American Pale Ale Three Floyds Zombie Dust Clone

[JONNYROTTEN]

I changed up the hops a bit but the color of this beer is mighty nice. Still has a bit of hop bite but its a fresh keg and hopefully it will mellow.

 

[Pantherjon]

Just realized I scribbled today as the bottling day for this batch! Guess I better get cracking and racking into bottles then!..LOL

 

[Pantherjon]

Well, it is in bottles now..My FG came in a bit higher then the listed 1.018 in the recipe at 1.022..But, the gravity sample sure did taste good..Quite fruity..Will be interesting how it tastes with carbonation..The 2 week countdown has started!

 

[Epos7]

I just dry hopped two more batches of this. Made the first (OG 1.058) with Citra per usual and dry hopped with Citra. Made the second (OG 1.062) with Waimea and dry hopped with Waimea. No idea how that one will turn out, but it will be an interesting experiment.

Gotta admit both carboys smelled a little funky when I stuck my nose in there. I'm not too worried yet. I used a blowoff tube for one and the bottle that fed into has been sitting in my fermentation chamber for a couple weeks, so it's likely I was smelling that moreso than the beer in the carboys. Citra batch had some yellow spots floating on the surface, but I used whole leaf hops for that one and I suspect that's lupulin. I'm used to smelling hops when I open the fermenter, but not this time. Fingers crossed, would be strange if both batches were infected.

 

[Epos7]

I changed up the hops a bit but the color of this beer is mighty nice. Still has a bit of hop bite but its a fresh keg and hopefully it will mellow.

That color looks awesome! Did you use any fining agents, and are you kegging or bottling?

 

[Epos7]

Well, it is in bottles now..My FG came in a bit higher then the listed 1.018 in the recipe at 1.022..But, the gravity sample sure did taste good..Quite fruity..Will be interesting how it tastes with carbonation..The 2 week countdown has started!

Let us know how it tastes! I've had both good and bad experiences with this recipe after two weeks in the bottle. I find I get more consistent results if I wait four weeks before opening any, but on the other hand there is more hops fade by that point. The best bottles are ones I've opened at two weeks. The worst bottles have also been ones I opened at two weeks.

 

[Pantherjon]

We shall find out on the 14th...Just put a reminder to myself on my phone to put a bottle in the fridge on the 13th before I go to work..Knock on wood that it will be good, gonna get the dice warmed up!

 

[MadHomebrewer]

Brewing this up this weekend. Picked up the kit from Hombrew Supply. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1486755740.130829.jpg

 

[barrooze]

Let us know how it tastes! I've had both good and bad experiences with this recipe after two weeks in the bottle. I find I get more consistent results if I wait four weeks before opening any, but on the other hand there is more hops fade by that point. The best bottles are ones I've opened at two weeks. The worst bottles have also been ones I opened at two weeks.

I agree. I'm always disappointed after a couple weeks in the keg with how bitter it is. After 3-4 weeks in keg the beer balances out amazingly well and stays at that prime balance for weeks.

I need to brew my version this weekend for NHC! I'm a month behind where I was last year, but i think i'll have enough time still.

 

[SHbrewing]

Brewing this bad boy today with my grainfather

 

[Epos7]

I have some strange fermentation behavior going on. Brewed two batches of this and pitched yeast on 1/21. Normally I just use one packet per ~5 gallon carboy, but this time I split three packets between the two carboys and set my fermentation chamber for 64F. Both carboys fermented vigorously, then activity tapered off. By 2/4 there had been no airlock activity for a couple of days, so I dry hopped. I rocked the carboys back and forth a little to get the hops submerged, and when I came back the next day there was some airlock activity again. That's not super strange on its own, but a week later and they're still going. Definitely not nearly as vigorous as after I first pitched yeast, but consistent airlock activity for a week. I'm guessing fermentation got stuck at some point, but that's odd considering I used more yeast than usual. It's been three weeks since I pitched yeast. Looks like these batches are going to have an extra long dry hop!

 

[crusader1612]

I have some strange fermentation behavior going on. Brewed two batches of this and pitched yeast on 1/21. Normally I just use one packet per ~5 gallon carboy, but this time I split three packets between the two carboys and set my fermentation chamber for 64F. Both carboys fermented vigorously, then activity tapered off. By 2/4 there had been no airlock activity for a couple of days, so I dry hopped. I rocked the carboys back and forth a little to get the hops submerged, and when I came back the next day there was some airlock activity again. That's not super strange on its own, but a week later and they're still going. Definitely not nearly as vigorous as after I first pitched yeast, but consistent airlock activity for a week. I'm guessing fermentation got stuck at some point, but that's odd considering I used more yeast than usual. It's been three weeks since I pitched yeast. Looks like these batches are going to have an extra long dry hop!

British style yeasts cansometime "go to sleep" i tend to give my beers with these types of yeast a small rocking after 2-3 days before ramping my temps to finish the beer and/or diacetyl rests where needed.

Its just a safety thing, since i had some beers get sleepy because they haven't been able to stay in gear for one reason or another.

depending on what yeast you used, the yeast may be done and just expelling co2 from the carboy especially if rocked or slightly aerated.

(there are rumours as well that hops can kick fermentations into gear, due to some sugars or transformations. i dont know much about this one, or if theres even any truth to it.)

check you gravity 2 days in a row, to confirm its done, as longer dryhops can in some cases cause grassy notes (not always and i know people have had success with extended hopping.

 

[Epos7]

British style yeasts cansometime "go to sleep" i tend to give my beers with these types of yeast a small rocking after 2-3 days before ramping my temps to finish the beer and/or diacetyl rests where needed.

Its just a safety thing, since i had some beers get sleepy because they haven't been able to stay in gear for one reason or another.

depending on what yeast you used, the yeast may be done and just expelling co2 from the carboy especially if rocked or slightly aerated.

(there are rumours as well that hops can kick fermentations into gear, due to some sugars or transformations. i dont know much about this one, or if theres even any truth to it.)

check you gravity 2 days in a row, to confirm its done, as longer dryhops can in some cases cause grassy notes (not always and i know people have had success with extended hopping.

Interesting, hadn't heard that about English yeasts before. Thanks for the insight; definitely lines up with what I'm seeing. Could be that my fermentation chamber got a degree or two colder this time around. Maybe I'll need to make it a habit to rock the carboys a few times throughout fermentation.

I broke my thief cleaning up after my last brew day, so I'm unable to pull samples at the moment, else I would have checked it. I'll have to get that replaced.

 

[Pantherjon]

Well, I popped the top on one of my Zombie Dust bottles..And man it is fantastic! Wish I had the 'real deal' here to compare it to..But man this thing rocks the house..Nice fruity smell, that awesome IPA tart bitterness, but not an overpowering bitterness..So smooth and drinkable..I think I hit a home run on this one!

 

[smagic14]

Great recipe side by side is hard to pick my own!

View attachment 1489461216339.jpg

 

[tjosborne]

Would 05 or 1028 do better in this recipe?

 

[Pantherjon]

Would 05 or 1028 do better in this recipe?

I used 05 and it turned out good for me..

 

[--0o0o0--]

I've used S-04 and US-05 and prefer the S-04 better, but only slightly.

 

[atimmerman88]

I've used S-04 and US-05 and prefer the S-04 better, but only slightly.

I'll second this motion. Of the 5 or 6 times I've made this s04 shines everything time

 

[Epos7]

A while back I brewed two batches of this. On one I used Citra, and the other was an experiment where I used Waimea hops in the same amounts and at the same times as Citra.

Three weeks after bottling, the Waimea batch tasted great. It was definitely more bitter than the batch brewed with Citra - I'd call it an IPA - but also had some great melon notes. Two weeks after that, and the Waimea hops have taken a turn for the worse, now that beer just has some unappealing and a little odd bitterness to it. The Citra batch still tastes great.

It seems there are three possibilities:

1) Waimea flavors fade a lot faster than Citra.
2) My 12 day dry hop brought out some off-flavors in the Waimea more than the Citra.
3) The Waimea batch was poorly packaged.

 

[Tommydee]

Just sampled before cold crash on day 4 of my dry hop. . oG1.061, FG 1.014. Wyeast 1968. Tastes awesome. ! Batch #10 of my brewing career. Serious mango/grapefruit. Best warm and flat beer I've ever hadMy wife swears it's more guava than mango.

One question. Plugged into beersmith, this is more IPA than APA. I've seen it referred to as both. Which is it?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

One question. Plugged into beersmith, this is more IPA than APA. I've seen it referred to as both. Which is it?

Yesterdays IPA is todays APA...its in the eye of the beholder

 

[TallDan]

One question. Plugged into beersmith, this is more IPA than APA. I've seen it referred to as both. Which is it?

By BJCP standards it is an IPA. By FFF marketing it's an APA. If you brew it, call it what you want. TDPA has a certain ring to it, don't you think?

 

[Epos7]

One question. Plugged into beersmith, this is more IPA than APA. I've seen it referred to as both. Which is it?

I'd call it an APA. Whatever bittering Citra adds to the beer isn't really all that, errr, bitter.

 

[Tommydee]

Kegged and carbed Just in time for Easter....yummm

 

[Ariza-Poet]

By far the best beer I've brewed.
Great recipe!

 

[LittlejohnBrew]

Plan on brewing this clone this weekend. Tried searching this thread, but didn't find an answer...per 3 Floyd's website the IBU for this beer is 50, but the clone is about 66 IBU. Would it be closer to the original to adjust the hop schedule to reach 50 IBU?

 

[jojacques]

Brewed this a second time, but went with a tad lower IBU (62) and OG (1.054) to make it a bit more "sessionable" (it will be served at my National Holiday party). Let's see!

 

[Tommydee]

Plan on brewing this clone this weekend. Tried searching this thread, but didn't find an answer...per 3 Floyd's website the IBU for this beer is 50, but the clone is about 66 IBU. Would it be closer to the original to adjust the hop schedule to reach 50 IBU?

I've never had the original, but I split the difference between beersmith and the original recipe, added slightly less hops as a result at the first addition point. I don't think more would be better or worse, the citra is really nice, and more fruity than bitter...

Don't sweat it, just pick one, you'll be happy!

 

[luizffgarcia]

Wow i want to thank the OP for this recipe, hands down the best IPA i have ever brewed, the smell alone is worth the brew

I never had the original one but to my taste the IBU is good, i would maybe even raise it a little, this beer drinks like a 5%ABV 30 IBU, soooo good!