Which recipes are spot on?

[flytact]

New to this board and not quite sure this is the proper place, but I've tried several clone recipes for TTL, Bitter & Twisted (my nemesis) and Deuchars among others. I've not been to the UK for almost two years and my only comparison tool is memory and bottles. While all my beers have turned out fine, I want them to be representative of the real thing, not just a good beer with a different name.

So what's my point? Can I ask all the brewers here with access to the originals which recipes have you brewed from this board that are spot on?

Thanks,
DaveG
PS: I keg my beers in a cornelius keg and have a 1/2 pint engine for real ale.

[flytact]

Thanks DaaB, this is what I'm looking for.
The TTL recipes are all different, but which one would pass the theoretical side-by-side test? A homebrew that makes you say "WOW, I've got it!"

Bitter and Twisted is my nemesis in that I have made 4 different versions. I finally thought I had it right, everyone here loved it, but sampled against the bottle it was nothing like it!

[mysterio]

I would say fermentation conditions (temperature) and yeast are the two big factors which make it nearly impossible for a homebrewer to make an exact replica of a commercial beer. After that, it's pure experience: knowing your hop utilisation, what flavours and colours you get with different ingredients and so on. That's not to say it won't be as good as, or even better than the original. But just following the above recipe using any yeast, without knowing the fermentation conditions etc, it's pretty futile to expect to make an exact clone. Admittedly some are probably easier than others. I don't usually make clones but I reckon London Pride would be one of the hardest because of that really slick diacetyl-like smoothness.

Personally I think this is the important part:

I finally thought I had it right, everyone here loved it

But good luck anyway.

[Seveneer]

A few years ago, before I started making up my own recipes, I brewed a particular beer from a recipe in a book. Once it was ready I poured a pint from my (now) brother-in-law. He took one mouthful and said, "This tastes just like the beer sold in my parents' local". When I asked him what that was he told me it was "Bunces Benchmark" which by pure fluke was the recipe I had followed

This has only happened once but I was dead chuffed

The book is called "Brewing Real Ales at Home" or something like that. I'll try and dig it out and confirm the title.

/Phil.

[slurp the apprentice]

I am trying wheelers recipe for TTL but not sure of the hop quanty my hops a/a are as follows stryian 3.1a/a,fuggles 6.1a/a and e.k goldings 6% a/a ?

[wooyay]

I am trying wheelers recipe for TTL but not sure of the hop quanty my hops a/a are as follows stryian 3.1a/a,fuggles 6.1a/a and e.k goldings 6% a/a ?

Wheeler's recipes seem to assume 7.9AA for Styrian, 4.5AA for Fuggles and 5.3AA for Goldings. To calculate the multiplication factor to obtain the same level of bitterness you divide the given by the actual:

Styrian: 42g x (7.9/3.1) = 107g
Fuggles: 35g x (5.3/6.1) = 30g
Goldings: 15g x (5.3/6.0) = 13g

107g seems an awful lot though...

[slurp the apprentice]

well i will go with your calculation unless anyone out there disagrees thanks

[charlie]

Bitter and Twisted is my nemesis in that I have made 4 different versions. I finally thought I had it right, everyone here loved it, but sampled against the bottle it was nothing like it!

That's one of your big problems, most Uk brewers will want to emulate the draught version which will taste nothing like the bottled version.

You really need to move to the UK.

[flytact]

You really need to move to the UK.

Probably a topic for the Tap Room, but there were serious considerations for moving to the UK several years ago. We had checked rental rates, schools, the job market. The hurdle was the citizenship work thing. After we called things off we remembered that my wife's father was born in the UK, giving us a little wiggle room.
Some day....