Pliny Clone Kit from Northern Brewer?!

[BrodieBruce]

I have tried mine a couple of times over the last few days and overall it is very good. I did half of the dry hopping in the fermenter and the second set is dry hopping in the keg. My latest sample had a very bitter taste to it. Aroma was awesome, flavor was good, but the finish was very hop bitter. I actually tasted the hop shot (don't do this if you value your taste buds) and that bitterness is what I am tasting in the finished product. I am hoping it balances out a bit with age. I brewed the all grain kit. The bitterness I taste now didn't seem to come through in the hydrometer samples, so I am curious exactly what I am tasting and hoping it mellows a bit over the next few days. I'll try again tomorrow to see where it is at, having been dry hopping for a week in the keg, cold.


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Are your keg hops in a bag? If so, is it possible that the bag of hops is stuck near the inlet to the beer outflow line? I imagine that if this happened and the beer was being sucked through the hops on the way to your glass it would taste very bitter.

 

[Andrew862]

So update, now that it has had a week to sit the flavor has balanced out and the beer is less cloudy. I think it was a combination of not giving the dry hops enough time to diffuse into the beer and possibly the first few pints having some settled particles in them. The flavor now is amazing and matches the aroma well. Verdict: I would brew this again For sure.


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[Andrew862]

Oh, the hops are in stainless tea balls in the keg.


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[DLR1987]

I was reading the instructions on the extract version. It's not a full volume boil so how much hop character do you guys think will be lost? Also, they have you boil the 4 lbs of DME for the full 90 minutes. Do I sense some maillard reaction?


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[BrodieBruce]

I was reading the instructions on the extract version. It's not a full volume boil so how much hop character do you guys think will be lost? Also, they have you boil the 4 lbs of DME for the full 90 minutes. Do I sense some maillard reaction?


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This kit will have no more issues with hop utilization and darkening than with any other extract recipe out there. If you have the equipment to do a full boil, do it, even if the directions don't specifically call for it. Similarly, add most of your extract late, even if the recipe doesn't mention that technique specifically.


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[DLR1987]

This kit will have no more issues with hop utilization and darkening than with any other extract recipe out there. If you have the equipment to do a full boil, do it, even if the directions don't specifically call for it. Similarly, add most of your extract late, even if the recipe doesn't mention that technique specifically.


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Oh don't get me wrong, I'm aware of late extract additions and hop utilization. I was just more curious than anything. The other question is how far this will actually ferment down to? With all extract, it may be quite difficult/potentially impossible to get it down to 1.010 right?


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[BrodieBruce]

Oh don't get me wrong, I'm aware of late extract additions and hop utilization. I was just more curious than anything. The other question is how far this will actually ferment down to? With all extract, it may be quite difficult/potentially impossible to get it down to 1.010 right?


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Isn't there some sugar added to the recipe or is it really all extract? If it's all extract I agree that 1.010 seems unlikely.


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[DLR1987]

Isn't there some sugar added to the recipe or is it really all extract? If it's all extract I agree that 1.010 seems unlikely.


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Oops...yeah .75lbs corn sugar. Maybe it's possible! Haha.


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[palys2]

Just brewed this two days ago, and pitched Conan yeast for it... It smells awesome fermenting. I also tried the hopshot out of curiosity (and against the advice on this thread). It's very bitter. I can't decide if I'm going to bottle this or keg it.

 

[DLR1987]

Just brewed this two days ago, and pitched Conan yeast for it... It smells awesome fermenting. I also tried the hopshot out of curiosity (and against the advice on this thread). It's very bitter. I can't decide if I'm going to bottle this or keg it.

I would keg it if you have the means, mostly because you can drink it fresh fresh fresh!


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[DLR1987]

Just ordered the extract kit btw...I'm ready for some double ipa!


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[PJoyce85]

I was lucky enough to try Pliny the Elder side by side with a sample of my clone recipe (all grain) at Cantillon's Quintessence yesterday. Vinnie Cilurzo even tried it! It isn't finished yet (it's only on its first dry hop) but he said, "I don't mean to look surprised, but this is actually quite nice." We discussed my beer and he said the second dry hopping should increase the character and once the yeast has dropped, it will taste a lot cleaner. I'll consider that a win in my book!!!


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[Beer-lord]

Awesome....definitely something to be proud of.

 

[BWE]

I brewed this when I was home a few weeks ago. Fermentation was perfect. I don't have my notes on my right now, but I just remember being really happy with the results. I racked it to a secondary and it's waiting till I get back. I drank the test tube and it was delicious. I've never had a real pliney, but the sample tasted almost exactly like Rampant. Must say, not disappointed.

 

[old_tx_kbb]

I remember reading somewhere that Vinnie uses hop extract in Pliny as well.

 

[DLR1987]

I remember reading somewhere that Vinnie uses hop extract in Pliny as well.

He does. They use hop extract in the younger and blind pig if I'm not mistaken. There's a few Sunday session podcasts on the BN with Vinnie on there and he has some great advice and knowledge. He's definitely an ipa master.


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[DLR1987]

Just threw in the last dry hop addition today. It smells unbelievable! Only 5 days until the keg is tapped and the beer will be flowing like wine!


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[palys2]

Just brewed this two days ago, and pitched Conan yeast for it... It smells awesome fermenting. I also tried the hopshot out of curiosity (and against the advice on this thread). It's very bitter. I can't decide if I'm going to bottle this or keg it.

Just tried my first bottle, awesome flavor! It came out great. A good amount of up front bitterness and a great hop flavor and aroma. I haven't tried the real Pliney for comparison, so I can't gauge the accuracy, but this is really good!

 

[smokinop]

I brewed the all-grain kit about a month ago, did my first hop additions last weekend, will do the second hop addition Monday & will keg next weekend along with a few in bottles. Hit my numbers on brew day, smells & taste wonderful. Looking forward to the finished product. Btw,I have never had a Pliney so I have nothing to compare this to. I hope to one day try the real thing!

 

[exf5003]

I noticed the directions call for a 6 gallon batch, so is it possible to use a 6.5 gallon bucket as primary and 6 gallon carboy for secondary? I'm worried about not having enough head space with bucket.
What have you guys used?
Thanks.

 

[BWE]

I used the 6 gal bubbler. I have the first hop addition when I get home. Then 10 days after that I keg. The hydro sample was delicious. I fermented down to 1.010. Anyone else get that low. I hit 152 on the money, then the last 15 minutes it came down to 151. Im pretty hyped about it. Congrats to all the people who had a successful batch.

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[DakotaSouth]

If I remember, mine finished around 1.015 FG. Tasty as can be. Fermented in a 6.5 gallon carboy and learned all about a blow off tube in a hurry. I will be brewing again and probably soon. Btw, this was the extract version.

 

[BrodieBruce]

I mashed at 150, went from 1.072 to 1.006. Added the second set of dry hops today, going in bottles on Saturday. Very excited, smells and tastes awesome!


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[smokinop]

I started at 1.070 & finished at 1.010. Last hop additions went in today, will cold crash & hope to keg in about a week. Taste & smells wonderful, also very excited.

 

[tjwor]

I brewed this beer yesterday. Was trying to figure out all last night how I missed my gravity by such a large #.

My OG was 1.082. Now I realize this should have been a 6-gallon instead of a 5-gallon batch.

I'm assuming at this point it is probably best to just let it ride out, take a bit higher ABV and likely a bit less balanced beer, than to try to add top-off water?

 

[Dcgf05]

I've made two runs of the pliney kit, both kegs were emptied in record time. The last batch I had a friend who is an avid homebrewer say that it was a top 5 homebrew he had ever tasted. I'm quite a fan of it also. I'm still amazed how that much hops can result in a citrusy nirvana without an overly bitter flavor.

If you can, give it about a month to condition before serving, that seems to be the sweet spot.

Cheers.


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[KeninMN]

@tjwor: https://byo.com/stories/item/237-blending-for-volume-techniques

 

[tjwor]

@tjwor: https://byo.com/stories/item/237-blending-for-volume-techniques

Thank You, very good read! Still decisions to make when it comes to kegging time, but I like that as an option!