I have been thinking about making a minor change to the Dead Ringer recipe.
Reduce the Caramel 40 to lessen the caramel flavor and perhaps lighten the color a little.
Add some corn sugar so the finish seems a little drier.
Use less Caramel 40 and and add some extra light DME.
I was going to revisit Bell’s Two Hearted Ale before doing anything. It has been a number of years since I tasted the Two Heart. I was even brewing the Dead Ringer before tasting Two heart. There is one liquor/beer/wine store in town that carries it. The first 6 pack on the shelf was a few days shy of 6 months old. The next 6 pack was a little better. Only 4 months old. Had one the next day. Very little aroma or hop flavors and a finish like oil.
Had I tasted a bottle of Two Heart like this one before brewing the Dead Ringer, the Dead Ringer would never had been brewed.
I’m still going to tweak the DR recipe. Might be cutting the Caramel 40 back by 25%. This may also give the perception of a drier finish.
Got me to thinking, I didn’t check the dates on these…but they’re fine, only a little over a month old. We get these big pounders down here in Florida and they must turn over the supply pretty quickly.
We find it on tap up here… One time I had a glass and it was full of hop trub! Now thats what you call dry hopping! Couple years ago, we where in the U.P. and I wanted to go see Two Hearted river… roads are minimally marked up there… Didn’t get to see it… Bells is a good brew, and I’d bet getting it as close to the kettle is even better… Flars, I’d try more dry hopping… That in its self seems to “dry” out the brew… 9 AM and I think an ice cold 2 Hearted would be tasty! Sneezles61
2-hearted is glorious on tap, especially when hazy and fresh. Not too bitter, but gives you a mouthful of centennial hops. Pretty decent in cans, but I can’t stand it in bottles. I think it oxidizes too fast and it just comes across as piney with a hit of turpentine.
I’d sub c-20 for the c-40, as it comes out too dark with the 40 and as you said, has too much caramel flavor. I also like to add a generous dose of calcium chloride and increase the late hops by an ounce or two, as it gives it a more full mouthfeel that I get in the original. I don’t get the dry minerally mouthfeel that high levels of gypsum gives you, although one of the clone recipies out there calls for lots of gypsum.
I think yeast ester profile is important in this one, too. Some of the citrus and pineapple probably comes from the yeast. If you can’t propagate the yeast from bottles, I’d think about subbing an English-style yeast and adding some sugar to improve attenuation.
Bells is a good brew, and I’d bet getting it as close to the kettle is even better… Flars, I’d try more dry hopping… That in its self seems to “dry” out the brew… 9 AM and I think an ice cold 2 Hearted would be tasty! Sneezles61