American IPA Trilium Melcher Street Clone

[OdeCloner]

Recipe Type

All Grain

Yeast

WLP007

Yeast Starter

2L

Batch Size (Gallons)

5

Original Gravity

1.071

Final Gravity

1.014

Boiling Time (Minutes)

60

IBU

25

Color

4.5

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

14 @ 63F

Tasting Notes

Juicy, peach, orange

My first shot at cloning this amazing beer from Trilium. I think I'm within 90% on this first shot. Notes below of how I'd improve it, but this is hands down the best beer I've made to date.

Grain Bill:
74% 2 Row
15% White Wheat Malt
3% Crystal 15
3% Cara-Pils
4.5% Dextrose
Mash at 150F for 60 mins
OG: 1.071 / FG: 1.014
9gal boil / 7.5gal post-boil (account for the crazy hop loss)

Hops:
.5oz Columbus @ 60min
1oz Columbus @ 10min
3oz Columbus @ FO, steep for 30 mins

1.5oz Columbus Dry Hop
6oz Mosaic Dry Hop

Yeast:
WLP007
2L starter
Ferment at 63F (ambient)

Water:
I was shooting for slightly softer water than I normally brew IPAs with, I was goaling a 2:1 Sulfate:Chloride.
Ca: 91
Mg: 27
Na: 27
Sulfate: 105
Chloride: 52

Notes:
I've tasted Trilium's version of this a few times now, and this is REALLY close for my tastes. It's juicy, hazy, dishwater-colored splendid-ness. Massive aromatics that pour out of the glass and wonderful flavors of peach and orange. This has all the flavor and aroma components of Melcher Street. Wish I could taste them side by side. It's not as hazy as theirs. Still need to figure that bit out.

On Dry Hopping...
I added dry hops 4 days after pitching yeast, and they stayed in the fermenter until 2 weeks after pitching. Kegged/poured 2 weeks post-pitch. Trilium advocates for yeast/hop interaction and endorses this practice. I'm inclined now to agree.

Here's what I'd change next time....
1. Still a *shade* minerally, and I don't detect that in the real thing. Less Sulfate I think?
2. Maybe a touch bitter as compared to the real thing. Back off on the bittering adjustment I think, or perhaps even omit completely.
3. Add a touch more C-15 to darken just a few fractions of a point. Maybe go to 5% Crystal 15. Could also be the result of #1 above.
4. Add dry hops 3 days post pitch instead of 4. Things had settled down mostly by day 4, and I wonder if I could have gotten more yeast/hop interaction.

 

[stonebrewer]

Whoa! I was on the recipe database to find something else, but when I saw your post I had to read it. Trillium, Tree House, and the VT guys are all big favorites of mine. I get Trillium a few times a year from friends or trips to the Boston area, and think they do a fantastic IPA!! Okay, that is an understatement. Anyway, a few questions:

* Where did you get your information for making this clone attempt from? I have seen websites that confirm your hops choices, BTW.
* A friend that goes there a lot, and supplies me with an occasional 22 or 3, says they use the same grist for all/most of their IPAs. Has your research told you the same, or no?
* I detect no crystal malt when I drink their beers. Might be my pallet, but I think if I try this I may eliminate that.
* Definitely think there is wheat in this beer...adds to the haze, which I love!
* Thanks for posting this. Please post more as you experiment further with this. If (when!) I brew this I will let you know how it comes out. Cheers!!

 

[jpakstis]

It seems to me from reviewing their site that they mainly use 2 row, crystal 15L, white wheat, and carapils/dextrine for their grain bill. The "Street" IPAs also add dextrose. I've been developing a Fort Point ale clone and I am planning this for the grain bill:

80% 2 Row
12% white wheat
6% carapils/dextrine
2% Crystal 15L

For the Fort Point ale series, they seem to use Columbus mainly as their bittering hops and then change up the aroma/flavor hops, such as Galaxy or Mosaic. I haven't brewed this yet, but this is my next batch. Its so great they opened their bigger location so I can always pop by and pick up bottles.

That's pretty interesting about the yeast/hops interaction. I think I'll try that. Do you pitch even if there is a krausen or do you wait until that settles or drops?

 

[FruityHops]

The Trillium website lists the grist components and hops used in every beer. The amounts and times are where you have to do some experimenting.

 

[spagnot]

This is interesting. I would really like to try and make a clone of Heavy Mettle Double IPA.

 

[stonebrewer]

The Trillium website lists the grist components and hops used in every beer. The amounts and times are where you have to do some experimenting.

Never noticed that before, not sure why! This is one brewery that I would love to be able to copy. They make fantastic brews! Cheers!

 

[OdeCloner]

That's pretty interesting about the yeast/hops interaction. I think I'll try that. Do you pitch even if there is a krausen or do you wait until that settles or drops?

According to Justin, you want to dry hop after much of primary is done, but when there's still krausen. He gives a pretty great explanation here:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/is-4-oz-of-dry-hopping-too-much.210334/

@stonebrewer - Source data is mostly their website, Justin's info on Beer Advocate, and then the clone recipe he gave BYO last year. I used all that as a starting point and triangulated this. Like I said, I think this is 90% there. Room to improve on the haziness, bittering and mouthfeel.

 

[stonebrewer]

90% Melcher Street sounds great to me. I added your recipe to Beersmith and am working on a starter now. I don't get Trillium beers often enough, so it would be great to have a close substitute in between the times when I am lucky enough to have a few bottles in the fridge! Thanks for the recipe and efforts, @OdeCloner! Cheers!

 

[OdeCloner]

@stonebrewer - Awesome! Please report back with your results!

 

[stonebrewer]

@stonebrewer - Awesome! Please report back with your results!

Will do!

Did you attempt to control fermentation temperature on this brew? I do not normally do that on ales, but this is one that I might try to ferment a little cooler than room temperature (basement is ~70F). Thinking of keeping it at 65F for the first part of fermentation (5 days or so). Also, I find that Gypsum really makes hops pop in other beers I have brewed. I think that is the only water addition I plan to make on this first go around. Thoughts?

Cheers!
Tony

 

[zgja2]

I have been reading alot of these types of beer and am only a little of the way into my own research. I do think though you might want to flip you sulfate chloride ratio to get that soft juicy mouth feel. 100-200 Cl and 70 SO is what i am working with now with favorable results.

 

[OdeCloner]

I have been reading alot of these types of beer and am only a little of the way into my own research. I do think though you might want to flip you sulfate chloride ratio to get that soft juicy mouth feel. 100-200 Cl and 70 SO is what i am working with now with favorable results.

Interesting. So you're doing a Sulfate to Chloride of 1:2, where I am doing a Sulfate to Chloride of 2:1. We're opposite! I'm having trouble producing the source of where I found my 2:1 number, but I swear I read that he liked 2:1. Do you have any links you can share of supporting info or anecdotes?

Palmer says of Sulfate to Chloride...
0-0.4: Too Malty
0.4-0.6: Very Malty
0.6-0.8: Malty
0.8-1.5: Balanced
1.5-2.0: Slightly Bitter
2-4: Bitter
4-9: Very bitter
9+: Too bitter!

 

[303Dan]

Interesting. So you're doing a Sulfate to Chloride of 1:2, where I am doing a Sulfate to Chloride of 2:1. We're opposite! I'm having trouble producing the source of where I found my 2:1 number, but I swear I read that he liked 2:1. Do you have any links you can share of supporting info or anecdotes?

Palmer says of Sulfate to Chloride...
0-0.4: Too Malty
0.4-0.6: Very Malty
0.6-0.8: Malty
0.8-1.5: Balanced
1.5-2.0: Slightly Bitter
2-4: Bitter
4-9: Very bitter
9+: Too bitter!

Most recent expertise on this topic will tell you that it's not as much the ratio as much as it is the total ppm of each that is important.

That being said, my latest attempts at this style have used water built up from distilled to 200ppm chloride and 50ppm sulfate and the result has been pretty much what I'm looking for without any adverse minerality to my tastes. Take that for what it's worth. To be honest, I'm craving more up front bitterness from the examples I've brewed, so I am going to start experimenting with getting maybe 25% more IBUs from the boil combined with a little more sulfate in my water.

 

[zgja2]

Interesting. So you're doing a Sulfate to Chloride of 1:2, where I am doing a Sulfate to Chloride of 2:1. We're opposite! I'm having trouble producing the source of where I found my 2:1 number, but I swear I read that he liked 2:1. Do you have any links you can share of supporting info or anecdotes?

Palmer says of Sulfate to Chloride...
0-0.4: Too Malty
0.4-0.6: Very Malty
0.6-0.8: Malty
0.8-1.5: Balanced
1.5-2.0: Slightly Bitter
2-4: Bitter
4-9: Very bitter
9+: Too bitter!

I have read so many threads there is no telling. I believe much came from this thread (buried in there some where) http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/northeast-pales-ipa-dipa.319817/
Several of the pro brewers making this style are in this thread though not giving much up.

 

[OdeCloner]

6/2/16 Update: Sadness!

The day after I kegged this, the first pours were incredible. I thought I had this nailed! The next day though (day 2 in keg), the "homebrew flavor" set in. I describe this flavor as overripe citrus, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

Looking back through my notes, the only other times I've experienced this flavor was when a beer sat on dry hops for more than 10 days. This one sat on dry hops for 12, and in record amounts (7.5oz in 5 gal). This does not, however, explain the amazing first pours and gravity samples.

I racked this to a purged keg via siphon (no splashing) with a carefully-opened top. I've used this technique successfully with every other one of my hoppy beers with good results, though I know it's not ideal oxygen-wise. Room to improve here for sure, but I'm not ready to blame this given past success. Also, after now two weeks in keg, this has become fairly bright and clear. I used no fining agents in the kettle or keg.

I'm going to brew this again over the weekend and change a few things.
1. More chloride, less sulfate. 125ppm Cl, 50ppm Sulfate.
2. 20% Flaked Wheat (instead of 15% white wheat malt)
3. Dry hop day 3 post-pitch (instead of 4), rack to keg on day 5 to finish fermenting (instead of sitting in primary on dry hops for 14 days).

Will keep this thread updated. I think this is really close recipe-wise, but there's room to cover in process and technique.

 

[stonebrewer]

Bummer! The same thing happened to me recently with an IPA I brewed up (I call it Citra the Golden Naked Otter...). I keg hopped that one and the first few pours were pure bliss, then it turned ordinary. I am pretty sure it was not oxygen contamination because I flush everything with CO2 and bottom fill the keg as well.

This post is timely as I plan to brew this recipe this weekend if SWMBO does not have a long honey do list for me to complete...

My expected changes are to dry hop in primary starting day 3, and keg on day 5 or 6 depending on the yeast. I just did this for an APA 2 weeks ago and left the hops in for 6 days. This seemed to turbo charge the yeast as it finished at 1.003 instead of 1.011! I may use half flaked and half white wheat as I have a ton of both. I also may ferment in a keg the whole time and give my spunding valve a whirl...that way the brew will never be exposed to any oxygen until it is in my glass! Looking forward to your update and will let you know how mine turns out. If I don't get this done this weekend, it will be a month before I have time as NHC is the next weekend, a group grain buy I run is coming up, and kid things the other weekend or so.

 

[stonebrewer]

Grain is ground, hops are weighed, water is measured and kettle is filled. Tweaks I am making:

* Moved 60 minute additions of the Columbus to the 10 minute mark and increased weigh slightly as the hops might be last years...I forgot to mark the year on my Columbus.
* Will ferment in a keg with a spunding valve set to 5 PSI.
* Will dry hop on day 3, transfer out on day 6 or 7 depending on gravity measured at that point.
* Will transfer directly to a serving keg, which I will condition in based on gravity at transfer.
* Will ferment at 65F.

Looking forward to this Xbeeriment!

Cheers!

 

[olotti]

I was always under the impression that Trillium just bitters with Columbus then does massive whirlpool and dry hops of the flavor hops. I've also imho come to the conclusion they use London 1318, I've made a few NE style IPAs with it and has some recent trillium and there is a distinct tartness to all the trillium beers that I've got in my hb ipas using 1318. Might be something to think about to get you that much closer.

 

[OdeCloner]

I've also imho come to the conclusion they use London 1318, I've made a few NE style IPAs with it and has some recent trillium and there is a distinct tartness to all the trillium beers that I've got in my hb ipas using 1318. Might be something to think about to get you that much closer.

Interesting you say this. I cultured yeast from a bottle of Melcher Street and from Fort Point. The fermented out starters from both had a slight tart flavor. I had assumed they were sour from bad culturing practice, and maybe I got a few strays in. Now I've got a 2L harvest in the fridge that I'm too scared to use!

 

[OdeCloner]

Anyone have opinions on use of HERMS while striving for this turbidity? That's my setup, but maybe I should give the tun a big stir before I run off the wort!

 

[olotti]

Interesting you say this. I cultured yeast from a bottle of Melcher Street and from Fort Point. The fermented out starters from both had a slight tart flavor. I had assumed they were sour from bad culturing practice, and maybe I got a few strays in. Now I've got a 2L harvest in the fridge that I'm too scared to use!

I ran my thoughts by other guys here who have brewed Ne style IPAs with 1318 and had trillium and we came to the same conclusion that 1318 was their yeast. It doesn't flocc well so it leaves a haze and with the yeast in suspension gives that tartness, just a 1318 trait plus it also my thoughts why they use dextrose in their beers because 1318 doesn't attenuate like a Conan or 007' it needs help to get to the lower Final gravity numbers. Again just my experiences but I've noticed similarities definitely.

 

[OdeCloner]

That's a good thought. I may try 1318 next time around. I'm currently using WLP007 for my second attempt here, but will try this next time!

 

[olotti]

That's a good thought. I may try 1318 next time around. I'm currently using WLP007 for my second attempt here, but will try this next time!

007 flocks to well and is less fruity than 1318, try your next batch with 1318 and you'll notice and taste the difference. I was speculating with someone here that 007 is what toppling Goliath uses and I think that's spot on, their beers are hoppy but lack that distinct tartness or fruitiness of 1318.

 

[stonebrewer]

I chatted with JC about this and he said that they use a yeast that flocs really well and when I mentioned 007 he told me "Stick with 007 for your ipas/hoppy beers". Not saying they don't have a house yeast or are not using 1318, just thought it was interesting he would tell me this. He also suggested that fermentation under pressure and at temperature was key "to retain aromatics/flavors vs. blowing off w/ the CO2". I noticed on my last fermentation a LOT of hop aromas for days, so this is starting to make sense to me. Giving it a go tomorrow with the 007 and will snag some 1318 next time I brew this to compare...thanks for the info olotti!

 

[olotti]

I chatted with JC about this and he said that they use a yeast that flocs really well and when I mentioned 007 he told me "Stick with 007 for your ipas/hoppy beers". Not saying they don't have a house yeast or are not using 1318, just thought it was interesting he would tell me this. He also suggested that fermentation under pressure and at temperature was key "to retain aromatics/flavors vs. blowing off w/ the CO2". I noticed on my last fermentation a LOT of hop aromas for days, so this is starting to make sense to me. Giving it a go tomorrow with the 007 and will snag some 1318 next time I brew this to compare...thanks for the info olotti!

Interesting notes and your conversation with JC, it could be 007 and I can see that as the toppling Goliath beers I've had thanks to #braufessor have that great hoppy quality but I swear I get a tartness from trillium that 007 doesn't give and in one trillium beer I got via trad I think it was scaled way up it was so over tart it was almost off putting and I wouldn't think 007 would have that trait. It's English and fruity yes but minimal compared to what 1318 gives off and then the beers I've brewed with 1318 and their dipas and cold crashed for 3-4 days till have that distinct tartness. Which I just putting taste to taste so to speak, I've also brewed with Conan and had beers sent to me brewed with Conan and I never get this peach thing so just try 1318' i like it and it has its place but you'll taste the differences.

 

[stonebrewer]

olotti: definitely will try it on the next go around of this experiment! About done with the boil now, getting ready to transfer to my two keg pressure setup (which I threw together today just for this beer!! ). I have a huge slug of 007 ready and waiting to eat through this wort and make something I hope will be close to Melcher Street. I am heading up to Providence next month, so I will hit up Trillium and get some beers, and will grow up some of the yeast from the bottles. I will then use this for my third attempt at this beer to see how the three compare. If I can only get CLOSE to this beer, I will be a very happy camper!! Cheers!!

 

[Soyben]

I have only had one Trillium beer, the double dry hopped Congress St, which a friend picked up for me when he was up there and I have to say probably the best beer I have ever had. Been reading up on Trillium a lot since then. Based on what I have readed mainly over on BA seems likely that they started with 007 which has since mutated to a house strain.

I am planning a 3 yeast split batch on a Congress St inspired beer in a couple of weeks. Will use US-05 (my usual), some yeast cultured from a Crowler from a local brewer using a "famous vermont yeast" I assume to be Conan and 007 or 1318 depending on what the store has.

 

[stonebrewer]

So at NHC or Homebrew Con as they are calling it now, I had a delicious NE style DIPA made with 1318 and it was probably the best brew I sampled at any event, pro or amateur in Baltimore. Sipping on some of my MS Lite now, warm, and not entirely carbonated, and I think it has great promise, even though I screwed up a few things and my keg got so clogged I could not transfer under pressure, until I cut another inch off my dip tube, probably allowing O2 in and making this beers days numbered. Nose is nice (lost some aromatics with the dip tube fiasco), juicy, tasty, a little lacking in mouth feel (CO2 may help), and a little bit of bitter bite (left Columbus in longer than intended). Great first try...will post again once fully carbonated and chilled. Definitely worth a second brew!! Thanks for the recipe!

Cheers!

 

[OdeCloner]

Glad you liked it!! Congrats on a great brew. I had clogging problems too while transferring under pressure. I think the secret will be to dry hop in the keg so you can transfer clear beer into the keg.

We'll get this dialed in before long. My attempt #2 is carbing now. Will report back in a week or so.

 

[stonebrewer]

I fermented under pressure and dry hopped under pressure in the keg. Thought was to not lose any aromatics by CO2 blowoff, so I kept the pressure on with a spunding valve, with the valve closed so as to not blow off any aromatics...problem is I cut my tube a little too little and it ended up picking up hop and yeast and clogging. Only way to fix it was to open the keg, losing those aromatics, and cutting/cleaning the tube once more so I could transfer to a serving keg. Oh well, should go better next time. Let me know how your next batch work out. I will post a picture of my brew when I get a chance...

 

[spagnot]

My first shot at cloning this amazing beer from Trilium. I think I'm within 90% on this first shot. Notes below of how I'd improve it, but this is hands down the best beer I've made to date.

Grain Bill:
74% 2 Row
15% White Wheat Malt
3% Crystal 15
3% Cara-Pils
4.5% Dextrose
Mash at 150F for 60 mins
OG: 1.071 / FG: 1.014
9gal boil / 7.5gal post-boil (account for the crazy hop loss)

Hops:
.5oz Columbus @ 60min
1oz Columbus @ 10min
3oz Columbus @ FO, steep for 30 mins

1.5oz Columbus Dry Hop
6oz Mosaic Dry Hop

Yeast:
WLP007
2L starter
Ferment at 63F (ambient)

Water:
I was shooting for slightly softer water than I normally brew IPAs with, I was goaling a 2:1 Sulfate:Chloride.
Ca: 91
Mg: 27
Na: 27
Sulfate: 105
Chloride: 52

Notes:
I've tasted Trilium's version of this a few times now, and this is REALLY close for my tastes. It's juicy, hazy, dishwater-colored splendid-ness. Massive aromatics that pour out of the glass and wonderful flavors of peach and orange. This has all the flavor and aroma components of Melcher Street. Wish I could taste them side by side. It's not as hazy as theirs. Still need to figure that bit out.

On Dry Hopping...
I added dry hops 4 days after pitching yeast, and they stayed in the fermenter until 2 weeks after pitching. Kegged/poured 2 weeks post-pitch. Trilium advocates for yeast/hop interaction and endorses this practice. I'm inclined now to agree.

Here's what I'd change next time....
1. Still a *shade* minerally, and I don't detect that in the real thing. Less Sulfate I think?
2. Maybe a touch bitter as compared to the real thing. Back off on the bittering adjustment I think, or perhaps even omit completely.
3. Add a touch more C-15 to darken just a few fractions of a point. Maybe go to 5% Crystal 15. Could also be the result of #1 above.
4. Add dry hops 3 days post pitch instead of 4. Things had settled down mostly by day 4, and I wonder if I could have gotten more yeast/hop interaction.

A lot of online recipes call for 2 weeks primary then 2 weeks secondary. Is this this not necessary especially when you're aiming for strongly aromatic IPAs?

 

[stonebrewer]

I did one week primary, dry hopped day 3, and have been drinking this beer starting about day 8. It wasn't completely carbonated until day 9.

 

[OdeCloner]

I brewed this recipe again using...

Grain Bill:
68% 2 Row
20% Flaked Wheat
5% Crystal 15
3% Cara-Pils
4% Dextrose

Mash at 150F for 60 mins
OG: 1.071 / FG: 1.014
9gal boil / 7.5gal post-boil (account for the crazy hop loss)

Hops:
.5oz Columbus @ 60min
1oz Columbus @ 10min
3oz Columbus @ FO, steep for 30 mins

1.5oz Columbus Dry Hop
6oz Mosaic Dry Hop

Yeast:
WLP007
2L starter
Ferment at 63F (ambient)

Water:
I changed up the water pretty dramatically this time through. I went WAY higher on chlorides and added almost no Gypsum.

Ca: 116
Mg: 27
Na: 27
Sulfate: 61
Chloride: 128

Process:
Dry hopped in the primary (glass carboy) at day 3 of fermentation, which was still very active. Let it sit two more days, then transferred it to keg 5 days post pitch. Day 5's gravity reading was terminal, so I kegged it (forced transfer with CO2) and force carbed at 50psi for 24hrs.

Notes:
Tonight is 12 days past brew day and I'm having the first sip out of the keg. Just like last time, it's amazing. (Though, I remind you what happened last time where the homebrew overripe citrus flavor crept in after the second day.) I think the chlorides made a huge difference in softening the mouthfeel. Extremely hazy, even moreso than the last one. White head on a rich orange body. Explosively aromatic and a juicy, round, malty/hoppy flavor with very little bitterness.

I thought I noticed a big difference between the white wheat malt and the flaked wheat, but I'm not ready to declare a difference now that it's in keg. On brewday and in gravity samples, there was a strong wheat flavor. Now though, it's mellowed out. The major differences are in the mouthfeel.

Hopefully this won't turn on me tomorrow due to the significantly shortened time on dry hops (2 days versus 12 days), but we'll see. I really hope I can drink this over the next few weeks!

All in all, I think this is a big step forward.

 

[stonebrewer]

Odecloner: let us know how it goes. I noticed mine change a bit as it clarified. I think there was quite a bit of yeast in suspension and I have noticed that there is a yeasty quality to a lot of the Trillium IPAs. The bottles I have had over the years all had quite bit of yeast residue in them and it does seem to contribute some flavor components. Mine cleared up a lot (haven't had a glass in two days) and the head retention increased as well. Nice, sticky lace on the teku as well! One thing I also found is that it is coming out of my kegerator too cold which really knocks back the aroma and flavor. Letting it warm for 5 minutes before drinking really brings those hop characteristics back to the front. Guess it is time to adjust the kegerator, eh? I snagged some 1318 yesterday and think I will brew this with that next time as well

Studies I have read show that most of the hop oils are dissolved into the beer in a few hours, so I don't think that your dry hop period is going to be an issue. I have done both extremes and find little detectable difference if I put the hops in a keg for a day or until the keg kicks!

I am surprised at the chlorides making more of a difference than gypsum, as gypsum has always made hops shine for me. But like everything else, guess I gotta go try your recommendation and see if I was just imagining that or not. Cheers!

 

[OdeCloner]

I am surprised at the chlorides making more of a difference than gypsum, as gypsum has always made hops shine for me. But like everything else, guess I gotta go try your recommendation and see if I was just imagining that or not. Cheers!

Gypsum and Sulfates seem to give that crisp, dry pop, which isn't what I wanted here. I upped the chlorides to give that soft, round mouthfeel. I think it was successful.

Drinking another pint now. Really wish I had a Melcher Street to compare side by side. I don't think the flavor is quite there, but the nose is there 100%. I've now got that soft mouthfeel, the intense aromatics and most of the flavor. If I'm missing anything, it might be a touch of sweetness. I wonder if next time I should up the crystal ever so slightly, or perhaps mash a little warmer. But, gosh, this is SO good!!

Stone, we should do a bottle share, and then find someone to send us a Melcher too! 😉

 

[stonebrewer]

How did your last batch turn out? I am thinking of using the following water profile:

Ca: 102
Mg: 9
Na: 33
Sulfate: 77
Chloride: 151

Likely brewing this tomorrow or Sunday.

 

[OdeCloner]

It turned out spectacular!! It's stayed that way too. I did a StarSan co2 purge, followed by a pressure transfer from the carboy. It has barely changed in keg at all, and we're now a few weeks in. Highly highly recommend.

On your water, I'd be inclined to go higher of both Cl and Sulfate. My next batch I was thinking of moving to 200/100. I've definitely got the soft mouthfeel, but it's not as much as Trilium. There's a thread floating around about water chemistry of Heady Topper and they talk about starting water profiles much higher than even this. I wouldn't be afraid.

If I were to make any change to to grain ill, I might go a touch heavier on the crystal 15. I think there's a subtle sweetness that I'm missing.

Overall though, this is a great recipe!

 

[stonebrewer]

Brewed another batch today, using the above water profile and London III for the yeast. Fixed an issue with my system I hadn't noticed before which was causing my issues with my boil off. Hit all the numbers so I think this will be a lot better than the "lite" version I made last time. Will let you know how it turns out when it is kegged. Cheers!

 

[olotti]

Brewed another batch today, using the above water profile and London III for the yeast. Fixed an issue with my system I hadn't noticed before which was causing my issues with my boil off. Hit all the numbers so I think this will be a lot better than the "lite" version I made last time. Will let you know how it turns out when it is kegged. Cheers!

Nice. I think you'll find a lot more similarity to trillium beers using 1318. I use this yeast quite a bit in NE IPAs and it has an unmistakeable tartness to it that I def picked up in the trillium beers Ive had, scaled up, scaled way up, congress st, fort point and a melcher st. My personal opinion only but I think 1318 is the yeast they use which may also explain the use of dextrose in a lot of their beers as 1318 doesn't attenuate nearly as well as Conan, it needs that extra help from dextrose to get a lower fg.

 

[stonebrewer]

Hope you are right olotti cuz I doubled down and brewed a Vicinity clone today and pitched more 1318.

The Melcher I brewed Saturday is munching away nicely at 64F with the 1318...pretty rigorous actually.

Drinking the last of my Melcher "lite" and it would be nice if the finish was a little more tart...this was done with 007.

Here's a trick for anyone doing these NE IPAs and kegging them: if you get them too cold, the hop resins will settle out and you will have a VERY plain beer because face it, these grain bills are bland! What I found works great is as I see the beer getting less and less turbid, I take it off gas until it is trickling out the faucet. Then I pull it out of the kegerator and using a third CO2 line with a beverage out QD, I attach it to the Out port on my keg and shoot CO2 into the bottom of my keg to kick up all the settled out particulates. Let it set for a few hours in the kegerator and it is a turbid mess of hop flavor goodness. Could probably shake it, but I think this does a better job of blasting the hop resin back into suspension. YMMV!