Maine Beer Company "MO" inspired recipe

[jamie327]

I've been working on coming up with a recipe that is similar to Maine Beer's Pale Ale "MO". Based on the info out there about their brewing style and ingredients listed on their website, this is what I've come up with. This is my first try at formulating a recipe like this, so I'd appreciate any input or experience anyone has!

This is based on a 5.5gal batch at 65% efficiency and a 60 minute boil. BeerSmith estimates OG 1.057 and FG around 1.012. The MBC website notes an OG of 1.051 (from what I've read I can infer that may be a bit low) and an ABV of 6.0%. Color is described as "Yellow-Orange" and this recipe comes in at about 9.1 SRM, which seems close to me. As for IBUs, I'm kind of at a loss since neither MBC mentions them nor is BeerSmith able to calculate whirlpool hop additions yet. So those additions are a shot in the dark, figuring about 22% utilization.

Another thing to ponder is that Falconer's Flight supposedly has Simcoe in its blend already, so I wonder if the separate Simcoe additions are being used differently...

10.75 lb. 2-row 80 (80%)
1.5 lb. Crystal 40L (11.25%)
.75 lb. Carapils (5%)
.5 lb. Red Wheat Malt (3.75%)

.5 oz Warrior (15% AA) @ 60 min
.25 oz Falconer's Flight (11% AA) @ 10 min
.25 oz Simcoe (13% AA) @ 10 min
.25 oz Falconer's Flight @ 5 min
.25 oz Simcoe @ 5 min

Whirpool for 30 mins w/
2 oz Falconer's Flight
2 oz Simcoe

Yeast: US-05

Dry hop 10 days w/
2 oz Falconer's Flight
2 oz Simcoe

 

[jnacey]

how did this turn out?

 

[berley31]

Also wondering how this came out for you...?

I'm going to do my own MO clone attempt in a few weeks; the recipe I plan on doing is fairly similar to yours, except bigger on the hop additions. I know from a previous recipe for Peeper that they use a LOT of flameout hops (enough to supposedly get about half their IBUs), so I assume MO would have even more flameout and dry-hop additions.

I'll post the recipe on my blog hopefully by mid-January, and tasting notes after that. I hope to have at least as much luck with this as with the Zoe clone I did earlier this year... that one came out very tasty.

 

[Callacave]

This is what I did with a few changes due to what I had. This came out to be my best brew to date. I think next time I would double up the dry hop amounts. I called it MO Better!

9 lbs 12.0 oz 2 Row American Pale (Valley Malt) (3.0 SRM)
1 lbs 4.0 oz Organic Emmer Malt (Valley Malt) (1.8 SRM)
12.0 oz Caramel Malt - 40L (Briess) (40.0 SRM)
8.0 oz Carapils (Briess) (1.5 SRM)
1.4 oz Warrior [13.6%] - Boil 60 min
0.5 oz Falconers Flight [8.8%] - Boil 12 min
0.5 oz Simcoe [12.1%] - Boil 12 min
0.5 oz Falconers Flight [8.8%] - Boil 5 min
0.5 oz Simcoe [12.1%] - Boil 5 min
1.0 oz Falconers Flight [8.8%] - Steep 30 min
1.0 oz Simcoe [12.1%] - Steep 30 min
1.0 oz Falconers Flight [8.8%] - Dry Hop 7 days
1.0 oz Motueka [7.0%] - Dry Hop 7 days

I used the dregs and made a starter from a bottle of MO and Lunch. Everyone really loved this one. Ran out of Simcoe for the dry hop, but used Motueka instead. I also meant to use Red Wheat that I had on hand, but grabbed the wrong bag and used the Emmer Wheat Malt, which I believe is a white wheat?

 

[jamie327]

Also wondering how this came out for you...?

I'm going to do my own MO clone attempt in a few weeks; the recipe I plan on doing is fairly similar to yours, except bigger on the hop additions. I know from a previous recipe for Peeper that they use a LOT of flameout hops (enough to supposedly get about half their IBUs), so I assume MO would have even more flameout and dry-hop additions.

I'll post the recipe on my blog hopefully by mid-January, and tasting notes after that. I hope to have at least as much luck with this as with the Zoe clone I did earlier this year... that one came out very tasty.

The beer turned out great, very drinkable. Not as much like MO as I would have liked. The dry hops were spot on, but there definitely needed to be a bit more of the 60 min addition and more in the whirlpool in order to develop some deeper flavor and complex bitterness. Also I think I would drop the 40L to 1 to 1.25lb and up the 2-row to compensate. The color was just too much like an amber for a MO like beer.

I think I'll be tweaking this a bit over the winter. And I'll be VERY interested to hear how yours turns out!

 

[berley31]

The beer turned out great, very drinkable. Not as much like MO as I would have liked. The dry hops were spot on, but there definitely needed to be a bit more of the 60 min addition and more in the whirlpool in order to develop some deeper flavor and complex bitterness. Also I think I would drop the 40L to 1 to 1.25lb and up the 2-row to compensate. The color was just too much like an amber for a MO like beer.

I think I'll be tweaking this a bit over the winter. And I'll be VERY interested to hear how yours turns out!

Sounds about right... right now I plan on 3 oz each at FO, and maybe the same for the dry-hop, but in two stages. We'll see.

I was also thinking less C-40 and Carapils. Hopefully I can get to this beer soon... MO has to be one of the best APAs out there!

 

[Conestoga]

MO is probably my favorite APA right now, so good when you get it fresh.

This post may help, as it has brewer's own input to methodology behind brewing Peeper. They are very similar brews, except MO has no Vienna of course, and now they use carapils in even that.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/maine-beer-co-peeper-ale-clone-385565/index2.html#post4854843

My house APA's grain bill was inspired by MO, and the body/lacing is spot on.

I use Columbus(FWH bittering) [Amarillo/Galaxy/Simcoe for hop stand and dry hop], so there are differences with mouthfeel, aroma and flavor as a result, obviously. I didn't want to clone the beer, I just wanted the characteristics with my own preferred hop combo.

I've brewed it three consecutive times and had blind taste tests against MO. Nobody preferred one over the other, they all enjoyed both beers. Consensus was "very similar, different aromas and resulting taste perception."


Batch Size: 23.11 L = 6.1 G @ 1.052

88.2% 2-Row USA 9.44 pounds
4.9% Crystal 40L 0.53 pounds
3.5% CaraPils 0.37 pounds
3.5% RedWheat 0.37 pounds

* I shoot for a pH of 5.3, and mash at 148 to hit the 6.0%abv.

Hop bill is of my own doing based on Kleban's info. I have a single FWH charge @ 23IBU tinseth, and get the rest from a 0m addition + then 30 minute hop stand in the 180-212F temp range. I treat the hops as if they were a 12-13m addition to calculate 45 total IBU/tinseth (including bittering charge).

Dry hops are two additions using Brynildson's method, totaling 4.5oz split in half for each. You probably can do whatever you're familiar with, I just feel like I owe the rest of what I did since I feel I got close.

I maxed out his recommendation, considering the malt bill isn't complex at all ... figured blasting it with hops is what they had in mind.


https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/dry-hop-ipa-64751/index2.html#post668593
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/multi-stage-dry-hop-worth-379238/index3.html#post4785573

I also use Brun'water's pale ale profile.

Just my 2c

 

[berley31]

This post may help, as it has brewer's own input to methodology behind brewing Peeper. They are very similar brews, except MO has no Vienna of course, and now they use carapils in even that.

Yeah, I've seen that post, and also based a lot of my MO recipe on it. I also used it to help with my Zoe clone that I brewed back in May, and it turned out really tasty.

I like the looks of the recipe of your house APA... the grist is remarkably similar to what I have planned for my MO clone when I get to it in a week or two. I'm also going with a pretty large FO addition of Falconer's Flight and Simcoe, and then a 2-stage dry-hop of each.

Anyway, glad to hear your similar beer is tasting so good!

 

[Conestoga]

Yeah, I've seen that post, and also based a lot of my MO recipe on it. I also used it to help with my Zoe clone that I brewed back in May, and it turned out really tasty.

I like the looks of the recipe of your house APA... the grist is remarkably similar to what I have planned for my MO clone when I get to it in a week or two. I'm also going with a pretty large FO addition of Falconer's Flight and Simcoe, and then a 2-stage dry-hop of each.

Anyway, glad to hear your similar beer is tasting so good!

You're going to enjoy it for sure. This recipe was a game changer for me. I always felt like APA's needed more going on in the grist, this beer proved otherwise.

With that said ...

I think next time around I'm going to layer the crystal 40 with honey malt. Say 2% crystal, and 1.5% honey malt. That shouldn't be too much, it'll be a start. I tend to let my pale ales sit more than any other style, so I want there to be something present after the hops fade. This is the only drawback of the MO, it's pretty boring once the aromas go away.

I was in their tasting room in early October, grabbed quite a few bottles. The last one I drank was past recommended drink date, and the magic was certainly gone.

 

[berley31]

Ok, guys, finally got to brew this beer yesterday. My recipe (with a brief email response from Dan Kleban) are posted here:

http://meekbrewingco.blogspot.ca/2014/01/brewing-maine-beer-company-mo-clone-no.html

Happy to listen to any feedback!

 

[Conestoga]

Excellent, thanks for sharing the collaboration with Dan! I will adjust my next batch accordingly to see if there is improvement.

 

[jamie327]

Ok, guys, finally got to brew this beer yesterday. My recipe (with a brief email response from Dan Kleban) are posted here:

http://meekbrewingco.blogspot.ca/2014/01/brewing-maine-beer-company-mo-clone-no.html

Happy to listen to any feedback!

Thanks, looks good! Please let us know how it turns out!

 

[jnacey]

Brewing this up today. Will let you know how it goes. Any update from the OP?

 

[berley31]

Ok guys, finally got around to posting my tasting notes for my attempt:

http://meekbrewingco.blogspot.ca/2014/02/tasting-maine-beer-co-mo-clone.html

Pretty good, but I don't think it's there yet. Despite all the hops, I wanted it to be hoppier. Unfortunately, didn't have any fresh MO to compare the two, so I can't say 100% what's lacking... but I DO know that a good, fresh MO tastes better!

 

[Neptune]

This was my first attempt... Mine is on the right.

As you can clearly see... I failed pretty hard on the color, but the taste was fairly close. Not quite as crisp and didn't have quite the same bite as the real one. I ended up using Conan yeast (because I panicked after two days when my harvested S-05 didn't go off) and I know that definitely skewed the flavor quite a bit. I also overshot the OG (1.057)

It's definitely got similar flavors but it tastes a little maltier and less dry (even though my mash temp was 148). Grain bill was

20 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 85.1 %
1 lbs 4.0 oz Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 3 5.3 %
12.0 oz Acid Malt (3.0 SRM) Grain 4 3.2 %
12.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 5 3.2 %
12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 6 3.2 %

I bittered with a small amount of Magnum and then lots of Falconer's Flight and Simcoe whirlpooled and dry hopped. I really like the beer that I ended up with here, but it's definitely not nearly as close to the real thing as I had hoped.

Any suggestions on yeast and what to do about that color?