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have been thinking of making an Orval clone for some time now, but i an starting to think that it is not worth it. i know it will be drinkable, but in the words or Erway it wont be "Fucking Awesome."
so would it be better to just buy the Orval and use my money to make a different beer. just wondering what others think on the subject.
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Hell yes, it’s worth it. It will be a learning experience for you and each batch will get better and better. Maybe you will perfect it to the point that your beer is even more outstanding than the original.
I think it’s great that you want to emulate a beer you love. Go for it!
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I agree with Cletus here. Its lots of fun to try and emulate a personal favorite and sometimes you WOW yourself and are happier with your own version.
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I am with everyone else Matt, go for it and what you get may not be Orval but it may end up even better. You never know. Thats what I love about homebrewing. I rarely get what I expect but more often than not I am happy with the results.
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+1. Commercially available bottles of Orval have a lot of viable yeast in them. Pour the last 2" from a couple bottles into the chilled wort or culture some to use as a starter and you’ll be golden.
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Personally, I would say NOT worth it.....With these classic, complex beers, it’s best to drink them from the makers.....unless you want to try and improve....but good luck if you don’t live in the region....
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It’s always worth a shot. Even if it comes out nothing like Orval, you’ll have learned a ton, and appreciate Orval all the more!
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I’d suggest brewing a beer inspired by Orval, rather than trying to aim to create Orval at home. I know I’m kicking around semantics a little bit, and in a way that is kind of what has been said in earlier posts. But I think there is an important distinction to be made: if your goal is to make a beer with many of the pleasing characteristics of Orval, there are a thousand ways to succeed. If your goal is to "clone" Orval, there are infinite ways to fail. (Even Orval tastes different bottle to bottle and year to year: which particular bottle of Orval would you even measure clone-hood success against? Even Orval, you could argue, is not a good clone of Orval.)
So. Brew some good beer, and enjoy.
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Haha I guess you would be the expert on these types of issues Doppelganger.
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Awesome advice. Stan Hieroymous conveys this thought as well. I think adding the dregs of two or three bottles of Orval at bottling will help immensley. You can’t hope to make Orval, their yeast is continually evolving and their malt and hops supply varies, as any brewery. However, it is possible that you could make something that you enjoy better than Orval.
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