Odells Isolation Ale Clone

[mcgimpkins]

I see there is an old thread here going to a dead link

Anybody have a clone for this beer (preferably an all grain)? I really like it and haven't had one for a couple of years.

Thanks

 

[mcgimpkins]

Awhile back I contacted Odell, and they wouldn't "give" me the recipe, but gave me some hints. I brewed something close to it, however I could not compare it to the original as I live in Utah and it is impossible to get Odell beer here under the liquor laws. I need to make a trip to Colorado, but I've been lazy.

Anyway this is what I got:

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: Safale US-05
Yeast Starter: nah just throw in 2 packs
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.5
Original Gravity: 1.063
Final Gravity: didn't record (I am a lazy homebrewer)
IBU: 28
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 21 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14 days at 67 degrees
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): Nah just kegged it
Tasting Notes: A lot of Caramel Malts


7 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US
4.5 lbs Bonlander Munich Malt 10L - 10L
2.5 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L

0.70 oz Nugget [13.00 %] (60 min) Hops 29.2 IBU
0.30 oz Nugget [13.00 %] (15 min) Hops 6.2 IBU
0.70 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (15 min) Hops 6.1 IBU
1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc

2 Pkgs Safale American (US-05) Yeast

Mashed at 152 F for 60 Minutes. Mashout 168 for 10 Minutes.

Tasty Beer, been years since I drank it from Odell, so I cannot remember how close it is.

If anyone reading this wants to brew it and/or give me feedback, tips, etc on it, I am more than happy to modify and tweak the recipe to get something closer to Odell's version.

 

[icculus479]

Awhile back I contacted Odell, and they wouldn't "give" me the recipe, but gave me some hints. I brewed something close to it, however I could not compare it to the original as I live in Utah and it is impossible to get Odell beer here under the liquor laws. I need to make a trip to Colorado, but I've been lazy.

Anyway this is what I got:

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: Safale US-05
Yeast Starter: nah just throw in 2 packs
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.5
Original Gravity: 1.063
Final Gravity: didn't record (I am a lazy homebrewer)
IBU: 28
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 21 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14 days at 67 degrees
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): Nah just kegged it
Tasting Notes: A lot of Caramel Malts


7 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US
4.5 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L
2.5 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L

0.45 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (60 min) Hops 18.8 IBU
0.25 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (15 min) Hops 5.2 IBU
0.5 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (15 min) Hops 4.4 IBU

1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
2 Pkgs Safale American (US-05) Yeast

Mashed at 152 F for 60 Minutes. Mashout 168 for 10 Minutes.

Tasty Beer, been years since I drank it from Odell, so I cannot remember how close it is.

If anyone reading this wants to brew it and/or give me feedback, tips, etc on it, I am more than happy to modify and tweak the recipe to get something closer to Odell's version.

Thanks again for your help, I have yet to attempt this, at the last second I got nervous and made a porter Ive made in the past that I know will treat me well. I still want to do this and will let you know when i do. Thanks again, I really did appreciate your fast response!

 

[grizzly2378]

I'm gonna assume that instead of two additions of Crystal 10, one of those is supposed to be a darker Crystal to give it that amber-ish color?

Not sure what hints the folks at Odell gave, but their website says Isolation uses Pale, Bonlander and Crystal malts and Nugget hops and comes out at 42 IBUs. I'm not so sure it's a straight Nugget beer, but maybe? You could try replacing the Crystal 10 with the Bonlander and then Crystal 40 or 60 maybe to get the color.

On a side note, it's funny how some breweries are more secretive than others with this stuff. Deschutes lists the ingredients for all of their beers right on their website. They don't list the amounts, but at least they get you off on the right foot. On the other hand, Kettlehouse in Missoula, MT provided their full recipe for Cold Smoke (commercial-scale) when asked.

 

[303Dan]

I'm gonna assume that instead of two additions of Crystal 10, one of those is supposed to be a darker Crystal to give it that amber-ish color?

Not sure what hints the folks at Odell gave, but their website says Isolation uses Pale, Bonlander and Crystal malts and Nugget hops and comes out at 42 IBUs. I'm not so sure it's a straight Nugget beer, but maybe? You could try replacing the Crystal 10 with the Bonlander and then Crystal 40 or 60 maybe to get the color.

On a side note, it's funny how some breweries are more secretive than others with this stuff. Deschutes lists the ingredients for all of their beers right on their website. They don't list the amounts, but at least they get you off on the right foot. On the other hand, Kettlehouse in Missoula, MT provided their full recipe for Cold Smoke (commercial-scale) when asked.

I completely agree. Avery in Boulder is like Deschutes in that they will gladly provide guidance to homebrewers attempting to clone their beers. Avery even goes a little further than Deschutes and gives you grain percentages and hop additions based on 5 gallon batches. I've also heard that they're generous with giving homebrewers their yeasts as well. Very generous of them. I love Avery.

I live pretty close to Odell and have asked them questions before on multiple occasions and they're pretty tight lipped. I was trying for a while to brew something close to 90 Shilling and they weren't much help. They're still one of my favorites, though.

Dan

 

[mcgimpkins]

Not sure what hints the folks at Odell gave, but their website says Isolation uses Pale, Bonlander and Crystal malts and Nugget hops and comes out at 42 IBUs. I'm not so sure it's a straight Nugget beer, but maybe? You could try replacing the Crystal 10 with the Bonlander and then Crystal 40 or 60 maybe to get the color.

Sorry that was a typo that I just fixed, thanks for pointing it out. I used 2.5# is Carmel/Crystal 80L, that gave me close to the color as what they have on their website.

I changed the Carmel/Crystal 10L to Bonlander and see if my LHBS has that. Do you guys think there is Carmel/Crystal 80L in there or more of a 60L? Does using the Nugget for Bittering then Nugget and Cascade for a 15 minute addition seem about right? In addition, I upped the hops in Beersmith to get to 42 IBUs.

Here is my correspondence:

Hello,
I am looking for the recipe for your isolation ale that you make. I used to drink it all the time, however I have moved to Utah and the politics here love to keep any decent beers out.

Thanks

Hi,

I cannot reveal our secrets, but I can give you some hints if you're interested.

Cheers!

Thanks for writing back. I'll take whatever hints you're willing to dish out.

In addition I seached the internet for a caramel amber ale and came up with the following. Was wondering if this would give me something similar to Isolation, the pictures of it looked similar:

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: US-05
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.5
Original Gravity: 1.050
Final Gravity: 1.010
IBU: 40
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 16
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 30
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 7
Tasting Notes: Rich malty caramel balance beautifully with fragrant clementine-like hop aroma.

Amount Item Type % or IBU
7.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (1.8 SRM) Grain 73.68 %
1.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 15.79 %
1.00 lb Candi Syrup Amber (40.0 SRM) Sugar 10.53 %

0.78 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (60 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 40.2 IBU
1.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops -
1.00 oz Willamette [5.50 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops -

1 Pkgs American Ale (Safale #S-05) Yeast-Ale

Mash at 150 for 60 minutes.

Ferment at 62-65 degrees Fahrenheit.

Thanks,

Replace the Willamette with Cascade and I would not use the sugar. If you can, use more caramalt instead. Otherwise, I think this will be pretty close.

That is about everything I know. When it comes to recipes, I've mainly been a follower and not a leader, so cheers on the feedback.

 

[mcgimpkins]

So I talked to Beersk on http://www.homebrewersassociation.org who stated that he made an Isolation Ale Clone that was close however the yeast was "a little too "English" compared to the real deal". Beersk was using Safale S-04.

After doing some extensive research on O'dell brewing it looks as though the yeast they use is WY1007. Others claim it is WLP029 German/Kolsch yeast, however Denny Conn, states that WY1007 is a better strain, so I going to try that.

Unfortunately I made it out to Colorado last weekend, however could not find Isolation Ale anywhere as I guess it is out of season. :smack: I really wish I had a control to compare it to.

Here is what I am going to try and make:

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: Wyeast 1007 German Ale
Yeast Starter: 2 L
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.5
Original Gravity: 1.060
Final Gravity:
IBU: 47
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 14.2 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14 days at 67 degrees
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): Keg after primary
Tasting Notes:


8 lbs Pale Malt Maris Otter
2 lbs Mild Malt
1 lb Munich Malt
0.85 lb Caramel/Crystal - 120L
0.85 lb Caramel/Crystal - 20L

0.70 oz Magnum [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 34.2 IBU
0.50 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (15 min) Hops 4.9 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (15 min) Hops 4.4 IBU
0.50 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (5 min) Hops 1.9 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (5 min) Hops 1.8 IBU


1 Pkg Wyeast 1007 German Ale Yeast in 2L Starter

Mashed at 152 F for 60 Minutes. Mashout 168 for 10 Minutes.

 

[beersk]

I really should brew this again. I think the 1007 would be a great choice for the yeast. I always thought Odell's beers had a British character, but it could be more from the malts than the yeast in their case.
And they're coming to Iowa in about 2 weeks! I'm stoked!

EDIT: Ah ha! I found this in an email from 2009 from one of the reps at Odell when I first contacted them about it.

"I am so glad you love the Isolation Ale! It's my favorite winter
seasonal brew as well. We don't give out recipes, but I can say that we
use a top fermenting ale yeast and the hops used are Magnum, Mt. Hood
and Cascade. We also use malt imported from England."

So the Munich malt probably isn't necessary. You'll get enough malt character from the crystal malts.

 

[chiefwigms]

So I talked to Beersk on http://www.homebrewersassociation.org who stated that he made an Isolation Ale Clone that was close however the yeast was "a little too "English" compared to the real deal". Beersk was using Safale S-04.

After doing some extensive research on O'dell brewing it looks as though the yeast they use is WY1007. Others claim it is WLP029 German/Kolsch yeast, however Denny Conn, states that WY1007 is a better strain, so I going to try that.

Unfortunately I made it out to Colorado last weekend, however could not find Isolation Ale anywhere as I guess it is out of season. :smack: I really wish I had a control to compare it to.

Here is what I am going to try and make:

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: Wyeast 1007 German Ale
Yeast Starter: 2 L
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.5
Original Gravity: 1.060
Final Gravity:
IBU: 47
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 14.2 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14 days at 67 degrees
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): Keg after primary
Tasting Notes:


8 lbs Pale Malt Maris Otter
2 lbs Mild Malt
1 lb Munich Malt
0.85 lb Caramel/Crystal - 120L
0.85 lb Caramel/Crystal - 20L

0.70 oz Magnum [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 34.2 IBU
0.50 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (15 min) Hops 4.9 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (15 min) Hops 4.4 IBU
0.50 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (5 min) Hops 1.9 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (5 min) Hops 1.8 IBU


1 Pkg Wyeast 1007 German Ale Yeast in 2L Starter

Mashed at 152 F for 60 Minutes. Mashout 168 for 10 Minutes.

How'd it turn out?

 

[mcgimpkins]

How'd it turn out?

It is close but not exactly. I have not had a chance to brew it again, but have a few changes. It is a little bit more bitter and not as malty as the original. In addition, of course, the yeast is off a little bit, but I would assume that would happen since I am not using O'Dells yeast strain.

Here was the changes I was going to try:

Here is what I am going to try and make:

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: Wyeast 1007 German Ale
Yeast Starter: 2 L
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.5
Original Gravity: 1.065
Final Gravity:
IBU: 42
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 14.2 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14 days at 67 degrees
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): Keg after primary
Tasting Notes:


8 lbs Pale Malt Maris Otter
2 lbs Mild Malt
1.5 lb Munich Malt
0.85 lb Caramel/Crystal - 120L
1.5 lb Caramel/Crystal - 20L

0.50 oz Magnum [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 29.4 IBU
0.50 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (15 min) Hops 4.9 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (15 min) Hops 4.4 IBU
0.50 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (5 min) Hops 1.9 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (5 min) Hops 1.8 IBU


1 Pkg Wyeast 1007 German Ale Yeast in 2L Starter

Mashed at 158 F for 60 Minutes. Mashout 168 for 10 Minutes.

I'm not going to be able to get around to brewing it until the spring. All in all the first recipe is a very drinkable beer, and close to the mark. Just trying to get the malty flavor to stand out more. Was going to mess with my water chemistry a little as well.

 

[Mitch S]

Really odd that I stumbled on this thread today. I was talking with a coworker about going to CSU's on campus bar while I was there and the bartender mixed Isolation with some cranberry beer (maybe it was a lambic?) that was called Franzen or something. She called the mixture Franzilation. Amazingly good. Didn't get to finish the pitcher as a fire alarm went off causing the student center to be evacuated.