Dead Ringer IPA

I Guys, just got done with my second Homebrew, I brewed the Dead Ringer IPA from Northern Brewer. All went well and looks fantastic. I followed the directions and did not get creative in any way. The instructions call for an OG at 1.064 and mine came in only at 1.040...is this okay? Does it mean I will only have a less ABV at the end? Any suggestions out there to get the OG up or if fermenting already just let it go?? Thanks guys!!

I'm drinking mine today but mine came in at 1.062. Was this the all grain or extract?
If all grain, you didn't get a good conversion. If extract, I'm surprised as that usually ends up a bit higher.
If you're already fermenting, there's not anything you can do but let it complete. Your ABV will depend on high much attenuation you get. Either way, you've made beer.

If you added some extract late in the process or used top off water, it's hard to mix in well, which could explain a low OG number (because the sample was taken from the thinner portion). In this case, your actual OG is probably closer to the expected than the measured.

If you did an extract kit, partial boil, followed by adding " top off " water, then your og measurement was likely wrong because your boiled worth and top off water hadn't mixed together well enough. Stratification or something like that? If u did all grain, I don't have a clue. Extract recipes are hard to mess up with regards to og.

Thanks for the info!! It is an extract kit and I did put 2 gallons of cold water in the fermentation bucket and then the wort, but needed about half gallon or more of additional water to bring it to 5 gallons...I bet I just didn't aerate it good enough and your right, it didn't mix well...makes sense!! I'm hoping it comes out good as I've heard great things about this brew...thanks again!

to the original poster, The thread title caught my eye because I too had brewed the Dead Ringer Extract kit that very morning. I have to admit, I gave up checking OG for extract kits, because I assumed they were correct and any misreadings gave me one more thing to worry about. Anyhow, I'm looking forward to drinking this beer. I planned on 3 weeks primary, 2 weeks secondary with the dry hops going in for the final week of secondary. Curious what your plan was, and thought we could compare results? I'm a noob, this is only my 5th recipe, all extracts.

wait it out guys- its well worth it. I did a 3 week primary and now its 4 weeks in bottles and it takes GREAT. I dont want to give any out

mikemet said:

wait it out guys- its well worth it. I did a 3 week primary and now its 4 weeks in bottles and it takes GREAT. I dont want to give any out

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Did you dry hop?

MMJfan said:

Did you dry hop?

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I had the same question, and did you secodnary at all?

I did in a secondary- exactly for 1 week and no more.

mikemet said:

I did in a secondary- exactly for 1 week and no more.

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So you did 3 weeks in primary and one week in secondary for dry hopping?

I brewed a 2 Hearted Clone I got from Adventures in Homebrewing two weeks ago. I usually just leave my brews go in the fermenter, especially if I'm dry hopping. Planning on letting it sit for another week and then dry hopping a week from today and then waiting another week before bottling.

I only racked to secondary to use my primary for another batch- im dry hopping in primary from now on. Whats the point of an open carboy- im not sure!

@woody34 - I'm not sure if I will do the secondary...I'm reading a lot that it may not be worth it. I plan on it being in the primary for 3 weeks, dry hop for the 4th week and then bottle. What do you think? I hear mixed reviews on the secondary. Sure let's keep each other posted as to results...dying to try this brew!!

I did 3 weeks total in a primary with 7 days of dry hop. Been in and on gas for 7 days and I tried it again last night and it's pretty damn good! I've got a bottle of 2 Hearted that I'm going to do a side by side on with some friends soon but I'm thinking another week in the keg and it will be perfect.
It's already close to what I remember 2 hearted is but even if it's nowhere near the real deal, I'm making this one again.

Did you dry hop in the secondary? Will it be okay if I kept it in the primary and dry hopped it at week 3 and let it go another week and then bottle? Any negative in doing that?

I haven't used a secondary in a long while. I dry hopped in a muslin bag, the last 7 days of my 3 week fermentation.
I see no problems with fermenting 4 weeks in the primary though I personally never go longer than that for 95% of my beers.

I never rack my beer to secondary either unless I need an extra fermenting bucket and I have a beer I can transfer to my carboy that I'm not planning on dry hopping. I've made 8 batches so far and only the first bacth I transferred to my carboy after primary was done.

And, like Beer, I don't usually ferment longer than 4 weeks. I too usually just leave my brew go in the fermenter for 3 weeks and if I'm dry hopping, I add the hops in a hop sack for the 3rd week and then bottle.

MMJfan said:

I brewed a 2 Hearted Clone I got from Adventures in Homebrewing two weeks ago. I usually just leave my brews go in the fermenter, especially if I'm dry hopping. Planning on letting it sit for another week and then dry hopping a week from today and then waiting another week before bottling.

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Check that. I am dry hopping today and bottling this ***** next week! Can't wait to get some actual Two Hearted for a side by side comparisson!

MMJfan said:

Check that. I am dry hopping today and bottling this ***** next week! Can't wait to get some actual Two Hearted for a side by side comparisson!

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I'm doing exactly that tonite with some friends. I only have 1 bottle as we can't get it here so it's going to be a blind taste test.

Where did you get your one bottle in Louisiana?

Bells is arguably my favorite brewery along with Founders also out of Michigan. I'm just happy Bells now distributes to FLA so that I can still enjoy their brews when we are down there on vaca!

Enjoy your tasting tonight and let us know how yours stacks up to the real thing.

Beer, did you dry hop with one oz of Centennial or did you use more?

MMJfan said:

Where did you get your one bottle in Louisiana?

Bells is arguably my favorite brewery along with Founders also out of Michigan. I'm just happy Bells now distributes to FLA so that I can still enjoy their brews when we are down there on vaca!

Enjoy your tasting tonight and let us know how yours stacks up to the real thing.

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I've got good friends They sometimes travel to states that have them and bring some back. Recently, he went to SF and brought back 6 bottles of Pliny. Yummy!

Beer, did you dry hop with one oz of Centennial or did you use more?

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I followed the recipe and dry hopped with 1 ounce. I know IPA's are best young but sometimes they don't have balance for a few weeks. I'm enjoying this. The flavor changes (as with most IPA's) in the glass from a cold pour to a warmer finish. I like that.
I also used 05 yeast which always works well for me and in the summer time, easier for me to work with.

OK, here's my extremely inexperienced opinion on NB's Dead Ringer vs. 2 Hearted Ale......4 of us really serious, craft (& 3 home brewers) tasted both tonite. The 2 Hearted was definitely more balanced and a tad smoother and the Dead Ringer was very well received. It has a slight bit more bitterness, a bit more aroma but slightly unbalanced. However, it's only been in the keg for 9 days. I think in a week, even though very enjoyable now, it will only get better.
I'm making this again but may use the 1056 yeast in place of 05.
I would definitely recommend this to IPA drinkers whether you like 2 Hearted or not. It stands on it's own.

Beer-lord said:

OK, here's my extremely inexperienced opinion on NB's Dead Ringer vs. 2 Hearted Ale......4 of us really serious, craft (& 3 home brewers) tasted both tonite. The 2 Hearted was definitely more balanced and a tad smoother and the Dead Ringer was very well received. It has a slight bit more bitterness, a bit more aroma but slightly unbalanced. However, it's only been in the keg for 9 days. I think in a week, even though very enjoyable now, it will only get better.
I'm making this again but may use the 1056 yeast in place of 05.
I would definitely recommend this to IPA drinkers whether you like 2 Hearted or not. It stands on it's own.

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Sounds like you had success. I used the 1056 in mine. Also, I compared the extract recipes from both NB and AIHB and there were some subtle differences.

NB's calls for 1 lb of Briess Caramel while AIHB calls for 1 lb of Crystal 10L. Also, AIHB calls for 8.4 lbs of LME while NB's kit calls for 9.15. And lastly, the hop schedule is slightly different as they both use all Centennial with an oz at 60, an oz at 20 and an oz for dry hopping. But NB calls for 2 oz at 5 while AIHB's calls for 1 oz at 5.

AIHB is a Michigan HBS and I've made several different clone kits including Oberon and Fat Tire and I've been extremely happy with their results. The reason I favor them over say NB or AHB (especially on Bells clones) is because they are from Michigan and I figure if anyone is going to know Michigan beers better, it's going to be a Michigan HBS.

I'll post my side by side tests when mine is ready which will be in about 2 weeks or so...

Actually, the 05 and the 1056 are basically the same strains I've been told so I just went with the 05 since it was cheaper and I keep about a dozen on hand. I'm not thinking I'd notice a major difference.

Might have to do this again sooner than I thought because I've been told the pre-season game this weekend is happening at my house. Looks like my friends will put a serious dent in this keg.

Update: fermented for 3 weeks. Transferred to secondary and dry hopped for an additional week. Bottled and tried one after 8 days. Not fully carbonated but tasted pretty good. Probably won't try another one for at least a week but am pleased so far.

timalston1021 said:

@woody34 - I'm not sure if I will do the secondary...I'm reading a lot that it may not be worth it. I plan on it being in the primary for 3 weeks, dry hop for the 4th week and then bottle. What do you think? I hear mixed reviews on the secondary. Sure let's keep each other posted as to results...dying to try this brew!!

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I've got the DR IPA on order; this is my plan as well - 3 weeks in primary, 1 week dry hop in primary, then bottle

Just wanted to say that my AIHB Two Hearted clone turned out great! It's been in the bottles about 4 weeks now and I think I've already gone through about a case worth of it?!

Since I brewed this I started doing BIAB so I'm going to try an AG Two Hearted clone recipe in a month or so and see how that turns out.

I will definitely be brewing this one again!! Only 1 week in bottles and I can't believe I brewed this, it's amazing!! Can't imagine how good it will get with more time in the bottle...will be enjoying this over the next couple of weeks!!

timalston1021 said:

I will definitely be brewing this one again!! Only 1 week in bottles and I can't believe I brewed this, it's amazing!! Can't imagine how good it will get with more time in the bottle...will be enjoying this over the next couple of weeks!!

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Tim, I just brewed this on 1/2/13 and am trying to decide how to dry hop it. This is my second brew and want to get this one right.

What was your final procedure?

And for all the other experts, I have a kegging set up, so how should I adjust for that?

I've never had Hearted but my favorite IPA beers so far are Rouge's Yellow Snow and Sam Adams Whitewater IPA. How might this compare?

My recipe shows 1 oz of centennial for 7 days. My last batch I added another 1/2 oz but really could tell the difference.
I ferment for 3 weeks, keg it and let it condition for 1 week or so then a week in the kegerator and its ready to drink. Wait another 2 weeks and it's perfect. After a month, I start to loose some aroma.

So you stuck with dry hopping in the primary after 2 weeks?

Did you put any CO2 on the keg while letting it condition?

How about cold crashing before putting it in the keg?

Thanks for the reply.

cank said:

So you stuck with dry hopping in the primary after 2 weeks?

Did you put any CO2 on the keg while letting it condition?

How about cold crashing before putting it in the keg?

Thanks for the reply.

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Most people put CO2 in their keg in order to seal it. Usually it will be cold conditioned while in the keg as the first glass or two is sediment and impresivley clear after!

I'm brewing this right now. Cant wait to try this beer!

This is my favorite IPA. Although I have made a couple of modifications to the AG recipe.


I use 1 oz of Centennial at 60 min instead of 0.75 Oz
Dry Hop for 5 days with both 1oz Centennial and 1 Oz Cascade
Add 8 oz Carapils to the grain bill.

Mash at 150 to 151 making it slightly drier than original recipe.

I actually like this better than Two Hearted. It's the one beer always on tap for me.

Don't overdo the dry hop- I def got a subtle green taste, although everyone else digs it