I just made this beer for the second time (first time was a compromise across the board on ingredients and wanted a "true attempt" this time).
I dropped the roasted barely as last time it felt really out of place compared to the commercial example (although tasty I wouldn't have pegged it even close as a clone).
While the beer this time is damn, damn good, it is still so far off from the commercial version that I'm at a loss for how much praise this version gets. It could be I did something wrong but I don't see what.
I did my VERY best to copy this recipe 1:1 (except 5 gallons and dropped the roast barley), same yeast, same mash temp, same hops/malt, everything.
When I taste the commercial example I get crisp, clean flavor with serious stand-out notes of fruit (plum, raisin, etc...). With my clone version I get a "maltier/heavier" version that is still very clean tasting but lacking 100% of the fruit/plum/raisin notes. It's like a very neutral brown ale.
Now don't get me wrong, it's tasty, damn tasty, and my wife even prefers this clone to the original (always like hearing that) but the fruit notes are what MAKE this beer, IMHO.
Any advice on how to get more of that out of this clone or is that just an unfortunate result of not aging and mixing two batches?
Here's what my notes say, in case someone can help me pinpoint the issue if it is just me:
Recipe:
- 7 lbs, 3.8 oz 2-Row
- 14.7 oz flaked corn
- 8.1 oz carared
- 8.1 oz crystal 60
- 8.1 oz crystal 80
- 7.3 oz carapils
- 4 oz chocolate malt
- 0.92 oz willamette (6%) @ 60
- 0.25 oz goldings (5.5%) @ 15
- Proper starter of Whitbread yeast
Mash temp: 156.5 for 60 min
Let sit for 3 weeks then racked to keg.
Any ideas? I'd LOVE to get more fruitiness out of this.