Project: Snow Day

[Horace]

My family is having a love affair with New Belgium's Snow Day. My brewing goal for 2012 is to come up with the perfect clone. This will be my first attempt at trying a clone so any help would be appreciated.

To start, I ordered the clone kit from AHS. If it is a perfect match, my job is done but history says it will be close, not perfect. I'll compare the kit contents to what is listed on New Belgium's website and report back.

I like the challenge but could use some input from more experienced "cloners".

H

 

[richbrew99]

Here is what I am trying this weekend.
12 lbs Pale
1.5 lbs C-80
1 lb Midnight Wheat
.75 lb DME at flameout
.5 oz Centennial 60 min
.5 oz Styrian Golding 45 min
.5 oz Centennial 30 min
1.5 oz Styrian Golding 15 min
1.5 oz Cascade 5 min
mashing 151 at 75 min
My numbers in Beersmith came out at:
1.066 OG
1.013 Est FG
51.4 IBU
7 ABV

New Belgium website lists:
Pale, C-80, Midnight Wheat, Styrian Goldings, Centennial and Cascade. OG 17, TG 2.35, IBU 55 and ABV 6.2.

We'll see how close I am.

 

[Horace]

Cool, what yeast will you be using?

The AHS clone kit should be here Thursday so I am planning on brewing it up this weekend. I ordered WLP051 as per kit choices . . .

 

[richbrew99]

I'm using us-05

 

[SnowBird]

Here is what I am trying this weekend.
12 lbs Pale
1.5 lbs C-80
1 lb Midnight Wheat
.75 lb DME at flameout
.5 oz Centennial 60 min
.5 oz Styrian Golding 45 min
.5 oz Centennial 30 min
1.5 oz Styrian Golding 15 min
1.5 oz Cascade 5 min
mashing 151 at 75 min
My numbers in Beersmith came out at:
1.066 OG
1.013 Est FG
51.4 IBU
7 ABV

New Belgium website lists:
Pale, C-80, Midnight Wheat, Styrian Goldings, Centennial and Cascade. OG 17, TG 2.35, IBU 55 and ABV 6.2.

We'll see how close I am.

I'm really curious to hear how this comes out. Please keep us posted.

 

[richbrew99]

Cool, what yeast will you be using?

The AHS clone kit should be here Thursday so I am planning on brewing it up this weekend. I ordered WLP051 as per kit choices . . .

I just realized we are both in Milwaukee, what part are you in? We'll have to get together and compare our versions.

 

[richbrew99]

Fermentation completed. The sample I had was very good. Can't wait for final product.

 

[jhuyser]

So how close was the AHS clone for snow day???

 

[Horace]

I will be brewing the AHS clone kit on New Year's Day. It took me a while to get the kit and then I had to hunt down Styrian Golding hops. The kit shipped with Willamette hops as a substitution.

The AHS kit only lists (and packages) one pound of specialty grains, I was surprised.

The good news is I have five cases of Snow Day in the cooler to use for comparison, all is good.

 

[christo65]

I had my first Snow Day (well. . . 2) last week. That is a tasty BIPA.

If yours is close, post back and I'll plan to make as well.

 

[foltster]

Any updates?

 

[Horace]

Brewed it up on New Years Day, it's sitting in the primary. I'll give her a taste when it goes into the secondary this weekend.

 

[richbrew99]

Just kegged mine on Sunday. Having the guys over on Saturday for the tapping. Anyone in Milwaukee area is welcome.

 

[richbrew99]

Here is what I am trying this weekend.
12 lbs Pale
1.5 lbs C-80
1 lb Midnight Wheat
.75 lb DME at flameout
.5 oz Centennial 60 min
.5 oz Styrian Golding 45 min
.5 oz Centennial 30 min
1.5 oz Styrian Golding 15 min
1.5 oz Cascade 5 min
mashing 151 at 75 min
My numbers in Beersmith came out at:
1.066 OG
1.013 Est FG
51.4 IBU
7 ABV

New Belgium website lists:
Pale, C-80, Midnight Wheat, Styrian Goldings, Centennial and Cascade. OG 17, TG 2.35, IBU 55 and ABV 6.2.

We'll see how close I am.

Here is how it turned out.
Mine
OG came in at 1.068, FG 1.016 and ABV 6.9
New Belgium
OG 1.070, FG 1.009 and ABV 7
Taste came in very close, I think I might play with the amount of the midnight wheat by adding a little more 1/4 lb at a time. Also I got an oxyenation system for Christmas, that might help me get my FG down a little closer to original. Had some friends try it after I tapped keg and they really like it.

 

[thedirtystayout]

I feel like there is some biscuit malt in the grain bill.

 

[Horace]

Okay, we're close.

Here's round two;

12.5 lbs 2-Row
12oz C80
4oz Midnight
.5oz Cascade, Centennial, Styrian Golding @ 60min
.5oz Centennial @ 30min
.75oz Cascade @ 5min

iBrewmaster #'s; OG 1.065, FG 1.018, IBU 55.4, ABV 6.16%

We'll see in a handful of weeks...

 

[BrewHaas]

I just tasted my Snow Day clone from Austin Homebrew supply. OG was 1.072 and FG 1.019 which was the target. Primary for 2 weeks and in keg for 3 days. Tastes too sweet but maybe it just needs time. I sure hope so as I brewed 10 gallons and love that beer. If it doesn't change can I try adding a different yeast that attenuates lower than the White Labs 051? Thanks

 

[Horace]

BrewHass, I used WL 015 and found the kit too malty so you may be right.

 

[BrewHaas]

Any advice? I'm not throwing this out. If nothing else I could blend it I guess but a real fix would be preferred. Again, it is very young.

 

[Horace]

BrewHass, I would just wait it out, I left mine in the primary for four weeks so that could be some of the difference too. Also at the bottom of the instructions it states: "This handcrafted beer will taste best after 5 weeks or more of storage"

Keep us posted

 

[MrTheKing]

I'm brewing up this recipe today, sounds good!

 

[BrewHaas]

Using the AHB kit?

 

[MrTheKing]

No, using richbrew's recipe. Added just slightly too much DME, ended up at 1.069 instead of 1.066. Nailed everything else though, bubbling away like mad at 68*

 

[richbrew99]

No, using richbrew's recipe. Added just slightly too much DME, ended up at 1.069 instead of 1.066. Nailed everything else though, bubbling away like mad at 68*

Awesome, mine went fast. Just finished the keg yesterday. Like I said earlier, side by side mine tasted a little mellower than snow day. Let us know how yours turns out.

 

[Gonefishin]

Does anyone else have any comments on their snowday recipes? I have been looking for weeks for some clone recipes. I found 1 right off and then nothing until tonight when I found this post. I really liked this beer and want to try to brew it. There are some differences in the recipes I have found and although they may be subtle, I'd like to hear from some of the breweres who didn't post their results. Thanks for the help.

 

[Nike_Eayrs]

Awesome, mine went fast. Just finished the keg yesterday. Like I said earlier, side by side mine tasted a little mellower than snow day. Let us know how yours turns out.

When you say it was mellower, was it the hops or the dark carmel flavor? I'm wondering if I should add more adjunct, hops, or both. I'm gonna put this recipe together and brew it this weekend. Cheers!

 

[richbrew99]

When you say it was mellower, was it the hops or the dark carmel flavor? I'm wondering if I should add more adjunct, hops, or both. I'm gonna put this recipe together and brew it this weekend. Cheers!

it's been so long since I made it, I'll have to look at my notes (I'm at work) I think I mashed too high and it just wasn't up there with Snow Day. Not that SD is all that strong but mine seemed a level less. I'll definitely make it again probably in a couple months. I'll post with any changes I make. It was a good brew though and I've been using Midnight Wheat in other brews too.

 

[elbrewers54]

I am super excited to find a clone recipe. We brewed last night and we are hopeful for the results, but being from an area where you can't get snow day shipped in, does anyone have recommendations for a similar beer that's available commercially in the northeast? I have never actually had this beer... I am brewing on a whim for a friend but she wants to give something similar as a gift before this batch will be ready. Any help would beast appreciated!

 

[uncleleon]

I keep thinking this beer is dryhopped. But it could be that i don't seem to get the fresh aroma/flavor hop flavor that NB gets. Or alot of breweries for that matter. Brewtarget is starting to mess with me.

I've been planing this for awhile. Here's what I'm gonna try:
Briess - 2 Row Brewers Malt Grain 6.000 lb Yes No 80% 1.8 srm
Briess - Wheat Malt, White Grain 6.000 lb Yes No 85% 2.5 srm
Briess - Caramel Malt 120L Grain 8.000 oz Yes No 74% 120.0 srm
Briess - Midnight Wheat Malt Grain 8.000 oz Yes No 55% 550.0 srm
Black Barley (Roast Barley) Grain 4.000 oz Yes No 55% 500.0 srm

Hops
Name Alpha Amount Use Time Form IBU
Golding 5.0% 2.000 oz Boil 60.000 min Pellet 27.2
Cascade 6.0% 0.500 oz Boil 15.000 min Pellet 4.0
Centennial 10.5% 0.500 oz Boil 15.000 min Pellet 7.1
Cascade 6.0% 0.500 oz Boil 5.000 min Pellet 1.6
Centennial 10.5% 0.500 oz Boil 5.000 min Pellet 2.8
Cascade 6.0% 1.000 oz Dry Hop 0.000 s Pellet 0.0
Centennial 10.5% 1.000 oz Dry Hop 0.000 s Pellet 0.0

Yeast
Name Type Form Amount Stage
WLP001 - California Ale Yeast Ale Liquid 2.367 tbsp Primary

 

[Gonefishin]

Uncleleon, did you brew this recipe? How did it turn out?
Happy brewyear