Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone

[Leapsandbounds]

They look very similar to me. I have a clone that I’m bottling later this week. Although, I based my clone off of the Morebeer kit which uses magnum, Perle, and cascade. If I remember, I’ll post a picture once it’s ready to drink.

 

[Gravity]

I have the following beer on tap and recently did a side by side with SNPA and it is very close. The color is identical. I felt mine had a little fresher hop aroma, but likely just because the SNPA was bottled 2 months ago. It is the beer currently in my profile pic.

• 9 lb 2 Row Pale Malt
• 1 lb Crystal 40
• 1 oz Centennial, Pellets 8.4% FWH 60 min
• 1 oz Cascade, Pellets 6.9% Boil 20 min
• 1 oz Cascade, Pellets 6.9% Flame Out 0 min
• 1 oz Cascade, Pellets 6.9% Dry Hop 3 days
• WPL001 – California Ale
• Mash at 152 F
• OG: 1.053, FG: 1.012, ABV: 5.4%
• Efficiency: 76%

I have brewed a very similar beer maybe a dozen times. This is the first using Crystal 40 over 60. I used to use 3 oz of Cascade (60, 20, 0) but at some point I threw in another oz for dry hops, and sometimes throw in a different bitter hop.

Here is a pic I took a while back. Mine is on the left. My beer has cleared up some since the picture, so I expect they would be hard to tell apart now.

View attachment 615773

Color looks spot on; of all the iterations - this is your favorite?

 

[Gravity]

They look very similar to me. I have a clone that I’m bottling later this week. Although, I based my clone off of the Morebeer kit which uses magnum, Perle, and cascade. If I remember, I’ll post a picture once it’s ready to drink.

Thats the one I did: Magnum @60, Perle @ 30, and cascade @ 10 and FO

I saw another recipe that combines magnum and perle @60, may try that next time as I like Perle as a bittering hop

 

[yourlastchance89]

This is mine. I did...

5lbs Marris Otter

4.2 lbs Golden Promise

0.8 lbs Caramel 60L

3.25 oz Cascade split into 9 additions and continuously hopped in 10 minute increments for a 90 minute boil

2 oz Cascade at flameout

0.75 oz Cascade as dry hop addition in keg upon kegging.

Mashed at 155°F for 60 minutes.

Boiled for 90 minutes.

Pitched Wyeast 1056 at 64°F and gradually ramped 68°F near the end of fermentation.

OG=1.053
FG=1.011

Mine came out really good I think, but it was definitely more bitter. The appearance was spot on.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Color looks spot on; of all the iterations - this is your favorite?

Hard to say, but maybe. I think the Crystal 40 change will stay. I am never quite sure what 60 min hops add to the flavor, but the bitterness level is good. I see SN says they don't dry hop...2 oz at flame out vs my 1 oz flame out and 1 oz dry hop. I like the touch of aroma from the dry hop.

Lots of the recipes in this thread look good. This is a solid beer that I really enjoy drinking and people that "don't like beer" go back for a second glass. It is hard to beat a freshly brewed, crisp, lightly hopped, 5% ABV Pale Ale on tap.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

So I did a side by side of my beer with SNPA (a 6 pack I got at the local 7-11 that was packaged 12/18/2018). SNPA is still just a tiny bit more clear than mine but SNPA was also just a tiny bit lighter than mine. I have 10% Crystal 40, the Sierra Nevada site says 8% Caramel (which can be different than Crystal).

I am curious about the SNPA water profile. I have been learning about water chemistry and playing around with dosing beers with Gypsum and Calcium Chloride. My beer was brewed with tap water with no salt additions. I got maybe a touch more "crystal sweetness" from SNPA (it could be their base malt), but the biggest difference I think comes from water profile. SNPA has a bit of a slick/smoothness that mine does not have, but SNPA also has a touch of a "minerally" aroma and taste (not too bad to be objectionable). I tried doctoring my beer with some Gypsum first then Calcium Chloride. The Calcium Chloride addition moved it closer to SNPA, but still not the exact same feel. Hmmmmm. I tried a second glass with a little Salt (Sodium Chloride...from ground sea salt) which might be part of the mix...but I did not want to open another SNPA to experiment more.

My beer recipe actually started from a Deschutes Mirror Pond clone recipe, but that beer is close to SNPA.

Edit: With 5 minutes of searching I did not get any good hits on the SNPA water profile. It could be the acidity/bicarbonates in my water. In some batches since brewing the pale ale I have checked my pH and I suspect for that beer it was in the 5.7 pH range during the mash...though I do not really understand what pH does to a beer. I have measured the pH of the finished beer and it is 4.3, which I think is in a decent range.

 

[yourlastchance89]

So I did a side by side of my beer with SNPA (a 6 pack I got at the local 7-11 that was packaged 12/18/2018). SNPA is still just a tiny bit more clear than mine but SNPA was also just a tiny bit lighter than mine. I have 10% Crystal 40, the Sierra Nevada site says 8% Caramel (which can be different than Crystal).

I am curious about the SNPA water profile. I have been learning about water chemistry and playing around with dosing beers with Gypsum and Calcium Chloride. My beer was brewed with tap water with no salt additions. I got maybe a touch more "crystal sweetness" from SNPA (it could be their base malt), but the biggest difference I think comes from water profile. SNPA has a bit of a slick/smoothness that mine does not have, but SNPA also has a touch of a "minerally" aroma and taste (not too bad to be objectionable). I tried doctoring my beer with some Gypsum first then Calcium Chloride. The Calcium Chloride addition moved it closer to SNPA, but still not the exact same feel. Hmmmmm. I tried a second glass with a little Salt (Sodium Chloride...from ground sea salt) which might be part of the mix...but I did not want to open another SNPA to experiment more.

My beer recipe actually started from a Deschutes Mirror Pond clone recipe, but that beer is close to SNPA.

Edit: With 5 minutes of searching I did not get any good hits on the SNPA water profile. It could be the acidity/bicarbonates in my water. In some batches since brewing the pale ale I have checked my pH and I suspect for that beer it was in the 5.7 pH range during the mash...though I do not really understand what pH does to a beer. I have measured the pH of the finished beer and it is 4.3, which I think is in a decent range.

PH in the mash is to promote enzyme activity with 5.2-5.7 being the recommended range. Below 5.2 and sourish characteristics can develop, above 5.7 and tannins will start to be extracted. Beer typically averages around 4 pH but that can fluctuate based on the style. Most pH checks once yeast are pitched are for QA to monitor yeast health and monitor infections.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

PH in the mash is to promote enzyme activity with 5.2-5.7 being the recommended range. Below 5.2 and sourish characteristics can develop, above 5.7 and tannins will start to be extracted. Beer typically averages around 4 pH but that can fluctuate based on the style. Most pH checks once yeast are pitched are for QA to monitor yeast health and monitor infections.

Palmer says:

Pale beers seem to taste better with a lower pH, between 4.0 and 4.4. A lower beer pH makes the malt character in pale beers taste brighter and the hop character more refined. As the beer pH approaches 4.0, the character becomes sharp and crisp, as it approaches 4.4 it becomes softer.​

I have never done any trials to know the difference myself, but I am curious. Maybe next time I crack open a SNPA I will have to get out my (newly acquired) pH meter. I suspect for me to hit the SNPA water profile I would have had to add Gypsum and Calcium Chloride...maybe some Salt/Sodium...and I probably need to lower my mash pH 0.2 to 0.4 points.

 

[Bigdaddyale]

https://www.calwater.com/waterquality/water-quality-reports/#

 

[Gravity]

Palmer says:

Pale beers seem to taste better with a lower pH, between 4.0 and 4.4. A lower beer pH makes the malt character in pale beers taste brighter and the hop character more refined. As the beer pH approaches 4.0, the character becomes sharp and crisp, as it approaches 4.4 it becomes softer.​

I have never done any trials to know the difference myself, but I am curious. Maybe next time I crack open a SNPA I will have to get out my (newly acquired) pH meter. I suspect for me to hit the SNPA water profile I would have had to add Gypsum and Calcium Chloride...maybe some Salt/Sodium...and I probably need to lower my mash pH 0.2 to 0.4 points.

I've never messed with water profiles, however, some brewers swear by how the water additions changes the whole beer - maybe i'll give it a go as well

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I am just getting into water chemistry myself. I don't think water profile/additions are needed to make a very good pale ale, but they might be needed to make a true clone of SNPA. In a semi-blind taste test it was the "slickness" of the SNPA that stood out the most...but I am not exactly sure where that comes from.

 

[bierhaus15]

Here's some SNPA info, if looking to emulate their water chem; mash and kettle addition targets are around 100 ppm Ca, 175-240 ppm S04, 40 ppm Cl. Mash pH 5.30. Base brewing water is around 40 ALK, acidified to 5.35 pH, -6 RA. They only use CaCl2 and CaS04.

I've used this info in the past to brew SNPA clones and it's spot on.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

This is an interesting thread given that I just brewed the Resilience kit. It, like the recipes here, call for a fair amount of medium crystal (40-60L). I did not like the resilience cans I bought and don't enjoy SNPA the way I used to, so I altered my kit to drop the IBUs by moving the hop additions to late boil and WP. I also upped the DH additions too.


I still don't care for the beer and I think the crystal is the reason. To me it has a noticable roasty aspect that detracts from the beer (IMO of course).

I may try one of these recipes but either drop the crystal completely or use 10L.

 

[CentralCoastBrewer]

Hey folks. Just thought I would pop in. If you want to be authentic, SNPA is NOT dry hopped. It is all flameout. I have a bit of knowledge on the issue.....

CentralCoastBrewer

 

[CentralCoastBrewer]

A friend tipped me to this thread. I'll go through it and help where I can.....

CentralCoastBrewer

 

[CentralCoastBrewer]

Here's some SNPA info, if looking to emulate their water chem; mash and kettle addition targets are around 100 ppm Ca, 175-240 ppm S04, 40 ppm Cl. Mash pH 5.30. Base brewing water is around 40 ALK, acidified to 5.35 pH, -6 RA. They only use CaCl2 and CaS04.

I've used this info in the past to brew SNPA clones and it's spot on.

That is pretty close. I would up the Ca a bit, I can't say how much.

CentralCoastBrewer

 

[Gravity]

That is pretty close. I would up the Ca a bit, I can't say how much.

CentralCoastBrewer

what a tease - spill the beans..haha...in this case spill the Ca
What about the rest of the recipes new vs old how close are they?

 

[CentralCoastBrewer]

NDA says I can't be specific. Sorry.

I'll finish going through the thread today.

CentralCoastBrewer

 

[CascadesBrewer]

A friend tipped me to this thread. I'll go through it and help where I can.....

Does SN do 90 minute boils for their commercial beers? That is what they have in all their homebrew versions. Do you know what the impact would be for use homebrewers that mostly do 60 minute boils for a SNPA clone?

I assume the recipe listed on the SN website for SNPA is fairly accurate. Yeah, it has 2 oz at flameout and zero dry hops. I have found that with my fairly slow and inconsistent chilling process, that I get inconsistent results from flameout hops (esp for aroma). Do you know how fast a beer like SNPA is chilled after the flameout hops are added?

 

[CentralCoastBrewer]

It takes roughly 10-15 minutes for the kettle to completely drain through the heat exchanger into whirlpool. Remember also that SNPA is all whole cone hops.

Specific boil times are proprietary, I would go with the website.

Full disclosure: I do not brew for SNBCo anymore, I was a production brewer there for almost 3 years. I was with the company for 8.

CCBrewer

 

[Gravity]

It takes roughly 10-15 minutes for the kettle to completely drain through the heat exchanger into whirlpool. Remember also that SNPA is all whole cone hops.

Specific boil times are proprietary, I would go with the website.

Full disclosure: I do not brew for SNBCo anymore, I was a production brewer there for almost 3 years. I was with the company for 8.

CCBrewer

All good - keep dropping knowledge

 

[Leapsandbounds]

My beer isn’t nearly as clear but the color appears to be similar. I think the taste is close but I’m going to try a triangle test later to confirm. My clone is on the right.

 

[Leapsandbounds]

Alright, I did a triangle test and the difference is apparent. Firstly, I dry hopped and the difference in Hop aroma instantly gave it away. Secondly, my beer is noticeably more bitter. All-in-all they are pretty different.

 

[rtstrider]

Here to resurrect an old-ish thread. This is my next brew so I'm doing some research. I've already built out the recipe and put in the grain order. Here's what I've come up with

Boil Time: 90 min
Batch Size: 5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 6 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.045
Efficiency: 70% (brew house)
STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.054
Final Gravity: 1.012
ABV (standard): 5.63%
IBU (tinseth): 37.87
SRM (morey): 9.76

FERMENTABLES:
9.6 lb - Pale 2-Row (90.6%)
1 lb - Caramel / Crystal 60L (9.4%)
HOPS:
0.4 oz - Cascade, Type: Pellet, AA: 7, Use: Boil for 90 min, IBU: 11.86
0.4 oz - Cascade, Type: Pellet, AA: 7, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 11.09
0.7 oz - Cascade, Type: Pellet, AA: 7, Use: Boil for 30 min, IBU: 14.92
2.5 oz - Cascade, Type: Pellet, AA: 7, Use: Boil for 0 min
MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Temperature, Temp: 150 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 5 gal
YEAST:
White Labs - California Ale Yeast WLP001

Now the reason the mash temp was brought down to 150F, from 155F as stated on the site, is to get close to the actual plato/gravity numbers on the SN site. Per their site the og should be 13.1 plato (1.053) and fg should be 2.8 plato (1.011). Now the other thing I looked at along side the gravity's were the calories per 12 oz serving. Per the SN site theirs is 175 and my clone is 177 so it's pretty darn close calorie wise. I looked through the thread and the recipe on the site. It looks like there are additions at 90, 60, 30, and flameout with NO dry hop. With that information I figured it'd be good to load up on the flameout addition with 2.5 oz Cascade plus whatever Cascade is left in my deep freezer (somewhere in the .1 oz to .25 oz range). Figure this would be good with a pitch of wlp001 fermented around 64F. Now for the water additions I'm not too sure of as I just fly by the seat of my pants on brew day via the brewers friend water calc lol. Anywho mind taking a look at what I've got (especially CentralCoastBrewer) and seeing what you think? I only have 4.25 oz of Cascade hops so I can only use that much tops.

 

[Broothru]

It looks really good and is about as close as you can get to the original. I've done a recipe almost identical to yours and it came out great. SNPA may be a little long in the tooth for today's young NEIPA whippersnappers, but it's one of the most solid recipes and has surely stood the test of time.

The last time I brewed this clone I subbed the 90 min. bittering with Perle (which has Cascade as the 'mother') and used cryo cascade for the hop stand. Also subbed 40L for the 60L since I wanted it a little paler. Came out very good.

That said, your recipe looks spot on with the 150F mash. Should make a really close match with the original.

Brooo Brother

 

[rtstrider]

Just finished up this brew day. Played with using fwh instead of a 90 minute addition. Also ended up using 2.7 oz of Cascade at flameout since I had some leftover from a previous brew. Here's to hoping his turns out good!

 

[Broothru]

Go 'Noles!!!!

Thinkin' like I ought to put this brew in the "on deck" position in the lineup. Sure is a good one to have for the tailgate at Doak Campbell Stadium on a sunny autumn afternoon, if only Taggert can pull off a good season after the disaster Jimbo left him.

Let me know how it comes out, though I'm sure it'll be great.

Brooo Brother

 

[brewbama]

I’ve been brewing a series of Pale Ales over the Summer using Magnum as the bittering charge at 60 and a different single variety at 30 and 10. I use base malt to get my OG (lately it’s been Full Pint Brewer’s Malt) and half a pound of Simpson’s Med Crystal. I’ve been getting consistent results and finding the different character hops to be an eye opener. I may try a flame out addition just to enhance the character a bit more.

 

[rtstrider]

Go 'Noles!!!!

Thinkin' like I ought to put this brew in the "on deck" position in the lineup. Sure is a good one to have for the tailgate at Doak Campbell Stadium on a sunny autumn afternoon, if only Taggert can pull off a good season after the disaster Jimbo left him.

Let me know how it comes out, though I'm sure it'll be great.

Brooo Brother

Go Noles! Yeah I have a feeling this is going to be an 7-8 win at best season. Anywho got a few more brews lined up after this! The hardest part is the wait

 

[rtstrider]

Just sampled and have to say.....NAILED IT! Now I did build up a water profile with ro water nailing the John Palmer recommended RA and such. I can post that if y'all want but 7 days in this puppy is cold crashing. Ended up getting down to 1.010 fg. Yeast is done cleaning up so down to 30f it goes till Friday (bottling day)