Out of the Bottle: Red Chair

Mine

My Red Chair clone attempt is ready to go. It's time to see just how close I got.

A report on the outcome of a clone-brew wouldn't be complete without popping open a bottle of the real deal. With that in mind, I grabbed some Red Chair from the store to drink side-by-side with my beer.

Let's start with appearances. My beer is a bit lighter than the Deschutes brew. Both have dense caps that stick around nicely and leave good bits of lace behind.

Moving onto what really matters, there are a surprising number of similarities between the two brews. Most noticeable is the bitterness profile. Although the Deschutes brew has a touch more grapefruit to it, the level of bitterness between the two beers is almost identical. Citrus is the overarching theme, with a touch of pine in the background. The bitterness of both beers lingers through the finish, where they get a little peppery.

Their's

In other areas, things veer off course. My beer is more malty and cracker like vs the real Red Chair. I can really sense my Pils and Munich malts doing the bulk of the work, while the crystal malts bring up the rear. Deschutes' beer is almost a polar opposite. The sweeter caramelized grains are out front, while the rest of the grains form a subtle complement.

Given that I undershot my starting gravity by a lot, my brew is lighter in body, but still retains an oiliness from the hops that's also found in the other beer.

My final verdict? I missed my target by quite a bit. Yet, I really like my beer nonetheless. It's a different animal than what I was trying to copy, but I'd absolutely brew it again.

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