Deschutes Fresh Squeezed Clone
Over the past couple years here at Bertus Brewery there have been countless requests to brew a Fresh Squeezed clone; about 98% of which happen to come from Mrs. Bert. Since I also really love that beer, and I’m currently woefully lacking an IPA on tap, it seemed that the day has finally arrived! Fresh Squeezed is a really interesting IPA. It’s not very bitter, nor is it in-your-face-hoppy. It has a pretty big caramel malt character, but it makes up for all of that with really juicy, citrusy, fruity aroma. It’s smooth, approachable, and really well brewed.
I started putting together a clone recipe for this as I start every clone, by drinking the beer, and digging up all the info I can. Deschutes is quite generous in that regard, and provides us with about 80% of the information right off the bat. The malts are 2-row, Munich, and C75. The hops are Nugget, Citra, and Mosaic. They’re quite broad on their gravity ranges and they didn’t provide any hop schedule, but something is always better than nothing. Thankfully the gravities aren’t hard to work out. I degassed a sample of the beer, and I have to admit I was pretty surprised to see the FG of Fresh Squeezed is 1.018. I was guessing maybe 1.014-1.015 or so. Nonetheless, with an ABV of 6.4%, that puts the OG at 1.068, which makes this beer quite a bit bigger than I was expecting. So with the target gravities in place, there wasn’t much else to do other than some color estimates, and guessing at a hopping schedule. As for the yeast, Deschutes uses an English yeast; out of laziness, I’m using American. There’s likely going to be a difference as a result, but I’ve been busy lately and I just didn’t have time to make a starter. Sometimes practicality wins out over the sake of exactness. I’m also swapping out Nugget for Apollo, although that one I can’t see having much of a difference.
Brew day for this beer was actually pretty fun. Some friends I haven’t brewed with came over, and we shot the shit for a few hours while brewing. I haven’t brewed in close to 5 months, so I definitely wanted to stretch this batch to 10 gallons to fill up some kegs, if for nothing else. I mashed for 60 minutes followed by a 60 minute boil. I steeped the whirlpool hops for 10 minutes prior to starting to chill. Given I brewed this in mid-October I was actually able to chill it down in a reasonable amount of time
Brewed: 10-11-15
Dry Hopped: 10-15-15
Kegged: 10-21-15
OG: 1.062
FG: 1.016
ABV: 6.1%
IBU: 60
12 Gallons
25lbs 2-row
3lbs C75
1.5lbs Munich
Mash at 158*
1oz Apollo @ 60
2oz ea Citra & Mosaic @ 10
3oz ea Citra & Mosaic @ 0Whirlpool for 15min
Safale US-05: 1.5packs per fermenter
Dry Hop (ea fermenter): 1.5oz ea Citra & Mosaic
This beer followed my typical fermentation profile. Starting around 17.2C, ramping up to 18.4, then finally 20C. Dry hops were added directly too the primary after four days, and then after ten days total both fermenters were pegged.
So how did it turn out? Close. The beers look remarkably similar, with the Deschutes beer being maybe one half SRM lighter. Maybe. Clarity is the same, the head is the same, the color is just slightly too dark on mine. The clone’s aroma is distinctly ‘Fresh Squeezed’, but a little too potent. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but there’s probably 30-50% too much dry hopping in my recipe. I could caulk some of the difference up to freshness, but not this much. I’m also picking up on a tiny bit of esters in the aroma of theirs, but it’s very slight. That brings us to the next point though. You definitely need English yeast for this beer. I was being lazy and used American yeast, but when tasting the beers, the difference is there. The real beer is that soft, full mouthfeel that IPAs brewed with English yeast have. There’s also some esters in the flavor at the finish. The clone, while medium-full in body is missing that ‘Britishness’ for lack of a better term.
So what would I change? First and foremost, I’m going to try WLP002. That will also probably include a lower mash temperature, as it won’t attenuate as well as US05. Next, to address the color issue, I’m thinking of cutting the Crystal 75 back by about 1oz per 6gal batch. Finally I think 2oz of dry hops total is probably more accurate. 3oz total was a little over the top for this beer, and while it tastes absolutely fantastic, Fresh Squeezed just isn’t quite as aromatic as the clone is. So that’s about it for now. I can definitely say this recipe will get revisited somewhere down the road. Cheers!
For future attempts, Deschutes uses Ringwood Ale yeast. Mostly because it's very fast and has great attenuation. I think you can get better results from London Esb, London III or Dry English Ale. I enjoy your blog!
Very timely, Scott, as I was set to brew a similar recipe of Fresh Squeezed this weekend. Based on yours and Dustin's comments, I'll switch the yeast to WLP-007 and see how that goes. Funny, my wife is driving this request, as well!
How did you determine the grain bill percentages and do you think they contributed to your differences?
I love this beer as well, and actually have my first attempt at a clone in a carboy right now, using the recipe posted on the AHA website. Deschutes states that they use "American Ale" yeast on their website for Fresh Squeeze,rather than their normal English Ale, so I too chose to use US-05. I mashed at a lower temperature, so I suspect mine is going to be too attenuated to be cloned, but I'm sure it'll still be delicious 🙂
Scott,
Thanks for all your information, your site has been my best resource since i moved to all grain. If I use WLP002 for this recipe, what do you think would be a good mash temperature? Or should I say how low should I go?
Thanks in advance, Rick
That's good to know about the yeast strain. I don't have any experience with Ringwood, I've heard it's a finicky strain.
Grain bill was purely a stab in the dark based on drinking the beer. I think they're pretty close. The beer needs 1-2oz less Crystal from a color standpoint, but the malt flavor tastes about right to me.
I think 156-157 would be about right. How your brewing system is setup will depend as well.
My HERMS can err up to 1* too high as the wort comes out of the heat exchanger. The temperature of the mash in the mash tun will be say 158*, but the wort coming out of the HEX will be 158.5-158.8*. So for me, I'd probably shoot for 156 next time.
What a coincidence, I just had this beer for the second time last night, and that's exactly how I described it… a little more caramel and juicy, definitely juicy. I love it. I've got an English ale ready to be bottled, I would never have thought to use the London yeast on an American IPA but is this where you are headed? I think I know what I'm going to brew next.
Hey Scott, I noticed you have Citra Double IPA fermenting. Is it the Kern River clone or your own version? Excited to see your blog about that.
Ya, Deschutes is pretty open about the fact they use an English yeast as their house yeast, the only speculation is which strain. Someone commented above that it's WLP005. I was planning on WLP002. I think either would get you much closer than an American Strain
It's the Can You Brew It recipe for Kern River (more or less). It won't be a 'clone' post per say because I've never had the real beer. I have nothing to compare it against.
That's actually the reason I brewed that beer. I have some Citra I need to burn through, and I wanted to know what that beer tastes like =)
I'm in the same boat! I have a pound of Citra and was thinking Kern had to be the beer. I guess I'll wait for your blog to see how it came out! Thx again.
Hi Scott,
Love the posts you have and you've been huge in helping me advance in home brewing (love your water post!). Was curious if you could do a post on your set up/ brew process? I remember you posting a comment about how you were switching, but did you ever do a full post? Thanks and excited to hear about the BBA program!
Were you able to reproduce the awesome in-your-face hoppy profile of Fresh Squeezed? I have never had anything like it nor can I replicate it with whirlpool and dry hopping.
Too much to be honest. Mine turned out a little too hoppy. Try dry hopping in kegs, and purging your kegs in co2 heavily before transferring. I've had much better results in hoppy beers once I started doing that.
Sure. I did one a few years ago, but my process has changed quite a bit since. I'll likely post a new one here soon.
Scott, I don't have access to a Fresh Squeezed, but just enjoyed some Green Flash Soul Style which was very citrusy. How would you compare this to Soul Style (if you have had it)? Soul Style is Citra, Simcoe and Cascade.
Slightly similar beers, but Fresh Squeezed comes off as fruiter and sweeter. Both have a pretty big body for an IPA though.
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy Wow… and just like that.
Hey man I know a lot of times you make starters l was wondering how much impact you think that has on your beers? I've always just pitched 05 but I am brewing your hop knot clone and thinking I need to make a starter. Do you see a noticeable difference in the beers you make starters for? I know it's another step for possible contamination and just want to know that it is going to make a difference in the end product.
Hey Scott, great information, but is all the information here? Like you say you add 2% Acid malt to all you builds, was it added here? or did you add salts? Also do you add the hops direct or float in a bag? Much appreciate any comments
Safale US05 has won a number of medals for me, so it's a great yeast. Personally I've just come to like WLP090 better.
So if you're just talking about US05, there's no need to make a starter. If you're rehydrating the yeast properly, you're fine. 1 pack is plenty for a beer up to 1.060. Over 1.060 I consider using a pack and a half or two packs.
With Liquid yeast it's a different story. If I want to make the best beer possible, i'm making a start when my gravity is over 1.045 when working with a single vial. White Labs and WYeast deliver fantastically healthy yeast, it's just a matter of cell count. I want more than 100B cells for beers over 1.045.
I usually leave water treatment out of the recipes as it differs for everyone. I start with RO water, so I do add salts back. I do add acid malt, but that's only get lower my pH. If your water is already ideal, it's not required.
This beer did receive 2% acid malt and .5tsp calcium chloride as well as 1tsp gypsum per 5gal of water.
Stumbled across your blog while looking for a fresh squeezed clone recipe. Followed your instructions two weeks ago, and I’m now sipping on a delicious glass. Used 007 yeast, and I’m loving it (bah-da-bup-ba-duuuh). Debating whether to transfer to a second keg that doesn’t have a bag of hops in it to help with the clarity, but I really don’t mind when it tasted this good.
That’s awesome! glad it turned out well.
I’ve been lurking on this blog for a while and love the info and recipes. Just curious about why all this speculation on what English yeast is being used in this when the Deschutes web site says it uses an American strain fermented at 65f . Is it a difference between commercial and home brew or maybe a change in the recipe? I will be brewing this recipe next weekend and am thinking of American II and fermenting a little on the warm side to get a little more fruity profile. Any thoughts?
Great blog, keep up the good work.
That should turn out pretty well. Anything that isn’t as clean as Chico should yield a beer closer to the real thing.
I’ve heard a couple interviews with the brewer, and the consensus was they use something similar to WLP002 or WLP005.
Hey Scott – I brewed this with US-05, and in my very humble opinion, Chico is the right strain. I’m not picking up any yeast differences from the real thing at all. I’ve heard all the CYBI interviews where they talk about the house yeast English strain, but the Deschutes website does say THIS beer uses “american ale yeast”. Thanks for the great recipe! This will be one of my regulars. I dry hopped with 2 ounces instead of 3 like you said, and that was dead-on.
We’ve used Wyeast American Ale II (1272) with great success multiple times on a lighter bodied variation on the Fresh Squoze, and it brings the juicy-fruity to the party. Give it a try.
I’ve just crushed the grains for this and realised that I’ve used a UK Crystal malt of about 60L. Should I add more to compensate for the lower Lovibond or add a little dark crystal (90L)?
Any thoughts gratefully received! Cheers!
Hey Scott. I am in a quandrary I want to brew both the Kerns River clone and the Deschuttes Fresh Squeezed. Which one did you like better? I’ve had Fresh Squeezed and love it but that Kerns one intrigues me because of its popularity.
You guys are awesome. I have 13 gal of slightly lower IBU Kern River DIPA dry hopping right now. Fresh squeezed is the next batch. Thanks for all the info. JP
Hey Scott,
I brewed up your FS clone using Safale S-04. I haven’t kegged it yet but initial sample…The aroma was def Fresh Squeezed. For me personally, I would actually bump up the C75 and I might add a lil honey malt. I visited Deschutes this past weekend and it’s crazy how different a “fresh” version from the pub tastes in comparison to what we get out of a bottle or on tap at a restaurant. It was an extremely soft/light body and not as aromatic as I’m use to. I think I prefer the more caramely/juicy versions of this beer. Thanks so much for the recipe! I’m def going to revisit this.
Nice to revisit old threads. I brewed this up and my notes were pump up the munich malt and drop the crystal for V2 so that’s what I did. Everything was pretty spot on. Mine was also way more aromatic. I don’t mind it though. I’ll stick with the higher dry hop rate.