Author: Marshall Schott

The rise of IPA over the last couple of decades was due in large part to the release of new hop varieties that departed from the typical floral-earthy-spicy character of the time and offered drinkers delectably unique fruity flavors. While Cascade hops were certainly revolutionary and lit the spark of the craft beer boom, it was Centennial, released nearly two decades later, that many credit as being the gas that got the fire blazing.

Known to impart pungent citrus characteristics with supporting piney, floral, and spicy notes, Centennial was the sole variety chosen by Bell’s Brewery for their Two Hearted Ale, an IPA released in 1997 with the following description:

Brewed with 100% Centennial hops from the Pacific Northwest and named after the Two Hearted River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, this IPA is bursting with hop aromas ranging from pine to grapefruit from massive hop additions in both the kettle and the fermenter. Perfectly balanced with a malt backbone and combined with the signature fruity aromas of Bell’s house yeast, this beer is remarkably drinkable and well suited for adventures everywhere.

Bell’s Two Hearted quickly captured the hearts of craft beer drinkers and rapidly ascended best beer lists, where it has consistently maintained its position. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to this highly lauded IPA, leaving them to either beg friends who do to send them some, or attempt to make a version themselves. Having experienced the deliciousness that is Two Hearted Ale, yet living in an area where it’s unavailable, I was excited to see how close I could get!

| PURPOSE |

Evaluate the differences between commercial and homebrewed versions of Two Hearted Ale from Bell’s Brewery.

| METHODS |

This Doppelgänger xBmt was brewed in collaboration with Bell’s General Store, the homebrew shop connected to Bell’s Brewery, who provided the ingredients based on the Two Hearted Ale recipe.

Bell’s Two Hearted Ale

Recipe Details Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV 5.2 gal 75 min 64.3 IBUs 7.0 SRM 1.065 1.013 6.9 % Actuals 1.065 1.01 7.3 % Fermentables Name Amount % Pale 2-Row Malt 10 lbs 74.07 Pale Ale Malt 3 lbs 22.22 Caramel Malt - 40L 8 oz 3.7 Hops Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha % Centennial Select 35 g 45 min Boil Pellet 9 Centennial Select 35 g 30 min Boil Pellet 9 Centennial Select 100 g 5 days Dry Hop Pellet 9 Yeast Name Lab Attenuation Temperature Flagship (A07) Imperial Yeast 75% 60°F - 72°F Notes Water Profile: Ca 130 | Mg 1 | Na 43 | SO4 209 | Cl 75 Download Download this recipe's BeerXML file

I received the Two Hearted Ale recipe kit a week before my planned brew day and immediately unpacked it.

While Bell’s relies on a more advanced continuous sparge process, I would be brewing this batch using my standard eBIAB method and started by collecting the filtered water then adjusting it to match the Two Hearted profile provided to me.

As the water was heating, I milled the grain then weighed out the kettle hops, which were all Bell’s Centennial Select.

Once the water was properly heated, I dropped the grain bag in and gently stirred before checking to ensure it’d hit the proper mash temperature.

The mash was left to rest for 60 minutes.

At the end of the mash step, the grains were removed and the wort was boiled for 75 minutes with hops added at the times listed in the recipe. At boil’s end, the wort was rapidly chilled to 66°F/19°C with my immersion chiller.

A refractometer reading revealed the wort was smack on the expected OG.

The wort were allowed to settle for 10 minutes before being transferred to a sanitized Brew Bucket.

I placed the filled fermentor in my fermentation chamber controlled to 66°F/19°C then used some remnant wort to make a vitality starters with the Imperial Yeast A07 Flagship that came with the kit.

I returned 4 hour later to pitch the yeast and noticed signs of activity later that evening. After 32 hours of fermentation, I added the dry hop charge using a sanitized stainless mesh filter.

After 9 days, signs of activity had diminished so I took a hydrometer measurement showing the beer finished very close to the expected 1.011 FG.

At this point, I swapped the airlock out for a CO2 filled BrüLoonLock then reduced the temperature of the chamber to 34°F/1°C.

After a 2 day cold crash, I transferred the beer to a CO2 purged keg.

The filled keg was placed in my keezer and burst carbonated overnight before I reduced the gas to serving pressure. It was at this point the fine folks from Bell’s Brewery sent me a fresh six-pack of the real deal, which arrived a little over a week after kegging. I began collecting data the following weekend, after returning from a trip to Asheville, NC. According to the date on the can, the commercial example had been packaged less than a week before I kegged the Doppelgänger version.

| RESULTS |

Cheers to House Of Pendragon Brewing Co. for allowing me to collect data for this xBmt at their taproom.

A total of 17 people of varying levels of experience participated in this xBmt, all of whom were made aware of the nature of the xBmt as well as the commercial beer in question. Each participant was served 1 sample of the commercial example and 2 samples of the Doppelgänger version in different colored opaque cups then asked to identify the unique sample. While 10 tasters (p<0.05) would have had to accurately identify the unique sample in order to reach statistical significance, 12 did (p=0.002), indicating participants in this xBmt were able to reliably distinguish the Bell’s Two Hearted Ale from a homebrewed version.

The 12 participants who made the accurate selection on the triangle test were instructed to complete a brief preference survey comparing only the beers that were different. A total of 3 tasters reported preferring commercial example, 3 liked the Doppelgänger version more, and 6 people had no preference despite perceiving a difference.

My Impressions: Given the limited amount of real Two Hearted Ale I had, I only attempted 3 triangle tests, and all occurred after an actual participant completed the survey. I was correct every time, it really wasn’t difficult at all. To me, the commercial example had a slightly richer malt character that played well with the Centennial hops, just as expected. The Doppelgänger was perceptibly crisper and drier with a more pungent fruity hop aroma that ran a bit ahead of the malt. While they definitely shared some characteristics, the beers were different, though I thoroughly enjoyed both.

| DISCUSSION |

Bell’s Two Hearted Ale has earned a solid reputation among craft beer lovers and regularly tops best-of lists for good reason– it’s fucking great! With its assertive hop character from hand selected Centennial and arguably old-school malt bill, I’m wont to believe at least some of the reason for all the love Two Hearted gets is because it hearkens back to simpler times, the days when IPA was just IPA.

Like many popular commercial beers out there, not everyone has access to Two Hearted Ale, which sucks, but it’s not all bad, as those so willing can make their own! Of course, in doing so, it can be difficult to know just how close one’s homemade version compares to the real thing. The fact tasters in this xBmt were generally able to tell apart a commercial example of Two Hearted Ale from a one brewed at home suggests they weren’t identical.

There are a number factors that could have contributed to the differences between the actual and Doppelgänger version of Two Hearted, the most glaring to me being the yeast choice. I’ve used A07 Flagship a ton, it’s super clean and tends to buttress hop aroma, which is exactly what I perceived in the beer I brewed. Bell’s Brewery is known to use a house yeast that I have to believe imparts unique characteristics that may explain some of the differences between these xBmt beers. As many participants acknowledged, I too felt the the beers was quite similar in many respects, but the actual Two Hearted had a slightly richer malt character and creamier mouthfeel that I tend to associate with solid Midwest IPA.

Overall, I was quite pleased the Two Hearted Ale Doppelgänger and wouldn’t hesitate to brew it again, though I’d be interested to see how it turned out if fermented with a pitch of Bell’s house yeast. The malt bill reminded me that a little splash of Crystal malt isn’t as evil in IPA as I’d grown to believe, and the Centennial hops… well… who doesn’t love Centennial hops?

If you’ve brewed your own version of this recipe or have any thoughts about this xBmt, please don’t hesitate to share in the comments section below!

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