Maine Beer Co. "ZOE" Amber Ale Clone Attempt

[bobbrews]

I've searched the web and haven't seen anyone try to clone this fantastic beer as of yet.

http://www.mainebeercompany.com/maine-beer/zoe/

"Our take on an American amber ale. Complex malt bill delivers notes of dark raisin, chocolate and biscuit. Copious additions of American hops yield notes of pine and citrus."

Vitals:
Color – Deep Amber
ABV – 7.2%
O.G. – 1.064
Malt – American 2-Row, English Maris Otter, Caramel 40L, Caramel 80L, Victory, Munich 10L, Chocolate
Hops – Simcoe, Centennial, Columbus

Zoe is deep, dark, malty, robust, toasty, very complex, dry, yet light & hoppy at the same time. It has a very unique character in general so I'd say it breaks the boundaries of what you typically consider an Amber Ale to be.

Here is my attempt: http://hopville.com/recipe/1677379

Discuss!

 

[TyTanium]

Have you emailed them? Looks like an awesome recipe.

 

[bobbrews]

I have not... Just went off what I read and tasted.

 

[Calichusetts]

What an amazing beer and amazing company...they are doing great things. Good luck, tell me if its close

 

[HopheadNJ]

Loving Maine Beer Company as of late... MO and Peeper are so delicious! Haven't tried Zoe yet but it looks like another winner from them.

 

[bobbrews]

Yeah, I had MO last night once again. I prefer it to Peeper. King Titus Porter was just a B+ for me; still quite good. Zoe was just so unique and complex. I have yet to try Lunch!

 

[pnihan]

Zoe is an amazing beer. They are doing some pretty excellent stuff up there. Probably my favorite beers in the Northeast. So, it's 2 years after you last post...how did this turn out?

 

[bobbrews]

Jan 2011 was my HBT join date. My post date was Jan 2013. Didn't brew this yet. Just brainstorming.

 

[pnihan]

Jan 2011 was my HBT join date. My post date was Jan 2013. Didn't brew this yet. Just brainstorming.

Whoops. My bad, definitely let us know how it turns out.

 

[berley31]

I emailed Maine Beer Co. once about some help with a clone recipe... the only reply I got was one directing me to the info you posted from their website.

I'd like to get a direct line to one of the owners, maybe they'd be more helpful... I've started doing a Maine Clone Beer series on my blog (http://meekbrewingco.blogspot.ca/), and I'd love to have Zoe on there! Right now I just have Oxbow Freestyle #5, and I'm about to do Daymark from Rising Tide.

Good luck, hope it turns out for you!

 

[berley31]

Just an update on my part... I tried emailing one of the brewers directly regarding a clone for Zoe. They never replied.

 

[berley31]

Ok, guys, finally got an email through to Dan Kleban at MBC... I came up with a recipe attempt on my own, and he said it was very close, and made a few suggestions.

This beer is fermenting now... high hopes it turns out decent, at least!

My brew notes and recipe here:

http://meekbrewingco.blogspot.ca/2013/05/brewing-maine-beer-company-zoe-clone-no.html

 

[justuskenney]

How did it go?

 

[berley31]

How did it go?

Really great... very close to what I remember Zoe as being (I find that Zoes I've had recently aren't as hoppy as it used to be).

Tasting notes and comparison are here:

http://meekbrewingco.blogspot.ca/2013/06/tasting-maine-beer-co-zoe-clone-vs-zoe.html

 

[justuskenney]

Thanks. I'm going to give it a go.

 

[PawtucketPat]

Old thread, but wanted to pass along my thoughts on this.

I have been in love with Zoe since my first taste. I finally made a clone, which came out amazing. I was unable to get my hands on the real thing for a while, but last night I got one and was able to do a side-by-side. I found the hop aroma on the real one to be slightly better, but very close. Color was spot on. Taste was almost exact. If someone served me one or the other there is no way I would know the difference without having both to compare.

Here is my recipe, which is basically the same as the OP.

5.25 lb American 2 row
5.25 lb Maris Otter
10 oz Victory
10 oz Munich
5 oz Crystal 40
5 oz Crystal 80
4 oz Chocolate (338 L)

Mash 148-150 for 90 minutes. I read on here that longer mash gives you a lower FG, and it seems to have worked for me. Mashout 168 for 10 minutes. I do BIAB in case anyone was wondering.

Hops: Simcoe 12.7%, Columbus 15.2%, Centennial 9%

60 min: 0.75 Simcoe
10 min: 0.5 each
5 min: 0.5 each
0 min: 0.75 each
15 min into cooling 0.75 of each again

OG: 1.063
FG: 1.007

Pitched rehydrated S-05 and fermented at 64 two weeks in primary. One week secondary then into keg. Dry hopped in keg with 1 oz of each hop. Leave it at room temp for 5 days then into cooler (hops still in there).

I think this beer is probably too dark and too hoppy for an amber, but it is fantastic. Will be a regular on my taps for a long time. Thanks OP for the recipe.

Cheers.

 

[berley31]

For anyone interested, I rebrewed my recipe as before, but with a bit of a twist. I wanted to make it a "session" version of Zoe, and aimed for about 4.5% ABV. Came out great again, tastes as good as the original, nice body, etc. Great hop presence with a supporting malt backbone. Baby Zoe it is!

http://meekbrewingco.blogspot.ca/2015/04/baby-zoe-session-version-of-maine-beer.html