Operation Clone Lagunita's Undercover Investigation Shutdown Ale

[booherbg]

thanks cwheel. good luck w/ your brews. i should probably start paying attention to water properties as well. that could have *a lot* to do with it.

 

[hotpants]

I find it interesting that they don't have any late hop additions whatsoever (maybe the 20 min counts), I've definitely felt a recent trend towards massive late boil additions for hoppy beers, and they're absent in this recipe. Maybe the big dry hop lends all the aroma and flavor they need? Thoughts?

 

[Beezer94]

I degassed one I had left and it's FG was 1.017. I used the refractometer and got 11.2brix; so combined that means approx 1.090 SG.
The bottle says 1.085 SG, which would put FG at 1.012 for 9.7% ABV. So it starts 5 points up and finishes 5 points up of what they label says. Which makes sense because that high, real FG is a big part of where that sweetness comes from.

So I know not to focus on Lagunitas label numbers too much.

 

[booherbg]

Plus, each batch is going to have the same label. I'm sure there's a tolerance that's allowed before a new label is printed.

 

[ultravista]

Where's the update?

 

[booherbg]

Where's the update?

Might as well dig this up from the dead. I actually saved a few bottles of this batch and opened them over the years. I may even have more left still today.

While the beer did not necessarily end up as an exact clone, I can tell you that time did wonderful things to this beer. I can remember the most recent bottle I opened, which would have been maybe 5 years old? Crazy how time flies by. The beer was still carbonated, and amazingly smooth. I shared it with a friend and we were both amazed at how mellow and smooth the beer was, for being almost 12% ABV. I think everyone should make a barleywine, sit on it, and enjoy it a year or two down the road. Every high ABV beer I've ever made -- even if it was 'hot' or off in some way within the first year -- always ends up mellowing out into something with more depth after a year or two. One of the subtle joys of homebrewing.

I may try this one again sometime soon.