Author: Marshall Schott
I’ve always been curious about whether or not it’s really possible to “clone” a beer. Consider the number of SNPA or Stone IPA clone beers you’ve sampled at club meetings that barely resemble the beer they claim to have copied. I’ve never actually tried to clone a beer, commercial or otherwise, though I have taken inspiration from a few of my favorite brewers. My thinking has always been that certain factors, small as they may seem, end up having a rather significant impact on the beers we brew, making it essentially impossible to produce a true copy of a beer originally produced by another brewer on another system. Be that as it may, there’s still something enticing about the idea of making a beer from a brewery I don’t have access to using the exact recipe that brewery uses– Pliny and Heady, anyone? While they may not be perfect matches, they’re probably close enough to give us an idea of why these beers are so hyped.
Or are they? What if all of these clones we’re making to match some of the most popular beers in the universe are shitty representatives of the actual commercial versions?
Another thought I often have has to do with recipe kits, like the kind you can buy in a box from places like MoreBeer and Adventures in Homebrewing. I’ve heard great things about Russian River’s Pliny the Elder AG kit, which I’m sure makes a great beer, but does it really replicate that which is served at the pub? If brewed by multiple people on their own systems, I wonder, would the resultant beers all taste the same? Perhaps this isn’t the point and folks don’t really give a hoot, but I’m hard-pressed to believe there wouldn’t be at least some noticeable differences. My curiosity got the better of me and I developed what turned out to be a fun exBEERiment involving some great brewing buddies.
| PURPOSE |
To evaluate the perceptible differences in a beer made from the exact same recipe brewed by 5 different homebrewers.
| METHOD |
Five homebrewing friends were provided with the following ingredients for a fairly straightforward 5 gallon batch of Pale Ale:
Grist
7.5 lbs US 2-Row
2.0 lbs Gambrinus Munich 10L
0.5 lbs Crystal 60L
Hops
12g Magnum @ 60 minutes
10g Belma @ 20 minutes
14g Belma @ 5 minutes
20g Belma @ flameout w/ 15 minute steep
Yeast
1.0 pkg Danstar Nottingham Ale Yeast
Process
Mash at 152°F for 60 minutes
Boil for 60 minutes
Ferment at 65-66°F
With the exception of the process parameters provided above, each of the 5 brewers were instructed to brew as they might normally without making any changes to their typical approach. We all brewed on the same day to ensure similar fermentation and conditioning times. Let’s meet the brewers!
Brad
I met Brad earlier this year after he did a BIAB demo brew at a club meeting and soon after became a bartender at my local watering hole, House of Pendragon Brewing Co. As a brewer of fantastic beer using the Brew In A Bag method, this is the approach Brad took using unfiltered tap water as his brewing liquor.
Knowing his system well, Brad was able to nail the prescribed mash temp on the nose.
After mashing, he lifted his WilserBrewer BIAB Bag out of the kettle to drain. Yes, he is a squeezer.
The boil commenced and all hops were added at the appropriate times. Brad used his stainless steel immersion chiller to chill his wort to groundwater temp, racked the wort to a 6.5 gallon glass carboy, then finished bringing it down to target fermentation temp in his chest freezer ferm chamber.
The dry yeast was sprinkled on top of the wort at 65°F and the beer fermented for 14 days before being cold crashed for 2 days then kegged. Brad added gelatin to his keg to aid in clarity.
Vitals for Brad’s Batch
OG: 1.046
FG: 1.010
ABV: 4.7%
Overall efficiency: 70%
Matt
Matt has served on the board of our local homebrew club as long as I’ve known him. While he is currently reworking his brewery to shave off as much time as possible (recently had a 3rd kid), he used a gravity-fed traditional fly/continuous sparge system for this brew. Matt manipulated his brewing liquor, which he collected from his tap, to have about 50 ppm chloride, 150 ppm sulfate, and 90 ppm calcium.
Matt’s been brewing on this system for quite awhile, he knows it well and hit the mash temp with ease. He then brought the wort to a boil using his propane burner with a little help from a newly built heatstick.
Post-boil, Matt chilled his wort using a 25′ copper IC and used a 6.5 gallon glass carboy to ferment in. He prepared his yeast by rehydrating it in a small sample (~1200 mL) of real wort and pitched it once the temp of the carboy stabilized to 65°F. The regulator was set to 66°F and the beer was left to ferment for 14 days, after which it was crash cooled for an entire week before being kegged.
Vitals for Matt’s Batch
OG: 1.061
FG: 1.011
ABV: 6.6%
Overall efficiency: 93%
Aaron
Aaron is another board member of our local club as well as the manager of the HoP taproom. He’s been refining his process over the last year in an attempt to simplify things without negatively impacting the quality of his beer. Aaron used the no sparge method on this batch, meaning he mashed with the entire volume of brewing liquor.
After the 1 hour mash at 152°F was complete and the sweet wort collected, Aaron boiled the wort in his 14 gallon kettle using our friend Wes’ Blichmann burner (I believe this is when it was discovered the valve remained cool to the touch). He then transferred the still very hot wort to a plastic cube, which was placed in his chest freezer ferm chamber and allowed to chill naturally overnight via the no-chill method.
The following day, Aaron racked the 66°F wort to a 6 gallon plastic carboy, sprinkled the dry yeast on top without any prep, and let it ferment for 15 days… while he took a trip to Belgium. Upon returning, the beer was crashed for a couple days then kegged.
Vitals for Aaron’s Batch
OG: 1.050
FG: 1.010
ABV: 5.2%
Overall efficiency: 76%
Sean
Sean is the outgoing president of our local club and brewer of super delicious hoppy beer, though since returning from a recent trip to Belgium (with Aaron), his focus has shifted a bit as he tries to emulate some of the delicious traditional offerings from that region. Sean mashed in a 10 gallon cylindrical cooler, nailing the target mash temp of 152°F.
Sean utilizes what I refer to as a modified fly sparge method wherein he gently pours his sparge liquor over his grain bed while collecting the runoff.
Sean proceeded to boil and make all hop additions as instructed then he used The Mantis IC from JaDeD Brewing to rapidly chill his wort. It was transferred to a glass carboy and thrown into his chest freezer ferm chamber to finish chilling. Once the wort was at 65°F, Sean sprinkled the dry yeast into the carboy and let it ferment for 15 days while he drowned his sorrows in Cantillon and other delicious Belgian sours. When back from his trip, he bumped the temp up to 68°F for 2 days then cold crashed another 2 days before kegging the beer.
Vitals for Sean’s Batch
OG: 1.049
FG: 1.012
ABV: 4.9%
Overall efficiency: 75%
Marshall
Like Aaron, I brewed using the no sparge method in my converted cooler MLT, BeerSmith helped me hit the target mash temp spot on.
The sweet wort was collected in a bucket then poured into my 14 gallon kettle and boiled for an hour. After the flameout of hop addition had steeped for 15 minutes, I used my King Cobra IC to chill the entire batch to 4°F above groundwater temp in about 6 minutes.
The wort was racked to a 6 gallon PET carboy and placed in my chest freezer ferm chamber to complete chilling to my target pitch temp of 64°F. Prior to pitching the yeast, I rehydrated it in 95°F for about 15 minutes.
The yeast slurry was pitched and I activated my standard ale fermentation profile in The Black Box temp controller, which held the temp at 66°F for 4 days then ramped up to 70°F for another 4 days before crashing to 32°F for a couple days. The beer was kegged 11 days after being brewed and stored in my keezer to await the group tasting.
Vitals for Marshall’s Batch
OG: 1.050
FG: 1.010
ABV: 5.2%
Overall efficiency: 76%
| RESULTS |
We were able to schedule a group tasting about a month after these beers were brewed, unfortunately Matt couldn’t make it, but some of his finished beer made it to the party. Each beer was initially sampled on its own and notes were taken; tasters were able to go back to previously tasted beers for comparison’s sake.
Before getting into the tasting notes, I should say that this recipe fucking sucked. While most of us agreed we planned to finish our kegs of this beer, none of us thought any of them were all that good. We speculated that perhaps the mix of Belma hops with Nottingham yeast produce the unpleasantness, but I guess no one really knows. What I do know is I would never make this beer again. And I’m not sure I’ll be buying Belma again anytime soon.
Okay, onto some tasting notes:
Brad’s beer: Due to the use of gelatin, Brad’s beer was impressively bright, almost as if it had been run through a filter. Slight sulfuric (fart) aroma that was neither pleasant nor terribly off-putting. The bitterness was perceived as being smoother than some of the other samples and the flavor was noted to be a bit softer/rounder.
Matt’s beer: Slightly hazy appearance. Somewhat grassy aroma with some subtle berry notes and perhaps a little ethanol in the nose. While some thought Matt’s beer had the richest and best flavor of the 5, the bitterness was perceived as being much harsher than the others, and there was a noticeable alcohol burn with each sip. This beer was noted as having perhaps a touch more body than the other lower ABV versions, though not by much.
Aaron’s beer: Moderately hazy appearance. Aroma was described as being very grassy with some tobacco and sulfur notes blended in, perhaps some DMS as well. The flavor basically followed the aroma, beginning relatively smooth and finishing with a noticeable sharp bitterness. There were some general similarities between this beer and the others, but it was probably the most different of the 5.
Sean’s beer: Haziest of all the beers. Moderate to strong vegetal aroma with Sean claiming it smelled like “vegetable garbage.” Flavor came across as slightly sweeter than the other versions with a smoother bitterness that was never experienced as harsh. Body was perceived by most as being slightly thinner than the other beers.
Marshall’s beer: Very slight haze that clears as the beer warms. Noticeable graininess in the aroma with some of that grassy character picked up in the other beers. Unpleasant bitterness from start to finish. Grainy character carries through into the flavor and there is a slight tang in the finish, something I’ve heard is common with Nottingham yeast. Flavor was described as generally bland and boring.
Here’s the data in spreadsheet form, for those interested:
| DISCUSSION |
All of the beers shared similar qualities, you could definitely tell the same ingredients were used in each batch; however, each beer was also very obviously different in their own ways. The results of this exBEERiment seem to indicate that even when using the exact same ingredients, mash temp, and fermentation schedules, every brewer is going to produce a unique beer. Which is exciting! How boring a hobby would this if my beer tasted exactly like every other homebrewer’s beer? I’m not sure of any meaningful implications of this exBEERiment, perhaps there are none, though I’ll admit to being personally fascinated by how stark the differences were between each beer. So, the next time you brew a so-called clone recipe and it comes out tasting amazing, consider the fact a huge part of what made the beer so good was the brewer, not just the recipe.
To those who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope yours was full of love, good food, and delicious beer! To the rest of the world, cheers! Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions or comment on this exBEERiment in the section below.
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19 thoughts on “exBEERiment | A Brewer’s Thumbprint: Investigating the Idiosyncrasies of Brewing”
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, Marshall.
Interesting experiment, but I think I could’ve predicted the outcome. Maybe you should’ve tried a recipe that you all knew worked, and then compared, rather than try something new? Still would have had differences, but at least you wouldn’t have to gag down the beer!
Belma was my next hop experiment; now I don’t know…nah, I’ll try it, but I’ll stick to 5 minute, whirlpool, and dry hop additions.
Agree with you John, especially knowing everyone’s systems will have a different efficiency. I think it would be a good exBEERiment if the recipe was adjusted for the efficiency of the brewing system being used, so that everyone would have the same goal OG. But I’d still expect them all to taste differently, although likely more on the subtle side of things.
It’s in the plans!
Impressive efficiency from Matt. Not a fan of Belma myself.
Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving! As always_Cheers!
Interesting that the ‘richest and best’ beer was the one treated with brewing salts. And I suppose the increased sense of bitterness would have come from the sulfate additions.
Thanks for another great post!
Good article as usual. My scientist wife says that you need to redo this experiment, however this time everyone has to use the exact same process. Otherwise you are measuring a pre-analytical variable.
Regardless, love your reports. I learn something new every time
Very interesting exbeeriment! I’d like to know how Matt determines his chloride, sulfate and calcium levels. Approximate from water company data + specific additions?
It’s a shame the recipe didn’t work out. Maybe it’ll improve with time, or maybe it’ll grow on you.
the values used for my mineral additions are based on the water report that is provided by my county and then using either bru’n Water or the built in water profile in beersmith. My water source is mountain runoff water and sub 10ppm on all minerals I’m interested in so it is easy to work with except for darker beers.
What could be interesting is trying a recipe “X” amount of time with the same equipment and variable by the same brewer. If there is any revelance, perhaps you could put this test to survey.
Love these exbeeriment BTW! lots to learn…
Funny you mention cloning SNPA, I found a recipe for it somewhere which had been compiled by a home brewer and the SNPA brewmaster. I’ve brewed it twice and it’s great. The first batch was slightly better than the second but both were pretty spot on. My palate isn’t as educated as some though, so I probably don’t pick up on as many differences. To me, the original and my clone batches are pretty much identical, which is all I’m really after.
In saying that though, other supposed clone recipes for beers haven’t nailed them at all.
Cheers
A noble effort in the name of beer. It seems there should be some obvious plan for a follow-on experiment here, but I’m just not putting my finger on it… Maybe I just need another beer.
I like the way you posted everyone’s process and efficiencies here. However, I have a hard time believing that Matt has a brew house efficiency of 93%. Or are all the efficiencies posted just the conversion efficiency?
On his fly sparge setup, which he rarely uses these days, he can consistently hit 93% brewhouse efficiency. I didn’t believe it at first, but he’s proven it over and over again.
Does he stir the mash at intervals throughout the mash? What about sparge to mash volume and ratio? Grain crush? Sparge temperature? Mash out? How long did it take to sparge? Does he start the timer before he adds the grain and stop it after he’s collected the wort, or start the timer after mashing in and start pulling wort off and sparging after the timer goes off?
This is what we call “salivares” in our club (an allusion to the saliva of the brewer – lol)
Amazing how we can distinguish the house caracter of the beers.
Keep on experimenting!
Cheers, Ronaldo!
Great idea!
I can’t help but notice that the target vitals weren’t defined up front, allowing each brewer to adjust accordingly on their systems. It would be interesting to do a test against a commercial clone recipe and then measure results side by side with the commercial version.
IMO the experiment was flawed from the outset as none of the brewers scaled the recipe to their system.. You cannot ever just take a recipe and brew it as-is unless your system has the same efficiency and hop utilization as the recipe was created for. (And how often does that happen?) Picking up a recipe from the web, BYO/Zymurgy, Brewing Classic Styles, etc. and brewing it as-is will likely get you in the ballpark but you always need to adapt the recipe to your system.
For example, Matt and Brad had a 15-point difference in OG; because of this, they did not brew the same beer. Not even close.
Now, the experiment was a success… in proving this point! But not in examining idiosyncrasies. If you want to test for the idiosyncrasies of each brew system you need to be consistent in the recipe so you can solely focus on the process variables.
That was sort of the point. We were using the exact same ingredients on our own systems, the way anyone can buy a kit from a shop, we were interested to see how similar the beers would end up being.