Heady Topper Clone?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by geneseohawk, Mar 24, 2012.

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  1. skivtjerry

    skivtjerry Pooh-Bah (1,841) Mar 10, 2006 Vermont
    Pooh-Bah Society

    That would be Ringwood (as in Shipyard & Magic Hat). I really think they guessed wrong, as that's not a super attenuative yeast, even if you eliminate the diacetyl issues.
     
  2. drperry11

    drperry11 Initiate (0) Jan 8, 2012 South Carolina

    I would love to hear results from everyones experiences here.
     
  3. telejunkie

    telejunkie Savant (1,107) Sep 14, 2007 Vermont

    alright so sounds like I will be trying a heady clone in two weeks. So based on comments, here is first stab:
    16lbs British Pale
    1lb sucrose
    4oz caravienne
    mashed at 155F. 6.5g into fermenter

    1.5oz Simcoe 30min
    1.5oz Cascade KO
    1.5oz Centennial KO
    1.5oz Simcoe KO
    (whirlpool for 45mins)
    1oz columbus 1st DH
    1oz simcoe 1st DH
    1oz centennial 1st DH
    1oz citra 1st DH
    2oz cascade KegHop
    2oz simcoe KegHop
    chico strain fermented around 65F with a honker of a starter
     
  4. telejunkie

    telejunkie Savant (1,107) Sep 14, 2007 Vermont

    hmm, only 4oz simcoe left in freezer, will probably sub in columbus for the 30-min addition. Also calculated ibus is 97 per Tinsmith, 82 per Rager...also meant to say 6g into fermenter, 6.5 at KO.
     
  5. koopa

    koopa Initiate (0) Apr 20, 2008 New Jersey

    I took my first stab at cloning this one in late April (sorry I forgot to follow up in this thread) and went with....

    80% Pearl Malt
    6% Caramel 15
    6% Carapils
    6% Corn Sugar (last 15 minutes of boil)
    2% Acid Malt

    20 minute additions:
    - 1oz Simcoe
    - 1oz Centennial
    - 1oz Columbus
    - 0.75oz Amarillo
    - 0.75oz Nugget

    10 minute additions:
    - 1oz Simcoe
    - 1oz Centennial
    - 1oz Columbus
    - 1oz Amarillo
    - 1oz Nugget

    0 minute additions:
    - 1oz Simcoe
    - 1oz Centennial
    - 1oz Columbus

    Dry Hop additions:
    - 1oz Simcoe
    - 1oz Centennial
    - 1oz Columbus
    - 0.25oz Amarillo
    - 0.25oz Nugget

    - My recipe's IBU's = 125 (calculated)
    - Heady Topper is actually 119 IBU's (calculated)

    Target OG: 1.071
    Actual OG: 1.072
    Target FG: 1.010
    Actual FG: 1.013 (I would have left it on yeast longer but needed the fermenter for another batch)

    Target ABV: 8%
    Actual ABV: 7.8%

    Mashed at 150F
    Fermented at 67F (ambient) so roughly 71F in the fermenter
    US05 yeast used

    Results:
    - Color and body look spot on to me (calculated SRM 5.7)
    - While not a perfect clone, the taste is definitely in the ball park.
    - Plenty of pineapple, hints of peach, some grapefruit, and some pine resin
    - Definitely drinks a touch sweeter than Heady so hitting 1.010 FG is essential to recreating the real thing IMHO.
    - Didn't get as intense of a nose as Heady and slightly less hop flavor too (partially related to the sweeter finish, but mainly due to my present lack of a hopback I believe)

    - The freshest samples seemed to have a bit more fruit sweetness than Heady (mainly from the Amarillo) but after having it on tap for 7-10 days the hop profile seemed to balance out a bit and while the vibrance of the hops mellowed, the flavor seemed to taste more like the real Heady

    My goals for next time:
    - Hit 1.010 FG
    - Maybe back off on the amarillo a bit
    - Probably eliminate the caramel malt altogether.
    - Increase centennial presence (needs more grapefruit character)
    - Maybe dry hop in 2 short stages
    - Run the beer through a hopback (Blichmann Hop Rocket) for added hop aroma / pungency
    - NOTE: The hop floaties found in Heady Topper cans suggest to me that they are running it through a Hop Back on the way into the can, so I will probably use the hopback twice. The first time on the way to the fermenter in lieu of my "0 minute" hop additions. The second on the way out of the fermenter and into the keg
     
    isawpalmetto likes this.
  6. JimmyTango

    JimmyTango Initiate (0) Aug 1, 2011 California

    These seem like good ideas. Befor I finished reading your post I was going to say:

    -I think 6% C15 is too much, I'd go 3%.
    -I dont think Heady has very much Amarillo as Amarillo to my tastes is quite sweet.
    -In a side-by-side with Pliny, Heady is much "earthier" IMO, and has a much heavier hop-flavor and hop-mouthfeel thing going on. I would go with an overall ratio of 2/1/1/.5/.5 Simcoe, Centennial, Columbus, Nuggett, Amarillo. I feel like putting the simcoe out front might give the "warm but not sweet" profile I get form Heady.

    My $.02.

    Sounds super tasty by the way.
     
  7. koopa

    koopa Initiate (0) Apr 20, 2008 New Jersey

    Thanks! Yeah I too agree that Simcoe drives this beer. My plan was to try to load the hop back with simcoe hops or maybe a simcoe / centennial or simcoe / columbus combo.
     
  8. danedelman

    danedelman Initiate (0) Apr 3, 2011 Pennsylvania

    I cannot seem to get Pearl Malt. You think I can use American 2 Row pale malt in place??
     
  9. danedelman

    danedelman Initiate (0) Apr 3, 2011 Pennsylvania

    Have you had any more tries at this? I am going to take your notes and recipe and fiddle with small amounts like you said. Thanks for all that you have done!!
     
  10. koopa

    koopa Initiate (0) Apr 20, 2008 New Jersey

    No not yet..been very busy brewing other things :slight_smile:
    Perhaps in September or when this years hop crop is released, and my pleasure thanks!
    Good luck with your stab at it and please post your results!
     
  11. quirkzoo

    quirkzoo Initiate (0) Jul 7, 2011 Colorado

    **I know what a hop back is but have not actually used one so I don't know if my mechanics are feasible**

    What if you connected the hopback in between the keg and your bottling apparatus (beer gun...) to reproduce this "hop back on the way into the can" technique?

    p.s. I am following this thread closely and hope to brew a Heady Topper-esque brew soon, thanks for all the input so far from everyone that has contributed.
     
  12. koopa

    koopa Initiate (0) Apr 20, 2008 New Jersey

    Depending on the design of the particular hop back being used:
    - In theory it should work fine.
    - You'd just have to be on the look out for the possibility that the beer gun may get blocked up with hop pieces.
    - Another option would be to hook the hop back up between the keg your beer is in and a second "serving keg" then push the beer from the original keg through the hop back and into the serving keg with co2.

    I've got a Blichmann Hop Rocket and it can easily be used between the boil kettle and the fermenter (as a hop back), between two kegs, or even between your serving keg and kegerator (as a randall).
     
  13. koopa

    koopa Initiate (0) Apr 20, 2008 New Jersey

    I think you could still make quite a delicious beer with US 2 Row instead. Another option to consider might be Thomas Fawcett Optic Malt.
     
  14. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,043) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I don't know about connecting the Blichmann this way, but I built a randall (from plans on the the Maltose Falcons site) that could be used this way. I have used it for infusing between the keg and the faucet. Link here.
     
  15. sergeantstogie

    sergeantstogie Initiate (0) Nov 16, 2010 Washington

    What happens to the carbonation when you do this?
     
  16. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,043) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    You lose a little bit (produces foam), but it's not as dramatic as you might expect.
     
  17. danedelman

    danedelman Initiate (0) Apr 3, 2011 Pennsylvania

    Anybody think Chinook is in here too??
     
  18. telejunkie

    telejunkie Savant (1,107) Sep 14, 2007 Vermont

    actually that is in my 2nd attempt recipe, replacing most cascade for chinook. Just ordered up a # so will have a more prominent role in 2nd clone attempt. I'm looking forward to seeing how intense my hop character of my first attempt clone is vs. the real deal.
     
  19. skivtjerry

    skivtjerry Pooh-Bah (1,841) Mar 10, 2006 Vermont
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I'm pretty sure Chinook is in there. John once let me have a taste from the brite tank at the pub and it was in your face (I'm speculating that this was before the 2nd dry hopping, that I think happens).
     
  20. koopa

    koopa Initiate (0) Apr 20, 2008 New Jersey

    That would make up for the lack of grapefruit intensity I had in my first stab. I was going to add more centennial to the recipe to compensate but chinook would serve that purpose nicely.
     
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