Hill Famstead Abner Clone

[bluemoose]

Sean is awfully friendly. He should be willing to help you out.


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[electrotype]

I just finished brewing this recipe. But my OG is nowhere near 1.077, I got 1.054. This is only my 4th brew, maybe my mash efficiency is still not very good.

Everything else went pretty well though!

 

[MrNickVT]

Sean is awfully friendly. He should be willing to help you out.


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I've only seen him a handful of times. A couple weeks ago I was in the new/temp retail area 30 minutes before opening. We exchanged greeting and he got right to filling up some new barrels with an obvious stout. I wanted to talk to him but didn't out of respect. Maybe next time:/

 

[InityBrew]

Here is my attempt.



Ended up with an Og of 1.075(only used a 1/2 pound of sugar) and an Fg of 1.012.... Right around 8.4%.

I have only had Abner once and it was over a year ago so I don't specifically know if this is an exact clone.

I will tell you that it is a phenomenal dipa. I went with a 3/1 sulfate to chloride ratio (180ppm/60ppm) and the mouth feel is great and the hop flavor and aroma are really potent.

Would love to get some Abner to do a side by side.

 

[skibb]

I was always under the impression he had a higher ratio of chlorides over sulfates in his beers - that's why their bitterness isn't sharp and the mouthfeel is slick/creamy.

Glad to hear the brew turned out well! I hope you can get some Abner two and post some side by side notes

 

[MrNickVT]

Here is my attempt.



Ended up with an Og of 1.075(only used a 1/2 pound of sugar) and an Fg of 1.012.... Right around 8.4%.

I have only had Abner once and it was over a year ago so I don't specifically know if this is an exact clone.

I will tell you that it is a phenomenal dipa. I went with a 3/1 sulfate to chloride ratio (180ppm/60ppm) and the mouth feel is great and the hop flavor and aroma are really potent.

Would love to get some Abner to do a side by side.

Awesome!! I wish you would have told me, I was up there Wednesday and could have grabbed you a growler.

 

[InityBrew]

It's all good brother. Pm if you want me to send a bottle of this your way. I just kegged it on Thursday and it will probably be fully carbed by the end of the week.

 

[InityBrew]

I was always under the impression he had a higher ratio of chlorides over sulfates in his beers - that's why their bitterness isn't sharp and the mouthfeel is slick/creamy.

Glad to hear the brew turned out well! I hope you can get some Abner two and post some side by side notes

Yea, I was unsure of this so i kept it close to what I usually do for my ipas, but bumped the sulfates down a little to 180.

 

[PJM]

Just pulled my first couple of pints of my attempt at this recipe last night. Great beer !!
Mine started out a bit low at 1.068 (I f'd up my mash temp and was way low which might account for my poor mash efficiency) and ended up at 1.012 with an ABV of 7.4%. It has a great nose and great taste. Not sure how it compares to the real thing as it's been a couple years since I've had it but this is a solid beer.

I used RO water and added brewing salts to get a profile of Ca: 111, Mg: 19, Na: 0, Cl: 74, SO4: 251, Cl to SO4 Ratio: 0.29
Was my first time really building water. Would be interesting to see how the beer changes with a different water profile.

 

[electrotype]

I can't say if it tastes like the original, but what I can say is that is the first beer I brewed that is good! Yes, I'm new to homebrewing and I'm really happy now!

 

[chato]

Hey, Jeffersonville! I'm in Milton. Anyways, I'll be brewing this recipe this weekend...looks great!

 

[MrNickVT]

Awesome!! Let me know how it turns out! You're not far from me. Do you ever go to Hill Farmstead?

 

[chato]

I haven't been yet, but my neighbor brought over a growler of Abner last summer and it was incredibly tasty!

 

[MrNickVT]

Yeah I was just there Wednesday. I go a lot. Abner is really good, but I opted for other stuff this trip.

 

[bluemoose]

No Abner today. They had it when I got there but they were out by the time I got up to fill. Too bad, I wanted to compare.

 

[MrNickVT]

That does suck.

 

[chato]

Awesome!! Let me know how it turns out! You're not far from me. Do you ever go to Hill Farmstead?

I just tried the first bottle from my batch of this recipe. It's awesome! The only thing I did different was the addition of a 1/2 cup of honey malt - just because I had it on hand. I also split the dry hopping into two dry hops, one in primary then one in secondary. I was a little shy of the OG at 1.074, but it finished at 1.010. Tastes amazing! Thanks for sharing the recipe.

 

[MrNickVT]

I just tried the first bottle from my batch of this recipe. It's awesome! The only thing I did different was the addition of a 1/2 cup of honey malt - just because I had it on hand. I also split the dry hopping into two dry hops, one in primary then one in secondary. I was a little shy of the OG at 1.074, but it finished at 1.010. Tastes amazing! Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Awesome to hear! I'm currently drinking the real thing and need to brew this again as well!

 

[mbbransc]

Any suggestions for changes to keep the color more in line with the real thing? Planning on brewing this (probably in NOV) but it appears the pics that followed the recipe are much darker than the real thing.

 

[govner1]

Do you have any info on the SRM of the original?


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[mbbransc]

Do you have any info on the SRM of the original?


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Post #20 has a side-by-side


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[mbbransc]

Do you have any info on the SRM of the original?


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Post #20 has a side-by-side picture


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[govner1]

I've seen those but it would be helpful to know the actual SRM from the brewer for the beer if you want to adjust your recipe to match.


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[ScootersAle]

I'm in Johnson, good to see other Vermonters here!

I was planning on making this pretty soon. The two things I'd add to the conversation is that

1. From what I've seen/been told, Shaun is not very forth coming with information. His idea is that you brew a lot and just figure it out yourself.

2. Starting with RO water is probably a good idea. Generally speaking NEK/Northern Vermont has pretty low mineral content in the ground water. Even though Greensboro/Hardwick area is known for granite, the ground water is very low in minerals compared to other parts of the country. I'd assume in Jeffersonville/Cambridge you'd have similar ground water, and maybe even in Milton but I'd assume it depends on town water vs well water(..?). Shaun says his well water is so important and some take that as in it has a specific mineral content that gives him the signature flavor, but it is probably more the fact that the water is so easy to get the exact water profile, since it is low in everything.

I had a buddy just brew the Everett clone from that same issue of BYO and said the recipe was not right at all, so I wouldn't rule out recipe issues.

 

[MrNickVT]

Totally agree on recipe issues!

 

[J343MY]

As far as SRM, its been awhile since I've had Abner, but from what I remember it was super light in colour. Like around 4 SRM.

So the grain bill is probably pretty simple. Mostly 2-row, a touch of lighter crystal, and dextrose. I'm also thinking he might be using flaked oats as well.

Another thing I'm thinking is he overplays the importance of his well water, and downplays his yeast. I have a hunch his ale yeast may be more important that most people think.

 

[jmljr]

I finally made it up there a couple of weeks ago. No Abner (though I've had it). I ended up leaving with growlers of Edward, Susan, and Double Galaxy. What struck me was how light they all were. Edward was damn near translucent. And Double Galaxy as a IIPA wasn't much darker.

What I would add to the whole conversation, other than cautioning following BYO "clone" recipes, is that if there is any proportion of any sort of crystal it has got to be super low. And I'm pretty sure if the Caramalt piece is accurate its got to be the Fawcett version of it, which is 12L. Its the same stuff that's purported to be in Heady. I've bought it recently from Farmhouse.

I also second what the previous poster said about the impact of the yeast. I'm currently drinking a IIPA of my own invention that's heavy on Galaxy, Mosaic, and Citra. Its version 2.0 with the first version being brewed with 1056 and this one with Conan (GigaYeast Vermont Ale). All I can say is WOW. Night and day. the first beer was good but this is awesome. Conan adds so much character to the beer AND enhances the hop character. John Kimmich last year I think said that Hill wasn't using Conan...anymore. If he was indeed using Conan at one point, that makes me think he found a suitable replacement strain that also highlights/enhances the hop character or draws out other aspects of the beer.

 

[bierhaus15]

Regarding the "softness" that people often attribute to Sean's beers, it would be worthwhile to get a few pH readings of his beer, as a higher final beer PH can give the impression of softness and smoother mouthfeel. It also has a side effect of decreasing the perception of bitterness, both with real BU and polyphenol pickup.

And unless he is using a RO system, we can be pretty sure his "well" water is actually of moderate hardness. Given his supposed high BU's in his beer, yet, lack of a sharp bitterness flavor, I would suspect the buffering capacity of his wort is quite high.

 

[mbbransc]

Brewing a version of this on SAT. Are people sticking with the <10oz hops for this? Seems one brewer here doubled the whirlpool hops. Anybody else monkeying with the additions?

 

[truck]

Regarding the "softness" that people often attribute to Sean's beers, it would be worthwhile to get a few pH readings of his beer, as a higher final beer PH can give the impression of softness and smoother mouthfeel. It also has a side effect of decreasing the perception of bitterness, both with real BU and polyphenol pickup.

And unless he is using a RO system, we can be pretty sure his "well" water is actually of moderate hardness. Given his supposed high BU's in his beer, yet, lack of a sharp bitterness flavor, I would suspect the buffering capacity of his wort is quite high.

Agreed, anyone taken pH readings on any of HF's hoppy creations?