American Pale Ale Three Floyds Zombie Dust Clone

[ruascott]

I recently did batch with US 04 and FF hops, rather than citra.

I foolishly rushed kegging at 2 weeks (FG was steady). It's been cold and carbing for a week. I tasted it, now at 3 weeks old, and it's not very good. Sweet, cloudy, kind of harsh/solventy. Couldn't drink more than 1 pint. It's carbed pretty well, maybe 80%.

Obviously needs more conditioning. Should I leave it cold conditioning (40F). Or pull it out of keezer and leave it about 60F for a couple weeks?

Also could do more dry hopping. I have a bunch of Mosaic, Citra and Columbus now on hand.

First time I've used US04. It took off like crazy and fementation temps went higher than expected, even though ambient never above 64. Very fruity/sweet taste right now. FG was 1.010.

Any recommendations?

 

[garynet20]

Maybe this was asked before... Have you guys tried this recipe with hibiscus??
Thanks

 

[TxBigHops]

I recently did batch with US 04 and FF hops, rather than citra.

I foolishly rushed kegging at 2 weeks (FG was steady). It's been cold and carbing for a week. I tasted it, now at 3 weeks old, and it's not very good. Sweet, cloudy, kind of harsh/solventy. Couldn't drink more than 1 pint. It's carbed pretty well, maybe 80%.

Obviously needs more conditioning. Should I leave it cold conditioning (40F). Or pull it out of keezer and leave it about 60F for a couple weeks?

Also could do more dry hopping. I have a bunch of Mosaic, Citra and Columbus now on hand.

First time I've used US04. It took off like crazy and fementation temps went higher than expected, even though ambient never above 64. Very fruity/sweet taste right now. FG was 1.010.

Any recommendations?

Just to be clear, I assume you are referring to S-04, English ale yeast? Or US-05? S-04 is a beast. It typically ferments vigorously and quickly. Did you measure the beer temp during ferment? Because it's English ale yeast, it will generate some fruity esters typical of that style. The higher the temp, the more esters. I love to use it, but I have heard other brewers state that they don't care for it. I try to keep the beer temp in the 62-63 range for the first few days, then let it rise to the 66-68 range to clean up.

 

[ruascott]

Just to be clear, I assume you are referring to S-04, English ale yeast? Or US-05? S-04 is a beast. It typically ferments vigorously and quickly. Did you measure the beer temp during ferment? Because it's English ale yeast, it will generate some fruity esters typical of that style. The higher the temp, the more esters. I love to use it, but I have heard other brewers state that they don't care for it. I try to keep the beer temp in the 62-63 range for the first few days, then let it rise to the 66-68 range to clean up.

Sorry yes S-04. The English ale. I've used 1968 before, but not S-04.

Maybe it's just the flavors of that yeast. I kept the beer at low 60s (~62) ambient. But it did ferment fast and I think got pretty warm (like mid 70s, according to the Fermometer strip).

I kegged it a week earlier than I normally would. It's been cold now for a week. I'm wondering if some warm conditioning would help? Or just leave it cold for a couple weeks to see if it mellows.

 

[brew703]

I brewed this also and after one week in the bottle it isn't carbed. Taste is horrible. Maybe it's because it is flat. Hoping it improves. THis Saturday will be two weeks in the bottle and I sure hope it's ready.
I fermented at 64-65 degrees until fermentation slowed then ramped up the temp over a few days to 68-70 where it stayed for another 1 week. FG finished at 1.016.

 

[ruascott]

I brewed this also and after one week in the bottle it isn't carbed. Taste is horrible. Maybe it's because it is flat. Hoping it improves. THis Saturday will be two weeks in the bottle and I sure hope it's ready.
I fermented at 64-65 degrees until fermentation slowed then ramped up the temp over a few days to 68-70 where it stayed for another 1 week. FG finished at 1.016.

Which yeast?

Last batch of this I did with WY1968 and bottled, it was several weeks before I liked it. And that was after at least 1 week in fridge, probably about 5-6 weeks post brew. Actually was very good then, but my initial tastes were not good.

As I've started above, I've got another modified one in a keg currently, that's also not good, but hoping again that it will get better. Just don't think you can rush this one.

I would primary this 3-4 weeks next time I make it, and stick with 1968 (S-04 can be weird). Then bottle/keg. 6 weeks post brew seems about perfect for drinking.

 

[brew703]

Which yeast?

S-04. It was a BEAST. My OG was 1.078 (I think) which was about 10 points too high but the yeast ate through it. I still had active fermentation at the 7 day mark then it finally started to settle down.

 

[ruascott]

S-04. It was a BEAST. My OG was 1.078 (I think) which was about 10 points too high but the yeast ate through it. I still had active fermentation at the 7 day mark then it finally started to settle down.

Wow..yeah at that high of gravity I'm guessing will need a decent amount of conditioning time before tasting good. Be patient with it. There are a lot of strong flavors in there....I think the melanoidin is a big part of that, as this is the only beer I've used it in, and it's definitely potent.

 

[brew703]

Wow..yeah at that high of gravity I'm guessing will need a decent amount of conditioning time before tasting good. Be patient with it. There are a lot of strong flavors in there....I think the melanoidin is a big part of that, as this is the only beer I've used it in, and it's definitely potent.

Yea never used Melanoidin before this batch. Not in a real hurry- just curious to taste since I never had an original ZD. I was always under the impression IPA's are best consumed early. The way it tasted I may be waiting 3-4 weeks before it's drinkable.

 

[skeezerpleezer]

I brewed this also and after one week in the bottle it isn't carbed. Taste is horrible. Maybe it's because it is flat. Hoping it improves. THis Saturday will be two weeks in the bottle and I sure hope it's ready.
I fermented at 64-65 degrees until fermentation slowed then ramped up the temp over a few days to 68-70 where it stayed for another 1 week. FG finished at 1.016.

can you expand on "horrible"? does it taste green? Off-flavors from brewing process? Boozy? Infected?

 

[brew703]

Definitely not infected. part of it could be green- didn't detect any off flavors that I remember. I only took a taste and dumped the rest.
going to give it a couple more weeks of bottle conditioning and see what happens.

 

[ruascott]

Yea never used Melanoidin before this batch. Not in a real hurry- just curious to taste since I never had an original ZD. I was always under the impression IPA's are best consumed early. The way it tasted I may be waiting 3-4 weeks before it's drinkable.

Early is a relative term. Sounds like yours was only 3 weeks old. I'd argue this isn't your typical IPA...it's got a lot more going on the malt side, than say a real clean one that's 90% 2 Row.

I'm no expert, but 5-6 weeks old seemed best for me. And I was drinking it side by side with a bottle of the real stuff last time I made it.

I actually brewed my latest one, also using S04, the same day you did. I kegged, and it's not really drinkable right now either, even though it's carbed. I've got it warm conditioning in the keg.

 

[Laserrs]

Racked to my keg last night. Didn't do a secondary on recommendation here and sure enough S-04 was settled tight on the bottom. I've only
Purged and am conditioning but see no reason not to put the CO2 on it. 12psi for 7-10 days sound sufficient?

 

[brew703]

I moved the bottles to the top of my upright freezer where the bottle temp is about 77 degrees. it's at the 25 day mark today.
I'll leave it sit another week or two and try it. By then it would be at 5-6 weeks.
I'm sure it will turn out good when ready.

 

[dordelli]

Haven't been able to sample this next to the real thing but have to say I love this recipe! Citra hops have a taste to me that is so deliciously different than any other hop I've used.

Brewed this for the 4th time in past 6 mos but to mix it I added some Rye and the results at kegging last night are great. I fermented 10 gals using S04 and another 3 gals using Denny's Fav 50 and the Fav 50 version with the added Rye is prob one of the best beers I've ever brewed, not sure how, but this yeast seems to accentuate both the Rye and the Citra flavor much more than the s04 and this result is pre-dry hop (I keg hop). If looking to mix it up, add some Rye and this yeast, u will not be disappointed.

 

[ruascott]

Haven't been able to sample this next to the real thing but have to say I love this recipe! Citra hops have a taste to me that is so deliciously different than any other hop I've used.

Brewed this for the 4th time in past 6 mos but to mix it I added some Rye and the results at kegging last night are great. I fermented 10 gals using S04 and another 3 gals using Denny's Fav 50 and the Fav 50 version with the added Rye is prob one of the best beers I've ever brewed, not sure how, but this yeast seems to accentuate both the Rye and the Citra flavor much more than the s04 and this result is pre-dry hop (I keg hop). If looking to mix it up, add some Rye and this yeast, u will not be disappointed.

Can you comment on your typical fermenting/conditioning schedule?

 

[ruascott]

Not news for experienced brewers.

But there are a lot, like myself, that were new brewers trying this recipe.


Give this beer a bit of time. 4 to 5 weeks from your brew date. I've made this 3 times, including using a different hop profile.

At 3 weeks it was really terrible. At 5 it was delicious.

 

[phyllobeddo]

I bottled my first batch of this today and it tasted awesome and smelled awesome. Is that a bad thing??? Can't wait to try it at five weeks!

 

[dordelli]

Can you comment on your typical fermenting/conditioning schedule?

Usually 3-4 weeks in the primary and a couple weeks in the keg. I don't secondary and have been dry hopping in the serving keg.

 

[ctufano]

Bottled this two Saturdays ago... Wet a paper towel, wrapped around bottle and put in fridge for a few hours last night and cracked open at 9pm and was AWESOME!

I love to home brew, but I often dont like some characteristic of it, I'm not sure what it is. Dont know if it is a taste, texture, i dunno.

But I enjoy this one

I didnt do first wort hop addition, no clue what that even meant until after. Messed up my hop additions by a few minutes.. Had a slight boil over... Was my first solo AG batch and my efficiency was around 50% lol

All said and done, it came out really good. Cant wait to drink a bunch next weekend!

Oh, I had in primary for like 4 or 5 weeks, with dry hop at about 7 days in until the end. Swamp bucket method, with not much attention given to keeping temp in a particular range (house gets up to 78 during day, would toss some ice in or ice packs in morning if I remembered)

 

[Laserrs]

Nice. Took a sample from my keg this weekend, not quite fully carbed yet but tasty. I did notice some off flavored not quite lining up. Based on recipe and others notes I have to assume this is the "let it condition" phase. Still tasty (8oz of Citra how could it not be!).

 

[Lazer Wolf Brewing]

Yeah I had some off flavors I couldn't pinpoint for about 2 weeks after Kegging. After that it got amazing.

 

[ruascott]

My latest batch is, I'm afraid, close to as good as it will get.

1st time using S04. I made some mistakes and allowed it to ferment to warm, and it's given out some massive esters. It was in a 64F area and shot up to mid 70s when it took off. I'm calling it a Zombie Saison it is so estery. Not undrinkable, but certainly not a great beer.

I'll stick to WY1968 and keep it low 60s for early fermentation going forward.

 

[beernbourbon]

My latest batch is, I'm afraid, close to as good as it will get.

1st time using S04. I made some mistakes and allowed it to ferment to warm, and it's given out some massive esters. It was in a 64F area and shot up to mid 70s when it took off. I'm calling it a Zombie Saison it is so estery. Not undrinkable, but certainly not a great beer.

I'll stick to WY1968 and keep it low 60s for early fermentation going forward.

Well now, that's not exactly fair to the S04, is it? You made the errors, and are saying it didn't turn out right? Fer shame, Andy, fer shame. [emoji12]
I'd give it another shot with the S04 while trying to eliminate those errors.
Is good beer.

 

[copper2hopper]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1456364415.260822.jpg
Getting towards the last of my kegs [emoji20]. This one is the DIPA (Conan) yeast batch. This one as well as the Funktown Pale Ale Yeast both have turned flavors very nicely over the past couple weeks and have cleared up very nicely as well. Good solid head on both (giggidy) also. All in all very solid experimental brews. Cheers!

 

[TallDan]

View attachment 339744
Getting towards the last of my kegs [emoji20]. This one is the DIPA (Conan) yeast batch. This one as well as the Funktown Pale Ale Yeast both have turned flavors very nicely over the past couple weeks and have cleared up very nicely as well. Good solid head on both (giggidy) also. All in all very solid experimental brews. Cheers!

Nice glass. Wife got me a set of those as a valentine's day gift a few years ago. Well, except mine have a different -ski name on them.

 

[ruascott]

Well now, that's not exactly fair to the S04, is it? You made the errors, and are saying it didn't turn out right? Fer shame, Andy, fer shame. [emoji12]
I'd give it another shot with the S04 while trying to eliminate those errors.
Is good beer.

I suppose, but I have had good results with 1968 for my current setup. It's never jumped that high / that fast on me.

I'm trying hard not to drain pour it. Wife actually likes it, but not for me. Problem is, just waiting on her to finish it will hold up a tap spot for way, way too long.

 

[beernbourbon]

I suppose, but I have had good results with 1968 for my current setup. It's never jumped that high / that fast on me.

I'm trying hard not to drain pour it. Wife actually likes it, but not for me. Problem is, just waiting on her to finish it will hold up a tap spot for way, way too long.

Dammit woman!! Drink Faster, I canna brew no more til yer done!!!!
(in my horribly inaccurate Scottish accent)

 

[ruascott]

Does anyone have a lot of experience with the real, bottled ZD.

I get it very rarely, and was tonight comparing with my HB. I opened a bottle that had been in my fridge about 3 weeks, bottled on 1/6/16 according to bottle.

I poured maybe 3oz into glass. It was crystal clear. Not like my kegged HB at all.

Then I went back and poured the remaining bottle, and it clouded up,, and it's almost a spot on match with mine.

Does FFF bottle condition? They must from what I've seen here.

Anyway, the flavors of this recipe are definitely right on. Regardless of my above mentioned ester flavors from S04.

 

[TallDan]

Does anyone have a lot of experience with the real, bottled ZD.

I get it very rarely, and was tonight comparing with my HB. I opened a bottle that had been in my fridge about 3 weeks, bottled on 1/6/16 according to bottle.

I poured maybe 3oz into glass. It was crystal clear. Not like my kegged HB at all.

Then I went back and poured the remaining bottle, and it clouded up,, and it's almost a spot on match with mine.

Does FFF bottle condition? They must from what I've seen here.

Anyway, the flavors of this recipe are definitely right on. Regardless of my above mentioned ester flavors from S04.

Not bottle conditioned but there is some sediment that settles out. Think it's from the big dry hop.