Clone Beer Dog Fish Head - Midas Touch

[ThaBrewFather06]

Currently waiting to bottle this. Can't wait

 

[ThaBrewFather06]

Tasted and moved to secondary today after 12 days. Tasted awesome and had a gravity reading of 1.012 after an OG of 1.080 the ABV is 9.1% and it is super smooth.

 

[Revvy]

This thread popping up for the first time in awhile made me pick some of the original up on the way home, and made me want to brew this. I haven't had this probably since whenever I last posted in this thread...So it's all your faults.

 

[cygnus2048]

Tasted and moved to secondary today after 12 days. Tasted awesome and had a gravity reading of 1.012 after an OG of 1.080 the ABV is 9.1% and it is super smooth.

I think you'll find that your ABV is higher than you think. Don't forget that the OG does not include the muscat concentrate. From information I found it should add about 17pts in 5gal. Including this your ABV calculations yield a value around 11%. Your results seems similar to mine. If the FG would be around 1.026 as the book states, we'd be right around the 9% range.

Someday I will try this again but not until I have a detailed attack plan on how to stop the FG at 1.026. To still be able to bottle condition the choices are limited. Maybe do an all-grain version with a high mash temp? Now that I keg I'm leaning towards cold-crashing when it hits the 1.026 range then racking off the yeast to the keg. This may be overly sweet though... Guess only way to tell is to keep tweaking until perfected. Good luck!

 

[ThaBrewFather06]

I made this recipe different than it is on here, me and my buddy couldn't find muscat grape juice so we steeped our grains And added Pilsen light LME and added liberty hops at 60 min and continually added Nelson Sauvin hops for the last 15 min. It gave it the wine like fruity taste without the grape juice. It's not finished but it tastes really good right now. I think it's really close to the store bought but I'm not opening my last bottle till I'm ready to compare. i think it's gonna be pretty spot on even without the juice the ABV is dead on, and the taste is dangerously good even without being carbonated.

 

[horsepackage]

Brewfather what exactly is the recipe u followed without the juice? .. I'm having issues finding that juice as well... thank you

 

[fizgig]

I am thinking of making this, I found a few sources:

http://home-brewing.northernbrewer.com/brewbeer/Muscat-Concentrate

http://www.barleynvine.com/1060.html

http://www.cellar-homebrew.com/store/product.php?productid=1071&cat=0&page=1

 

[ThaBrewFather06]

http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/recipe/821123ed/

 

[ThaBrewFather06]

I compared my brew to the DFH and its defiantly missing the grape concentrate but it is still a great low IBU beer and I'm defiantly going to make it again.

 

[Proboscidea]

I made a 3-gallon batch of this, and it's fermenting at Day 6 right now. A couple of learnings so far:

1) Didn't want to spring for Alexander's Muscat concentrate, so I looked for a grocery stores equivalent. Ta-da: Welch's White Grape Juice concentrate, available in some stores (got mine in Safeway). White, not purple, because of the color. We'll see how it turns out. It may be a bit more "grape"-y than using muscat concentrate, and if does turn out grape-o-rama-riffic, perhaps scale back next time.

2) Added the grape juice concentrate on Day 5. This made the krausen go crazy. Like, the 3-gallon batch in a 5-gallon bucket is touching the lid today (Day 6). So, be prepared for that to happen maybe. I'm using US-05 BTW.

3) Didn't add saffron. The recipe's small amount won't affect the taste one way or another. And the beer is already yellow, so ... meh. Although if we're futzing with the recipe anyway, and want the beer to be yellow-yellow instead of beer-tan-yellow, some may wish to consider turmeric as a cheaper alternative, if you already have some lying around from Indian cooking, for example. Warning, though: it does have a more assertive flavor than saffron. Sort of mustard-rutabaga-ish. Since I already altered the grape juice component, I didn't screw with adding turmeric here. Too many variables.

We'll see how it turns out.

 

[ThaBrewFather06]

I made a 3-gallon batch of this, and it's fermenting at Day 6 right now. A couple of learnings so far:

1) Didn't want to spring for Alexander's Muscat concentrate, so I looked for a grocery stores equivalent. Ta-da: Welch's White Grape Juice concentrate, available in some stores (got mine in Safeway). White, not purple, because of the color. We'll see how it turns out. It may be a bit more "grape"-y than using muscat concentrate, and if does turn out grape-o-rama-riffic, perhaps scale back next time.

2) Added the grape juice concentrate on Day 5. This made the krausen go crazy. Like, the 3-gallon batch in a 5-gallon bucket is touching the lid today (Day 6). So, be prepared for that to happen maybe. I'm using US-05 BTW.

3) Didn't add saffron. The recipe's small amount won't affect the taste one way or another. And the beer is already yellow, so ... meh. Although if we're futzing with the recipe anyway, and want the beer to be yellow-yellow instead of beer-tan-yellow, some may wish to consider turmeric as a cheaper alternative, if you already have some lying around from Indian cooking, for example. Warning, though: it does have a more assertive flavor than saffron. Sort of mustard-rutabaga-ish. Since I already altered the grape juice component, I didn't screw with adding turmeric here. Too many variables.

We'll see how it turns out.

I really feel that the saffron adds quiet a bit of flavor. I have had recipe both ways and there is a BIG difference in the taste. I feel this is the one thing you cannot leave out, it is NOT just for color.

 

[Revvy]

I really feel that the saffron adds quiet a bit of flavor. I have had recipe both ways and there is a BIG difference in the taste. I feel this is the one thing you cannot leave out, it is NOT just for color.

I'm Spanish, I grew up with Saffron in my dishes. I agree whole heartedly that there is a distinct flavor to it, even in the tiniest amount.

People use some common sense here, it's not the MOST EXPENSIVE AND PRIZED SPICE ON THE PLANET just because it lends a pretty color to things...If it were just color, there's other cheaper alternatives.

It lends a subtle earthiness to dishes, you only need a little because it is pretty potent.

I love it "A few springs can't add much to things, so I left it out..."IN COOKING we only add a few strands to things, you DON'T Need to dump pounds of this stuff. It's not like some cheap artificial flavoring agent that folks dump willy nilly. It's not something you hamfistedly use in things, used with discretion and subtlety.....

 

[Proboscidea]

I hear ya. But at the same time, a few sprigs costs a million berjillion dollars, and El Cheapo here wants to see if that expense can be circumvented.

Personally, I'm not looking to make a clone. I'm much too crappy of a brewer to ever hope anything will taste like the stuff it's supposed to, even with the right ingredients. But if it tastes good in general -- if the grocery store white grape juice is not cloying, if it tastes okay without the saffron, if it's balanced and drinkable -- then I'm happy. I like the grape-ness in DFH's brew (interesting & unique), so if mine comes out tasting okay (not a clone, but not vomit-inducing either), I think it would be a semi-valuable data point to share my substitutions & results for the benefit of the more, ahem, "frugal" brewers here. If it turns out barfy, I'll be honest and say so. But on the other hand, if it does turn out barfy, it's probably my technique and/or the grocery store grape juice as opposed to the lack of saffron. I can't wait to try it, though! Yum.

 

[RachmaelBenApplebaum]

If you're ever for a lack of ingredients you'd be surprised how cheap stuff is on amazon as far as bulk/rare spices are concerned. Happy Brewing.

 

[ThaBrewFather06]

I hear ya. But at the same time, a few sprigs costs a million berjillion dollars, and El Cheapo here wants to see if that expense can be circumvented.

Personally, I'm not looking to make a clone. I'm much too crappy of a brewer to ever hope anything will taste like the stuff it's supposed to, even with the right ingredients. But if it tastes good in general -- if the grocery store white grape juice is not cloying, if it tastes okay without the saffron, if it's balanced and drinkable -- then I'm happy. I like the grape-ness in DFH's brew (interesting & unique), so if mine comes out tasting okay (not a clone, but not vomit-inducing either), I think it would be a semi-valuable data point to share my substitutions & results for the benefit of the more, ahem, "frugal" brewers here. If it turns out barfy, I'll be honest and say so. But on the other hand, if it does turn out barfy, it's probably my technique and/or the grocery store grape juice as opposed to the lack of saffron. I can't wait to try it, though! Yum.

Trader joes has enough for four five gallon batches for 8$ . That's 2$ per batch. Not so expensive.

 

[Revvy]

Trader joes has enough for four five gallon batches for 8$ . That's 2$ per batch. Not so expensive.

And you know...it's very good to actually cook with the rest.

 

[planetb]

I am about to make this, Any suggestions on what light malt extract to use? Also what type of Clove Honey would someone suggest? My local store has a store brand for $3.99 a pound..

 

[GluStick]

Hey all, i went ahead and brewed this recipe up about a week ago now. It seems to be doing well in the primary fermenter. I followed the recipe exactly and i have high hopes for this one, probably because it was so expensive to brew :smack: But again, i have high hopes. There has been no crazy krausen or anything yet like i have read about. This is but my third brew that ive done, im a noob still but i have a good teacher that is always in touch. I have never had the commercial brew, but i have heard good things and am excited to try the finished product.

 

[SmCranf]

Let me say that having this as my first beer on tap is both wonderful and dangerous at the same time

Thanks to everyone for the recipe and tweaks!


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[phyllobeddo]

I brewed the BYO version of this, kinda. The batch was All Grain, the juice was muscadine juice and I did not use saffron. 2.5 gallon batch. OG 1077 FG 1010, not taking into account the muscadine juice, which was added about 32 hours after I noticed active fermentation. I have no idea what that did to the ABV, which calculates to be 8.8%. I bottled the batch today after about five weeks in the primary. Smells like wine. Tastes pretty good so far. I'll give it several weeks in the bottle. The Wyeast 3787 Trappist HG really comes through in the flavor profile. The honey seems to have fermented out, although there's a hint of it in there.

5 lb 2 row
5 g Willamette 60 min
5 g Willamette 15 min
3 tsp yeast nutrient 10 min
1/4 tablet Whirlfloc 5 min
1.5 lb honey at flameout

Primary
23 oz Muscadine juice added at the 32nd hour of fermentation.

Mashed at 154 for 60 minutes

Fermentation was crazy. Even though this was a 2.5 gallon batch, Krausen hit the 5 gallon mark in a 6 gallon Better bottle!

 

[seed2tree]

I would also be interested in a recipe for Dogfish Head's Birra Etrusca Bronze, which is also a member of the Ancient Ale series of beers. Does anyone have ideas where I might score the same info as was published for Midas Touch?

 

[phyllobeddo]

I brewed the BYO version of this, kinda. The batch was All Grain, the juice was muscadine juice and I did not use saffron. 2.5 gallon batch. OG 1077 FG 1010, not taking into account the muscadine juice, which was added about 32 hours after I noticed active fermentation. I have no idea what that did to the ABV, which calculates to be 8.8%. I bottled the batch today after about five weeks in the primary. Smells like wine. Tastes pretty good so far. I'll give it several weeks in the bottle. The Wyeast 3787 Trappist HG really comes through in the flavor profile. The honey seems to have fermented out, although there's a hint of it in there.

5 lb 2 row
5 g Willamette 60 min
5 g Willamette 15 min
3 tsp yeast nutrient 10 min
1/4 tablet Whirlfloc 5 min
1.5 lb honey at flameout

Primary
23 oz Muscadine juice added at the 32nd hour of fermentation.

Mashed at 154 for 60 minutes

Fermentation was crazy. Even though this was a 2.5 gallon batch, Krausen hit the 5 gallon mark in a 6 gallon Better bottle!

I entered this into an AHA sponsored event under the Belgian Specialty Ale category and took the gold with a 32.5 score. The judges said the bottles were gushers or the score would have been better. I haven't had that problem at home. Not sure what the deal was. I'm very happy to gave gotten gold, though. Also, it makes it better that they didn't just give awards for each category. You had to score well enough to get a medal.

 

[Brewin_Sparty]

Hey guys.

This is going to be my next brew. Is it 8lbs of LME or DME?

TIA

 

[Purdue22]

I would use DME and take gravity readings before adding all of the malt. You should be able to get extremely close to your numbers by doing this if that is what you are going for...

 

[Brewin_Sparty]

I came across the book with this recipe in it written by the brewmaster at DFH today. I just wanted to point out that he calls for 1/4oz of hops, not 1/2oz like is stated in the op.

 

[5SonsBrewing]

Just wanted to point out that I am extremely late to the party (maybe that doesn't need pointing out lol), but I ended up here after trying to search for the Midas Touch clone. After research, I read: the original discovery of the vessels showed that the beverage was a highly unusual mixture of grape wine, barley beer and honey mead. The bittering agent used in the original Beer was not hops (which was only introduced in to Europe around 700 A.D.), but the most expensive spice in the world, saffron. That's why you're adding the saffron. Midas tomb is in Turkey and Turkey was renowned for this spice in antiquity, and although they've never been able to actually prove it, the intense yellowish color of the ancient residues may have been due to saffron.

 

[Alegorithmic]

Let me start off by saying, this is NOT my recipe. This recipe came from a book that Sam Calagione wrote. He is the owner of Dog Fish Head Brewery. I believe this recipe was created by Bryan Selders, who is a brewer at DFH. I will write down the ingredients/directions exactly as they were written here. All credit goes to Sam Calagione and Bryan Selders. I just wanted to share the recipe with you fine folks.



This is a fun recipe and comes out with a very similar taste and drinkability to Midas Touch - very happy to have this in my barsenal. Batch, bottle and forget about it for a few months and you won’t regret the wait. I hate the time involved with bottling but if there was ever an ale that deserves the extra step it’s this one. Much thanks to all hands involved in the design and dissemination of this recipe