*UPDATED as of 2/16/2013*
Between the HBT and BA threads I’ve summed up all the pertinent information regarding a Heady Topper clone. Keep in mind much of this information is here say, but I tried to credit the member and link to the page which contains the claim.
Anything italicized is linked directly to John Kimmich, his workers, or The Alchemist Brewery in general.
Beer Specs:
Style: American Double India Pale Ale (
The Alchemist Brewery website)
OG: ~1.070 (
bobbrews and
skivtjerry)
FG: ~1.010 (
bobbrews and
skivtjerry)
ABV: 8% (
The Alchemist Brewery website)
IBU: 120 (
The Alchemist Brewery website),
80-90 Rager (
bobbrews),
75-80 lab tested (
theveganbrewer)
SRM: 4-7 (
theveganbrewer,
koopa, and
Airborneguy), 5.0-5.4 (
SkinnyPete)
Malt:
Base:
Thomas Fawcett Pearl (
The Alchemist Brewery photo)
Specialty: NO Crystal (
theveganbrewer,
mmonacel, and
sweetcell)
Adjunct: ~5% or less sugar (
orthellomcbane and
skivtjerry)
*Other possibilities may include: Wheat, Munich, Carapils, Honey Malt, Oats*
*If similar malt bill to El Jefe, could contain Pearl, Caramalt, Carafa Special III (ChrisNH)*
Hops:
6 varieties used (
The Alchemist Brewery sign)
Known: Simcoe (
bobbrews)
Highly Likely: Amarillo, Columbus
Likely: Chinook, Centennial, Cascade, Summit, Nugget
Possible: Riwaka, Moteuka, Ahtanum, Galaxy, Zythos, Apollo, Horizon
Not used: Citra (
bobbrews and
theveganbrewer)
On The Alchemist’s ‘Glorious Hops’ Sign: Citra, Centennial, Nugget, Tomahawk, Cascade, Columbus, Simcoe, Amarillo, Chinook, Warrior, Bullion, Fuggles, Golding (
The Alchemist Brewery sign)
*
NO FWH (
theveganbrewer)*
*
CO2 hop extract for bittering (
theveganbrewer,
BeerCrafter2011, and
mmonacel), perhaps of NZ origin (
PissyFingers)*
*
All "actual" hops added at 5 minutes or less (
theveganbrewer)*
Yeast:
Conan Yeast (private strain) (
MSNBC article and
theveganbrewer)
*Confirmed as an ALE yeast (
Coff)*
Yeast culturing: here and
here
*Most of aroma comes from yeast (
theveganbrewer)*
*Potential for intentional underpitching of Conan yeast (
theveganbrewer)*
Process:
Mash Temperature: < 150F (
bobbrews and
orthellomcbane) probably a step mash (bobbrews)
Post-boil: Big whirlpool (
theveganbrewer)
*Cool to 170-180F before adding whirlpool hops to maximize aroma (
SkinnyPete)*
Fermentation temperature: 58F at brewery (
Skelator),
68F on sign (
theveganbrewer), 60-64F from experience (
Knecht_Rupprecht,
SkinnyPete,
NordeastBrewer77, and
orthellomcbane)
Yeast Attenuation: ~82% (
bobbrews,
orthellomcbane,
Skelator)
Dry-hopping: Double or triple dry-hopped for only several days each (
mmonacel)
*Rousing the dry hops is common for the style (
theveganbrewer)*
*Simcoe/Columbus as base for dry hops, ~3:1 ratio, >5oz per 5gal (
theveganbrewer)*
Hopback: Used prior to packaging (
Petekiteworld)
Filtering: Coming out of kettle (
theveganbrewer), None at canning (
John Kimmich)
Cold Conditioned (before canning): 2-3 weeks (
theveganbrewer)
at 40F (
theveganbrewer)
Entire length from kettle to can: 28 days (
The Alchemist Brewery Website)
*It is not can-conditioned (
LaFinDuMonde)*
*Therefore, fermentation timeframe is 7-14 days*
Similar Beers (to help with recipe formulation?): Lagunitas Hop Stoopid, Ithica Flower Power, Surley Abrasive, Kern River Citra DIPA
Current issues at hand: Hop bill - achieving correct dankness and pine (and not fruitiness!) in hop profile, malt bill - achieving correct sweetness in malt profile
Both the hop and malt bills are extremely close, but just need to be tweaked slightly to hit the clone dead on