Ska Modus Hoperandi

[jgourd]

[...] and yeast (Dry English Ale Yeast) which is what Ska uses [...]

I didn't know that! I'll have to try that yeast for the next batch. Something like White Labs WLP007 would work I think.

 

[Steelers77]

If we could get a consensus I will put something together for a nice price.

 

[jgourd]

I'm brewing this weekend and will make it a point to also sample my version side-by-side with the Modus Hoperandi (I obtained a 6-pack last weekend). I'll let you know what I think about the hop schedule.

 

[Steelers77]

Just received this from Ska:

OG.1.067
FG.1.015
68-70 IBU
Pretty much 7% abv. On the can it says 6.8% but above are our targets any time we brew it.
Malt Bill:
88% 2 row
7% Caramel 120
5% Red Wheat Malt

Because we are at close to 7000 feet elevation, we have to boil for 90 minutes to get the kind of evaporation we need, but anyway...
Hop Bill:
90 minute hop Centennial
30 minute cascade 2/3 and centennial 1/3
5 minute Columbus and cascades 50-50
0 minute Columbus 1/3 and cascade 2/3

Use a good English yeast strain. Right at the very end of fermentation dry hop with a combo of Cascades and Columbus. It's a surprising amount of dry hops, is the best I can tell you about dry hopping this beer.

Let the dry hops sit warm for a few days in the ferm, until fermentation is complete, and then just to make sure wait another day.

River: It's not that I didn't believe you I was jsut seeing if I could get any additional info.

 

[riverfrontbrewer]

The dry hops are 2x the 5 minute additions. Did I post my hop sched for this yet?

 

[jgourd]

Just received this from Ska:

OG.1.067
FG.1.015
68-70 IBU
Pretty much 7% abv. On the can it says 6.8% but above are our targets any time we brew it.
Malt Bill:
88% 2 row
7% Caramel 120
5% Red Wheat Malt

Because we are at close to 7000 feet elevation, we have to boil for 90 minutes to get the kind of evaporation we need, but anyway...
Hop Bill:
90 minute hop Centennial
30 minute cascade 2/3 and centennial 1/3
5 minute Columbus and cascades 50-50
0 minute Columbus 1/3 and cascade 2/3

Use a good English yeast strain. Right at the very end of fermentation dry hop with a combo of Cascades and Columbus. It's a surprising amount of dry hops, is the best I can tell you about dry hopping this beer.

Let the dry hops sit warm for a few days in the ferm, until fermentation is complete, and then just to make sure wait another day.

River: It's not that I didn't believe you I was jsut seeing if I could get any additional info.

Here's the recipe I'm making for this one this weekend. I'm adding Amarillo dry hops because I need to get rid of them and also using California Ale yeast (WLP001) because I have it ready to go. But the hop schedule I'm using is pretty close to the input from Ska. Same with the malt bill but I use Crystal 60 instead of 120.

Batch Size: 11.00 gal (14.60 gal preboil)
Estimated OG: 1.068 SG
Estimated FG: 1.016 SG
Estimated IBUs: 66 (Tinseth)
Estimated Color: 9 SRM
Brewhouse Efficiency: 73%
Boil Time: 90 minutes

Grains:
24.75# Pale Malt (2-Row) US (87.61%)
1.75# Caramel/Crystal 60L (6.19%)
1.75# Red Wheat (6.19%)

Hops:
2.25 oz Centennial (9.1%) @90 min
2.25 oz Cascade (5.4%) @30 min
1.50 oz Centennial (9.1%) @30 min
2.00 oz Cascade (5.4%) @5 min
2.00 oz Columbus (13.2%) @5 min
4.00 oz Cascade (5.4%) @0 min
2.00 oz Columbus (13.2%) @0 min
8.00 oz Cascade (5.4%) (dry hop)
3.00 oz Columbus (13.2%) (dry hop)
1.25 oz Amarillo (8.6%) (dry hop)
0.13 oz Amarillo (7.5%) (dry hop)

Yeast:
White Labs WLP001 (California Ale)

Mash/Sparge Schedule:
Single Infusion, 152F; Batch Sparge

 

[riverfrontbrewer]

Good recipe J, you are going to be close, but a bit hoppier nose (not a bad thing!) I do think a Cali Ale/American Ale yeast would be a decent sub for the DEA yeast. FYI, I was advised by the brewers to dry hop on day 5 or 6.

Good Luck!

 

[jgourd]

So I decided to do my side-by-side of the Modus and my first version (recipe posted elsewhere in this thread). Here's a pic of the Modus in the middle of two of my clones:

Sorry about the crappy pic, but all I had was my cell phone's camera handy.

OK. Color is pretty close. Mine is obviously not filtered and seems a bit darker, but it's actually about the same. That's why I'm a bit confused at their use of Crystal 120. I used Crystal 60 at their recommended percentages and got the right SRMs.

Now aroma. It is dead on. And by dead on I mean I can't notice any difference at all. But if I had to be really really really picky, after sniffing for several minutes at intervals, I might have noticed that the Modus seems fresher (i.e. probably used fresher hops). And that makes sense since I can't pick the best hops like they can.

In terms of bitterness, my clone is a bit more bitter--by maybe 10 to 15 IBUs if I had to estimate it. Next time I might reduce that. But again, that has a lot to do with my extraction efficiency. And I also recall that I had my clone at 80 IBUs instead of Ska's 65. So that makes sense. My next batch will be at 65 IBUs.

Flavor is very close. Maltiness is the same and residual sweetness (almost none as it's a dry beer) is the same. The difference (although slight) is in hop flavor. I don't think it has anything to do with hop varieties or amounts more so than the freshness of the hops. I think if I had the same hops Ska used, it would be the same.

So basically, if I were to drink a Ska, take a break, then drink my clone, I would not really notice any difference at all. But doing a side-by-side, we get picky and notice smaller differences. Overall, I think it's cloned and I'll make some minor changes to reduce the IBUs (and maybe for fun) for this weekend's batch. Plus, it's kind of late to make changes now that I have all the ingredients.

 

[riverfrontbrewer]

Hey Steelers77-

You still going to put this pack together? I'd be in for one.

 

[Steelers77]

Yeah, lets nail down the hop schedule and I will put it out. There is some difference of opinion on the dry hopping.

 

[jgourd]

Yeah, lets nail down the hop schedule and I will put it out. There is some difference of opinion on the dry hopping.

+1 on the dry hopping opinions. I will dry hop mine later once fermentation is almost complete. I'll let you know what I go with. And then I'll taste a few weeks afterward once it's carbed in the keg.

 

[Steelers77]

Fellas,

I went back to the source and he told me this for the dry hop.

"I’m thinking it is a bit more than the Pliny but not much I would go with 2 oz of each…4 oz total. I answered the next question in the previous sentence, but yes equal amounts.
Cheers, Bill"

So let’s finalize this bad boy.

 

[Steelers77]

Proposed hop bill:

90 min 2.5oz centennial 6%
30 min 1.75 oz cascade 5%
30 min 1.0 oz centennial 6%
5 min 1.25 cascade
5 min 1.25 columbus
0 min 2.0 oz cascade
0 min 1.0 columbus
DH 2 oz cascade
2 oz columbus.

Can someone do the calculation using this schedule.

 

[steinsato]

Steelers77, I am very interested in a hops pack for this. Once we get the recipe nailed down that is.

 

[jgourd]

Proposed hop bill:

90 min 2.5oz centennial 6%
30 min 1.75 oz cascade 5%
30 min 1.0 oz centennial 6%
5 min 1.25 cascade
5 min 1.25 columbus
0 min 2.0 oz cascade
0 min 1.0 columbus
DH 2 oz cascade
2 oz columbus.

Can someone do the calculation using this schedule.

Well, depends on the AA% for Columbus. Mine are 13%. With that calculation, a 5.5 gal batch size, and the malt bill discussed earlier, we're talking 85 IBUs. I made my last one at about 80 and it was too bitter. You really need 65 IBUs for this one. Also, I dry hop Pliny with 4 oz., so I figure 5 oz. is nice for this one. So I recommend:

1.25 oz Centennial (6.0%) @90 min
2.00 oz Cascade (5.0%) @30 min
1.00 oz Centennial (6.0%) @30 min
1.25 oz Cascade (5.0%) @5 min
1.25 oz Columbus (13.0%) @5 min
2.00 oz Cascade (5.0%) @0 min
1.00 oz Columbus (13.0%) @0 min
3.00 oz Cascade (5.0%) (dry hop)
2.00 oz Columbus (13.0%) (dry hop)

...for a total of 66 IBUs.

 

[Steelers77]

Columbus is 14.2%, puts us right around the 68 IBU mark (I think). Ska says it should be between 68-70 IBU.

 

[jgourd]

Columbus is 14.2%, puts us right around the 68 IBU mark (I think). Ska says it should be between 68-70 IBU.

67 IBUs.

 

[jgourd]

Weird. I can't type in CAPS anymore?

I guess I can...

 

[Steelers77]

Getting close!

I'm game to go with this but is everyone else? I think we have done enough research, spoke to the company, and discussed it among ourselves.

Maybe split the dryhop addition 2.5oz each. He said were equal amounts of each hop were used for dry hopping.

 

[jgourd]

Getting close!

I'm game to go with this but is everyone else? I think we have done enough research, spoke to the company, and discussed it among ourselves.

Maybe split the dryhop addition 2.5oz each. He said were equal amounts of each hop were used for dry hopping.

I'd brew with that hop schedule! I think it will be very close and not really discernible unless you do a side-by-side.

 

[Steelers77]

I'm thinking around $8.99 for this hop pack, hows that sound?

 

[jgourd]

I'm thinking around $8.99 for this hop pack, hows that sound?

We're talking 14.75 oz. (almost 1lb) for about $9. Not bad!

 

[riverfrontbrewer]

I'll buy one as well...!

 

[steinsato]

I will order a couple packs of these as soon as I see them on your website Thanks a lot Steelers77

 

[jgourd]

Interestingly, I decided to use this hop schedule for a Black IPA (or Cascadian Dark Ale or India Brown Ale or whatever) that I brewed yesterday. We'll see!

 

[ScubaSteve]

Interestingly, I decided to use this hop schedule for a Black IPA (or Cascadian Dark Ale or India Brown Ale or whatever) that I brewed yesterday. We'll see!

So how'd it turn out?

 

[jgourd]

So how'd it turn out?

Awesome. I brewed it again but with a bit more of the dehusked black (carafa special) malt. Same hop schedule. Won second place at a local competition. Those kegs are floated quickly...

 

[djtoast]

Here is my partial mash version of this beer.

Recipe: Mighty Mighty Hopstones IPA
Style: American IPA
TYPE: Partial Mash
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 4.29 gal
Estimated OG: 1.079 SG
Estimated FG: 1.018 SG
Estimated ABV: 8.1%
Estimated Color: 15.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 70.7 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.0 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
7.75 lb Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 63.9 %
3.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 24.7 %
0.75 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 6.2 %
0.63 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 5.2 %
1.50 oz Centennial [9.20%] (90 min) Hops 34.7 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [7.50%] (30 min) Hops 13.5 IBU
0.75 oz Centennial [9.20%] (30 min) Hops 12.5 IBU
1.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00%] (5 min) Hops 6.6 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [7.50%] (5 min) Hops 3.5 IBU
1.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00%] (0 min) Hops -
1.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00%] (Dry Hop 3 dHops -
2.00 oz Cascade [7.50%] (0 min) Hops -
2.75 oz Cascade [7.50%] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 4.38 lb
----------------------------
Mash In:
-Add 7.88 qt of water at 160.7 F
-Step Temp: 151.0 F
-Step Time: 60 min

Mash Out:
-Add 3.50 qt of water at 211.2 F
-Step Temp: 168.0 F
-Step Time: 10 min

 

[garbear]

I'm fairly new to brewing but found it pretty easy to use a spreadsheet and Beersmith to find out the malt and hop bill for this recipe using the listed percentages, OG, and IBUs. However, the big question in this recipe is the dry hop bill. Bill states that it's dry hopped "pretty heavily", and seems to indicate that the dry hopping is a pretty important part of the overall taste of the beer. Anyone have any ideas about the amount of dry hops we might be talking about here?

 

[NervousDad]

2 ounces each Columbus / Cascade per 5 gallons. It doesn't affect taste only aroma.

They use a lot of gypsum to get the hops to really stand out.

'Can you brew it' on the brewing network did this recipe based straight from the brewers of Ska.