Just got back from a great trip to the PNW. I had the pleasure of trying a ridiculous number of amazing beers, one of which wasDeschutes Pinedrops. Has anyone tried to clone this?
So far, I know that they use Nugget, Northern Brewer, Chinook, Centennial, and Equinox hops.
While hops are important, I'm even more concerned with nailing the grain bill and yeast, since I think I'll use this info as a base for my most recent harvest of cascade hops. I know it won't taste exactly like Pinedrops, but I'm not usually one for doing straight clones in the first place.
Based on the few samples I had, I would guess that the predominant base malt is almost definitely pilsner. I'm thinking that quite a bite of the piney bite is coming from the malt, an idea that I'm really digging for my next brew. I did a quick look around the interwebs and saw 85% pils, 8% 40l crystal, and 7% munich - sounds reasonable.
For yeast, I'm guessing something really clean - Chico / WLP001 / US 05 / 1056 yeast (on a side note, anyone have a good, readily-available bottle source? Maybe Sierra Nevada Pale Ale?). For the sake of conversation, the only clone recipe I was able to find utilized Safale 04. I think I'd like to go with the aforementioned Cali yeast since my last several IPA's have used fruitier English style ale yeasts and I'm looking to change it up.
A few other specs: 6.5% abv, 70 IBU. Crisp but not super dry.
Cheers
So far, I know that they use Nugget, Northern Brewer, Chinook, Centennial, and Equinox hops.
While hops are important, I'm even more concerned with nailing the grain bill and yeast, since I think I'll use this info as a base for my most recent harvest of cascade hops. I know it won't taste exactly like Pinedrops, but I'm not usually one for doing straight clones in the first place.
Based on the few samples I had, I would guess that the predominant base malt is almost definitely pilsner. I'm thinking that quite a bite of the piney bite is coming from the malt, an idea that I'm really digging for my next brew. I did a quick look around the interwebs and saw 85% pils, 8% 40l crystal, and 7% munich - sounds reasonable.
For yeast, I'm guessing something really clean - Chico / WLP001 / US 05 / 1056 yeast (on a side note, anyone have a good, readily-available bottle source? Maybe Sierra Nevada Pale Ale?). For the sake of conversation, the only clone recipe I was able to find utilized Safale 04. I think I'd like to go with the aforementioned Cali yeast since my last several IPA's have used fruitier English style ale yeasts and I'm looking to change it up.
A few other specs: 6.5% abv, 70 IBU. Crisp but not super dry.
Cheers