Why the obsession with cloning?

[Genuine]

I like being able to brew something and have something to compare it to. I'm still in the stage of getting my process/temps and time down to where I'm comfortable with developing my own recipes and taking things from there.

 

[Smellyglove]

When I first started brewing I as many others tried to "clone" a beer which we like. Brew the beer, put it into the fermenter and "hooray! We made an exact replica of <insert beer name>!" But, after a few batches and some more insight to how beer is made and how there are totally different setups and "clone" recipes in magasines are mostly a guess, You quickly realize that if you want to clone a beer, you have to brew it on the same setup as the original, by the guidance of one of the local brewers.

I've stopped trying to "clone" beers. It just doesn't work. But I can look at a recipe and get information about why the beer tastes that way, and how to make my own brew, and adjust it to my setup, to get something which tastes good.

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

When I first started brewing I as many others tried to "clone" a beer which we like. Brew the beer, put it into the fermenter and "hooray! We made an exact replica of <insert beer name>!" But, after a few batches and some more insight to how beer is made and how there are totally different setups and "clone" recipes in magasines are mostly a guess, You quickly realize that if you want to clone a beer, you have to brew it on the same setup as the original, by the guidance of one of the local brewers.

I've stopped trying to "clone" beers. It just doesn't work. But I can look at a recipe and get information about why the beer tastes that way, and how to make my own brew, and adjust it to my setup, to get something which tastes good.

I don't believe thats strictly true. If you know the style, you have a decent palate, and are a semi-decent brewer, you could clone a beer fairly reasonably. I think a lot of us at the homebrew level make things more complicated than they need to be and cloning a commercial beer generally follows the rule of, keep it simple and stupid. Commercial brewing just wants to make good beer consistently without an overly complicated process.

I recently attempted a clone of the Strawberry Rhubarb ale offered by New Glarus. I was reasonably positive they didn't sour the beer with any bugs, and I knew their fruit beer offerings finished fairly high documented on several threads here on HBT (in the range of 1.030 and higher). I don't have the option to keg currently, so stabilizing the beer and force carbonating wasn't going to be an option and I didn't want bottle bombs. And I was reasonably positive the recipe was going to be simple, pale 2 row/pale ale malt with some wheat malt and flaked wheat/oats, if I could stabilize and force carbonate I'd skip the crystal malts, but crystal malts to add malt backbone and sweetness because it would *definitely* finish low.

End result, it's *really* close. Flavor and aroma are spot on, color is very close, but New Glarus' offering is more cloudy, I had attempted to let it be really cloudy but, this isn't as big of a deal. So yeah, I didn't *clone*, but its *very* close to the original, when I have kegging available I know I'll be able to use this recipe with some very minor tweaks to copy it 100%.

Edit: The biggest end result of this clone attempt was, I know how to nail a fruit beer now. I learned a lot from this beer and I've improved my recipe formulation skills in the process. A professional would say that theyre not clones of each other, but 90% of regular people I'd bet wouldn't be able to tell easily the difference.

 

[rmyurick]

Is it really an "obsession" if you like something and want to try to duplicate it or brew something similar? Most recipes are the result of taking another recipe as a starting point and then tweaking it, anyway. It's not like we are brewing something totally unheard of each time we go to brew.

 

[jbob7171]

Is it really an "obsession" if you like something and want to try to duplicate it or brew something similar? Most recipes are the result of taking another recipe as a starting point and then tweaking it, anyway. It's not like we are brewing something totally unheard of each time we go to brew.

True, but I was looking at it more in the sense of the countless number of "clone" threads on this site. As the OP, I wanted to reiterate, I got no problems with cloning. It can be a very useful exercise.

I also feel I need to define what I meant by cloning. I look at it as "I really want to brew xyz beer, and I'm going to keep trying until it's spot on." Checking out a "clone" recipe to get a sense of the base style and tweaking it to your liking isn't cloning to me, and it seems the majority of posts feel the same way. So back to your original point, obsession was probably too strong a word.

Cheers

 

[Pilgarlic]

Why this obsession with brewing? Why ask why?

 

[Smellyglove]

I don't believe thats strictly true. If you know the style, you have a decent palate, and are a semi-decent brewer, you could clone a beer fairly reasonably. I think a lot of us at the homebrew level make things more complicated than they need to be and cloning a commercial beer generally follows the rule of, keep it simple and stupid. Commercial brewing just wants to make good beer consistently without an overly complicated process.

I recently attempted a clone of the Strawberry Rhubarb ale offered by New Glarus. I was reasonably positive they didn't sour the beer with any bugs, and I knew their fruit beer offerings finished fairly high documented on several threads here on HBT (in the range of 1.030 and higher). I don't have the option to keg currently, so stabilizing the beer and force carbonating wasn't going to be an option and I didn't want bottle bombs. And I was reasonably positive the recipe was going to be simple, pale 2 row/pale ale malt with some wheat malt and flaked wheat/oats, if I could stabilize and force carbonate I'd skip the crystal malts, but crystal malts to add malt backbone and sweetness because it would *definitely* finish low.

End result, it's *really* close. Flavor and aroma are spot on, color is very close, but New Glarus' offering is more cloudy, I had attempted to let it be really cloudy but, this isn't as big of a deal. So yeah, I didn't *clone*, but its *very* close to the original, when I have kegging available I know I'll be able to use this recipe with some very minor tweaks to copy it 100%.

Edit: The biggest end result of this clone attempt was, I know how to nail a fruit beer now. I learned a lot from this beer and I've improved my recipe formulation skills in the process. A professional would say that theyre not clones of each other, but 90% of regular people I'd bet wouldn't be able to tell easily the difference.

Not to be rude, but what you're basically saying is that you weren't able to clone it...

To me a clone is a clone. If the original is force carbed and you prime and carb it in bottles, there's a taste difference. Clone failed. As an example.

For my part, when I say clone, I really mean clone. Haze, small nuances in color, which maltster did the malt come from, etc.

 

[bobbrews]

If you know the style, you have a decent palate, and are a semi-decent brewer, you could clone a beer fairly reasonably.

Even then, folks have troubles at nailing the perfect clone. There is much evidence of this in the Heady Topper thread.

I think the main reason people gravitate toward clone recipes is rather simple: 1) They really enjoy the beer being cloned, 2) They are intrigued by the challenge of potentially cloning it.

Some people think if they follow a recipe, it will a perfect 100% clone. This is usually not the case since there are many variables and processes at play.

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

Not to be rude, but what you're basically saying is that you weren't able to clone it...

To me a clone is a clone. If the original is force carbed and you prime and carb it in bottles, there's a taste difference. Clone failed. As an example.

For my part, when I say clone, I really mean clone. Haze, small nuances in color, which maltster did the malt come from, etc.

If we're going to argue semantics, sure, its not a clone...

If we are going to narrowly define a clone as a 100% copy, yes, I'll admit its not 100% clone. The cells in our body when they split, the cells are a copy of each other, though even our body sometimes makes tiny mistakes and you end up with slight differences in the cells. Even most breweries seasonal offerings are a little different each year, nevermind their flagship brews will change slightly year to year.

So yeah, sure, if you are gonna go with a very literal definition, you'd need the same malster's malts, from the same field/crop year, same hops and year of hops from the same hop farm and hop processor, the yeast would have to be from the same batch, and the water would have to be pulled from the same source at the same time the commercial beer is brewed.

Or, we could just accept that when we say "clone recipe" or "clone attempt" we are using it loosely to describe a beer that hopefully will end up extremely similar to the original, enough to trick most "regular" people. Did I expect a 100% 'clone', no, did I expect to get as close as I did, no, it was an attempt and it came really close only missing some minor cosmetic qualities, if you wanted to brew up a tasty Strawberry Rhubarb Wheat Ale or a clone attempt of the New Glarus offering, then my recipe is a damn good start.

Edit: I bet you could pull the finished wort from the brewers kettle when they brew a batch of whatever beer, and pull yeast from the same pitch they are going to us, and ferment at the exact same temps, and it still wouldn't come out exactly the same.

 

[hunter_le five]

Did you break into Sierra Nevada's facility, and brew using their equipment and their ingredients? Oh, you didn't? Sorry bro, not a clone.

You mean to tell me you didn't even hold the brewmaster at gunpoint and force him to do all the manual work? Are you even TRYING?

 

[Zepth]

My first "Finally got great results" AG batches were clones. Have to admit not perfect clones, but good representations of the style and target. Part of it is "I like this beer a lot, too bad it's $3.50 / pt." Part of it is going with a known to work recipe. Granted the latter could be substituted for any one of known great recipes here. Centennial Blonde, Yoops House Pale, Edworts Apfelwein (sp?), we've all heard of them held in high regard. I just went with a couple of known good clone batches.

Another reason to give a huge +1 to cloning is for difficult to acquire brands. Quick search over at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario and The Beer Store yields 0 results for: heady, left hand. No doubt countless others. "Stone" comes up as their IPA and Arrogant Bastard as being available only in 58L Sanke for upwards of $500. That's a little steep to sample something, and it would mean pulling 2 or 3 cornies (of 4) out of my keezer to fit the thing. Not to mention not having the right coupling, but at that point an adapter might as well go into the budget too.

Long story short is that it just isn't possible or practical most of the time. Apparently Ogdensburg corner stores do carry Left Hand products, for me it's an hour south to get there. Not too bad, I do have some business just north of the border every now and then to justify what would then be a 1 hour round trip detour. Still not ideal. Now with Stone releasing their Pale Ale recipe and ceasing production it seems I've only got one choice if I want to try what was once a largely successful commercial beer. You'd better believe I'll be brewing that. I will never know if I hit the mark though, which does sadden me a little.

 

[Smellyglove]

Well. A different beer is a different beer. I'd rather call it "inspired by" or "in the same street as". I'm being picky. But for me a "clone" would be something which would make me unable to tell the original from the clone.

 

[edroberts]

There are a few reasons that I've worked with clones in the past. IMHO, creating a clone and brewing a clone recipe are two different things.

Brewing a clone:
1. Limited fear of making something bad due to the recipe.
2. Provides a familiar starting port to explore with different processes, ingredients.
3. If you happen to not get the commercial version, it can give you the pleasure of enjoying it.

Creating a clone recipe:
1. Challenge of discerning an unknown recipe top to bottom to create a specific flavor profile.
2. Bragging rights or fun community participation of developing a clone.
2. If you happen to not get the commercial version, it can give you the pleasure of enjoying it.

 

[fuelish]

I just wish homebrewers used another word than "clone...." You can't clone beer...you can imitate, attempt to replicate, but beer can't be "cloned" .... just a pet peeve of mine, as is people calling a vibrato on guitar a "trem" ....it is not tremolo, it is vibrato.....damn, I'm in a pissy mood this afternoon...LOL

 

[ChokingOnTheBack]

I just started brewing. Went all grain on my 2nd brew. I didn't know where to start or how to build a recipe so I decided to try and clone one of my local favorites. (Its in the secondary fermenter now) So I have no clue if it will be perfect. And I doubt it.

But it did give me a good starting point. Learning a little about grain, hops, yeast and what not.

If I didn't do a clone. I wouldn't know where to start.

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

I just wish homebrewers used another word than "clone...." You can't clone beer...you can imitate, attempt to replicate, but beer can't be "cloned" .... just a pet peeve of mine, as is people calling a vibrato on guitar a "trem" ....it is not tremolo, it is vibrato.....damn, I'm in a pissy mood this afternoon...LOL

This is the attitude that drives me crazy. My brother used to have a girlfriend who played the violin. So somehow we'd get on the subject and I'd say in normal conversationg "violin", and she would correct me "its a violA, a viola, not the violin". I guess it has something to do with the size of the instrument or something, I didn't listen to be honest, she was a ginger-Canadian so I barely understood anything she said anyway.

If it sounds like a violin, and looks like a violin, its a god damn violin. Yes, clone is not the perfect word, but its short, easy to say, and conveys the intent of the speaker without additional explanation.

 

[Zepth]

I just wish homebrewers used another word than "clone...." You can't clone beer...you can imitate, attempt to replicate, but beer can't be "cloned" .... just a pet peeve of mine, as is people calling a vibrato on guitar a "trem" ....it is not tremolo, it is vibrato.....damn, I'm in a pissy mood this afternoon...LOL

Gargoyles.
"a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building"
"represented the gurgling sound of water"
"protruding gutter."
"The term gargoyle is most often applied to medieval work, but throughout all ages some means of water diversion"

If you're thinking of a carved statue or demon on the side of a building or battlement it's possible you're thinking of a "grotesque."
" More specifically, the grotesque forms on Gothic buildings, when not used as drain-spouts, should not be called gargoyles"

Point is that no matter how much the few of us who are truly correct fight for what is right, we will never convert the masses. It's sad.
/offtopic

 

[The_Nid_Hog]

For me, the idea of cloning a beer is not much different than following a recipe. Or following directions about how to do anything, for that matter. My experience with pretty much everything I've ever learned to do well was to get the basic pattern down before I tried to do anything innovative. To do something like follow Vinnie's Pliny recipe or recreate one of Kristen England's recipes on Ron Pattinson's blog is just a way to learn the basics.

 

[jbaysurfer]

Is it really an "obsession" if you like something and want to try to duplicate it or brew something similar? Most recipes are the result of taking another recipe as a starting point and then tweaking it, anyway. It's not like we are brewing something totally unheard of each time we go to brew.

Yeah, it's the internet, so various phenomenon gets relabeled sometimes. "Obsession with Cloning" isn't how I would label it, it's just a phenomenon where brewers like to try and mimic some of the best professional brewer examples of beer styles there are.

I haven't "cloned" a beer in awhile but a lot of my recipes started based on clone attempts.

My crown jewel was when a distributor friend of mine tasted my Pliny clone right next to the real thing, said I nailed it, and he even preferred mine a bit, than later looked in my kegerator and confessed: "I wanted to make sure you didn't have an actual keg of pliny in there!"

My current IPA recipe has remnants of my clone attempts on 4 beers, Nelson from Alpine, Heady, Pliny and Kern River Citra. I learned something in each attempt and was able to inform my own recipe formulation with that new found knowledge.

Edit: I'm currently pouring a fantastic Vanilla Bourbon Imperial Porter. Is it "cloning" if you're copying a non-commercial beer vs. a commercial beer??? Thanks Denny!

 

[Smellyglove]

Edit: The biggest end result of this clone attempt was, I know how to nail a fruit beer now. I learned a lot from this beer and I've improved my recipe formulation skills in the process. A professional would say that theyre not clones of each other, but 90% of regular people I'd bet wouldn't be able to tell easily the difference.

This is what I'd cherish from a cloning attempt. It gives you some momentum when it comes to formulating new recipes within a new style.

As I said earlier. I'm picky about "clones", I guess it's the term "clone" which sort of bothers me. But what you learn from trying to clone a beer is worth a lot.

 

[z-bob]

I have no interest in cloning commercial beers at this time. But I can see a reason for it; the challenge. It means you can identify what's in the example beer by tasting it, and figure out the ingredients and technique to match it (or at least come close.) I don't think those are easy skills to master.

 

[Chadwick]

I've never really cloned any beers. What I have done, and still often do, is take a clone recipe of a beer I like and try to modify it in ways that appeal to me.

For instance, I love Bigfoot Ale. So I take a clone recipe for Bigfoot and then try to boost it up with some richer malt flavor and increased ABV. The results are hit and miss, but always a beer I enjoy.

 

[SEPDX_Brewer]

I brewed my first "clone" this weekend - a Sticky Hands IIPA. Sticky Hands is a monthly release and changes quite a bit from recipe to recipe.

Block 15 released what types of grains they use but not %. They also released a big list of hops that they liked to use but no hop schedule. I was able to get access to the hop oil they use in Sticky Hands as well as a their in house yeast.

It's been fermenting for ~4 days now and it looks amazing and smells even better.

I usually don't brew "big" beers or clones but I'm glad I did because it pushed me to try new things like a hop stand and dry hopping.

Hey There, I'm looking at cloning Sticky Hands and was wondering where how you got ahold of the hop oil or do you mean bittering extract? Also how did the clone go? Recipe? Any help is appreciated!!

 

[passedpawn]

Hey There, I'm looking at cloning Sticky Hands and was wondering where how you got ahold of the hop oil or do you mean bittering extract? Also how did the clone go? Recipe? Any help is appreciated!!

I can't help you with isomerized hop oil, but if you're looking for hop extract, Yakima sells it by the syringe and can ( a can is a lot). I think it degrades pretty quickly once opened, so if you buy a can, you need a plan to keep it from oxidizing after opening.

The extract must be boiled to isomerize, or make soluble, the hop oils. But it won't leave piles of hop residue in your kettle.

https://www.yakimavalleyhops.com/hop_extract_s/1939.htm

 

[MagicRat]

The only commercial beer I've tried to clone is the Weienstephaner hefe. My version was a fairly reasonable facsimile but not as good as the real thing. I have also used Bell's Two Hearted grain bill for an IPA which came out great.
I'm thinking of trying a Pliny clone since I can't get it where I live, but I wouldn't really know how close I got, would I? But I'm sure it would at least give me a clue what all the fuss is about.

 

[arnobg]

Some people enjoy the challenge of cloning a beer that they like. Think about it like a musician wanting to learn to play a song that they love. It is a test of your senses and ability to be able to do something like that by ear. You might not learn the song and play it because you don't have the ability to write your own song, but you may do it because you just love the song and want to test your abilities while enjoying something you love.

 

[mtnagel]

I can't help you with isomerized hop oil, but if you're looking for hop extract, Yakima sells it by the syringe and can ( a can is a lot). I think it degrades pretty quickly once opened, so if you buy a can, you need a plan to keep it from oxidizing after opening.

Not sure where you get that from.

A Story of Shelf Stability

The first lot of hop extract from the Sunnyside facility was produced in March 1999. Since then, Ken Mortensen, the first extract plant employee and current Sunnyside Operations Manager, has had a sample sitting on his desk in a clear glass jar at room temperature which has been opened and sniffed many times. Some have even dared to taste it. We occasionally test this teenage sample in our lab, and amazingly, there has been very little degradation. CO2 hop extract is by far one of the most stable hop products available.

From https://ychhops.com/connect/news/blog/resinate-co2-hop-extract

I've read that it would last up to 10 years when unopened and frozen. I know you said opened, but I dose out the can in syringes and keep them frozen. I expect them to last a long time.

 

[bleme]

A friend I brew with told me that we should brew an old-fashioned west-coast IPA. He's been brewing NEIPA's for the last year and before that Mosaic/Citra IPA's for about a year before that and wanted something else. So the first thing I did was look up clone recipes for beers that I like in that category. I've been taking all those recipes, analyzing what each factor contributes, what they have in common, and will base my recipe off a combination of those.

I brewed mostly clones, with and without my own tweeks, in my early years and I think that was a good education. It's also fun to serve your friends a blind taste test and let them pick which is better. It's always a bit of an ego boost when they choose my beer.

 

[aprichman]

Hey There, I'm looking at cloning Sticky Hands and was wondering where how you got ahold of the hop oil or do you mean bittering extract? Also how did the clone go? Recipe? Any help is appreciated!!

Hi SEPDX_Brewer,

To give you a little background, Block 15 released their hop oil (extract?) for a Sticky Hands clone competition. They use Apollo hop oil but it is VERY different from the hop oil that passedpawn linked to. I'll include a picture of it.

I briefly spoke with the owner of Block 15 and he said they use it late in the boil for a boost of aroma and flavor. I also used Block 15's "Sticky Yeast" which is an English strain that has some really great stone fruit flavors that come out when fermented around 68F. The yeast is also highly flocculent and pretty dry. I also learned that the beer is made up of the following base malts: Pale Ale, 2-row, Carafoam, Crystal 15, and sugar. Nick (the owner) mentioned they use a percentage of Pale Ale and 2-row for the base malt and that the percentage usually changes a little bit every time. All base malts come from Great Western and the brewer's prefer the taste of the organic 2-row which is what they use in Sticky Hands. I'm not sure what brand of carafoam or crystal 15 they use - and I'm not sure which brand I used at the time either.

The clone I made turned out fantastic - it reminded me a lot of their "Tropical Remix" Sticky Hands which is my personal favorite. Here's the recipe - I was batch sparging at the time and getting around 75% efficiency.

Block 15 Sticky Hands Clone:

6.00 lbs. Great Western Pale Ale Malt
5.25 lbs. Great Western Organic 2-row
0.50 lbs. Crystal 15
0.50 lbs. Carafoam
0.80 lbs. Corn Sugar

1 oz. Simcoe @ 60 minutes

1 oz. Amarillo @ 10 minutes
Container of Apollo hop extract @ 10 minutes
Yeast Nutrient @ 10 minutes
Whirlfloc @ 10 minutes

1 oz. Simcoe @ Flameout
1 oz. Amarillo @ Flameout

1 oz. Citra @ 180F Hopstand (30 minutes)
1 oz. Simcoe @ 180F Hopstand (30 minutes)
1 oz. Amarillo @ 180F Hopstand (30 minutes)

1 oz. Citra @ 5 day dryhop
1 oz. Simcoe @ 5 day dryhop
1 oz. Amarillo @ 5 day dryhop

Mashed at 150F for 60 minutes. Batch sparged at 168F until I achieved enough volume to hit 5.5 gallons after a 60 minute boil (probably targeted around 7.5 gallons). RO water used with 3 tsp. of burton salts added to the mash water. Fermented at 67F for 14 days followed by a 5 day dryhop.

Original Gravity was 1.071 and finished at 1.010.

I would probably suggest using something like Wyeast American Ale II at 66 or 67F since Sticky Yeast is not usually available for purchase. I also think Apollo hop hash would get you really close to the extract they use.

 

[passedpawn]

Not sure where you get that from.

I probably read it here

I was thinking about buying cans of extract and stuffing it into dissolvable gel capsules. They make some pretty large ones that would would work well (the "000" size, below, are an inch long and hold 1.4ml). Fill them, freeze, to use just toss in the boil. No mess! All this stuff is available on Amazon.

A filling tray, like below, makes filling them 50 at-a-time a breeze. Maybe.

 

[FlyDoctor]

I brew clones to either 1) have a beer that I can't easily get commercially, or 2) to hone brewing skills. As a general rule I will not brew an beer I can buy locally. I never want breweries to junk that "we" clone beers so we don't have to buy them. That's a great way to get breweries to not share info IMO.

 

[Soulshine2]

I'm making a guess that I was like most people when I first started brewing... I wanted to make a replica of a commercial beer that I liked. As I've continued with my brewing hobby, I've noticed that I've gotten away from trying to clone beers and steered more towards creating my own recipes (as much as I can). I find much more joy in that. For one, I don't have the disappointment that my "clone" doesn't taste like the real deal. They mostly never do, just too many variables to consider. And second, it's something I've created, which is just, well... pretty cool.

So I was curious about other homebrewers... what are ya'lls thoughts on the obsession to replicate a beer. Is it good practice? A waste of time? etc, etc.

disclaimer: I have no problems with cloning beers, as I mentioned, I started out that way, and sometimes still try to.

Over at our tobacco forum we are always seeing new members come in wanting to make X brand cigarettes or "snus,chew ,or dip" and then can't and try to figure out why...mainly for them its the addition of commercial additives. And the question comes up as to why when you are making something yourself (for yourself), would you copy something you can buy . The fun (and pride) is the fact you can make something completely different from anything you can buy ready made and available.
Same with making beer I'm sure.

 

[BassElement]

Like most you I start by brewing a clone recipe to get close to a style I like (not an exact duplicate - that's no fun) then tweak it to make it my own over time. As a < 1 year brewer this really helps me understand ratios, temp variations, etc across different beer styles. Cheers!

 

[FruityHops]

Who doesn't want to be able to brew a beer they know they'll like?

It is one thing to get a recipe, brew it, and then see if you like the result. It is quite another thing to have an end point in mind and then bring all the necessary components and processes together to achieve that goal.

 

[myntz]

I probably read it here

I was thinking about buying cans of extract and stuffing it into dissolvable gel capsules. They make some pretty large ones that would would work well (the "000" size, below, are an inch long and hold 1.4ml). Fill them, freeze, to use just toss in the boil. No mess! All this stuff is available on Amazon.

A filling tray, like below, makes filling them 50 at-a-time a breeze. Maybe.

Let me know how the capsules work out! I think you may be underestimating how sticky this stuff actually it is, and how difficult it is to work with, but capsules would be great! ~15IBU per hop pill for 5 gallons.

Out of the 100g Yakima valley can, I was able to get fourteen 10ml syringes filled, with another 7ml in another syringe.

PS. Whatever you do, do not taste this stuff.

 

[Soulshine2]

keep in mind though ...those capsules are made of gelatin. could very well alter your recipe or do something when you don't want it to.

 

[stz]

Wow where to start. I'm a home brewer who now is a brewer for a micro.

Home brewing has always had a whole bunch of angles. From making cheaper beer for the sake of saving some money, or getting access to beer which is difficult to get, to making something unique, to developing a process and enjoying refining it. You might as well ask why we don't all make our own equipment which is an aspect that some enjoy immensely.

I will brew clone recipes because it teaches me something about my equipment. I'm a firm believer that you can have the recipe, you can even have the yeast, but you won't have the beer because you don't have the process and plant. I've got a lot of respect for well made beer, even if I don't particularly like it. A proven recipe that doesn't give the expected extract efficiency can be diagnosed for example.

Brewing is pleasurable for me because it is 50% tactile, flavour, aroma, the combining of ingredients and the excitement that comes from successful flavour combinations. I enjoy recipe design. The other 50% is process control. I get just as excited by understanding and being able to influence a variable previously denied to me as I do a particularly interesting flavour. Home brewing is far more creative and innovative than commercial brewing which is why I still do it, you can work with extremes far more freely without risking significant money on something nobody will buy and this teaches you a great deal which can be used commercially, but so does brewing the same thing a thousand times and being able to look for trends amongst the data.

Big breweries potentially have hundreds of years of commercial success behind them. They have access to labs and can conduct intensive new product development. Understanding why a beer is successful and learning to replicate something will expand your palette and repertoire and then you know how to do something when you want to do it.

I think that people should go through stages with a hobby and learn from it and apply that and choose goals. I'm sure most of us want to make the best beer we can and we care about the opinion of others at some point. Maybe that doesn't last long and we just settle on making the best beer for us, but I've always felt that without a healthy amount of validation that comes from others, you can get kind of delusional as to what you are doing.

I rarely make very balanced beers because the market demands constantly changing beers which pander to extremes. We've got a younger customer, a lot more females, they don't want to drink as much volume, instead drinking smaller amounts of more expensive, but stronger beer with obvious and easily identifiable flavours. Women especially are already used to paying a higher than average price for a drink, they will pay for and drink what they like. Very few younger guys and women especially appreciate the well balanced malt character and low hop rates than shine through a traditional best bitter for example, but will enjoy a sweet coconut porter.

 

[meridianomrebel]

I brew clones of beers that I cannot purchase around here. An example is Dogfish Head - I love their 60 minute and 90 minute IPAs. I don't brew clones exclusively, but I do brew them a few times a year.

 

[filthyastronaut]

I've never cloned a beer, but I have definitely been inspired by commercial beers and made something similar, or attempted to improve on a concept. I also always find myself looking at ingredients for commercial beers I like to get ideas of what people are doing. Almost like research.

 

[brewcat]

Cloning is great. You can clone beers you can't get locally. Or discontinued recipes. Or beers you love for a lot less money.

Narrowing the focus to a single beer in a larger style can be just as creative as a brand new recipe. I end up researching the beer. Looking at multiple clone recipes. Then creating my own recipe from the information.