Alpine Nelson IPA Clone

I'm disappointed that I have no idea what Alpine Nelson taste like and therefore have no realinput regarding cloning. So I think someone should send me some to try so that I can start development a clone and contributing to the discussion.

 

I'm interested to hear how the SF Lager yeast version turned out.

 

I like it better than the ale version actually -it seems to tone down the bitterness in the finish slightly--they are both very good with the hops still taking the spotlight the differences are slight to my palate. I guess it comes down to feel more than anything.

 

Can you post the recipe again? The original link is dead.

 

The brewtoad site changed it slightly to fit the ingredients in their database - here is the link but the original used Southern Cross not Northern Brewer hops http://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/golden-rye-nz-hopped-ipa

 

I realize this is coming a bit late, but I thought it worth mentioning to "beer cloners" out there: ~99% of published IBUs are Tinseth-calculated "paper IBUs" which means they are the "calculated IBUs" that brewing software determines. In a low-moderate hopped beer like a helles or even an English Bitter, these are very accurate. However, the math changes considerably in a hoppy beer like an IPA (or even an APA). As such, the published "100 IBU" beers are usually somewhere in the ~60 IBU range and most American IPA is somewhere in the 40-60 IBU range.

Some breweries publish the "true bitterness" or the IBUs that their laboratory testing has shown their beers to contain. Widmer, Deschutes, and Firestone-Walker have all been known to do this. As homebrewers, we usually can't just get our beers tested like this, but you can gauge "true IBUs" by training your palate with beers from those breweries who list their "true bitterness" in their publications. I suspect that Alpine's 45 IBU Nelson IPA is listing its "true bitterness" and that BeerSmith would list it as a 90+ IBU beer. I say this because the volume of high-alpha hops that must be used to get such incredible hop flavor is enough to overload any beer software and because the true bitterness utilized from late hops given in large quantities is actually very low.

 

You may be right. I think the huge amount of late hops contributes a lot of flavor but not much biterness -it is a good example of a hop bursted IPA

 

Alpine's IPAs are second to none. I would love to know their recipes for Duet, Nelson, and Ugly.

 

So has anyone brewed up a clone recently that's come close? Still trying to figure out a good replacement hop schedule since I can't get any Southern Cross.

 

I've brewed it a couple times. My last iteration was the closest to the original... and I used Southern Cross.

I've tried using other varieties in place of the Southern Cross. Simcoe definitely DOES NOT work. I think some people have had success with Chinook, but in that case I'd use at least a 3:1 ratio in favor of the Nelson. You might try throwing in a pinch of Galaxy at 10' and 5', and use Nelson the rest of the way.

You could also brew the recipe as a single-hop (Nelson) IPA. You won't be disappointed.

 

Can someone please share the recipe? Hopville's no longer up, and the two recipes up on Brewtoad don't have Southern Cross. Thanks in advance!

 

20% Rye, 5% crystal, bitter to 30 IBUs with hi alpha NZ/AUS/US hop, NS late to get the other 15 IBUs, NS standard IPA DH and whirlpool, ferment <65*F with any hop centric neutral yeast.

Might be vague/off a little, but this should get you close...cheers

 

just sub southern cross in place of northern brewer

 

For anyone looking to clone this, Yakima Valley Hops has Southern Cross in stock.

 

I'm a noob so please forgive but I am fixing to do my first all-grain batch and am looking at various recipes now. I think I am going to start off with something simpler but with the recipe on brewtoad, should we just expect to mash at whatever beersmith tells us or the yeast? Also, what size batch is that for? I just got Beersmith and have set up my BIAB equipment and mash profile.

 

Am I reading the recipe correct, that it calls for a final 1 day dry hop? Has anyone done this, and does it add any noticeable aroma? I understand dry hops will add aroma, but the 1 day has me thinking.

 

This is what I see:
Hops

Amount Hop Time Use Form AA
0.25 oz Northern Brewer (US) 60 min First Wort Pellet 14.8%
0.13 oz Northern Brewer (US) 60 min First Wort Pellet 14.8%
0.25 oz Nelson Sauvin (NZ) 30 min Boil Pellet 11.5%
0.25 oz Northern Brewer (US) 15 min Boil Pellet 14.8%
0.5 oz Northern Brewer (US) 5 min Boil Pellet 14.8%
0.5 oz Nelson Sauvin (NZ) 5 min Boil Pellet 11.5%
4.5 oz Nelson Sauvin (NZ) 7 days Dry Hop Pellet 11.5%
4.5 oz Northern Brewer (US) 1 days Dry Hop Pellet 14.8% (emphasis mine)