Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew
July 19, 2017 11:37 AM Subscribe
The AHA reached out to breweries from across the United States and today released its first compilation of 50 commercial clone recipes, scaled to homebrew-sized batches. Whether you want a legendary IPA, a crisp pilsner, or even a fruity mead, there's something for everybody.
Want to learn more about brewing? Whether you're a beginner, intermediate, or advanced, the AHA has you covered there, too.
Want to learn more about brewing? Whether you're a beginner, intermediate, or advanced, the AHA has you covered there, too.
It's nice to see that they were willing to include a mead in there, especially given some of the other great breweries in New Hampshire.
If anybody wants good meadmaking help, the folks in /r/mead are friendly and some are even professionals. (self promotion; I created the reddit)
posted by phlyingpenguin at 12:12 PM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
If anybody wants good meadmaking help, the folks in /r/mead are friendly and some are even professionals. (self promotion; I created the reddit)
posted by phlyingpenguin at 12:12 PM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
If any of y'all are women involved in brewing (or just love beer,) my wife (and MeFite) Kitteh does a podcast on women in beer called Harpy Hour, now with a toll-free line to call in and share your women-in-beer stories (1-833-85-HARPY).
posted by Shepherd at 12:15 PM on July 19, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Shepherd at 12:15 PM on July 19, 2017 [5 favorites]
Thanks for this. I made a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone earlier this year which turned out great. I think we're going to switch a couple of things up to make it ours next go around.
Some of my friends scoff at the clones, but it's a good way to learn why beers taste the way they do.
posted by sauril at 12:31 PM on July 19, 2017
Some of my friends scoff at the clones, but it's a good way to learn why beers taste the way they do.
posted by sauril at 12:31 PM on July 19, 2017
I was just wondering the other day if the (sadly unobtainable) DFH Raison D'Etre had a homebrewe recipe somewhere, and now here's this.
This is a phenomenal selection of intersting recipes minus my personal quibbles (Jekyll's Oktoberfest for Georgia... it's a fine beer, but... really? A Märzenbier? Why not something... I dunno, that uses intersting or fun ingredients and takes less than two months to lager out.)
If you love beer and ever wanted to try out home brewing there's not better start than to try and copy one of your favorite commercial brews. You can get pretty close with a minimum of effort and true appreciation for the art required to really nail a style.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 12:32 PM on July 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
This is a phenomenal selection of intersting recipes minus my personal quibbles (Jekyll's Oktoberfest for Georgia... it's a fine beer, but... really? A Märzenbier? Why not something... I dunno, that uses intersting or fun ingredients and takes less than two months to lager out.)
If you love beer and ever wanted to try out home brewing there's not better start than to try and copy one of your favorite commercial brews. You can get pretty close with a minimum of effort and true appreciation for the art required to really nail a style.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 12:32 PM on July 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
One of these days I really am going to have to break down and make some doggone beer. It's been WA-A-A-A-AY too long. Thanks for the nudge!
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:38 PM on July 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:38 PM on July 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
Some of my friends scoff at the clones, but it's a good way to learn why beers taste the way they do.
Yep, it's always instructive to start from a known point and move on from there.
I haven't brewed in ages, but this has got me itching to get going again. Unfortunately there's nowhere in the house that I can maintain temperature in the summer, and I have no interest in spending more than I need to right now, so I'll probably wait for fall and brew a few one-gallon batches to get back into the swing (I really, really hate bottling and don't want to buy a kegerator; if I can bottle into 4 1L PET bottles I will be so happy).
posted by uncleozzy at 12:39 PM on July 19, 2017
Yep, it's always instructive to start from a known point and move on from there.
I haven't brewed in ages, but this has got me itching to get going again. Unfortunately there's nowhere in the house that I can maintain temperature in the summer, and I have no interest in spending more than I need to right now, so I'll probably wait for fall and brew a few one-gallon batches to get back into the swing (I really, really hate bottling and don't want to buy a kegerator; if I can bottle into 4 1L PET bottles I will be so happy).
posted by uncleozzy at 12:39 PM on July 19, 2017
It's nice to see that they were willing to include a mead in there
Two meads! North Dakota's clone is from Prairie Rose Meadery.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 12:54 PM on July 19, 2017
Two meads! North Dakota's clone is from Prairie Rose Meadery.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 12:54 PM on July 19, 2017
I really, really hate bottling
Lord, yes! I've had good luck with wide-mouth (easy to clean) quart Mason jars.
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:55 PM on July 19, 2017
Lord, yes! I've had good luck with wide-mouth (easy to clean) quart Mason jars.
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:55 PM on July 19, 2017
Brewdog, the now more-mainstream-than-it-thinks-it-is Scottish craft brewery released clone recipes for all 215 (!) of their brews to date early last year. Some of these are classics that they still bottle whilst others are more...one off. Still, if you're looking for inspiration, it can be a good place to look.
Oddly, I don't drink beer, so can't provide recommendations. However a friend of mine is a keen homebrewer and has made two or three of the recipes in the book with moderate success.
posted by sarcas at 1:16 PM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
Oddly, I don't drink beer, so can't provide recommendations. However a friend of mine is a keen homebrewer and has made two or three of the recipes in the book with moderate success.
posted by sarcas at 1:16 PM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
It helps that for the meads selected that they're both close friends of the AHA. Michael Fairbrother - Moonlight Meadery in NH - was a longtime homebrewer and candidate for the Governing Committee (GC). Susan Ruud, of Prairie Rose in Fargo, ND, just retired from the GC after many years of service to focus on the meadery.
(for the record, I serve as the Vice Chair for the GC currently.)
posted by drewbage1847 at 1:43 PM on July 19, 2017
(for the record, I serve as the Vice Chair for the GC currently.)
posted by drewbage1847 at 1:43 PM on July 19, 2017
Unfortunately there's nowhere in the house that I can maintain temperature in the summer, and I have no interest in spending more than I need to right now, so I'll probably wait for fall and brew a few one-gallon batches to get back into the swing
There's mounting evidence that fermentation temperature control is not nearly as important as generally assumed. The Brülosophy crew have done several experiments in which drinkers cannot tell beers fermented warm and sloppy from those done under carefully controlled temperatures. Even lagers! It's heresy, I know…
posted by rodlymight at 2:33 PM on July 19, 2017 [3 favorites]
There's mounting evidence that fermentation temperature control is not nearly as important as generally assumed. The Brülosophy crew have done several experiments in which drinkers cannot tell beers fermented warm and sloppy from those done under carefully controlled temperatures. Even lagers! It's heresy, I know…
posted by rodlymight at 2:33 PM on July 19, 2017 [3 favorites]
That Raison D'Etre recipe is fairly straightforward. Some of these crazy hops in the other recipes tho -- Azacca? Matueka? Denali? Never used them, but I welcome our new hop overlords.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:20 PM on July 19, 2017
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:20 PM on July 19, 2017
There's mounting evidence that fermentation temperature control is not nearly as important as generally assumed
I want to believe, but the coolest spot in the basement is probably above 72F, higher once I start the dehumidifier up. I can't imagine that any yeast would tolerate 80F+ the whole time.
posted by uncleozzy at 3:43 PM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
I want to believe, but the coolest spot in the basement is probably above 72F, higher once I start the dehumidifier up. I can't imagine that any yeast would tolerate 80F+ the whole time.
posted by uncleozzy at 3:43 PM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
Wow, this experiment has one batch fermenting at 82°F/27°C, and most of the testers preferred it!
Right now I'm unable to get my apartment down below 75F in the mornings, and that number's only going up over the next month or two. While running a fridge for fermentation is an option, it'll make the rest of the apartment even hotter. This is something I should look into.
posted by asperity at 3:51 PM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
Right now I'm unable to get my apartment down below 75F in the mornings, and that number's only going up over the next month or two. While running a fridge for fermentation is an option, it'll make the rest of the apartment even hotter. This is something I should look into.
posted by asperity at 3:51 PM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
Just get an extra 5 gallon bucket and put the jugs in cold water. Add ice or frozen water bottles to the bucket and that will be sufficient to keep things happy. My big advice is get your wort cold before pitching yeast (63°Fish). You're never cooling down if you start warm
posted by drewbage1847 at 3:52 PM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by drewbage1847 at 3:52 PM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
Ooh, Black Butte Porter is one of my favorites. If my glassware want in storage, I'd be all over that one.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 3:57 PM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 3:57 PM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
Don't make me ferment a gallon of NE IPA with that Saflager yeast at 80 degrees just to see what happens.
posted by uncleozzy at 4:08 PM on July 19, 2017
posted by uncleozzy at 4:08 PM on July 19, 2017
[Wonka] No...stop...don't...
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:34 PM on July 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:34 PM on July 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
A digression, I love those Brülosophy guys. I started brewing as a DIY/Punk/broke-and-thirsty thing (I once wrote a column for a 'zine called "We Brew Econo." Yes, really. Ha-ha only serious). Nothing took the wind out of my brewing sails more than the "Shiny Blichman Three Tier Electronically Controlled Brewing" crowd. I mean, if you want to spend more money on your hobby, by all means, do so, but don't insist that it's the ONLY way to brew good beer. Brülosophy has flown in the face of all that chest-beating, and it coupled with my discovery of the brew-in-a-bag philosophy, has all got me back where I'm actually enjoying brewing again. Battered pots, a ten dollar bag, second hand glass carboys, a cool corner of my basement and spend the rest of my meager budget on ingredients and most importantly: don't worry so much about it. RDWHAH, indeed.
If I had to level any criticism against them, and I do so only under duress, it's that a bit of the "shiny-shiny" disease has started to creep into their articles due to them getting really cool swag from their advertisers.
That said my kegerator is the one true great purchase in my brewing life and I'd rather spend the initial money on it so I can spend one hour cleaning my three kegs than ever go back to a full afternoon of cleaning, sanitizing, filling and capping beer bottles ever again.
*tips glass of brett lime göse, sees all that is right with the world, smiles*
posted by 1f2frfbf at 5:05 PM on July 19, 2017 [7 favorites]
If I had to level any criticism against them, and I do so only under duress, it's that a bit of the "shiny-shiny" disease has started to creep into their articles due to them getting really cool swag from their advertisers.
That said my kegerator is the one true great purchase in my brewing life and I'd rather spend the initial money on it so I can spend one hour cleaning my three kegs than ever go back to a full afternoon of cleaning, sanitizing, filling and capping beer bottles ever again.
*tips glass of brett lime göse, sees all that is right with the world, smiles*
posted by 1f2frfbf at 5:05 PM on July 19, 2017 [7 favorites]
It's probably for the best that I don't drink enough beer to support Keg Life.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:22 PM on July 19, 2017
posted by uncleozzy at 5:22 PM on July 19, 2017
Then you definitely don't want to look up any of the DIY pressurized one gallon growlers, then. Uses the CO2 cartridges for pellet guns, stores in your fridge. Clever stuff, but you're better off not knowing, I suppose.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 5:30 PM on July 19, 2017
posted by 1f2frfbf at 5:30 PM on July 19, 2017
No. Why you do this.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:38 PM on July 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by uncleozzy at 5:38 PM on July 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
When some people we knew were making studio brew-shop brews, we randomly added coffee, cinnamon, cardamom, and various other spices into the wort. The brewmeister mentioned that someone in the past had experimented with adding special mushrooms. When I asked him how it turned out, he just shook his head.
posted by ovvl at 9:14 PM on July 19, 2017
posted by ovvl at 9:14 PM on July 19, 2017
Clones are a great way to learn about brewing different styles and really fine tuning your brewing processes. Although I'm always slightly disappointed with clones, I think because commercial yeasts are never the same as yeast strains the breweries have developed over years.
posted by HumanComplex at 9:40 AM on July 20, 2017
posted by HumanComplex at 9:40 AM on July 20, 2017
Most startup breweries are using the same Wyeast/White Labs/BSI strains that homebrewers can get their hands on (although sometimes under different names). I think the big difference for even a homebrewer that does everything right - O2, temp control, yeast vitality, etc - is generational. The Cal Ale complex - Wyeast 1056 / White Labs WLP001 - for instance, dramatically changes fermentation performance over the first few cycles from a fresh starter culture. Several brewers I know claim to only really be happy with how it tastes when they're on batch 4.
posted by drewbage1847 at 12:25 PM on July 20, 2017
posted by drewbage1847 at 12:25 PM on July 20, 2017
Brewdog, the now more-mainstream-than-it-thinks-it-is Scottish craft brewery released clone recipes for all 215 (!) of their brews to date early last year.
I'm going to try some of those one day real soon, but at the minute Brewdog are providing some much-needed refreshment, marooned as I am in Shanghai in 40C temperatures... and finding that the local supermarket has Dead Pony Club and Elvis Juice in cans at a very reasonable price.
I would try the IPA from the micro-brewery in the hotel I'm staying in, but nearly $10 for a beer is just silly.
posted by 43rdAnd9th at 7:21 AM on July 21, 2017
I'm going to try some of those one day real soon, but at the minute Brewdog are providing some much-needed refreshment, marooned as I am in Shanghai in 40C temperatures... and finding that the local supermarket has Dead Pony Club and Elvis Juice in cans at a very reasonable price.
I would try the IPA from the micro-brewery in the hotel I'm staying in, but nearly $10 for a beer is just silly.
posted by 43rdAnd9th at 7:21 AM on July 21, 2017
An update: Thanks to this I now have 5.5 gallons of my Raison D'Etre clone bubbling away happily in my basement. I did make a few alterations, I used Belgian Pilsen instead of two row (lighter for the hot weather), I used the Chimay yeast strain (love those burnt sugar notes) and I soaked the raisins in bourbon before puréeing them (because: bourbon) and I'm subbing honey for the candi sugar. My total cost in this batch was right around $35-40 which makes me happy because I'm broke and thirsty. Can't wait to put it on tap in 2-3 weeks. Cheers!
posted by 1f2frfbf at 10:55 AM on July 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by 1f2frfbf at 10:55 AM on July 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
It's 15% off weekend at MoreBeer stores; we're going to have a go at scaling the Pliny recipe down to a 1-gallon batch.
(Oddly, MoreBeer also have a Pliny kit+recipe which also claims to be straight from Vinnie's recipe but which is slightly different to the AHA recipe: the MoreBeer version bitters with whole Cascade in the mash (?!) plus Magnum in the boil and only does one round of dry hopping. I can't find their recipe sheet online -- they have binders of them in the stores -- but this BeerSmith recipe is identical. The AHA version seems simpler and somewhat cheaper: 3 hop varietals to buy instead of 5.)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 3:33 PM on July 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
(Oddly, MoreBeer also have a Pliny kit+recipe which also claims to be straight from Vinnie's recipe but which is slightly different to the AHA recipe: the MoreBeer version bitters with whole Cascade in the mash (?!) plus Magnum in the boil and only does one round of dry hopping. I can't find their recipe sheet online -- they have binders of them in the stores -- but this BeerSmith recipe is identical. The AHA version seems simpler and somewhat cheaper: 3 hop varietals to buy instead of 5.)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 3:33 PM on July 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
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