Great Divide "Colette" farmhouse ale clone

[AdamWiz]

Has anybody ever tried to clone this beer? I searched the forums, and all I found is one post looking for a clone from a year ago that not a single person responded to. But I figured I'd give it a try because I recently found out that Great Divide is going to stop shipping to Michigan soon ( more and more breweries are doing this - what a bummer ) and I absolutely love this beer. According to the label, it is brewed with rice and wheat, fermented at high temps and is about 7.2% ABV. Any ideas?

 

[Oldsock]

I'd do mostly pilsner, ~10% wheat malt, and ~5% flaked rice. If you want to use normal rice you'd need to grind and then boil it before mashing. Aim for a moderate OG (~1.060), the high attenuation will boost the alcohol.

Go easy on the hops, maybe 30 IBUs with a moderate addition of something like Crystal, Sterling, Mt. Hood or Willamette in the last 15 minutes of the boil.

I saw a note that they use four strains. If it is unfiltered you might want to culture up the dregs and use them, but otherwise (I remember it being pretty clear) you can make your own blend by picking a couple saison strains (Dupont, 3711, etc...). Ferment up in the 80s.

Hope that sends you in the right direction, it won't be an exact clone on the first try, but you can adjust and rebrew if you want.

 

[AdamWiz]

Sounds good to me. I like the idea of pitching a few different saison strains. I'm really not too hung up on making it an exact clone, just going for something similar. If I get anywhere close, I'll be a happy camper. Thanks

 

[AdamWiz]

OK, I've come up with a recipe to use for my first attempt at this. Here it is, in case anyone is interested or has any other input:

GREAT DIVIDE "COLETTE"-ish
(5 gallons, 6 gallon boil)

- 4 lb., 12oz. Franco-Belges pilsen malt
- 3 lb. 2-row
- 1 lb. wheat malt
- 8 oz. flaked rice
- 8 oz. corn sugar
- 4 oz. crystal 60L

- 1 oz. Mt. Hood (5.5% AA), 60 min.
- 1/2 oz. Mt. Hood(5.5%AA), 10 min.
- 1 oz. Strisselspalt(3.4%AA), 5 min.

-Single infusion mash, 149F for 60 min.
As for yeast, I'm hoping to culture some from a Colette bottle, but if that doesn't work I guess I'll just pitch a couple different saison strains. I plan on fermenting between 80-85 degrees. The estimated OG for this recipe is only about 1.056, since I would like a slightly lower alcohol content than the 7.2% that Colette is listed at. Saisons tend to hide their alcohol well and sneak up on you - I'd like to be able to drink a few without getting hammered.

Sound good? Any suggestions or critiques for this recipe are appreciated. One other thing I am considering is maybe using some lemon zest and grains of paradise, since Colette definitely has just a hint of citrusy character to it. I'm just not sure how much to add without making the lemon flavor too strong. I'll have to do a bit of research.

 

[Adamb258]

let me know how it turns out

 

[509inc]

Did you ever brew this? How did it turn out?

 

[AdamWiz]

That's crazy-I actually just now got done posting about this on another thread. I finally did brew it up a couple days ago, so I won't know for a few weeks how it turned out. I tweaked the recipe a bit and used flaked wheat instead of wheat malt. The good news is the cultured bottle dregs seem to be working great, and it smells good. I posted the recipe I ended up using on the other thread, just do a search for "Collette clone" and you should be able to find it. Or if you scroll to the bottom of this screen it will probably be listed in the "similar threads".

 

[AdamWiz]

It turned out really well, just did a side-by-side tasting with the real thing. My color was a bit darker, and a little more malty tasting. The real Collette was a bit crisper and lighter tasting(despite a higher alc%) - I think I will use a higher percentage of rice next time. The good news is that the bottle yeast is most definitely the same as the primary yeast, the aroma and flavor were right on. Mine was just a bit fuller and heavier tasting. It is still really good, though. Here's a pic, mine is on the left and Collette is on the right (Mine's only been in the bottle about 12 days, so it's not fully carbed yet & that is why the head is so weak) The picture is a little dark, but you can get the idea :



All in all, I'd say for a first attempt and a random guess at a recipe it turned out very well. I'll be adjusting the recipe and giving it another try in the near future.

 

[pjk49202]

I have thought about culturing yeast from a sixer I bought about a week ago. Hopefully, it's the same yeast they use to ferment with.

 

[maturemutation]

Adam I wanted to follow up and ask if you have made this since your last post in 2011. If you have and changed the recipe at all can you elaborate?