August Hippo, Perfecting a recipe

As you all know, we make a lot of IPAs.  Some would say too many.  We don't mean to, it just kinda happens.  On this blog we have made, Pliny, Pliny the Petulant, an east coast, a whole bunch of west coast, 3 extract kits, a bunch of partial mash, and my tried and true ol' recipe August Hyppo.  All of these are IPAs.  That is a lot by anyone's standard.

This actually is
August Hyppo, the
color is that light!

Despite forays into the new IPA styles, we always come back to the tried and true recipes.  We always return to balanced earthy, floral, citrusy, piney, grapefruity, bitterness, but balanced.  The beer should taste like an IPA... not like a grapefruit, not a lemon, not a pine needle, not orange juice. This is restrained perfection of the american IPA style.  Soon we will be re-brewing August Hyppo and trying to make some subtle changes to perfect the recipe.  The bitterness and flavor are spot on, but the aroma leaves a lot to be desired.  So it is my intention to tell you today what we are trying to accomplish with this good ol' recipe and give you a peak at our thought process.  Here are my concerns: improving the aroma, improving the malt profile, and improving the water chemistry so that the bitterness and aroma will last longer.  And as always I will base my hop additions off of AAUs and not off of ounces... "wait, what?  what the hell are AAUs... there you go again making up new terms... "

OK, before you get frustrated let me take a minute to explain the concept of Alpha Acid Units, or AAUs.   The simple truth is that the alpha acids in hops vary from year to year.  A great example is Saaz, the traditional hop of bohemian beers.  Most years Saaz is arond 3.5 to 4.75 % alpha acid content.   In 2015 it was 9 to 9.5% alpha acid.   In 2015, if you were to add the same amount of saaz, by weight, that you always use... you could create a beer that was potentially 3x more bitter than it normally is.   So when you plan a recipe (and especially when you brew a recipe from a trusted on line source)  you should always know what the AAUs are and base your brewing upon that factor. The good news is that AAUs are easy to calculate.  To calculate the Alpha Acid Units you just multiply the ounces you are using by the Alpha Acid Content. Here is an example.

2015 Warrior Hops  16.5%  Alpha Acid Content  so; 16.5% x .8 = 13.2
2016 Warrior Hops  15.0 % Alpha Acid Content  so; 15.0% x .88 = 13.2

So to keep the recipe the same as it is in the past I have to adjust my warrior hop addition to .88 Ounces.   You should do this on every hop addition, for every recipe, every time.

The old recipe for August Hyppo
5.5 Gallons - All Grain
1.047 OG
1.007 FG
4 SRM
6.3% ABV
56 IBUs

Water treatment.   Camden and Five Star 5.2 pH stabilizer.

7.5 # 2 Row
1.0 # Corn Sugar
0.75 # Biscuit Malt
0.50 # Carapilsner

Mash at 150 F for 60 minutes.

.80 oz of Warrior at 60 minutes 16 AA% - 14.1 AAU
.60 oz of Centennial at 10 minutes 10AA% - 6 AAU
.60 oz of Columbus at 5 minutes 15 AA% - 9 AAU
.60 oz of Cascade at 0 minutes 7 AA% - 4.2 AAU
.40 oz of Simcoe at 0 Minutes 12.7 AA% - 5.1 AAU

US 05 1 package - re-hydrated.

New Bottle Label for the new Session Version
T-Shirts Coming Soon. 

Sometimes this is the best beer ever made.  A clear golden elixir capable of curing anything that ails you.   Sometimes this beer is just pretty good- needs more aroma.  Also needs to be more consistent.  The problem is that last year I made it and it was magical...everyone who tried it claimed it was among the best beers they had ever had...but I didn't take notes.  That's right...me, the king of take notes. The regent of record your brew sessions... I screwed up that day and I didn't take notes.  So now we are chasing a purple dragon... I've gotten close... I have even researched what the alpha acids were when I brewed it last year.  And that helped me get much closer, but my memory says that on this "free brewing day" one year ago, I threw in more hops that I had in the freezer... But that is just my memory, and my memory isn't what it used to be... at least I think it isn't...I can't really remember.

The new recipe for August Hyppo - making it into a session beer.
5.5 Gallons - All Grain
1.041 OG
1.007 FG
4 SRM - yes, that light in color... it is really cool to have a hoppy beer this light in color.
4.46% ABV
63 IBUs  (You'll see that after explaining AAUs,  I decided to make it a little more bitter)

Water Treatment;  Camden, 4 G of calcium chloride,  4 ML of Lactic Acid,  (we're shooting for 5.6 pH and a 2/1 SO4/Ca ratio for a hoppy beer.  We may also add gypsum to the boil in the last 10 minutes, we'll try it both ways.

7.5  # Vienna Malt
0.50 # Carapilsner

1.0 oz of Warrior at 60 minutes 16 AA% - 14.1 AAU
.60 oz of Centennial at 10 minutes 10AA% - 6 AAU
.60 oz of Columbus at 5 minutes 15 AA% - 9 AAU
.60 oz of Cascade at 0 minutes 7 AA% - 4.2 AAU
.40 oz of Simcoe at 0 Minutes 12.7 AA% - 5.1 AAU

.40 oz of Cascade dry hop 4 days 7 AA% - 2.8 AAU
.40 oz of Centennial dry hop 4 days 10 AA% - 4 AAU
.40 oz of Simcoe dry hop 4 days. 12.7 AA% - 5.1 AAU

US 05 1 package - re-hydrated

So there it is.  August Hyppo re-imagined as a session beer.  Extremely hoppy,  extremely drinkable.  And when it is right, it is a magical combination of hops.  Now, I know it isn't a unique or new combination of hops, but it is fantastic and the Vienna malt balances the hops somehow.  So even if this thing is way, way out of balance, it tastes somehow... balanced.  And since it is only a 1.041 beer it is ready to drink fast.  This beer is ready for dry hops in a week and ready for packaging on day 11.  You can easily be drinking this from the bottle 21 days after brewing, and faster if you keg.  

The Clone Wars: Part 1

Do you remember you first time?

By John Borders - Contributor, recipe wizard, and all around nice guy.

This is the beginning of a series here on Counterbrew about clone beers, clone beer recipe development, and how home brewers can mimic some of the commercial practices to create great clone beers.  We will explore where to get recipes, how to tell if they are any good, and how to make them consistently.   We will be cloning and brewing; Pliny the Elder, Pliny the Younger, Heady Topper, Pilsner Urquel, Kentucky Breakfast Stout, and Westvleteren Abbey #12. UPDATE:  Several of you have sent private messages requesting Boulevard's "the Calling", so it is definitely on the agenda. Enthusiastic, and passionate home brewer John Borders is heading up this series for Counterbrew.   Don't let John's modesty fool you, he has brewed more batches this year than many of you have brewed in your entire brewing career.  Over 20 so far this year.  So he really has the fundamentals down.  And, he has a talent for cloning beers.  Somehow the right combination, of malt, hops, and yeast just makes sense to him.   Enjoy.   We welcome your input on other beers you would like to see cloned, King Julius anyone?  John gives his first recipe clone at the bottom. 

Do you remember your first time drinking one of the really rare beers?  Did you want to shout from the social media mountaintop about your achievement in sourcing, consuming, and enjoying that rare craft beer?  Or did you contemplate keeping it a secret in an effort to consume the sweet nectar all by your lonesome.  While these instances have been few and far between for this Midwest guy, the glorious occasion of scoring a white whale has happened to me several times.   Recently a friend brought both Blind Pig and Pliny the Elder over for a tasting.  

For those of you who are new to the craft beer world or have just begun “hunting” for the latest and greatest the industry has to offer, a white whale is a beer that so infrequently hits your area that a mere Facebook or Twitter post about it from a libation retailer breaks the local Internet.  A few breweries have really figured out the supply/demand equation that drives us wild as our mad dash for these elusive whales has us pondering their actual existence. Can you blame them, really?  By limiting release they sell everything they make, control costs predictably, and create loads of buzz.

The tactic of limiting production of certain, mostly high ABV brews, has become so effective that small stadiums of beer consumers have become willing to travel hundreds of miles – or more – for as little as 12 ounces of what some might describe as heaven in a bottle. For those who can drop the cash required to visit the California wine country to sip on Russian River 's Pliny The Younger, my jealousy is immeasurable. If you have the time and energy to drive through the winding roads of the Northeast to acquire as much Heady Topper the store clerk will let you take of their hands, I commend you. Or better yet, if you ever get lost en route to Chicago and end up in Munster, Indiana, a stop into 3 Floyds Brewing Company is as imperative as that last rest stop you just passed. Those three are only but a sampling of the most desirable, hard to find beers in the USofA. Even more of these whales exist globally as import gold. Ever heard of Westvleteren Abbey 12?

So, maybe you’re not in a position to schedule your entire year around white whale releases. You live in SoCal, and Burlington Vermont might as well be Honolulu. Well, you could trade Pliny for Heady or for Abner.  if you have something of equal scarcity to offer up, you could offer that. Or you could find a retailer with an online store, but be prepared for purchase minimums – possibly waiting lists. You can get one (1) can from Alchemist or Lawson’s if you add on six bombers from somewhere else that you hadn’t planned trying. But hey, you ‘ll get to taste a bunch of new beers.  Check local laws before you order online, some states do not allow this practice.  So what options do we normal, beer aficionados do when we neither claim desirable geographic proximity to these breweries or just do not have the funding available to acquire them through “beer trading”? The answer is, you search for an alternative. My alternative is to make it myself.  To head to the internet,  find some recipes, discuss them with my brewing partners, and make the beer myself. 

100 quart mash tun
capable of 10 gallon no sparge
or 20 gallon batch sparge.

Now I have been guilty of this searching, trading, and having friends source beers for me before.  I also must admittedly say as an all grain home brewer, my ability is still growing.  Luckily, I have a great team, and in the past 6 months, We have made over 40 batches of beer.  So what I lack in years, I make up for in consistency, and practice. The other benefit of brewing with a team is the splitting of costs not only of ingredients, but also equipment.  We have the ability to do a small, 2-3 gallon batch on the stove top, all the way up to a 10 gallon, no sparge system.   As a brewer, I am just now getting into designing my own beers, so up to this point I am what you would call a “Clone Brewer”. Basically, I find recipes for my favorite beers, or beer styles and I make it myself. It is fun, it is cheap, and it is addicting.  I carefully vet these recipes out before I brew them.  I'll write more on that at a later time.  You have to do your due diligence with clone recipes. There are a lot of guys writing recipes for home brew that have a lot of enthusiasm but no real experience. 

Now for those of you wondering if I have the capability of tricking your very advanced pallets into thinking I have perfectly replicated the illustrious Zombie Dust.  I am flattered by your regard but, I must let you down. I will never perfectly replicate the taste of Pliny, Kentucky Breakfast Stout, or Pseudo Sue; but in my efforts, I will in fact make something I am proud to put my name on. And in the end I get damned close.  Close enough that the differences are very subtle.  At the end of the day, isn’t that all we really want anyway?  A great beer, and to know in general the flavor of one of these great white whales?

My Zombie Dust and the real
thing.  Mine was actually
lighter in color...

My first clone attempt was of the aforementioned Zombie Dust. It was a fun time and as many of you in the craft brewing community, finding a recipe to closely replicate this gem is not too difficult. I did however luck into some of the real stuff to try while comparing next to my effort (aren’t friends business travels the best?). I must say it was a treat, I had my concoction in a glass right next to this near mythical beer, and it was glorious.

Since this first clone attempt I have made numerous cloned batches including several offerings from Russian River, Dogfish Head, and Saison De Pipaix by the great Belgian brewery, Brasserie à Vapeur. If the task of cloning these particular beers seems to be too momentous for you, I advise you start your clone-brewing hobby by making something that is readily available to you. A suggestion may be to try and replicate your favorite craft beer from the local brewery, or maybe even replicating the one that got you into beer in the first place which for me was the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Home brewing isn’t for everyone. It requires a lot of time, effort and patience but can certainly be considered a labor of love. If your quest to find the White Whales in the craft brew jungle is as determined and noble as the Knights of The Round Table, I salute you. If your ambition does not run quite as deep, try making it in your kitchen; you may surprise yourself with what you are capable of creating!

If you have a favorite clone recipe you would like me to try, or would like some advice on finding great clone recipes, comment below and I will be more than happy to help!

Here's my Zombie dust clone - Oh and make sure your hops are fresh and well cared for it it the key to making this beer great.   Always adjust your recipe based on alpha acids.