Help with Founders Rubaeus Clone

[Roadie]

Well, we know they use 3,000 lb of raspberries for each batch, I'd like to find out their batch sizes. I don't think they use any juice, because then it would be less expensive beer. I think the color comes from black raspberries mixed with red from Oregon.

Funny because their brewmaster is the one who said they now use juice concentrate.



Almost Famous Brewing Company

 

[theoracle]

Rubaeus clone is finished. This was my first attempt at a fruit beer. The beer is in the keg but I had to tweak it a bit. I used 7 lbs of raspberries, frozen , half puréed half whole, 3 different times in fermentation. I also threw in a bottle of black cherry juice for complexity and color. I know their raspberries come from Oregon, which has a lot of black raspberries, which is why Rubaeus is darker and the flavor is better than red raspberries. I used American 2row, in which the recipe calls for Maris otter which is exactly right, I would double the honey malt because just like the founders website says 'a hefty malt bill' is needed to balance the fruit. After I kegged I had to add a mixture of honey and water syrup in the bottle filled from the keg and now it tastes like rubaeus instead of raspberry tart. I just keep the bottles extra cold and the honey does not ferment out, it's perfectly back sweetened. Cheers.

Ps, they may use a concentrate but they also posted that they use 3000 lbs of raspberries per batch. I don't see Founders lying about something like that.

 

[UncleRusty]

I thought I'd share my version of the Rubaeus Clone. Here's a picture of it side-by-side with the actual Rubaeus for comparison. Clone is on the left, actual Rubaeus is on the right.

The clone is definitely good, though I'd say the actual Rubaeus is quite a bit sweeter with a little bit heavier body and slightly maltier profile.

The main differences in my take on the recipe was that I used S04 Yeast which is probably why it's a bit drier, and I also bumped up the Special B Malt slightly to make the color a little darker. Lastly, I simply used 7.5lbs of boiled raspberries in the secondary. I think the color came out great this way as I didn't end up needing to add cherry juice or anything else to get a deeper red hue.

I posted my 5.5 Gallon recipe if anyone's curious. I think if I brewed this again, I'd use a slightly less attenuating yeast, and probably mash a bit higher at say 154-155 or so. I would also puree instead of boiling the raspberries, but I had pounds of boiled/frozen raspberries in the freezer from months ago that I'd been saving to make beer/cider with.

Oracle, I like your idea of backsweetening with a honey/water solution. I think I might try this in a single glass to see how it is, as the Raspberries in my version definitely overpower the malt presence since it is quite tart in overall.

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
1 lbs Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 1 8.6 %
5 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 2 43.1 %
5 lbs Wheat, Torrified (1.7 SRM) Grain 3 43.1 %
8.0 oz Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 4 4.3 %
1.6 oz Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 5 0.9 %
1.00 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 14.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) Yeast 7 -


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs 9.6 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Mash In Add 17.70 qt of water at 164.1 F 152.0 F 60 min

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (1.31gal, 4.35gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:

 

[theoracle]

I had the owner of Highland Brewing Co try it and loved it. I found out that traditional Lambic is served with a lump of sugar, which makes me feel better about backsweetening in the glass. I mashed at 158 with my new batch and also double the honey malt because I like having that mead smell. The black cherry juice I added it for color but I wanted a little more complexity.Might also look into adding citric acid in the fermenter.I just made a 10 gallon batch yesterday because everyone kept asking about it. I may do a mixed berry black cherry version with some of this batch

 

[UncleRusty]

Right, kind of like how a Berliner Weisse is commonly served with woodruff or raspberry syrup to counteract the sourness. Let me know how it turns out with the higher mash temp, I think this will get it closer to the real thing... I like the idea of bumping the honey malt up as well.