Special Issue: 250 Classic Clone Recipes
Recipe
Amherst Brewing Co.’s Anniversary Ale
Columbus hops provide an earlthy, citrus hop profile for this amber ale. Melanoidin and light crystal malt provide a solid malty backbone.
Recipe
Highland Brewing Co.’s Gaelic Ale
According to Highland Brewing Co.’s website, “A deep amber-colored American ale, featuring a rich malty body. Cascade and Willamette hops add a complex hop flavor and aroma. This ale is exceptionally balanced between malty sweetness and delicate hop bitterness. It has a universal appeal and is our workhorse, accounting for about half of our total production.”
Recipe
Dick’s Brewing Co.’s Bottleworks IPA clone
Since this is a big beer, Dick’s takes it’s time producing Bottleworks IPA. It takes a total of 6 weeks to ferment, clear in the bright tank, mellow, and then Dick’s bottle conditions the beer for another 2 week.
Recipe
Wolaver’s Organic Oatmeal Stout clone
Wolaver’s describes its Oatmeal Stout as a “smooth-as-silk stout brimming with darkly roasted malts and rich notes of chocolate and coffee. A mocha-topped, black-as-night body gives way to a surprisingly smooth, full-bodied experience in this unfiltered offering.”
Recipe
Black Diamond Brewing Company: Winter Ale clone
Black Diamond Winter Ale is a classic Belgian dubbel. Perfect for the winter season, its deep garnet color accentuates its dark fruity undertones of raisins, dates, plums, and cherries.
Recipe
Boulevard Brewing’s Nutcracker Ale clone
Boulevard’s annual winter warmer is a hearty brew with a deep amber color.
Recipe
Breckenridge Brewery’s Avalanche Ale clone
According the Breckenridge Brewery’s website, “This classic American amber ale blends pale, chocolate, and caramel malts to create a well-rounded, flavorful beer. Caramel malts lend whispers of toffee and an enjoyable sweetness, while a touch of bittering hops gives this beer its clean finish. Crafted for balance, Avalanche is a versatile and satisfying anytime beer.”
Recipe
Lake Placid Pub and Brewery: Ubu Ale clone
This English-style strong ale is deep garnet red in color, and features dark fruit and roasted malt flavors, with a slightly bitter finish.
Recipe
Butte Creek Brewing’s Winter Ale clone
This beer is now retired. The Butte Creek Brewing Co.’s annual winter ale was technically an American Brown Ale with Fuggle hops providing a balance to the malty backbone.
Recipe
Schloss Eggenberg: Samichlaus clone
For a long time, Samiclaus held the title as strongest beer in the world. Samichlaus is a doppelbock that continues to develop the longer it is aged.
Recipe
Magic Hat Brewing Co.’s Feast of Fools clone
“This beer is more along the style of a sweet stout. There’s no milk sugar, but we use one pound of fresh raspberries per gallon!” — Magic Hat head brewer Matt Cohen (now owner of Fiddlehead Brewing Co. in Shelburne, Vermont)
Recipe
Avery Brewing Company’s Old Jubilation Ale clone
Available October through November, Old Jubilation is a winter strong ale that features a hint of hazelnuts, mocha, toffee, and spice.
Recipe
Fort George Brewery’s Spruce Budd Ale clone
A true spring beer. Be sure to harvest the spruce tips as they are emerging from the buds and the needles are still a light green color.
Recipe
Magic Hat Brewing Co.’s #9 clone
A classic American fruited ale. There is no mistaking the apricot aromas and flavor profile of Magic Hat’s #9. Magic Hat Brewing Co. was founded in 1994 and #9 has been one of it’s steadfast beers in their portfolio.
Recipe
Wynkoop Brewing Company: Patty’s Chili Beer clone
Patty’s Chili Beer is aged with Anaheim and ancho peppers, resulting in a golden ale with lots of pepper flavors and aromas, but just a mild heat.
Recipe
O’Fallon Brewery’s Cherry Chocolate Beer
According the O’Fallon Brewery’s website, “O’Fallon Cherry Chocolate is a dark wheat beer that tastes like a chocolate covered cherry…only better! We use four kinds of grain along with natural cherry and chocolate flavors for a smooth, delicious brew …the perfect sipping beer for the cooler winter months.”
Recipe
Russian River Brewing Co.’s Santification clone
According to Russian River Brewing Co’s website, “Technically, this is neither an ale nor a lager. The base recipe is for a Golden Ale, but we do the primary fermentation with 100% brettanomyces. The brett gives it some sour notes but not as much as if it had been aged with lacto and pedio. It’s rather refreshing on a warm day!”
Recipe
Pizza Port Brewing Co.’s Mo’ Betta Bretta clone
100% Brett fermented golden ale. Feel free to choose your favorite Brett strain.
Recipe
Weeping Radish Farm Brewery: Black Radish clone
This schwarzbier has the characteristic clean lager feel and features a mild hop bitterness with complementary roasted malt notes.
Recipe
Butte Creek Brewing: Organic Pilsner clone
A German-styled Pilsner brewed using only organic malts and Sterling hops to provide a bright, refreshing beer.
Recipe
Great Northern Brewing Co.’s Fred’s Black Lager clone
According the The Great Northern’s website, “A dark beer with a soft bite, Fred’s is brewed using a special de-bittered dark malt, fermented cold & lagered at least 4 weeks. A smooth brew with light roastiness.”
Recipe
Klosterbrauere Ettaler Curator clone
This doppelbock is much darker tasting than others, with massive aromas and flavors of fruitcake, port, figs and raisins. Although extremely rich and thick, this beer is readily drinkable which poses a dilemma after a liter or so. There seem to be a lot of German bierkellars that have tilted, uneven floors!
Recipe
Great Basin Brewing Co.’s Smoke Creek Rauchbier clone
A dark rauchbier brewed by Great Basin Brewing out of Sparks, Nevada which won gold medal at the 2006 GABF. If you don’t want to smoke your own malts, they can be purchased, but smoking your own malts can be a fun endeavor.
Recipe
Ham’s Sunfest Münchner-Style Helles clone
A Munich-style Helles from Ham’s Restaurant, which was founded in North Carolina back in 1935. Their brewpub location in Greensboro has since closed, but we’ve still got a recipe for their Sunfest!
Recipe
Flossmoor Station Brewery Black Wolf Schwarzbier clone
This German-style schwarzbier is a lovely dark brown color and features notes of toasted malt and coffee. A past GABF award winner.
Recipe
John Courage Amber clone
John Courage has an unusual twist for a British beer: It used to be labeled “amber lager” and is still brewed as a lager. It is malty and sweet, with a dry grainy aftertaste.
Recipe
Lakefront Brewery: Eastside Dark clone
This Bavarian dark lager is a blend of three specialty grains, creating a rich, smooth, dark beer that anyone can enjoy.
Recipe
La Conner Brewing Co.’s Pilsner clone
Two continental Pilsner malts lay the foundation for the Washington-brewed Pilsner lager and noble hops round out the profile.
Recipe
Labatt Brewing Company: Labatt Blue clone
The world’s best selling Canadian Beer, with a distinct hop aroma, delicate fruit flavor, and slightly sweet aftertaste.
Recipe
Sin City Brewery’s Amber clone
Full-bodied and proud, this amber hued lager may be an Oktoberfest-style beer, but it is available to be enjoyed year round. A robust micro-brewed lager made with imported and specialty malts, Sin City Amber balances a full-bodied malt character with imported German Hallertauer hops.
Recipe
Creemore Springs Premium Lager clone
“A big taste from a tiny place” is Creemore Springs creed. This Ontario-based brewery focuses on producing German-style beers. Here is a recipe for their Premium Lager, made using a North American lager yeast.
Recipe
Brauerei Aying Ayinger Celebrator clone
This massively malty Bavarian dopplebock is darker than Salvator and shows a distinct chocolate malt character.
Recipe
Heineken International: Heineken clone
This classic Dutch lager available in green bottles across the world is still brewed using the same recipe since first made available in 1873.
Recipe
Spoetzl Brewery: Shiner Bock clone
Shiner Bock continues to ring up awards for it’s classic Shiner Bock, having won gold at the 2012 GABF and silver in the 2017 GABF in the American-Style Amber Lager category. See if you can match Spoetzl’s brewing prowess.
Recipe
Pike Brewing Co.’s Tandem Ale clone
“I’d recommend about 6 or 7 coriander seeds be crushed and added for the last minute of boil. Although this may seem like a miniscule amount, a touch of coriander is all that is desired.”
—Drew Cluley, head brewer
Recipe
St. Bernardus Abt 12 60th Anniversary Edition clone
This recipe is for their 60th anniversary edition, which is closer to their original recipe. Although probably not authentic, the debittered black malt will give you a much smoother product. It’s reported that St. Bernardus uses a different bottling strain than the fermentation strain, so we recommend using Westmalle’s yeast.
Recipe
Ithaca Beer Company: IPAbbey clone
Ithaca Beer Company: IPAbbey (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain) OG = 1.072 FG = 1.008 IBU = 76 SRM = 9 ABV = 8.3% Ingredients 8 lbs. (3.6 kg) Pilsner malt 4 lbs.
Recipe
Worth Brewing Co.’ Belgian Grand Cru clone
Iowa has a 5% alcohol by weight (ABW) limit — this works out to just over 6% alcohol by volume — for native brewers, so Belgian ales are a challenge. Here is a favorite that hits the limit but isn’t quite as strong as most Belgian ales. — Peter Ausenhus
Recipe
Red Rock Brewing Co.’s Pecome Blonde clone
This beer has since been retired, but you can still brew up this Belgian blonde ale with this recipe. Feel free to allow fermentation temperature to rise if you would like the yeast to be more expressive.
Recipe
Allagash Brewing Co.’s Tripel clone
Allagash Tripel is a complex and delicious version of the Belgian classic. According to the brewery, the beer features herbal notes and passion fruit, with hints of banana and honey.
