Brewing a Troegs Mad Elf Ale Clone + Recipe

[matt_m]

I hit 1.022 before the yeast dropped, blowoff activity ceased and my Tilt indicated it had been a few days so I dumped yeast today and added the 6 cans of cherries just one day shy of 1 months since brew day.

Curious if there's any way to estimate the additional ABV of the sugars from the cherry puree? It appears the gravity went up by about 4 points after the addition and there's definitely renewed activity.

 

[Brew_Dude41]

Read up on back sweetening in the cider forums.

If you add a sulfite solution or something like that it will kill off the yeast and stabilize your gravity.

Personally, I have not done this and I am not sure of the process, but I know I have seen it discussed there.

 

[Dancy]

Mine has slowed to a crawl in the mid 40's according to Tilt. Read that Wyeast recommends some agitation to prevent a stall so at some point today I'll probably do that by adding some CO2 via the dump port on my conical.

What Wyeast did you use?

 

[BrewingAroundtheRrealm]

I hit 1.022 before the yeast dropped, blowoff activity ceased and my Tilt indicated it had been a few days so I dumped yeast today and added the 6 cans of cherries just one day shy of 1 months since brew day.

Curious if there's any way to estimate the additional ABV of the sugars from the cherry puree? It appears the gravity went up by about 4 points after the addition and there's definitely renewed activity.

If you add the additional points to your starting gravity you will come up with a close approximation. Use the new starting gravity to calculate your ABV. It's not going to be perfect. But it will be close.

 

[matt_m]

What Wyeast did you use?

1388 Belgian Strong, same as the OP

 

[Dancy]

So three weeks after bottling, carbonation is slow. The few test bottles I’ve placed in a warm environment are carbonated but not near what I want for the style. However, I know from past experience with bottled beer and corn sugar it can - and likely will - take off at some point. I used half a package of LalBrew CBC-1 hydrated with 4.7 ounces of corn sugar for 4G of beer.

 

[Pappers_]

Testing to see that I can post here.

 

[matt_m]

And we are back!

I kegged mine this weekend. Still waiting for it to carb up but once it cold crashed and I blew the bits of cherry that settled out it seems like it will be good, though I may cut back on the cherries next time for my personal preference. We'll see how it ages.

 

[Dancy]

@ marr_m I hope to hear what you think of it after ages and if you think you’d still use less cherries.

 

[Dancy]

So as of two days ago, it is very carbonated with a slightly pink cast to the foam — and its tasting sooo good with a definite cherry influence. Four cans of the cherries for a 4G batch - Two sweet, 2 tart. Again, I’ve never had the original but I’ve purchased 3 Belgian darks and believe mine is at least in the right neighborhood. Seven or 8 to consume now and 24 wax sealed for the 2021 Thanksgiving/Xmas holidays.

 

[matt_m]

I stumbled across some of the real thing still in the cooler while in Ohio. Mine is on the left and you can clearly see that its redder and hazier. I generally brew pretty clear beers so my guess is that's from the cherry puree addition. Comparing the two, mine is more cherry-forward, theirs is is more malt-forward and the cherry flavor seems more tart though possibly that's the spice flavor of the Belgian yeast which is notably missing (or masked) in mine. I had already decided that next time I brew this I'll cut down the cherries to 4 cans and based on the comparison, I'll do 3 of the tart, 1 sweet.

One other thing to note is that the bottle states the hops are Saaz and Hallertau.

I'm not unhappy with the results, mostly noting things I'll work on for a second annual batch which I'll probably shoot for mid fall.

 

[Dancy]

@matt_m — It looks good! Mine is darker but hazy as well. I let a bit of cherry sediment in the bottling bucket and the cherry flavor is very prominent along with a warm alcohol sensation anxious to see if it improves over the coming months. The couple of Belgian Dark Strong Ales I bought recently were not clear either.

 

[Dancy]

This has really smoothed out. The alcohol hotness has settled down a lot and the prominence of the cherries is just right for my taste. I’m not sophisticated in my tasting abilities and I’ve yet to get ahold of a Mad Elf Ale but I’m enjoying it and will save some for the holidays. I’ve also brewed a successful Belgian Dark Strong Ale and the Mad Elf clone is reminiscent of that + cherries.

 

[matt_m]

Mine is still to cherry flavored. I also have some real Mad Elf in the fridge, need to compare the two when I have time for a solid nap after.

 

[BrewingAroundtheRrealm]

This has really smoothed out. The alcohol hotness has settled down a lot and the prominence of the cherries is just right for my taste. I’m not sophisticated in my tasting abilities and I’ve yet to get ahold of a Mad Elf Ale but I’m enjoying it and will save some for the holidays. I’ve also brewed a successful Belgian Dark Strong Ale and the Mad Elf clone is reminiscent of that + cherries.

I've never managed to keep any of this around long enough to try any this late in the year. It's usually gone by February at the latest. Not sure what I'm going to brew for the holidays this year. Maybe an imperial cherry stout?

 

[jricharc]

So I am going to brew this to take to a Christmas party early in December. I was wondering if anyone has tried using tart cherry juice concentrate vs the canned cherries.

 

[Brownman]

I hit 1.022 before the yeast dropped, blowoff activity ceased and my Tilt indicated it had been a few days so I dumped yeast today and added the 6 cans of cherries just one day shy of 1 months since brew day.

Curious if there's any way to estimate the additional ABV of the sugars from the cherry puree? It appears the gravity went up by about 4 points after the addition and there's definitely renewed activity.

Looking on the back of the cans. I came up with around an ounce of sugar per can. So treat it like you are adding 6 oz of sugar to the boil.