So I just bottled my first batch of Dead Ringer IPA (extract) last night and had a question. If I’m not mistaken it’s supposed to be close to Two Hearted Ale by Bells right? I noticed that the taste of my IPA was very caramely, malty, with not as much hops as I had expected. I compared it to a Two Hearted Ale (because I’m a geek like that and bought a sixer of 2H to sip whilst bottling) and would say that it wasn’t that close. Not bad, just different. I followed the recipe to the letter and kept my primary temps between 65-68. Started 1.064, ended 1.014. Any thoughts as to what might be responsible for the increased malt profile an diminished hops? Just curious.
dead ringer was the first all grain batch that I did. and even with my mistakes of not really understanding the ins and outs of all grain brewing yet, I still found the results to be very much like two hearted.
I finished off a batch of Dead Ringer a month or so ago, and Two Hearted pales in comparison. This kit is amazing. If Bells was smart they would change the name of Two Hearted to “Clone of Dead Ringer”.
I’m drinking an AG batch of Dead Ringer. While I think it maybe my favorite recipe for an APA/IPA I would agree that even the AG batch is much more caramel than the original. I’m surprised that 8% of crystal 40 gives this strong a caramel flavor. My FG was 1.008 so it is well attenuated and finishes quite dry. Just “caramelly.”
