Cloning My Own Mistake

[John Sand]

A funny thing happened, I made a good beer by accident. Last fall (2013) I received a couple of ounces of hops from a fellow brewer Upstate NY. They had been planted decades ago by his grandmother. I brewed a couple of small extract batches with them, but didn't achieve the desired results. Recently my pipeline was running low, I gave the second batch, brewed in April, a try. I kind of liked it. I chilled some more and shared them. Others liked it too. So, I should just follow my notes and repeat, right? Well, maybe. The recipe used up open cans of extract: 1.7 lbs Amber and 1.1lbs of a mix of Munich and Pilsner, about 2:1. The hops, assumed to be Cluster were .75oz@25, .75oz@5. I hoped for a hoppy pale, and BrewersFriend confirmed this. What I got was darker, sweeter, and a bit roasty, with a mild bitterness at the finish. It also matches a Special Bitter, and nearly Irish Red, which it most resembles in taste. I'd like to replicate it, AG. I think the color, caramel, and roastiness must be from kettle caramelization. But I think I can replicate it with dark crystal and maybe some roast of chocolate malt. The Pilsner probably didn't add much other than points, I plan to replace it with two row. I used S04 originally, I will again. OG was 1.048, FG 1.014. I'm also thinking that the old, untended hop plant was at the low end of the AAU range. Now I'm thinking 2row, Munich, C120, still Cluster. I could draw some wort to caramelize, or add something black. Suggestions?

[philm00x]

You can try some melanoidin malt to introduce flavors much like those of caramelized wort.

[John Sand]

Thanks Phil. I saw that in my research and wondered.

[John Sand]

Well, I brewed this:
6.5# two row
2# Munich
1# Pilsner
.75# C120
.5oz Cluster@60
1oz " "@20
.5oz " "@5
S04
OG 1.051, FG 1.011
It's not too far afield, and it's pretty good. It took three weeks to be good, even in the keg. It was very so-so at Superbowl. The original was a bit more caramel and roast. This one malt and toast. But I like it.
Brewing is fun!