First homebrew Zombie Dust Clone too ambitious?

You can always 'practice' on less expensive recipes if you don't have confidence yet, but brewing a ZD clone is not a difficult process.

Do you have any descriptions of what made the last two brew sessions produce a 'gross' beer? Maybe we can help you pay attention to certain procedures to correct the flaws from the last batches.

 

Do you have a coherent "plan" for this brew?

Here's an example of a "plan." This was one of my early brews. Back then I created a full procedure and check-list for every brew, and printed them out on the day of brewing. If you have a similarly well thought out plan, I don't see any reason you couldn't try a zombie dust clone.

However, if your fundamentals are not strong, or you are just winging it, you are wasting your money regardless of what type of beer you attempt to brew. IMO fundamentals that are most important include...

• fermentation temperature (steadily BELOW 70F, preferably around 64 if you are using ambient room temperature as your measurement)
• yeast pitching temperature (below 70F)
• full boils
• sanitation
• cooling of beer after boil (do you have a wort chiller?)
• KISS methodology

And if you haven't read how to brew yet, there's your priority, do that first.

 

If $ is a factor...go to Costco and buy 2 cases of their best IPA...for about $50 (Lagunitas or SN Torpedo) and save yourself the aggravation until you're fully prepared. Cheers

 

You guys are paying $20 a piece, it's not going to get much cheaper than that.
And - I think making an IPA for your first batch is a great idea. Any subtle off flavors that may be present will be buried underneath a beautiful layer of lupulin. Go for it and good luck.

 

I am a firm believer that you should brew the beer you want to drink. If Zombie Dust is your beer, then go for it.

That said, I would read up on the process, especially as applies to the style beer you are brewing, and pay attention to the details, even if they don't seem to matter.

Don't be heartbroken if the first attempt doesn't come out perfectly, either. Going from square 1 to cloning a professional recipe is going to involve some practice. I can guarantee that with careful attention and practice, you will eventually be making tasty beer. Just keep in mind there's no guarantee you will ever completely nail a clone recipe when compared to the original.

 

Im with GreenKrusty, make sure you have a plan for doing this. Leaning on a buddy who has done it twice "years back" isnt a strong foundation.

For you the biggest challenges will be

1 - You MUST do a full boil, that means 6+gallons in the kettle
2 - Chilling all (~5.5gal) this down below 65F
3 - Keeping the fermentation temp ~65F for ~2wks

Noob Mistakes are .....

If you add yeast above that temp (65F) you will make a terrible beer

If your fermentation temp gets much above that it will ruin the beer

In both cases youll get a fusel filled solventy tasting beer

 

More Noob Mistakes...
- Cleanliness AND sanitation issues
- Drinking
- Winging it
- Impatience

 

As others have said, if you don't have temperature control, even if it's just a cold room, then yeah I think it's likely a waste of $. It's not the only issue, and you'll still learn, of course, so not a total waste.
But if you are making a clone when one would assume you want it to taste like that beer. So make sure you are ready/capable of making that beer.

give us a better idea of the setup you'll be working with and we can probably point towards potential issues you'll have to overcome.

good luck--
--Michael

 

Feel free to adapt the procedures from my blogs to your own uses. Obviously your procedure will be different, based on your equipment and recipe.

When my new system is ready, I'll be writing up procedures like this again, at least until I've got it down so well that I no longer have any doubts about what I need to do. I will post them too.

 

If you don't have the means to make a starter, and to prevent oxidation during packaging, you are bound to be disappointed. That is to say, it might not be bad or anything, but it probably won't taste like Zombie Dust.

And, if you don't know what those terms mean, you guys aren't ready yet. Read a bit more before you carry on...

 

None of these things are universally true

 

Hmmm

You Must do a full boil

- For an IPA, with extract, Yes, Yes you must. No other way to get the IBU's in there


lets just leave it at that.....

 

$60 seems like an awful lot for a 5 gallon extract brew of a pale ale. I would guess that you are being charged a lot for the copious amounts of citra hops you are going to need. I always shoot for bulk hop orders online. Granted, citra hops tend to be difficult to find in quantity, but www.yakimavalleyhops.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=citra&Submit= has 1/2 lbs for 13.99. They usually have full lbs for 20.99 as well. If you scour the internet enough, you may be able to find some similar deals. Same goes for malt extract. Purchasing it at a per recipe basis tends to be very expensive. Just some thoughts if lowering your total cost is of interest.

 

No, no you absolutely do not. None of those things are universal truths, as you still insist.

 

Well, Ok, your right, if they want to make an "IPA" thats not bitter enough then by all means, dont do what I suggested

 

The only place I have ever found any universal truths are in college math classes, and even then, there are always very specific conditions that must exist for these truths to apply. Otherwise, it's always going to be a bit more complicated than that.

However, there's no arguing that as a general rule, a full boil makes better beer. Haggle over the details if you want.