Why do people love clones?

[wildwest450]

Elitist troll question, really? I don't think that was OP's intention.

People brew for different reasons. I can appreciate brewing clones of styles that aren't available in your area, or because it's cheaper... but I can also understand being totally uninterested in brewing a beer that someone else has already nailed.

How do I know, i'm not a mind reader. Someone else already nailed it? Really? Closed minded view of what beer is all about. Just because you chose to clone a beer, doesn't mean someone else has "nailed" it.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Why grille a hamburger? McDonald's was doing it before you were born. Elitest troll question. Maybe i've been drinking (isn't that the point), but this may be the worst brewing question ever asked. Plus, my clones don't cost $4.50 a pint.

When I make a burger, I am not trying to replicate frigging mcdonalds.

Cost is an OK answer, but why not make your own recipe for the same cost?

Only clone I ever tried was miller lite........for SWMBO.....and I brewed it as an ALE!!!!!!!which made it MINE!!!!!!!!!lol.

She loved it.

Only reason I looked at a clone recipe for that was that my brain does not compute "lite american lager". My recipe would have been 2 lbs of pale DME and 1 lb of sugar..........that's it.No hops.

 

[wildwest450]

Cost is an OK answer, but why not make your own recipe for the same cost?

Your "own" recipe, really? Post an "original', and i'll find 25 of the same that has been done first. There aint much left in the brewing field that hasn't been tried.

And if you cloned Miller Lite as an ale you have no business commenting on this thread.

 

[Shooter]

There aint much left in the brewing field that hasn't been tried.

Oh YEAH!!! How about brewing with bear vomit or fermenting in a sheep's stomach. I calls it me haggis beer, lots of oats in the recipe, still not as popular an option as you might think!!

There's plenty that hasn't been tried. It may not necessarily be any GOOD, but don't say it has all been done before.

 

[wildwest450]

There's plenty that hasn't been tried. It may not necessarily be any GOOD, but don't say it has all been done before.

OK, for your next batch try pound of STFU. I'm sure it will make an epic beer.
So by your logic, we can try poodle sh*t pale ale?

 

[billc68]

Not sure about your neck of the woods but imported beer here runs $3-$4 per can or bottle on average. I want to make a Guinness clone at about $45 CDN for 6 US gallons, that would run me about $150-$200 to buy in the store. Our Liquor taxes are insane around here

 

[HoppyDaze]

For me its just brewing a beer I know I'll like. Im still experimenting with my own recipes, Ive done about 15 AG batches so Im still very new to brewing

 

[Shooter]

OK, for your next batch try pound of STFU. I'm sure it will make an epic beer.

Where do you get the best price on that?

So by your logic, we can try poodle sh*t pale ale?

No, that would be absolutely terrible. You would have to use it in a porter to have any chance of it being delicious.

 

[boo boo]

Here are a few thoughts on clones

- They are a good "jumping-off" point. For newer brewers they have had a certain kind of beer and liked it, but maybe had a different brand of that style and didnt like it. A clone of the first would probably guarantee they like it. OR maybe you really like a certain beer, but wish it had more of X, so you use a clone and tweak it to include more of X

- Availability. Maybe you really like a beer when you were vacationing, but can't find that beer any where near you. Then you can brew it and have it whenever

- As the above poster said, your non beer conesieur friends will recognize a certain brand name and be more intrigued to try it.

- Sense of Accomplishment - Figuring out and creating a clone from scratch is a pretty big feat. It is a good way to hone your recipe skills.

My take on this topic also.

 

[DrinkinSurfer]

Where do you get the best price on that?



No, that would be absolutely terrible. You would have to use it in a porter to have any chance of it being delicious.

Last I check STFU is free. And wouldn't it be called a French Porter? Or possibly a French Imperial Porter if the sh*t was particularly strong and has a high OG?

 

[AnOldUR]

. . . Someone else already nailed it? Really? Closed minded view of what beer is all about. Just because you chose to clone a beer, doesn't mean someone else has "nailed" it.

Really! It is what it is, and if you're really trying to clone IT, you're trying to reproduce what they nailed. If you're trying to make a better version of an existing beer, you're not trying to clone it.

 

[wildwest450]

Where do you get the best price on that?

Nice!, you get internet humor.


.

 

[Nova5]

Personally i like making clones because i make them do the ****work i don't want to do.

 

[Manfish]

I have only done 1 clone so far, gonna do a couple more in a month or so, but the reason I did/will do it is that it's cheaper! I admit that for no other reason (than obviously I like that beer) than the price. My buddy Mike and I used to go to a local bar, spend $3/pint on Red Hooks CopperHook. I cloned it, kegged it, and now we are drinking it for about $0.55/pint.... um, YEAH! Are you kidding me?

 

[pernox]

Last I check STFU is free. And wouldn't it be called a French Porter? Or possibly a French Imperial Porter if the sh*t was particularly strong and has a high OG?

If it was a French Porter, it would run away before you got to take a sip off it.

 

[mikeysab]

how'd this thread go from one post short of a shootout to a beer naming brainstorm?

 

[Selfsufficient]

At this point in my brew hobby, I have not tried to clone anything. However, the knowledge that I have gained by brewing other members clones and recipes has taught me, wait, provided me the "I finally get it" moment. My wife didn't like the first 5 all-grain batches that I did. Too sweet, too thick. After brewing some of the recipes on this forum, clone or otherwise, AAAAHHHHHHHHHH, Mash tooooooo hot. Now I know how to make a really dry beer and a really sweet beer. Trial and error is awesome and so are clones and recipes. NOW I can finally tweek the recipe. In the end, they all made beer, I just might have gained a few pounds in the process.

 

[munche]

I guess let's compare it to making a cake.

You can buy a boxed cake and have everything almost made for you. This to me is like an extract kit
You can buy the ingredients from a recipe and make it from scratch based on the recipe. This to me is like a clone recipe.
Or you can just pull the ingredients together and make a cake.

You typically start at one and work your way to the end. To me, making a clone is making a beer from a recipe...I'm still new at brewing, and I'm learning what goes together and what doesn't. So I look at styles of beer that I like, make them from the recipes I find and I'm slowly learning the different flavors I get from different malts/hops/etc.

Sure I could go down to the LHBS, grab a scooper and throw in various amounts of grains/hops/yeast, but odds of that coming out good are pretty low. I don't really know enough about the ingredients to know their flavors, so I rely on proven recipes. Sure I could take "generic IPA" off the internet, but what if that IPA tastes like ass? Better to target something that tastes like a known quantity. Besides which, "Generic IPA Recipe" be it from a website, beersmith, or a book, isn't any more "Creating something new" than making a clone is. It's just cloning a beer I've never tried.

 

[chrislehr]

You can get front row seats to a cover band.

Sometimes it's not about the name, but the experience.

 

[arturo7]

The LA Philharmonic is a cover band and they kick serious arse.

 

[AnOldUR]

Your "own" recipe, really? Post an "original', and i'll find 25 of the same that has been done first. There aint much left in the brewing field that hasn't been tried.

Yeah, but there's always the ignorance factor. I thought I brewed something really good and someone on here pointed out that all I did was clone GumballHead. :cross:

 

[SwampassJ]

I don't understand the fascination with brewing clones. I mean, if I wanted a beer that tasted like Pliny the Elder for example, I'd just go buy a 6er of it. In my opinion (and it's just an opinion so no flaming necessary), brewing a clone is like watching a cover band...they're both close to the real thing, but the real thing is usually better.

I'll admit, I've brewed a few not-so-spectacular beers, but they were my own recipes so I enjoyed them anyway...still better than half the stuff you find at the store.

So, why the clone love?

Because some of us don't have the privilege of living in a distribution area of certain micro brews.

 

[HIbrew]

I like to brew clones when I need a challenge to get me excited about brewing. I also enjoy putting all the pieces together and finding how different ingredients contribute to the final product. I agree that brewing clones from a recipe can get old, but that style of brewing can help to get people into the hobby in the beginning. My dad got into it brewing a harpoon ipa.

 

[Franzi]

Funny how the guy who calls me an elitist troll is the ****** who's stirring up trouble and bashing people's opinions. Go build up your post count somewhere else, loser.

As somebody above mentioned, it was a legit question. I'm not making fun of people for brewing clones...just sparking conversation instead of the usual "what's better, dme or lme?"

Thanks to everybody else though

 

[RDWHAHB]

Well I'll pithch in and call you elitist too then. You brew because you like making your own recipes (even though by your own account they don't taste good). Your tone often indicates your think your motives are better than people who brew clones for a variety of reasons. That makes you elitist. I like the process of brewing, and enjoying the finished product. Don't care a whole lot for the recipe generation. Everybody has diffrent reason for brewing. If you don't actually think your reasons are better, modify your tone. Then you don't seem elitist.

 

[Ragutis]

I really like Orfy's Hobgoblin clone. An actual Hobgoblin, while tasty, pales to the fresh version that I brew. Travel and temperature variances take their toll on imported beers.

 

[heywolfie1015]

I really like Orfy's Hobgoblin clone. An actual Hobgoblin, while tasty, pales to the fresh version that I brew. Travel and temperature variances take their toll on imported beers.

Actually, I think this is an incredibly valid point. Travel can really kill a beer. Case in point, just try to argue that a Pilsner Urquell found at a liquor store in the U.S. is just as good as the one pulled from the tap in Pilsn itself. Or a one-year-old Saison Dupont that's been sitting in fluorescent lights on trucks and at the store is just as good as the product straight from the brewery. Fact is, you can't make that claim.

By brewing clones, you get quality control over the life of the beer and can ensure (to the extent of your own capabilities) that it will be better tasting, longer, than the commercial versions.

Finally, to add my two cents, I like to brew clones for styles that I like, but don't care about enough to make my own recipe. For example, I think Moose Drool is just about the best American Brown out there. Since my interests in experimentation lie elsewhere, when I get in the mood for an American Brown, why reinvent the wheel? I'll just make my Moose Drool clone and rest assured that the result will be something I absolutely love.

 

[coastwx]

Like others have said, I like to approximate some of the beers made by experts and tweak to my taste, or to the ingredients I have on hand. For example, I made something similar to SNPA, but bumped up the dry hop, which made it much better than the original. That freakin stuff put a smile on my face everyday I had a glass I also did a Bell's two-hearted, but used Amarillo instead of Centennial because that's what I had on hand. I'm fairly new and making clones helps my understanding of how variability on different malts, hops, yeast, mashing temps, etc impact the taste.

 

[Franzi]

Well I'll pithch in and call you elitist too then. You brew because you like making your own recipes (even though by your own account they don't taste good). Your tone often indicates your think your motives are better than people who brew clones for a variety of reasons. That makes you elitist. I like the process of brewing, and enjoying the finished product. Don't care a whole lot for the recipe generation. Everybody has diffrent reason for brewing. If you don't actually think your reasons are better, modify your tone. Then you don't seem elitist.

I don't think my tone is the problem. Only you and two others have taken issue with this thread. Those who didn't falsely read in to the tonality of my original post, responded with points that I have found to be very interesting and as I stated earlier, have convinced me to give a clone a try.

No need to get your panties in a bunch (read with tone). Just like all of us on this board, I'm pro beer whether it's purchased, an original recipe, a clone, a modified clone, or even a coors lite.

Please stop trolling, thanks!

 

[mikeysab]

I think the fact that you're on a homebrewing forum speaks for part of your dedication to brewing your own beer, and that's great. But on the other hand, how could you ask the question "Why do people love clones?" and say " I don't understand the fascination with brewing clones" without sounding like it's beneath you? IMO every lager you brew is a clone of someone elses lager. Every APA is a clone of someone elses APA. The difference is, you never tasted the original, so you're going in blind. Brewing a clone gives you a starting point, a tried and true beer that you can say"thats good, and I want to brew that". llets face it, there are only so many types of malted barley, hops, and yeast out there. So next time you think "i just made an original recipe", think again. People have undouubtedly brewed recipes that could be award winners, but didn't enjoy them and didn't share them. I just drank a DFH 60 in a bar that gets put to shame by the clone of it I brewed myself.

like I said before, your original question could have been phrased "why the 'brew your own' love?" because there's probably no such thing as an original recipe at this point.

and you did phrase your OP in a way that made you sound like brewing clones was beneath you, and any other HB'er, but that's just my two cents. That's how I took it