Double Dry Hopped India Pale Ale

I am normally not all about getting a recipe from another source and then remaking it on my home system. Why? It's not nearly as much fun. You're standing on the backs of others trying to reach for a ring that some one has already obtained. Even if your clone is perfect you're still second in the race to perfection. Heady Topper is a DIPA that has been cloned extensively. Why? it's fantastic. The cans are hard to come by because they sell out each week and are only distributed within Vermont and to Boston. I'd love to have a keg of Vermont's finest DIPA but I'm going to leave the cloning to the clone experts. People with strict fermentation controls, well developed palates, and access to the original can have this shiny ring.

I am going to take aspects of the best clone recipes I can find and adapt them to my tastes. I'd call the an inspired by rather than a copied from.

(please read more after the break.)

So a clone of heady topper can take many forms:

• In BYO it was British Pale Ale for a base w/ Apollo, Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Citra, Columbus, and Simcoe.
• At Signpost Brewing it was a base of Perle Male w/ Amarillo, Apollo, Cascade, Centennial, Columbus, and Simcoe.
• In random recipes I found on beersmith, and home brew talk it used everything from acidulated malt to speculating that the hops were proprietary.

Only John Kimmich knows for sure what Heady Topper's recipe is and he's not talking, nor should he. Heady Topper is his creation and his livelihood, I wouldn't be talking either. While researching this article I found this great video of John Kimmich talking about Heady Topper, it's worth a view. Passion matters.

Alleged Heady Topper Recipe:

Fermentables:

13 lbs Pale Malt, Perle (3.0 SRM) 91.2 %      

4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) 1.8 %      

1 lbs Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM) 7.0 %

Kettle Hops:

1.50 oz Simcoe [13.0 %] - Boil 30.0 min 43.3 IBUs  

1.00 oz Apollo [17.0 %] - Boil 0.0 min 0.0 IBUs    

1.00 oz Cascade [5.5 %] - Boil 0.0 min 0.0 IBUs    

1.00 oz Simcoe [13.0 %] - Boil 0.0 min 0.0 IBUs  

1.00 oz Chinook [13.0 %] - Boil 0.0 min 0.0 IBUs

Aroma Steep:

1.00 oz Columbus [14.0 %] - Aroma Steep 30.0 min 0.0 IBUs    

1.00 oz Simcoe [13.0 %] - Aroma Steep 30.0 min 0.0 IBUs    

1.00 oz Centennial [10.0 %] - Aroma Steep 30.0 min 0.0 IBUs

First Dry Hops: 

1.00 oz Citra [12.0 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days 0.0 IBUs  

1.00 oz Simcoe [13.0 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days 0.0 IBUs

Second Dry Hops:

1.25 oz Simcoe [13.0 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days 0.0 IBUs  

1.00 oz Centennial [10.0 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days 0.0 IBUs  

My Recipe:

Fermentables:

11 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) 91.2 %    

4.0 oz Caravienne (23.0 SRM) 1.8 %      

Kettle Hops:

1.50 oz Simcoe [13.0 %] - Boil 30.0 min 43.3 IBUs  

1.00 oz Citra [17.0 %] - Boil 0.0 min 0.0 IBUs  

1.00 oz Cascade [5.5 %] - Boil 0.0 min 0.0 IBUs  

1.00 oz Simcoe [13.0 %] - Boil 0.0 min 0.0 IBUs  

1.00 oz Chinook [13.0 %] - Boil 0.0 min 0.0 IBUs

Aroma Steep:

1.00 oz Columbus [14.0 %] - Aroma Steep 30.0 min 0.0 IBUs

1.00 oz Simcoe [13.0 %] - Aroma Steep 30.0 min 0.0 IBUs  

1.00 oz Citra [12.0 %] - Aroma Steep 30.0 min 0.0 IBUs

First Dry Hops: 

1.00 oz Citra [12.0 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days 0.0 IBUs  

1.00 oz Simcoe [13.0 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days 0.0 IBUs

Second Dry Hops:

1.50 oz Simcoe [13.0 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days 0.0 IBUs  

1.00 oz Chinook [13.0 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days 0.0 IBUs

1.00 oz Citra [12.0 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days 0.0 IBUs

 

How are they different?

My LHBS didn't have apollo hops so I just subbed in some Citra, They ought to be roughly equivalent; maybe. I deep sixed the centennial, I am less of a fan of that than most. Founders makes a centennial IPA and I'm not a fan, too bitter, not enough flavor or aroma. So I replaced the aroma steep hops with Citra to add more Citrus fruit flavors in that stage, and I like my IPAs to finish with a big piney flavor so I replaced the second dry hop amount with Chinook. I also added Citra to the second dry hop to play up the pine/citrus angle. On the malt bill I replaced the perle with Golden Promise, and the caravienne with caramel 20. I lowered the malt bill a touch to make this a strong IPA rather than a double This should have little impact on the final product but I wanted to note it.

Other Pertinents:

Recipe Specifications:

Boil Size: 6.43 gal

Post Boil Volume: 5.72 gal

Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal   

Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal

Estimated OG: 1.061 SG

Estimated Color: 5.6 SRM

Estimated IBU: 50.6 IBUs

Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %

Est Mash Efficiency: 79.2 %

Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs 4.0 oz

Name      Description                        Step Temp Step Time

Mash In   Add 15.06 qt of water at 158.6 F   45.0 F    30 min  

Mash Step Add 4.00 qt of water at 161.5 F    148.0 F   40 min

Batch Sparge with three gallons of 170 degree water.

Brew Day:

This was long, It was hot. It's lucky for me that I did most of it inside. I started at 8 am, Took a few minutes off for an phone call, and finished up around 4. I ran into problems with almost every piece of equipment I use. It was certainly the first brewday of the summer, it showed. It didn't help that it was 90 degrees in my driveway today; Michigan is suppose to be temperate!

Overall though it got done and I'm excited to go forward and try to double dry hop an IPA.