
3/8oz coriander for 10min
2oz sweet orange peels for 10min
1oz curacao orange peels for 10min

OG=1.049
FG=1.012
ABV%=4.8
SRM=6
IBU=13

Water profile
Ca=58
Mg=12
Na=2
Cl=93
SO4=50
Cl/SO4=1.86=malty
RA=-29

Wow, too many variables. We are getting too technical

Used yeast SO4 at 67F. FG was reached in 5 days. Bottled in 7 days.

This post is over 10 years old. Is this still a recommended water profile?

 

[balrog]

This post is over 10 years old. Is this still a recommended water profile?

He's not been seen in over a year. His #12 was the one I settled on, but his water profile of roughly 50:100:50 Ca:Cl:SO4 seems odd for a light beer not accentuating malt. I typically go 50:50:50 on this.

 

[TwogunRocky]

Read the entire fantastic thread, and bottling this tonight

Only change I made was using CF182(Opus) as a dry hop, meant to give great orange taste & florals.... just an experiment.

The US-05 did a better than expected job, so took it down a bit further than I'd have liked but see how it tastes around Christmas

 

[nilo]

This post is over 10 years old. Is this still a recommended water profile?

https://beertech.blogspot.com/2013/05/blue-moon-clone-12.html?m=1