Today I tasted my latest attempt at a Sierra Nevada clone. This is the 4th attempt at replicating this beer, and it is the one beer that continues to elude me, batch after endless batch!
Today we are getting close to the target, but not there yet. The Sierra Nevada has a slightly more "carmelly" taste and is sweeter than the clone. It is also redder, in color which both might account for the amount of C-60 in the clone recipe. I will up that next time to correct for color and sweetness. I mashed this one at 155F, not sure I want to go higher, I think maybe additional C-60 might correct this.
Cascade flavor hops I think are stronger on the original, so I will up those as well. This uses a 3-day dry hop charge of Cascade, I think the aroma hops are about equal, so I'll stick with what I'm doing on the back end.
I've been substituting Hornindal Kviek once again on hoppy US05/WLP001/WY1056 hoppy beers and IPA, and I did the same here. There are no off-flavors on this batch whatsoever, but it came out just a bit cleaner and drier than the sweeter and stickier Sierra Nevada.
Carbonation levels on the clone are a bit higher, I'll back that off on the next batch. Head and lacing are right-on. This isn't "exactly" Sierra yet, but a pretty good APA. I'll keep recalibrating until I get this one right!