Special Issue: 250 Classic Clone Recipes
Recipe
Big Hole Brewing Co.’s Wisdom Cream Ale clone
A homebrew recreation of Big Hole Brewing’s easy drinking ale.
Recipe
Sprecher Brewing Company: Special Amber clone
A clone recipe for this classic German lager from Milwaukee. A delicate balance of toasted malt and fresh hops give this medium-bodied German-style lager an intriguing, complex malt flavor.
Recipe
TableRock Nut Brown Ale clone
A homebrew recipe for this commercial Brown Ale out of Idaho.
Recipe
Sweet Water Tavern’s Giddyup Stout clone
Coffee provides a kick to this well-balanced and tasty stout. Giddyup!
Recipe
Tröegs HopBack Amber Ale clone
This hoppy amber ale features a complex balance of chewy caramel and toffee notes from the malt and grapefruit flavors from the hops.
Recipe
Dogfish Head Brewing Co. Shelter Pale Ale clone
Dogfish’s original American Pale Ale and most approachable beer.
Recipe
Red Lodge Ales Brewing Co.’s Glacier Ale
According to Red Lodge’s website “Glacier Ale is modeled after the German altbier. It is deep amber-brown in color and has a caramel malt flavor balanced with moderate hop bitterness. Silver medal winner-2010 North American Beer Awards. Gold medal winner – 2007 North American Beer Awards.”
Recipe
RCH Brewery’s Old Slug Porter clone
A session-style English brown porter that despite its low gravity has deep flavors of dark chocolate, blackcurrant and tawny port. One of the very best brown porters of which most people have never heard of.
Recipe
Broughton Black Douglas clone
Dark caramelized fruit, bready malt, and treacle fill out the flavors of this beer. The finish dries out just enough to highlight the deep malt character. A unique take on the Scottish 80/- style that may even be better with a touch of smoky Scotch whiskey added to it.
Recipe
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.’s Stout clone
Creamy and malty with notes of dark caramel, chocolate, light molasses and ripe plums. An American stout that truly typifies citrusy hops and black malt.
Recipe
Ska Brewing Co. Kingpin Double Red clone
A malty English Scottish Strong Red Ale.
Recipe
New Belgium Brewing Company La Folie clone
A wood aged sour brown ale with lots of green apple, plum and cherry notes. According to Lauren Salazar of New Belgium Brewing Co., “Never turn your back on (the barrels). They like to change on you and right when you think you know what one will do, it does the exact opposite.”
Recipe
Upstream Brewing Company Grand Cru Clone
What’s the secret to making a good barrel aged beer? “Good wood, great beer, a little imagination and lots of patience.”
—Zac Triemert
Recipe
Stone Brewing Company’s Darth Porter clone
“Don’t be afraid to use a barrel that has already been through many uses. There is more to the barrel aging process than extracting wood and bourbon, brandy or wine flavors.”
— Mitch Steele
Recipe
Jolly Pumpkin Brewing Company La Roja clone
“This one of our signature beers, if you will. It is loosely based in the Flanders sour red tradition.” — Ron Jeffries
Recipe
Russian River Brewing Co. Temptation clone
A Belgian-styled blonde ale aged on oak with Brett added. "When we fill the used Chardonnay barrels, we only add Brettanomyces in with the beer as we are filling the barrels. The acidity comes from the bacteria that are floating around our barrel room. To achieve the acidity as a homebrewer, you’ll need to add some Lacto and Pedio."
— Vinnie Cilurzo
Recipe
New Holland Brewing Co. Dragon’s Milk clone
New Holland describes Dragon’s Milk as, “A stout with roasty malt character intermingled with deep vanilla tones, all dancing in an oak bath.” And who doesn’t like Dragon’s Miilk?
Recipe
Two Brothers Brewing Co. Domaine DuPage clone
This French country ale won a gold medal at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival, as well as many medals in other competitions. It is amber in color, with a toasty, sweet caramel taste that is balanced by a slight hoppiness.
Recipe
Founders Brewing Co.’s Breakfast Stout clone
Founder’s describes this as “the coffee lover’s consummate beer.” Brewed with flaked oats, bitter and imported chocolate, and two types of coffee, this is indeed like the strong, dark cup of joe you’ll want for breakfast—or anytime!
Recipe
Bend Brewing’s Hophead Imperial IPA clone
Bend Brewing Company’s 2007 GABF winning imperial IPA. The secret to a good Imperial IPA is dry-hopping. It can make or
break this style. It is very important to have a huge aroma that leads you into the beer, complementing the inherent bitterness.
— Tonya Cornett, Brewmaster
Recipe
Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company: Schlitz Gusto (circa 1960’s) clone
1960’s-style American Pilsner, a clone of “The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous”
Recipe
Salmon Creek Brewing Brother Larry’s Belgian clone
In 2012, Salmon Creek Brewing’s founders Ana and Larry Pratt sold their business. Today Old Ivy Brewery and Taproom stands in its place. Here is a recipe from Salmon Creek’s archives for their Belgian Dubbel.
Recipe
Fredericksburg Brewing Co.’s Porter clone
Fredericksburg Brewing Co.’s Porter clone (5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains) OG = 1.054 FG = 1.012 IBU = 15 SRM = 23 ABV = 5.5% Ingredients 3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) golden
Recipe
Brouwerij Westmalle’s Abbey Tripel clone
The quintessential Trappist tripel, Westmalle is very pale, very strong, and wonderfully smooth. One of the brewhouse techniques that makes the Westmalle beers unique is the use of direct gas flames on the copper kettles. This creates hot spots that may caramelize the wort slightly, giving a faint burnt-sugar taste to the beers. The beers are also brewed with very hard water, which certainly contributes to the character of the tripel.
Recipe
Dogfish Head’s Chateau Jiahu Clone
One of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery’s collaboration beers with molecular archaeologist Dr. Patrick McGovern. According to Dogfish Head’s website, “In keeping with historic evidence, Dogfish brewers use orange blossom honey, muscat grape juice, barley malt and hawthorn fruit. The wort is fermented for about a month with sake yeast until the beer is ready for packaging.”
Recipe
Odell Brewing’s Cutthroat Porter clone
This London-style porter was named after Colorado’s state fish – the Cutthroat Trout – and features a warm, rich color and roasty malt flavors.
Recipe
Dark Horse Brewing’s Thirsty Trout Porter clone
According to Dark Horse’s website, “Thirsty Trout is a rich, robust American Porter that will have you yelling “CHOCOLATE!” after the first whiff. Dark brown in color with medium to heavy body and hints of light roast. Aromas of chocolate leave way to a full mouthfeel and somewhat sweet finish to make this porter a desirable companion.”
Recipe
Fish Brewing’s Fish Tale Trout Stout clone
This beer is now retired from Fish Brewing’s line-up, but that doesn’t mean you can still brew the beer. Chocolate and coffee aromas abound with this beer.
Recipe
Steelhead Brewing’s Wee Heavy Scotch Ale clone
A text-book, delicious wee-heavy…
Recipe
Trout River Brewing Rainbow Red Ale clone
A hoppy, malty Amberican-style Amber (Red) Ale.
– Lyndonville, Vermont
Recipe
BJ’s Millennium Ale clone
A big Belgian tripel from a California brewpub originally brewed for Y2K.
Recipe
Market Street’s Vanilla Creme Ale clone
Homebrew rendition of this vanilla-flavored ale from Nashville, Tennessee’s Market Street Pub.
Recipe
Mac & Jack’s African Amber clone
A clone recipe for a hoppy, big amber beer from Washington state.
Recipe
North Coast’s Old Rasputin clone
This rich, intense, and iconic Russian imperial stout has earned North Coast Brewing several gold medals from around the world.
Recipe
Widmer Brothers Brewing Co.’s Hop Jack Ale clone
A beer that has since been retired, Widmer Brothers did bring this beer back for their 30th Anniversary celebration. Cascade and Centennial hops are on display for this beer. You can recreate this beer in your brewery with this recipe.
Recipe
Odell Easy St. Wheat clone
According to Odell’s website, “Living in Colorado, “Easy Street” is more of a state of mind than an actual place. Light in color with refreshing citrus undertones, Easy Street is an unfiltered American-style wheat beer. The yeast gives the beer a nice smooth finish, a slight fruit flavor, and it’s distinct cloudy appearance.”
Recipe
Pacific Coast’s Blue Whale clone
Pacific Coast Brewing Co. has closed its doors in its Oakland location in 2017. An Oakland icon for 29 years, many residents of the area are hoping for its return. For the time being, you can still recreate their strong Amber Ale, Blue Whale Ale with this recipe.
Recipe
Thirsty Dog Brewing Co.’s Old Leghumper clone
According to Thirsty Dog Brewing Co.’s website, “This roust porter is dark brown in color and full bodies with a malty sweet taste. Deep roasted, yet silk smooth! Two types of roasted malts, included roasted chocolate malt give this beer its award-winning flavor. World Beer Cup Gold medalist in 2002 and Bronze medalist in 2000.”
Recipe
Williams Brothers Brewing Co.’s Fraoch Heather Ale clone
Heather can be found in abundance in Scotland, although not native to the region. Combining bittering properties and aromatic oils, heather can be used an alternative to hops to produce gruit.
Recipe
Vermont Pub and Brewery’s Smoked Porter clone
Vermont Pub & Brewery smokes their own malts over apple, maple, and hickory woodchips to recreate this 17th century style robust ale. You can smoke your own malts, or buy rauchmalt as an alternative.
