[MODNOTE: Excellent post Steve. I have moved it into this new thread as I think it will have hybrid vigour here.]
This is a subject I have had my tongue firmly planted in my cheeks for many years.
So a cloned beer? What actually is it? A regional copy, a bottle copy, a keg on tap copy or even a brewery fresh original example on a brewery tour?
Cloning a bottle shop version: What are you actually cloning? When a brewer says his clone is just like the bottle from XYZ bottle shop what does he mean and what has he cloned. More often as not, all the inherent faults of time. Transport, storage [temperature variations] display under flouro lighting lack of hop character from age and the inevitable oxidation with time. My hat off to any brewer that can clone all those faults accurately.
The recipe: Most breweries closely guard their recipes and if they do give recipe details they are understandably vague, would you really want your competitors knowing exactly what you do? On a homebrew scale a percent here or there will certainly alter the flavour profile.
Grain: While we can get regional grains are they the grains used at that brewery. Are the colours the same, do they have a special grain produced to achieve a unique colour/flavour profile.
Water: This is a biggy. What does the brewery actually do? Is it RO tricked up to a secret profile or is it a well out the back of the brewery. Are they aiming for a particular ratio of Sulphate to Chloride? I'm in Adelaide so my bulk standard water is miles different to anywhere else in Australia and possibly the world. It makes good beer but the water is so important.
Yeast: We all know this has such a major impact on flavour. Is it a mutated house strain imposible to get hold of? Subtle things like initial temperature, pitching rates and open or closed fermentaion.
Hops and utilisation: The age or freshness of hops will determine the perceived bitterness and balance of the beer. The vigour of your boil. Also are they actually the hops used, the right ratios and the right time in the boil or whirlpool?
I have in the past attempted to clone a beer or two but not succesfully based on the above.
An example: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. In 2004 I purchased a couple of bottles here in Adelaide and while it was ok it was nothing special. That year I went to America and spent a month in the high Sierra's near Yosemite doing landscape photography. As a bonus two beers I was curious about Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Fat tire were delivered fresh each week. And I do mean fresh. The Australian purchased bottle and the American version were nothing alike. The local bottles were fresh and alive with a crispness the home bottleshop could not match.
I have since attempted a clone of the SNPA based on a recipe and hop schedule provided to an American forum by the head brewer at the Sierra Nevada brewery. It was really good, even great but not quite the same based on a lot of the above.
After brewing all grain for nearly 20 years I would rather enjoy a nearly perfectly crafted self designed recipe than a clone that is "good - but".
If you are able to accuratley clone beer "a" then my hat off to you. I gave that tail chaser away years ago. Mind you I had Dobbermans and Rotties for years and they both have very short tails.
Here is the link I mentioned. It ran off the rails with "internet expert brewers" second guessing the actual SN brewer but the recipe is in the first few posts
http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtop" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... snpa+clone
Steve
. I hope a few more people contribute to this thread because I think it is one that really anyone can comment on.
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