Two Hearted Ale Clone - Awesome..but cloudy!

[kneelb4zod]

Hello All-

I've been brewing on/off for a while now, and have about 60 batches under my belt. Recently I've been getting into brewing all clone beers, since I have so many beers I like that I want to replicate. I have had outstanding results, mainly because I like big, hoppy beers that most kits won't give me.

I brewed 3 batches so far of a Bell's Two Hearted Ale clone. It's probably not an exact clone, but the recipe I use is below. It's a solid beer that's one of my stand-by brews.

7 lbs Light DME
1 lb Crystal 10L
8 oz Centennial hops (2 oz @ 60 mins, 2 oz @ 15 mins, 2 oz @ 5 mins, Dry hop 2 oz @ 7 days after transferring into secondary)

I usually add the Crystal malt at 160 degrees, turn off the heat, and steep for about 30 mins. Bring to a boil, then add the DME, boil for 60 mins adding the hops at the schedule I listed above. I add 1 tsp of Irish Moss for the last 15 mins of the boil.

I pitch Safale US-05 for this beer, since I like the results and taste.

This batch almost always sits in the primary for a week, then the secondary for 2 weeks, then I keg. The OG is usually 1.068-1.070, the FG is around 1.012-1.014.

It's a fantastic, hoppy concoction. The only issue that I have is that it ALWAYS turns out cloudy. Everything else is perfect.

Any ideas on this? I'm not sure why this happens with this beer, as I have had perfectly clear beer with most other batches. It's really just a cosmetic issue. I'd drink this beer any day of the week.

Thanks-

Rob

 

[Seven]

Well, as I sit here enjoying my Two Hearted Ale clone , I can tell you that I let mine sit in the primary for two weeks then I dry hop it for another two weeks in the secondary. It's not crystal clear but it's not cloudy either.

Maybe let it go for another week in the primary before racking it for dry hopping?

Two Hearted is one of my favorites so I plan to experiment a lot with future batches.

Next up: I will not use a secondary at all. I'll leave it in the primary for 2-weeks for primary fermentation, then I'll dry-hop in the primary for another 2-weeks. I have a feeling that deliciousness will ensue!

 

[Seven]

Another thought: how long to you leave it in the keg to condition before tapping it? You may be experiencing chill haze that will clear up if given enough time.

 

[SauceBoss]

when left in the bottle/keg is there a lot of sediment that settles?

 

[Heavyfoot]

Could it be due to the use of the crystal 10? Have you used steeped crystal 10 in other beers that came out clear? I think I remember palmer's book saying that you get some unconverted starches left when you steep rather than mash the lower lovibond crystal malts. Not sure if that could be the cause, but I recently used a two-hearted clone recipe that uses crystal 40 but is otherwise pretty much the same as your recipe and it came out clear.

 

[jbrookeiv]

How would I translate this to all grain?

 

[cricky101]

I had one tonight and have been thinking about brewing a clone too because I love the stuff. And I noticed it's not all that clear to begin with either.

 

[Seven]

How would I translate this to all grain?

http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/allgrain/AG-ThreeHearted.pdf

 

[Seven]

I had one tonight and have been thinking about brewing a clone too because I love the stuff. And I noticed it's not all that clear to begin with either.

I was wondering this same thing... It has been so long since I've had a real Two Hearted Ale from Bells that I can't even recall the clarity of the original.

 

[jbrookeiv]

http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/allgrain/AG-ThreeHearted.pdf

Hmm that recipe has a lot less hops than this version.

I have a pound of Centennial sitting in my closet, wonder which version would be better? I'm think I'm gonna go with the version with more hops!

 

[kneelb4zod]

Well I've made this same recipe with 40L and had the same results with cloudiness, so I'm guessing it's not the grain that's the issue, but who knows? It definitely could be chill haze. I always keg condition for 3 days at 30 psi. I give it 2-3 days at 30 psi, then it sits at around 7-8 psi for perfect carbonation. This recipe is seriously my favorite one so far. It's bulletproof. I chill the keg to around 36 degrees or so. NO sediment at all, but I have a siphon system that works great. I use a washing machine lint trap screen over my siphon, then cover that with a small muslin bag. I get no sediment at all in my keg, even with seriously hopped beers. I can bury that into the yeast and it will filter out everything. I had a bad experience with a Pliny the Elder clone that clogged up my poppets in my corney kegs, so I use this system and have never had any sediment issues since. It's a mystery man. I have no idea why this batch is clouding up. Some of my clones cloudy up and others are perfectly clear. No worries though - they all taste good so I'll keep experimenting.

 

[kneelb4zod]

I'm going to buy a sixer of Two Hearted and compare my homebrew batch to it for aroma/flavor/clarity. I really like the 8 oz of Centennial - wouldn't do any less for my own taste, but I think I'm getting immune to hops and need more and more. If you're a hophead like me you will love this.

 

[DustBow]

FWIW, I don't think Bells filters any of their beers - so you are just keeping it authentic

 

[troub]

I'm planning a recipe of my own that's just light DME and 10L, with a much different hop schedule -- I'm curious what the actual color is that you get? I would expect pretty light (5-6 SRM), but my recollection is that Two-Hearted is more like 10 or so? Does yours come out that dark with Light DME and 10L? EDIT: my remembrance of the color of 2-Hearted could well be wrong.

 

[mellowtiger]

I'll post a picture of the beer later on. I'm hoping there is at least 1 pint left in my keg, because I've been hitting this one hard! It's definitely a darker amber than the original, but I have to say the color is pretty nice. The original is definitely lighter, and is clear. I just examined a bottle of Two Hearted Ale in the grocery store a few hours ago....but I walked out with a sixpack of a black IPA I've been dying to try.

 

[cricky101]

Well, as I sit here enjoying my Two Hearted Ale clone , I can tell you that I let mine sit in the primary for two weeks then I dry hop it for another two weeks in the secondary. It's not crystal clear but it's not cloudy either.

....

That's a good description of it. I had a pint of Sierra Nevada PA and then a Bell's Two-Hearted last night. The Sierra Nevada was very clear, and the Two-Hearted was more "thick" appearing. I could see my hand through the pint glass, but wouldn't be able to read through it.

 

[Seven]

I decided to take one for the team and open a bottle of real Two Hearted Ale and compare the clarity with my cloned version.

Mine is on the left. As you can see - the real Two Hearted is definitely much clearer than mine. I checked the batch number on the bottle (10180) and the Bell's beer was "packaged" on Jan. 10, 2011. Mine was brewed on Jan. 9, 2011. So theirs is probably at least a month or more older than mine - depending on how long they primary/condition their beers. I'm not too concerned about clarity of mine though because I make 'em for drinkin', not for lookin' at.

This experiment was for scientific/learning purposes only.

 

[kneelb4zod]

Thanks for the pics Seven - very interesting. Mine is quite a bit darker than your batch. I brewed mine on 15-Jan, but I THINK I used 40L Crystal in this batch. Sometimes my local homebrew shop is out of 10L so I just use 40L if I stop in there and want to make a spur of the moment batch of beer. A friend of mine said a longer boil time might help with clarity, but I'm not sure about that. I'm hoping my Torpedo and Sculpin clones come out a bit clearer, but as long as the taste it there I can definitely live with the cloudiness.

 

[bmock79]

Hey guys curious if you used whirfloc or anything to help clear your beers?

 

[jbrookeiv]

Hey guys curious if you used whirfloc or anything to help clear your beers?

OP said he used Irish Moss.

 

[Seven]

Hey guys curious if you used whirfloc or anything to help clear your beers?

I haven't yet but I will for my next batches to see if that makes a difference or not.

 

[bmock79]

Hello All-

I've been brewing on/off for a while now, and have about 60 batches under my belt. Recently I've been getting into brewing all clone beers, since I have so many beers I like that I want to replicate. I have had outstanding results, mainly because I like big, hoppy beers that most kits won't give me.

I brewed 3 batches so far of a Bell's Two Hearted Ale clone. It's probably not an exact clone, but the recipe I use is below. It's a solid beer that's one of my stand-by brews.

7 lbs Light DME
1 lb Crystal 10L
8 oz Centennial hops (2 oz @ 60 mins, 2 oz @ 15 mins, 2 oz @ 5 mins, Dry hop 2 oz @ 7 days after transferring into secondary)

I usually add the Crystal malt at 160 degrees, turn off the heat, and steep for about 30 mins. Bring to a boil, then add the DME, boil for 60 mins adding the hops at the schedule I listed above. I add 1 tsp of Irish Moss for the last 15 mins of the boil.

I pitch Safale US-05 for this beer, since I like the results and taste.

This batch almost always sits in the primary for a week, then the secondary for 2 weeks, then I keg. The OG is usually 1.068-1.070, the FG is around 1.012-1.014.

It's a fantastic, hoppy concoction. The only issue that I have is that it ALWAYS turns out cloudy. Everything else is perfect.

Any ideas on this? I'm not sure why this happens with this beer, as I have had perfectly clear beer with most other batches. It's really just a cosmetic issue. I'd drink this beer any day of the week.

Thanks-

Rob

I am going to try this one tomorrow, is this recipe for a full or partial boil?

Thanks!!!

 

[kneelb4zod]

hey bmock79 - not exactly sure what that means. I did a 60 min boil on this beer and it turned out great every single time I've made it. It's always ready in 3 weeks, and gets better in the keg, but doesn't last long around here. You won't be disappointed!

 

[bmock79]

did you top off to 5 gallons or did you boil a full 5 gallons?

 

[kneelb4zod]

Topped off to 5 gallons. I only boiled about 2 1/4 gallons, since that's all that will fit in my brew kettle!

 

[kneelb4zod]

Let me know how it turns out! Good luck man.

 

[Seven]

Update: My Two Hearted clone appears to be clearing more and more each week. I found another recipe here that says it will clear up just like the real Two Hearted after two months.

Two Hearted all-grain

Maybe that's the problem - it never lasts two months in my house so I've never given it enough time to fully clear!

 

[bmock79]

Let me know how it turns out! Good luck man.

This was my buddy and I's third batch ever, the previous two brews were done at his house on his stove. We set up the same as we did at his and steeped our grains and then cranked up the stove to reach a boil (we were trying to boil 3gallons).

It came to a decent boil and we added our DME. We realized right away that our 4 gal kettle was not going to hold 3 gallons of water and the DME, the foam was extremely high after adding a pound. So we decided to split the wort in 2 pots and split up the remaining DME accordingly to each pot. We tried to make each pot have around 1.5 gallons each (we got it fairly close).

We then split the hops to an oz in each kettle (following OP's recipe), and finished out our brew day as normal.

The brew was chilling in my spare bedroom at 68, its a fairly small room and it has a treadmill in it and tonight I ran with the door shut not thinking about the temp in the room, it rose to 72 in about 30 min. Probably no big deal but from now on I will run with the window open and or the door open, just in case anybody is wondering.

Its seems like its fermenting away, nothing to crazy. And we also forgot to get the o.g.!!! My small house smells like some delicous brew!!!

We were planning on giving it 2 weeks or so and check the gravity and then dry hop it for a week or so then bottle

I'll give updates as we go...

 

[bmock79]

We proudly named this one Two Kettle IPA

 

[bmock79]

I popped the lid tonight and took a gravity reading, 1.016. It looked fairly clear, not to much of anything floating around. It smelled and tasted amazing. Very excited about this one!

 

[bmock79]

I just cracked the first one tonight, only eight days in the bottle, amazing!!! I did a side by side comparison, mine was a tad cloudy but the taste was awesome. This was my third batch and by far my favorite.

I am gonna try and hold off another 7-10 days before I throw the rest in the fridge.

Thanks for the recipe kneelb4zod, I will definitely be brewing this one again soon!!

Cheers

 

[ErkenneDichSelbst]

How are you chilling the wort before pitching, and how long is it taking?

 

[mellowtiger]

Thanks for the recipe kneelb4zod, I will definitely be brewing this one again soon!!

Cheers

No problem! Glad it turned out well. I'm sure that batch will get better in 1-3 weeks, if you can wait that long. I never bottled that recipe. I always keg it after 2 weeks in the secondary and it turns out great every time. It's so good that it never gets to age much longer than 4 weeks because the keg is gone by then. It's a great stand-by recipe to keep in your pocket.

If you liked that, I have a really good extract recipe for Ballast Point Sculpin that I bottled a few weeks ago that's phenomenal.

Rob

 

[bmock79]

How are you chilling the wort before pitching, and how long is it taking?

I chill using a 50 ft. immersion chiller, before I had that I did the old ice bath. I'd say it takes me 10-15 minutes to chill with the cooler but the water coming from the ground is still pretty chilly here in Ohio.

 

[bmock79]

No problem! Glad it turned out well. I'm sure that batch will get better in 1-3 weeks, if you can wait that long. I never bottled that recipe. I always keg it after 2 weeks in the secondary and it turns out great every time. It's so good that it never gets to age much longer than 4 weeks because the keg is gone by then. It's a great stand-by recipe to keep in your pocket.

If you liked that, I have a really good extract recipe for Ballast Point Sculpin that I bottled a few weeks ago that's phenomenal.

Rob

I'd love that recipe if you got it. Feel free to PM me or post it here.

Thanks!!!

 

[ttk420]

outstanding seeing this post. I just kegged my 2 hearted clone on sat night so I hope to be enjoying it by sunday. can't wait.

 

[kneelb4zod]

I'd love that recipe if you got it. Feel free to PM me or post it here.

Thanks!!!

Here you go man - it's not an exact recipe clone, but it's close. I bottled this batch in 22 oz. bottles and I'm glad I didn't keg it or it would be gone already. It's got everything - my favorite is the hints of grapefruit. It's delicious. If you like the Two Hearted clone you will love this one. I promise.

Ballast Point Sculpin Clone, or as I called it "Apex Predator IPA". It needed a name a little more intimidating than Sculpin IMHO simply because it's so bad ass. :rockin: My custom label for this batch is in the label section of the forum. It's not really a "double" IPA but I took creative license with that term. It's only about 6% ABV.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f46/sculpin-ipa-clone-label-230257/

7 lbs. Light DME

Grains:
1 lb. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt USA
10 oz. Cara-20 (Caravienne Malt Belgium)
1 1/2 lb. Crystal 10L

Hops:
2 oz. Amarillo
1 oz. Columbus
1 oz. Crystal
1 oz. Centennial
2 oz. Simcoe

Safale US-05 yeast

Hop additions are:
60 mins:
1 oz. Amarillo
1/2 oz. Columbus
1/2 oz. Centennial
1/2 oz. Simcoe

30 mins:
1/2 oz. Crystal
1/2 oz. Centennial

1 min:
1 oz. Amarillo

Dry hop: 1.5 Simcoe, 1/2 oz. Columbus, 1/2 Crystal (spread out over last week before bottling/kegging)

My OG was 1.064, FG should be around 1.018. I let it sit in the primary for about a week, then in the secondary for another 2-3 weeks or so. I'd probably give it 3 weeks in the secondary, or if you don't use a secondary, then dry-hop it for a week after 3 weeks in the primary. You want the fermentation to be pretty much done when you start dry hopping so you get all that aroma from the hops.

This batch might cost a little, but I cannot get Sculpin in a sixtel in PA for under $125 or so. Good luck!

 

[Heavyfoot]

What's a sixtel?

 

[kneelb4zod]

What's a sixtel?

It's like a corney keg. 5 gallons, which is a bit smaller than a typical 1/4 keg. They sell them here in PA. A lot of microbrews only come in sixtels around here. They have a American sanke-type tap on them.

 

[Heavyfoot]

Interesting. Do they stay fresh for long? Seems kinda crazy to have to drop a hundred bucks to get a beer you want.