The Clone Wars; Designing Home Brew Recipes

Hello all.  John here.  Today, I am going to tell you all about my approach to cloning beers.  I am not afraid to admit it.  When I began my home brewing saga, my buddy and I had no idea what  we were doing.  We knew we liked super hoppy IPAs but also wanted to make beer that would appeal the general public.  Our first attempt was an Irish Red, which we had really high hopes to become the "next big thing" in the home brewing community.  I am not sure what we were thinking...we knew next to nothing about brewing beer.  The end result of our effort was a terrible overly sweet batch of first time home brew.  Fast forward 18 months, we have advanced quite a bit, by using one method to help us connect to our beer on a higher level.  We design all of our recipes from top to bottom, start to finish.  We plan the malt, the yeast, the hops, and the water every single time.

Now I am certainly not the first person to post about designing a home brew recipe, but maybe I can shed some light on my process to make it less intimidating for those looking to "up their game".  The easiest way I can explain it is, I work backwards.  I start thinking about what I want the finished product to be like.  It is not too different from that coach you had in middle school that told you envision that buzzer-beating shot going in, or your boss telling you to dream about  your next sale.  If you know where you want to get to, it is pretty easy to complete the process to get to the promise land.

Plan your beer, take comprehensive records.

First thing first, write down what you want your beer to taste, smell, and look like.  Once we have accomplished this, we turn to several trusty internet tools to help us put the structure together.  Our group uses brewtoad.com or brewersfriend.com for recipe construction and we begin to pull in the ingredients desired to meet the agreed upon results.  Brewtoad is easier to use.  Brewersfriend is more comprehensive.  Our brew sensei often uses Beersmith, it is the penultimate brewing program.  This includes our malt bill (all-grain brewers here), hop additions, yeast selection, and any other additives or adjuncts we would like to add to the batch.  After pulling in the ingredients, the recipe tool you choose should begin auto-populating the parameters of the beer; including Original Gravity, Final Gravity, SRM (Color), and ABV%.

I would say that this guys clone looks pretty dang close!

Todays Recipe:  Pilsner Urquell - Now if you are not familiar with Pilsner Urquell, it is the world's first, and arguably best light colored lager.  Pilsner Urquell was developed in Plzen Czechloslovakia, in the state of Bohemia.  That is where the term Pilsner, and the term Bohemian Lager originate from.  It is perhaps the most influential beer in history, and is the inspiration for 2/3rds of the beer produced in the world today.  It literally changed everything about how beer is brewed.   Before Pilsner Urquell there were no light colored lagers.  Now historians argue as to whether or not there were even lagers before Pilsner Urquell, but there we definitely no golden pilsners.   Apparently prior to 1840 the beer in Plzen was so bad that in 1840 the city burghers ordered 36 casks of the beer to be poured out, and a new brewery to be built.  The people of the town invested in the new brewery, and helped build it.  They then hired Joseph Groll (a Bavarian) to come to Plzen and develop a new beer for their new brewery.  On November 11th 1842, Pilsner Urquell was first served at the feast of St. Martin.   And very little has changed about it over the years.   It is still fermented in open oak casks.  It is lagered in underground tunnels carved from the earth for the purpose of lagering.  The lagering tanks are oak, and are coated with pine tar pitch.  The boilers and mash tuns are coal fired, and are made of copper.   When you drink this beer you are drinking history.

We are fortunate to live in a large metropolitan area with some great beer bars.  One of the best is called Bier Station.   And on Friday the 14th of October, Bier Station hosted a great event.  Pilsner Urquell, unfiltered and un-pasteurized.  Wow!  This beer is good the way we get it here in the states. But holy cow was it good unfiltered and unpasteurized, fresh and balanced, malty and hoppy. The good news... We can make this beer when ever we want we just need to find and perfect a reliable recipe.

Pils Urquell unfiltered
and un pasturized was
an amazing experience.

So, where to find a reliable clone recipe? Well, here are some good sources for clone recipes. - Brew Your Own Magazine.  The American Homebrewer's Association (AHA) , major bloggers (like this one, Brulosophy, The madfermentationist, Bear Flavored, and Scott Janish.)  On these blogs you will find a whole treasure trove of carefully vetted and award winning brewers and brewing recipes.  You will also find helpful articles and tips.  The recipe we chose to start with was Michael Tonsmiere's Pils Urquel clone.  Well known blog (themadfermentationist).  Michael Tonsmiere is a great authority on sour beers.  His book is a valuable resource for those of you who want to dabble in sour beer making.  So it may surprise you that we chose a lager recipe from him.  But we know the caliber of brewer that he is, and we knew that we could use this recipe as a starting point for developing our own version.

Now a lot of you begin your cloning career by just choosing a recipe and brewing it, with no modifications.   Here is the problem with that,  you need to be modifying that clone to fit your brewing style and your brewing system.  We get 73.24% from no sparge, we get 77.8% from a decoction no sparge. We lose 1 gallon of trub in a 10 gallon batch.  We boil off 1 gallon per hour, so 1.5 in a 90 minute boil.  If we want 11 gallons into the fermenters we have to boil 13.5 gallons. Michael gets about the same efficiency as we do, but not exactly the same efficiency.  So we will have to adjust the grain bill for our slightly higher efficiency.

Now pilsner Urquell is entirely Saaz Hops. So no problem there, easy to source.  But we need to modify the hop bill as well.  This is the biggest mistake that brewers make when trying to clone a beer.   The don't modify for the current alpha acids of this years crop of hops. And if you don't modify for current acids, your beer can be way off.   Here is an example. The alpha acid units are calculated by taking the ounces x the alpha acid percentage.  So 1 ounce of a 10% alpha acid hop is 10 AAUs.  2 ounces would be 20 units.  But alpha acids change from year to year.  And sometimes radically.   Saaz was 9.9% in 2015, it is usually about 3.75% obviously in 2015 we needed less hops. So here is how you calculate for correct replacement.   1 ounce of 3.75 AA% hops = 3.75 AAUs.   So to get 3.75 AAUs of 9.9% Alpha Acid Saaz you only need.  .378 ounces.   .378 ounces x 9.9 = 3.75 AAUs (alpha acid units).   Always calculate your alpha acid units.

Modifying the recipe for special ingredients, or special characteristics of the brewery.  In the case of Pilsner Urquell,  they ferment open in oak barrels, and then they lager in pine tar pitch lined barrels.   This lends the beer a unique character.  Well obviously we are not going to do that.  But we may to a semi open fermentation. just covering the fermenter loosely with a towel affixed with a bungee cord.  We may also sanitize some oak chips and put them in during fermentation.  That should create similar fermentation and similar atmospheres of pressure, and still keep the nasties out.  But some of the traditions of the brewery can only be replicated with common sense on a home brew level. Obviously we are not going to line our fermenters with pine tar pitch.  So how do we replicate that on the home brew level?   A touch of smoked malt, should do the trick in this recipe for duplicating the pine tar character..  How much... well that is the fun of the cloning process.   We wont know until we try it.  We do know that you do not taste smoke when you drink a pilsner urquel, but there is a unique character.  So we will only add a tiny amount, an ounce or two.  We have loads of saaz hops, so in all likelihood we will make 10 gallons and ferment 5 gallons with our traditional method, and 5 gallons with our changes (intended to replicate the brewery).  Is it necessary to replicate the brewery?  No, but it is fun.

Choosing the right yeast.   Does it really matter? Yes, and no.  In some beers is is critical.  In some beers the yeast is a big part of the character of the beer.  In most lagers, the yeast is not a predominant feature of the beer.  So Yes, a lager strain is needed.  And No, the strain you use is not really that critical.   We prefer Fermentis 34/70 for almost all of our lagers.  And 34/70 is a dependable reliable yeast.  This amazing lager strain can make authentic lagers (not hybrid or mock lagers, actual lagers) at 60 F.   This has been displayed by many blogs, including this one.  Now, you need to know that Pilsner Urquell has a malty sweet finish, and a touch of sulphur.  So with a Pilsner Urquell you need to consider stopping the fermentation a couple of gravity points higher than the terminal gravity, and if we don't get the yeast character we want, we will use Saflager S189 next time (it has a touch of sulphur).   You can halt fermentation easily with a good cold crash.  But in our case, we will be bottling these beers so we will just let it finish out and then we will count on a certain amount of sweetness from the bottle conditioning.  Remember we are trying to make this as similar to the golden unfiltered, unpasturized lager we got to try at Bier Station.

The recipe.  Our inspiration can be found here.  And here is our final recipe modified for this years hops, and for our efficiency.   Is this the ultimate final version of our recipe?  No, of course not.  But it will be fantastic beer that we will enjoy.  We will also take notes and talk about how to change it to be exactly what we want it to be.  We often start out trying to clone a recipe and then end up deciding not to continue the cloning process. Electing instead to focus on another aspect of the beer, and focus on making the beer exactly what we want it to be, rather than copying the original beer.  As you review this recipe you can see that we made subtle changes to Mike's original recipe.

Dave jumping in here.   Now you may notice that this is a triple decoction recipe.  If you are not familiar with decoction, I really encourage you to go back and read this blog.  And read this blog.  Oh, and watch this video.  Decoction is not hard, once you learn what you are doing.   Basically you are going to do a multi step mash, and to raise the temperature of each step, you are going to remove 2/3rds of the grain in the mash tun and decoct it.  That means you are going to bring it to 150 -155 F for 10 minutes, and then to a boil for 15 - 20 minutes.  You will need to stir constantly.  If you are a new brewer, this might not be the recipe to try to learn decoction on.   So In that case just mash for 60 minutes starting at 156 F and letting your mash fall naturally in temperature over 60 minutes.  At the end of the mash remove 1/2 of the grains and bring them to a boil, stirring constantly for 15 minutes, then add them back into the main mash before draining, and or sparging.  So your total mash time will be close to 75 minutes.  This process is called a false decoction.  It will get you very close in terms of color and mouth feel.

That's all for today. Thanks for reading.

Gather your stuff it's time for Ooompah! German festbier!

haben sie gehort das deutsches band?

Ok,  so believe it or not, it is time to start getting ready for fall.  And fall means bigger bolder beers.  Fall means darker heavier beers, and fall means... Oktoberfest right?   Well yes, and in truth.... No.  The Germans don't really serve Maibock at Oktoberfest anymore.  Well they serve it, but it isn't the main beer they serve.  And I have it on good authority if you want a Mass of Oktoberfest, you have to get up from your picnic table and walk over to the bar where they are pouring other beers. And who wants to leave the picnic table in the meadow tent and do that?  The main beer they serve is called Festbier.  Festbier literally means Festival beer. It is the deep golden (but not amber) colored low alcohol beer you see in the pictures of the beer tents.  Festbier has a malty malty taste, a medium body, balanced hops, and a clean finish. There was an excellent article on Festbier in the Jan/Feb 2016 edition of BYO by Gordon Strong.   I am assuming you all know who Gordon Strong is... no? ok...

All Hail Gordon Strong.

Well then, let's back up a minute.  Gordon Strong is BYO's (brew your own) style columnist.  He is also the president of the BJCP, an award winning brewer, and the highest ranking beer judge in the world.  He won the Ninkasi award 3 freaking years in a row. In his books he teaches and talks about realistic techniques for brewing better beer at home.  The fundamental idea, is that styles are generated by the people who brew.  10 years ago American Strong Ale was not a style.  But people kept making it and the BJCP studied it and added it. Gordon Strong is a realist, he is the ultimate beer geek. He is our king, you owe him your allegiance.  His style columns are meant to inform you about a type of beer you may want to experience.  So check out his books and columns, they're truly great.   And in the January / February issue of BYO he uncorks one hell of a recipe, and of course he makes it easy.

Believe it or not, these frauleins are holding beers.
I can't quite make out the beers, but I have been assured
that they are in the photo somewhere.

In fact, he makes it too easy.   But have no fear our somewhat regular and loyal readers.  We'll fix that with our usual dose of complicated absurdity. We'll be influenced by Gordon's recipe but we'll be changing the grain bill slightly and doing a triple decoction mash. Our goals; have fun, add richness, add mouthfeel, and obtain the almost tawny golden color you see in the photo of the frauleins at the left side of the page  We're posting the recipe early and the ingredients and equipment you will need in hopes that many of you will join us in our quest to make this great fall beer. We will be doing a no sparge, triple decoction.  And of course we'll be using the fast lager method because...well why the heck wouldn't you?  If you want to lager it for months be our guest. There is nothing wrong with that practice. Does the beer improve with extra cold storage?   Yes, probably. maybe... in truth we have no idea, we drink it before it ages.  But by using a fast lager fermentation you can still lager part of the batch in your keg, or in bottles.  And you can start drinking some of the beer sooner.

Yes, sports fans she is also holding
beers, I know it is hard to see them.
But with the trained eye, you can
make them out.  I think these might
be traditional Marzen!

Oom-pah!
6 gallons (5.5 to ferment, 5 to package)
1.054 OG
1.012 FG
6 SRM
5.5% ABV

7.6 lbs of Pilsner
4.4 lbs of Vienna (no munich? nope, were doing a decoction)
.25 lbs of Flaked Barley - for head retention, it works, try it.
0.5 oz  of Magnum at 60 minutes  14,7% AA,  7.35 AAUs
0.8 oz  of Hallertauer Mittlefruh  2.2% AA, 1,76 AAUs
1 Package of Fermentis 34/70
1 tsp of yeast nutrient at 15 minutes
1 tsp of irish moss at 15 minutes
1 tsp of unflavored gelatin - for fining the beer.

Decoction schedule - 

• Enzyme Wash - 132 F - Calculate your needed strike water temperature
• 1st Decoction- 146-148 F - Pull a thick 2/3rds decoction, rest at 150 F for 10 M, then boil for 10 M Return to raise the wort to 146 to 148 F.  Hold for 1 minute, stir, then pull 2nd decotion
• 2nd Decoction - 156-158 F - Pull a thick 2/3rds decoction, boil for 10 M Return to raise the wort to 156 to 158 F.  Hold for 1 minute, stir, then pull 3rd decotion - Schluss Decoction (Schluss means conclusion or final)
• Schluss Decoction - Pull enough grain free wort from your mash to raise the temperature of the mash to 168 F.   You'll have to do the math on brew day.  I use brewers friend calculator for infusion step mashing.   
• Vourlauff - We vourlauff the entire volume almost like a fly sparge, it gets all the chunkies out. And we use an extra brew bag... so do please stay tuned for our brewday videos and post, you're gonna love it!  

Boil - Described above, but boil hard

Fermentation schedule - 

• 7 days at 52 F We may also add fermaid K at day 3 of fermentation to ensure the beer finishes clean and crisp.
• 3 days at 68 F
• 1 day at 50 F (add Gelatin)
• 10 days at 34 F
• Package, and store the beer cold.  It does get even better with time, but it's pretty damned good, how it is.

Triple Decoction Munich Helles - Home brew geekery

He can't carry anything, but he can
damned sure grind the grains!
Warning fellow brewers, don't
leave pilsner near John.  He eats
it like pop corn... all day.

Sunday was a beautiful and peaceful day in KC.  A gorgeous day to brew.   Brewing with a team is great.  There are things you can not do by yourself that you can do with just a little help from your team.  Our team is spread out right now.  Jake was at the TPC in Jacksonville.   Mark is still in Brazil and John is hampered by a torn Achilles tendon right now.   But there is still a lot he can do.   Fortunately for us, John's lovely wife stepped up and helped a lot.  (Thank you Beth).

So Sunday, John and I set out to brew a triple decoction Munich Helles with Cargill Europils.   Europils is grown in Canada, but made following traditional European practises.  We think it is fantastic stuff.   Our hops were BSG small package Hallertauer Mittlefruh.

Our goal was to stick to traditional brewing as much as possible, and to make things easy as possible.

We used no water treatments other than camden to knock out the chlorine.   The pH adjustment was made with 1lb of acidulated malt.  Our pH after dough in came in at 5.44.  The wort tasted amazing.   I am not saying we are committed to this approach all of the time.  In fact, I would say generally we will make full water chemistry adjustments.   But today, John and I were geeking out and channelling the wisdom of the German brewers of old.

Silicone gloves are a must have
for a decoction brew day!
In fact,  I would suggest
that they are a must have
for all BIAB brewdays!

We let the grains rest for 15 minutes at 132 F before pulling our first decoction.  This is called the enzyme wash.  It allows the majority of the enzymes to get into the liquid.  Our trusty 1 quart metal mesh strainer broke, So we had to use a pitcher to remove the grains from the mash tun.   I strongly suggest that you, use a mesh strainer.   If you don't have a mesh strainer, just go get one, and know that if you decoct a lot, you will be replacing it once a year.  Using a pitcher was such a pain in the ass, and on a brew day you know is going to be long, it just isn't worth it.   But we made do.  The first decoction rested at 150 for 15 minutes and then was heated to a boil.  Jake's jet burner makes quick work of decoction heating.   Beth, John, and I took turns stirring the decoction boil for the 15 minutes.   And then the entire decoction was returned to the main mash.  The temperature rose to 145 F.  I do need to say, if you do not own silicone gloves, you really need them for a decoction brew day. You will be lifting heavy kettles full of boiling grains and wort.

Decoction Mashing, what it looks like.

We rested at 145 F for 15 minutes and then pulled our next decoction.  The second decoction is faster. You really don't need to rest at 150 on the second decoction.   You can proceed straight to the boil. Once again Beth, John and I all took turns stirring for the 15 minutes.   The second decoction, really all decoctions will seem really dry when you first put them in the kettle.  But they will give off the wort as they come to a boil.   By the time you are done with the decoction it will be soupy.   So don't worry just keep stirring.   We returned the decoction to the main mash and rested for 20 minutes.  The temperature rose to 155 F.


After 20 minutes we pulled a thin decoction.  Now, what the heck is a thin decoction?  It's just wort.  We pulled 4 gallons of wort from the mash and brought it to a boil.  When it boiled we poured it back into the main mash for the mash out.  The temperature rose to 170 F.   We rested for 10 minutes and then collected 11 gallons of wort for the boil.  You can use this techniqe for any mash out.

Our target wort gravity was 1.034.  We were at 1.042.   So we overshot again, but we were with in a reasonable tolerance.  The proteins kept building during the boil.  Even with Fermcap S we almost had boil overs.   I know that decoction completely unbundles the proteins, I'm sure this has something to do with our results.  Hallertaurer is low this year 2.5% alpha acid. So we added  .6 oz of warrior at 60 minutes, just to get our bittering where we wanted it. We added 1 oz of Hallertauer at 60, .6 oz of Warrior at 60, and 1.5 oz of Hallertauer at 5 m.  The beer was chilled to ground water temps of 57 F with our Jaded Hydra Chiller.  We let the chiller run for 10 minutes to get to 57 F.  next time we'll set up a final chiller with a sump pump and the old immersion chillers.  Just get a hydra.  Don't whine about the cost, it's the best money you will spend.  We can chill 10 gallons from boiling to pitch temps in about 6 minutes.

Rigorous Boil.  That was Jake's nickname in college

The boil was too rigorous we ended up collecting only 9 gallons of wort, at 1.068 OG.  4.5 gallons in two plastic fermentation buckets.  The simple solution was to add a gallon of spring water to each fermenter.  The beers were placed into the fermentation chamber which was set to 52 F.   After work tonight I'll be swinging by aerating, and pitching the yeast.   We are pitching 34/70 into one of these, and S23 into the other.    That way we can compare the two Fermentis yeasts and decide which one we prefer for this beer.

Overall this was a really fun and fantastic brew day.  I'll admit, I love decoction.  It is a blast.   And it doesn't have to be intimidating.   And it isn't just for german brews.  You can, and we have, add a decoction to your favorite ipa recipe and really create a great malt backbone.  Now, I know a lot of you will argue that decoction is not necessary.  And to you I say... you are correct.   You can make really fine beer with out decoction.   I know a lot of you will argue that decoction makes no difference, and to you I will say... you are just wrong.   It makes a tremendous difference in color, mouthfeel, and in taste.    So I encourage all of you to give it a try.  You wont be disappointed.

We have some exciting brews coming up.   We have a full team triple decoction Pilsner Urquel clone coming up.   We will be making our amazing tripel, because we are out of it and we all want more.  But we will be making it in a 10 gallon batch.   Then we will be making the fall beers.   A festbier (easy decoction), a BSDA, and for Beth a pumpkin beer.  Then our focus shifts to winter beers.   So by mid to late summer we will be making a fall Saison, and some great big Stouts for winter consumption. But don't fret sports fans, Mark and I will keep making some weird small batch stuff, wine, and sours.  So keep checking in.

This weekend's recipe... triple decoction Munich Helles

If you'll direct your eyes to the beer...then you'll notice
It is certainly not a 1 or 2 SRM beer, more like 3 or 4.

So there is a change to this weekend's  triple decoction recipe.   We are making a Munich Helles rather than a Bohemian Pilsner.   We all just decided that a Munich Helles would be more delicious during the hot summer here in KC.  And since Mark is out of town, and Bohemian Pilsner is a special favorite for him, we are switching to a Helles.

So this weekend we are brewing a 10 gallon munich helles with triple decoction.  A very traditional approach to this beer.   A lot of Munich Helles only have one bittering charge of hops, but we are updating the recipe with a late addition as well.  While this beer is certainly not hoppy, we still want it to taste and smell like beer.




We will be following our easy decoction method.  Our first rest will be at 132 F, we are skipping the protelytic rest on this one.  I am not convinced that modern malt benefits from it, and since we brew with very thin mash (often no sparge), the protelytic rest is somewhat ineffective.   So we'll enzyme wash at 132 and do a brief rest of 15 minutes before pulling the first decoction.  The first decoction will take us to 146 F, the second decoction to 154 F.  The final decoction will be a thin mash decoction (only wort no grains) it will take us to mash out.

The main thing I want you all to get from this brew session is that decoction is a tool that you can use to improve your beer.  Decoction can be used to step mash, to improve the clarity and mouth feel of your beer, and to correct temperature when you dramatically undershoot a rest temperature  (a quick note; there is no reason to correct mash temperatures that are with in a couple of degrees RDWHAHB).   It isn't rocket science, it is just a tool.  In fact, it is the opposite of rocket science, it is a very old technique.  So here is the recipe;

This is what a quiet hero looks like
The great Munich / German composer
Richard Strauss.
Quietly Protected his family during
the Nazi Regime, and preserved
great German Music written by Jews.

Ein Heldenleben-  (A Hero's Life)
10 Gallons
1.048 OG
1.015 FG
21 IBUs
3  SRM
4% ABV

16.5 # of Pilsner Malt (we are using Europils by Cargill)
1.00 # of Munich Malt

2.5 oz  Hallertauer Mittlefruh 4.4% AA  11 AAUs  @ 60 Minutes,  should contribute 20 IBUs
1.0 oz  Hallertauer Mittlefruh 4.4% AA  4.4 AAUs @ 5 Minutes,  should contribute 2 IBUs

Fermentis 34/70 3 packages. Rehydrated in 1000 ml of 1.035 wort during the brew day.

2 tsp of yeast nutrient at 15 minutes
2 whirlflock tablets at 10 minutes

The mash schedule triple decoction.

• Rest at 132 F for 15 minutes 
• Pull thick decoction 2/3rds. rest decoction at 150 F for 10 minutes, then bring to a boil stirring constantly, for 15 minutes. 
• Return decoction to main mash add scoop by scoop till main mash temperature is 146 F.  cool the remainder of the decoction to 146 F then return to mash. 
• Rest for 10 minutes then pull another decoction... rest, boil  return to the main mash scoop by scoop until the main mash is at 154 to 156 F  cool any remaining decoction to 156 F before adding to main mash.  
• Rest 15 minutes.  Pull a thin (schluss) decoction large enough to create a mash out. 
• Boil and add hops / extras.
• Chill to lager temps before pitching 3 packages of rehydrated 34/70 yeast that is also at lager temps. 
• Aerate this wort thoroughly before pitching yeast.  (if shaking, 3 to 5 minutes minimum)

21 day lager Fermentation schedule - you dont need 3 months to make a lager

• 7 days at 50 F
• Raise temperature to 65 F (Raise temperature 8 F at a time)
• 7 days at 65 F
• Lower Temperature to 35 F (Lower temperature 10 F at a time)
• 7 days at 35 F
• Add Gelatin Fining when beer reaches 55 F
• After 7 days the beer should be clear and ready for packaging.