American Pale Ale Three Floyds Zombie Dust Clone

[NervousDad]

I made a batch of this clone and I don't know what to think yet... Still needs to carb up, but right now it has the strongest fruity flavor I've ever tasted. I'm not sure if it's grapefruit (i'd make a terrible BJCP), but it is over powering. Very interesting, but not sure it's in a good way. (I used these years hops fresh from my LHBS) I'm pretty sure the flavor is coming from the hops. I fermented fairly cool at 65° and ramped up to 70° over 10 days.

 

[hoppheadIPA]

Brewed this yesterday and I must say, I had the worst brew day ever. My mash temps were high according to my mash tun thermometer, but too low according to another one. I just took the difference and went with that. Then I had a stuck sparge during my first runnings and again during the batch sparge lauter. Tons of all grain batches and this was a first for me. Maybe raise my mash out temps, as I only hit 166. Boil went well until my refractometer kept giving me inconsistent readings at the end. I now know I need to give it a good stir before pulling a sample. Lastly, my boil screen clogged so I had almost a gallon left at the bottom of the kettle I had to dump.... Time for a hop spider build!! Fermentation is going great though!!!!! Chugging away after 12 hours at 64 degrees. Upped my FWH addition to almost an once. Will let you know how it turned out. Looks like a great recipe, and I hooe I get close to the real thing

 

[BricksNBeer]

I also upped my FWH to an ounce. It came out awesome, in fact, I'm almost out and need to make again! I love the higher IBU brews, and this one hit the spot with the higher FWH.

 

[Nagorg]

I made a batch of this clone and I don't know what to think yet... Still needs to carb up, but right now it has the strongest fruity flavor I've ever tasted. I'm not sure if it's grapefruit (i'd make a terrible BJCP), but it is over powering. Very interesting, but not sure it's in a good way. (I used these years hops fresh from my LHBS) I'm pretty sure the flavor is coming from the hops. I fermented fairly cool at 65° and ramped up to 70° over 10 days.

How soon are you drinking it after fermentation? I've found that this brew needs to condition a few weeks. I typically don't start drinking mine until ~6-7 weeks past brew day and it's delicious! I did start drinking one batch "early" at ~4 weeks past brew day and thought it tasted like OJ. I waited another ~3 weeks and the strong OJ character had faded back into the delicious brew this is!

 

[NervousDad]

How soon are you drinking it after fermentation? I've found that this brew needs to condition a few weeks. I typically don't start drinking mine until ~6-7 weeks past brew day and it's delicious! I did start drinking one batch "early" at ~4 weeks past brew day and thought it tasted like OJ. I waited another ~3 weeks and the strong OJ character had faded back into the delicious brew this is!

It's about 3 weeks old. Now that it's fully carbed and I fined it with gelatin, it it delicious. The 2014 Citra crop is really great. 2013 was terrible for me.

 

[TxBigHops]

How soon are you drinking it after fermentation? I've found that this brew needs to condition a few weeks. I typically don't start drinking mine until ~6-7 weeks past brew day and it's delicious! I did start drinking one batch "early" at ~4 weeks past brew day and thought it tasted like OJ. I waited another ~3 weeks and the strong OJ character had faded back into the delicious brew this is!

It's about 3 weeks old. Now that it's fully carbed and I fined it with gelatin, it it delicious. The 2014 Citra crop is really great. 2013 was terrible for me.

Thanks for the recommendations. Mines 8 days in the bottle, and it's about now I'm thinking of popping one in the fridge to give it a try. I think I'll give this one a full two weeks, plus two days in the fridge, based on your experiences. No sense in wasting one, and I have plenty of other goodies to drink.

Any recommendations for other single hop - Citra brews available in Texas, for comparison? I have some Nebraska IPA which features Citra, but does have a few other hops in there. Just looking for anything to compare this to, since I can't get the real thing. Or hardly any other recommendations for single hop Citra beers. Seems like they make them everywhere BUT Texas!

 

[maximus4444]

Disclaimer* - This will be my first brew. I understand that some of these questions may be dumb. But I have to ask them because I don't know.*

Alright, so I've been reading this post the past couple of days and I haven't even gotten half-way yet. I'm done reading this novel of a post. So I just need to ask a couple of questions. I'm going to be doing an extract version with a full-volume boil.

1. Regarding steeping the grains; How much water should I be steeping the grains in? Back in post #269, Timmush talks about only using 1 gallon of water with steeping the grains. Do I steep with 1 gallon, then add that to a kettle containing the rest of my water?

2. DME. There's 6 lbs. I'm having a hard time determining when I should be adding it into the boiling water. A 6 lbs. at the beginning of the boil? 2 at the beginning and 4 at 15 minutes? What would you guys recommend?

Thanks,
maX

 

[maximus4444]

Also, nice to be here.
Cheers.

 

[Tbattisti]

Kind of a long thread here, but is everyone still following the recipe on page 1? I've done the extract version on page 1 3 times now, but I'm going to do the all grain version this friday. Just wondering if anyone has varied from the original recipe with any success. Thanks!

 

[maximus4444]

Disclaimer* - This will be my first brew. I understand that some of these questions may be dumb. But I have to ask them because I don't know.*

Alright, so I've been reading this post the past couple of days and I haven't even gotten half-way yet. I'm done reading this novel of a post. So I just need to ask a couple of questions. I'm going to be doing an extract version with a full-volume boil.

1. Regarding steeping the grains; How much water should I be steeping the grains in? Back in post #269, Timmush talks about only using 1 gallon of water with steeping the grains. Do I steep with 1 gallon, then add that to a kettle containing the rest of my water?

2. DME. There's 6 lbs. I'm having a hard time determining when I should be adding it into the boiling water. A 6 lbs. at the beginning of the boil? 2 at the beginning and 4 at 15 minutes? What would you guys recommend?

Thanks,
maX

Forgot one more question, if I'm doing the extract version, how much priming sugar should I be using for the bottling?

 

[Nagorg]

Forgot one more question, if I'm doing the extract version, how much priming sugar should I be using for the bottling?

Extract or All Grain makes no difference for how much priming sugar to use. You are going for the volumes of CO2 and this is as much preference as a style guideline.

I like my beer well carbonated and I'd suggest you use 5.2 Oz of table sugar per 5 gallon batch.

 

[Tbattisti]

Use a priming sugar calculator.

 

[rbdono2]

Never dump a beer, IMO. I had a batch of winter warmer that got away from me tempwise and it definitely had some fusels in there. I let it sit in the primary for 3.5 weeks. Harsh tastes were gone. Time heals, or at least mitigates, nearly all wound except infections. Even If I got an infection, I would pitch some extra bugs on it and let it go. There is just no reason to ever dump a beer.

I decided to hang on to it and give it a taste, and what do ya know! It tasted great. I had racked it over to bottle and decided to dry hop it after the fact. So I am dry hopping in my bottling bucket, which is risky I know, but I sanitized the heck out of it.

On a side note, I went ahead and re-brewed using wyeast this time. I hope to do a little side by side comparison with the two yeasts. This time, I am keeping a very close eye on the temp. So far its a little low, 60 degrees. Trying to bump it up, but its bubbling good.

 

[Mexibilly]

let us know how this turns out. i've only had Zombie Dust at Dark Lord Day last year. they released it in 6 packs but they seem to only barely meet demand at the brewpub and never make their way down to the Indianapolis area. i've been wanting my wife to try it because i described it as tasting like alcoholic tropical punch but what little kegs this city gets are dry by the time we get there. frustrating as hell

Muncie, specifically Friendly Package on Jackson and Muncie Liquors on Wheeling, always have a great selection and always seem to get zombie dust and permanent funeral etc when they're around.

 

[Steve3730]

Just ordered ingredients to make my 4th batch of this recipe. ontop of the dry hops in the secondary I was considering 2 more ounces of fresh hops added to the keg. over kill?

 

[gotbags-10]

You can't really overdo citra in this recipe. I've made it 5 times and each times I keep adding more. My biggest benefit has been a 3 oz whirlpool addition at 165 degrees. Took this beer to the next level. Keg additions are nice but whirlpool additions give you flavor and aroma

 

[copper2hopper]

My buddy and I have brewed this six times making changes to the hop additions here and there since we feel like this one is "just missing something ya know?" I think we're doing our next run at this with Simcoe mixed in. Anyone try this yet and how did it turn out?

 

[Nagorg]

My buddy and I have brewed this six times making changes to the hop additions here and there since we feel like this one is "just missing something ya know?" I think we're doing our next run at this with Simcoe mixed in. Anyone try this yet and how did it turn out?

As delicious as this beer is, I agree that is seems to be missing something. I think it could use some bittering personally especially with a recipe listed in the IPA category.

Three Floyds actually considers Zombie Dust to be a Pale Ale and I do think this existing recipe tastes more like that than an IPA. I'm just looking for the right bittering hop to add and I think I'll try Bravo next.

 

[TallDan]

As delicious as this beer is, I agree that is seems to be missing something. I think it could use some bittering personally especially with a recipe listed in the IPA category.

Three Floyds actually considers Zombie Dust to be a Pale Ale and I do think this existing recipe tastes more like that than an IPA. I'm just looking for the right bittering hop to add and I think I'll try Bravo next.

I consider it an IPA that drinks like an APA. The hop aroma and actual bitterness is solidly outside of the range for an APA. I think you would score much better in a homebrew competition if you enter it as an American IPA than if you enter it as an APA.

In FFF's case, I think this is a good marketing move, as it doesn't fit in with their other IPAs which are much more bitter. People who are expecting an IPA to be 100IBU will be let down by it. Also, people who avoid the 100IBU hop bombs will find that they like Zombie Dust.

 

[Nagorg]

I consider it an IPA that drinks like an APA. The hop aroma and actual bitterness is solidly outside of the range for an APA. I think you would score much better in a homebrew competition if you enter it as an American IPA than if you enter it as an APA.

In FFF's case, I think this is a good marketing move, as it doesn't fit in with their other IPAs which are much more bitter. People who are expecting an IPA to be 100IBU will be let down by it. Also, people who avoid the 100IBU hop bombs will find that they like Zombie Dust.

It is a hard brew to place squarely in a BJCP category for sure. But from a "clone" perspective it seems that this recipe should be categorized as a Pale Ale given that's what FFF considers it to be. That said, as an IPA (where this recipe is found on this forum) there is an expectation of more bitterness than what I've found this recipe to deliver.

And FWIW, I'm the one that thinks this missing component is bitterness. I've no clue what copper2hopper thinks but I'm guessing the Simcoe reference suggests bitterness too.

Regardless, this recipe produces a delicious brew no doubt. We are just discussing possible modifications that could deliver what we perceive to be "missing". Basically discussing what would be a different "recipe" altogether...

 

[TimmyWit]

This is a great recipe! I have brewed it twice now. The first time I followed it exact. The second time I was looking for something fun to do with Mosaic so I used this malt bill along with 1056. Both beers came out great. Next time I think I might try 50/50 Citra and Mosaic.

 

[Steve3730]

This is a great recipe! I have brewed it twice now. The first time I followed it exact. The second time I was looking for something fun to do with Mosaic so I used this malt bill along with 1056. Both beers came out great. Next time I think I might try 50/50 Citra and Mosaic.

I was thinking about trying a Mosaic or citra mosaic blend too. What flavors do you get from the mosaic one compared to citra?

 

[Nagorg]

I was thinking about trying a Mosaic or citra mosaic blend too. What flavors do you get from the mosaic one compared to citra?

I've done a 50/50 Citra/Mosaic blend; actually have it on tap now. It is good but I think the Mosaic subdues the big Mango notes a bit more than expected. I can say that I had more compliments on the original all Citra recipe from family and friends.

Don't let my comments keep you from trying it yourself; you may have different opinions. I just didn't find that blending these two hops did anything to improve the recipe. However, using this blend with the right bittering hop could result in a another tasty brew!

 

[Steve3730]

I've done a 50/50 Citra/Mosaic blend; actually have it on tap now. It is good but I think the Mosaic subdues the big Mango notes a bit more than expected. I can say that I had more compliments on the original all Citra recipe from family and friends.

Don't let my comments keep you from trying it yourself; you may have different opinions. I just didn't find that blending these two hops did anything to improve the recipe. However, using this blend with the right bittering hop could result in a another tasty brew!

How did you mix the hop bill? I'm thinking of using Mosaic towards the beginning as the bittering hop and maybe push the recipe into a DIPA

 

[TimmyWit]

I was thinking about trying a Mosaic or citra mosaic blend too. What flavors do you get from the mosaic one compared to citra?

With the Mosaic, I got a lot of pine. I have read descriptions that it is similar to Citra but I didn't get that at all. It was actually too pungent at first and I had to give it a few weeks to mellow out whereas the Citra is awesome fresh.

 

[TimmyWit]

I've done a 50/50 Citra/Mosaic blend; actually have it on tap now. It is good but I think the Mosaic subdues the big Mango notes a bit more than expected. I can say that I had more compliments on the original all Citra recipe from family and friends.

Don't let my comments keep you from trying it yourself; you may have different opinions. I just didn't find that blending these two hops did anything to improve the recipe. However, using this blend with the right bittering hop could result in a another tasty brew!

I was going to do the 50/50 split and then take it from there but your tasting notes have pushed me to the next step . I definitely don't want to mute the Citra. I'm thinking I'll FWH with Columbus and do an 80/20 split in favor of Citra for the rest of it.

 

[TexasWine]

I was thinking about trying a Mosaic or citra mosaic blend too. What flavors do you get from the mosaic one compared to citra?

If you can get your hands on a Yellow Rose by Lone Pint, you'll know exactly the flavors Mosaic imparts. It's a SMASH with pilsner and Mosaic. And it's super delicious. Lot's of grapefruit in my opinion.

 

[Nagorg]

If you can get your hands on a Yellow Rose by Lone Pint, you'll know exactly the flavors Mosaic imparts. It's a SMASH with pilsner and Mosaic. And it's super delicious. Lot's of grapefruit in my opinion.

Funny, I was just sitting at the bar in Whole foods when I read this post. I looked up and saw that beer on tap so I tried it. It is very reminiscent of this FFF recipe but with more grapefruit character as you noted.

So, imagine a mango/grapefruit flavor and that's about what you get with a citra/mosaic blend.

 

[jammin]

Had this on draft for a month now - keg will probably blow soon

 

[copper2hopper]

Lol. I just look at that picture and think to myself...."merica". Looks good though man!