Can anyone attempt to help me clone this beer? http://cambridgebrewingcompany.com/beer/archive/cambridge-calling/ I had it at the brewery a few months back and I thought it was remarkable in that it packed so much flavor into such a small beer. Despite brewing for a few years now I have no experience in brewing dark style as I never thought I'd want to drink 5 gallons of something of this ilk. Something like this, however, would be awesome sitting on the couch and watching football. If anyone could point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks !
Have you tried asking the brewer? Most will share at least some information. Some will tell you everything you want to know.
The description gives you at least a starting point with ingredients: " It is brewed with British malts Maris Otter pale malt, Amber, Brown, Pale Chocolate, and Flaked Barley from Thomas Fawcett & Sons. The combination of these malts gives a very distinct flavor of cracker, toasted bread crust, light chocolate, and coffee. The beer pours with a moderate off white head and is deep brown in color with hints of ruby and garnet. For hops we used only Fuggles, a classic UK varietal known for its earthy spiciness and fruitiness. Fermentation was carried out by our house ale yeast, whose roots come from the original Whitbread Brewery – the largest brewery in the world in the 1780s. Perhaps the greatest challenge in replicating a classic beer style is in achieving the proper water chemistry. The majority of Porter breweries were located along the River Thames, which sits atop limestone and has salt water intrusion from the ocean. This combination worked perfectly as the minerals found in salt water help reinforce malt character, while limestone prevents the beer from becoming too acidic due to the darker malts. You may notice a slight mineral character in the finish of this beer as brewing salts, much like table salt, are used to enhance the already existing characteristics in the beer."
The link provides a lot of ‘clues’ on how to brew this beer (see copied below). My interpretation is that the grain bill will be mostly Maris Otter pale malt with lesser percentage contributions from Amber to Brown to Pale Chocolate to Flaked Barley. All of the malts used are from the malting company of Thomas Fawcett (located in England). The beer is solely hopped with Fuggles. I personally would target an IBU value of around 27. I would add something like 1.25 ounces (depending on the AA% of the hops) at the beginning of boil for bittering and something like 0.5 ounces for the last 10 minutes of the 60 minute boil. There are a number of Whitbread yeast stains available for sale: Wyeast 1098, 1099, White Labs WLP007, Fermentis S-04. Below is a guess in terms of grain bill amount (hopefully the Cambridge brewer would provide more details here?): · Marris Otter: 9 lbs. · Amber Malt: 1 lb. · Brown Malt: 1 lb. · Pale Chocolate Malt: 0.75 lbs. · Flaked Barley: 0.5 lbs. Good luck with your clone. Cheers! "It is brewed with British malts Maris Otter pale malt, Amber, Brown, Pale Chocolate, and Flaked Barley from Thomas Fawcett & Sons. The combination of these malts gives a very distinct flavor of cracker, toasted bread crust, light chocolate, and coffee. The beer pours with a moderate off white head and is deep brown in color with hints of ruby and garnet. For hops we used only Fuggles, a classic UK varietal known for its earthy spiciness and fruitiness. Fermentation was carried out by our house ale yeast, whose roots come from the original Whitbread Brewery – the largest brewery in the world in the 1780s. Perhaps the greatest challenge in replicating a classic beer style is in achieving the proper water chemistry. The majority of Porter breweries were located along the River Thames, which sits atop limestone and has salt water intrusion from the ocean. This combination worked perfectly as the minerals found in salt water help reinforce malt character, while limestone prevents the beer from becoming too acidic due to the darker malts. You may notice a slight mineral character in the finish of this beer as brewing salts, much like table salt, are used to enhance the already existing characteristics in the beer."
I've asked this particular brewer in the past and they didn't give me anything to nibble on. They say they are inundated with such requests.
Yes, it is helpful in providing 'clues'. In the absence of the brewer providing more details you will need to guess about: Exact grain bill Hopping schedule including target IBUs Cheers!
the beer you had provided a link for. I see you clicked the "read more" button and found that more helpful
I am not saying that the recipe you provided will not make a tasty beer. The description states " Deep brown to ruby. " I believe that the ammount of dark grains listed will make this beer black. Six to eight ounces with the other malts listed should get the right color. Take care.
I went to Cambridge Brewing a couple years ago. I do not remember the names of the beers I tried but all were solid ! Take care.
Yeah, I didn't run my guessed grain bill through any brewing software. If you use brewing software you can give it a whirl. I would think an SRM around 25-30 SRM would get you where you need to be? Cheers! P.S. Jim (@premierpro ), that was a good catch!
