I don't usually try to copy commercial beers, but after a few strong-ish brews I really wanted something to drink that was flavourful but lower in alcohol. Hophead is one of my favourite beers that fit into this category so thought I's have a go at making something similar and share my findings. I didn't spend ages researching the exact recipe down to the last gram, but instead tried to get an overview of the recipe and make it work with my set-up.
My recipe was:-
24L batch
4000g Maris Otter
200g Caramalt
Mash 80mins - starting at 66.2C (63.3C by the end)
Boiled 1hr
Cascade pellets 8.3% AA
10g @ 60mins
50g @ 10mins
40g @ 70C steep - 30mins
56g dry hop 5 days
MJ West Coast Ale yeast - fermented 2 weeks @ 18C (increased to 20C last few days)
7 days in 2ndry before kegging.
OG 1.039
FG 1.009
3.9% ABV
26-30 IBU (depending on software used)
9 EBC
I'm drinking this 7 days after kegging and I think its pretty obvious which one of these came out of the bottle:-
I'm quite happy with my effort and am certainly enjoying it, but the original has as much if not more fruity/floral aroma despite not apparently being dry hopped, and is it more complex and full bodied with a more lingering bitterness. The flavour is similar but mine is more bland - after some reading up today I think they might use a blend of US04, 05 & Notty yeasts, which may account for some of this difference.
Its been interesting to try a clone and interesting to compare the beers side by side. I now quite want to make it again to try to get closer to the original.
:
My recipe was:-
24L batch
4000g Maris Otter
200g Caramalt
Mash 80mins - starting at 66.2C (63.3C by the end)
Boiled 1hr
Cascade pellets 8.3% AA
10g @ 60mins
50g @ 10mins
40g @ 70C steep - 30mins
56g dry hop 5 days
MJ West Coast Ale yeast - fermented 2 weeks @ 18C (increased to 20C last few days)
7 days in 2ndry before kegging.
OG 1.039
FG 1.009
3.9% ABV
26-30 IBU (depending on software used)
9 EBC
I'm drinking this 7 days after kegging and I think its pretty obvious which one of these came out of the bottle:-
I'm quite happy with my effort and am certainly enjoying it, but the original has as much if not more fruity/floral aroma despite not apparently being dry hopped, and is it more complex and full bodied with a more lingering bitterness. The flavour is similar but mine is more bland - after some reading up today I think they might use a blend of US04, 05 & Notty yeasts, which may account for some of this difference.
Its been interesting to try a clone and interesting to compare the beers side by side. I now quite want to make it again to try to get closer to the original.
:
