How to Clone Beer at Home Like a Pro

So, you tried an amazing beer and thought, “Crikey, I wish I could brew this myself!” We’ve all been there, mate. Cloning a beer – basically reverse-engineering your favourite commercial brew – is one part detective work, one part brew-day skill, and all parts fun. In true Flying Wombat fashion, we’ll keep it no-fuss, witty, and downright helpful. (Prefer watching over reading? Check out our Flying Wombat YouTube channel for a video on cloning beers – we’ve got you covered there too.) Now, grab a cold one and let’s get into how to clone beer at home like a pro!

‍

Step 1: Do Your Homework (Research the Beer)

Every great clone starts with sleuthing. The first step in replicating a beer at home is gathering as much info as possible about that brew. Hit up the brewery’s website – many breweries drop hints about their recipes (malts, hops, ABV, IBUs, you name it). The best ones even list factual details to help homebrewers formulate a recipe. Key intel to collect includes:

• Basic Stats: Original Gravity and Final Gravity (or just ABV), IBUs (bitterness level), and color if available.
• Ingredients: What malts and hops are mentioned? Any special yeast or adjuncts? For example, if the brewery says it’s brewed with “Cascade and Mosaic hops,” you know what hop varieties to grab. Some craft breweries even print ingredients on the can – score!
• Brewer’s Clues: Sometimes you’ll find tidbits in interviews or on forums. And if you can swing it, chat with the brewer – many started as homebrewers and are chuffed to share tips if you ask nicely over a pint. You’d be surprised how a little flattery (“Your beer is grouse, I want to make one just like it!”) can get them talking.

While you’re on the case, taste the beer again with your thinking cap on. Note the flavors and aromas: Do you get a toasty malt sweetness? Tropical hop aroma? That can guide your ingredient choices later.

Two Tips to Keep in Mind: Cloning isn’t about exact replication – there are many variables you just can’t copy at home (equipment, water source, etc.). As one seasoned brewer put it, a recipe alone doesn’t make great beer; skilled brewers do. So brew your best, and don’t stress if it’s not a perfect twin on the first go. Secondly, focus on the beer’s key characteristics. Nail the spirit and balance of the brew, and it’ll be close enough that your mates will say, “Strewth, that’s pretty damn similar!”

Step 2: Crack the Recipe (Malts, Hops, Yeast, Oh My!)

Time to channel your inner beer architect. Using your research, sketch out a recipe for your clone. Here’s how to break it down like a pro:

• Malt Bill: Keep it simple and true to style. Virtually all beers use around 80–100% base malt (Pale ale malt, Pilsner malt, etc.), with specialty malts making up the rest. So if your target beer uses pale, a bit of Munich, and a touch of crystal malt, you might go ~85-90% base malt and the rest split between Munich and crystal. This gets you in the ballpark for color and malt flavor. (Too much specialty malt and you’ve gone rogue – balance, mate!)
• Hops: Use the same varieties the brewery notes, if possible. No info given? No worries – think about the flavor profile. Citrusy and fruity notes might mean American or Aussie hop varieties (Galaxy, Citra, etc.), while spicy or earthy might point to noble hops or English varieties. Add the hops in similar timing as the pros: a dose for bitterness early in the boil and later additions for flavor/aroma. Aim to match the IBU target of the original beer with your hop schedule (brew software or online calculators help here).
• Yeast: Yeast can be the secret hero (or culprit) behind a beer’s character. Is it a crisp lager or a fruity ale? Choose a yeast strain that fits the profile. Many breweries use well-known strains – for instance, a West Coast IPA might just use a clean ale yeast like US-05, while that Belgian tripel definitely needs a Belgian ale yeast. If the brewery’s yeast is proprietary, find the closest equivalent from your homebrew shop. (Tip: Some breweries openly share their yeast info – e.g. Rogue’s famous Pacman yeast is available to homebrewers – otherwise, match the style).

Don’t forget to scale the recipe to your batch size and system. Commercial breweries often brew huge volumes with efficiencies we can only dream of. Use brewing software to adjust malt amounts so your homebrew OG matches the target (most of us get lower extraction efficiency than big breweries, so you might need a tad more grain to hit the same ABV. Likewise, adjust hop quantities based on alpha acids to hit the IBU. It’s like tuning a recipe until your numbers align with the commercial specs. Kinda science-y, but hugely satisfying when you get it right.

Step 3: Mind Your Water (and Other Pro Moves)

Water – the unsung hero of brewing. If you want to clone exactly, you might consider your water profile. Beer is mostly water, after all. Does the brewery source soft, pure water (looking at you, Pilsners), or do they boast about their town’s hard water giving the beer its character? Adjusting water chemistry can make a noticeable difference. For instance, a hoppy IPA might pop more with higher sulfate content, while a malty stout may shine with more chlorides. If you’re keen, treat your water to roughly match the style’s needs (gypsum, calcium chloride, etc. – your local homebrew shop can help here). But hey, if that’s too much fuss, at least use good clean water (carbon-filter your tap water to remove chlorine, for example).

Other pro moves to consider: fermentation and process tweaks. Does your target beer use any special process? For example, a wheat beer clone might need a ferulic acid rest if you’re chasing that clove flavor, or maybe that juicy NEIPA needs a hefty dry-hop during fermentation. Perhaps the beer is oak-aged or uses unusual ingredients (vanilla, coffee, fruit puree?). Plan to mimic those steps: add oak chips in secondary, split a vanilla bean into the fermenter, whatever floats your boat. These little details can take your clone from “good beer” to “wow, this is just like the original!”

Lastly, consider equipment differences. You likely don’t have the exact gear a commercial brewery has (their whirlpool, filtering, even how they carbonate can differ). That’s fine – just follow best practices on your home system. Oxygenate well, control your fermentation temperature diligently (temperature control can hugely impact flavor), and give the beer enough time to mature if needed (looking at you, lagers). Basically, do the normal things right so the clone recipe can shine.

Step 4: Brew Day – Time to Make Some Beer

You’ve got a plan – now execute it. Brew day for a clone is like any other brew day, just with extra focus. Mash those grains at the appropriate temperature (if the target beer has a full body, maybe mash a bit higher; if it’s crisp and dry, mash lower). Boil and add hops according to your recipe timings. Mind your sanitation and all that good stuff – a rogue infection will surely take your clone off course (and give you something the original brewery never intended!).

As you brew, take notes on everything: your mash temp, your pre-boil gravity, original gravity, hop addition times, how the wort smells, etc. Channel your inner mad scientist. This note-taking will be gold later when you taste and decide what to tweak. Also note any deviations: did you miss your OG by a mile? Did your volume come up short? Jot it down. And don’t forget to record fermentation details too – what yeast you pitched, ferment temp, how long until fermentation kicked off, when you dry-hopped if applicable, and so on.

Ferment and package the beer just like any other batch, following your usual procedures (primary, secondary if needed, then bottle or keg). By now, you’re probably antsy to compare it to the real deal. Patience, young grasshopper! Give your beer proper time to carbonate and condition. It’s all the sweeter when you finally crack open a bottle of your own replica brew.

Step 5: The Moment of Truth – Taste, Compare, Tweak

Now for the fun part: drinking beer! Crack open your clone and, if possible, a bottle of the original beer you’re emulating. Side-by-side tasting is the best way to spot differences. Invite a few mates for a blind taste test and see if they can guess which is which (or if they even notice a difference). As you sip, note how your version stacks up:

• Aroma: Did you nail the hop aroma or that roasty nose? More dry-hop or a specialty malt adjustment might be needed if it’s off.
• Flavor: Is something missing or more pronounced? Maybe your clone is sweeter, or the bitterness is slightly higher or lower. Jot it down.
• Body & Appearance: Is the color close? Mouthfeel similar (think about carbonation level, fullness, etc.)?

Don’t be too self-critical – even if it’s not an identical twin, it’s still beer, and likely a tasty one at that. Cloning is a learning process. Adjust your recipe based on these notes and give it another go in a future brew. Maybe the mash temp should be tweaked, or you’ll swap a hop variety, or use a different yeast next time. This iterative tweaking is how you really dial it in. In fact, it’s normal to repeat the recipe with minor changes a few times to get closer to the original. (Oh no, multiple rounds of brewing and tasting beer – what a tough life, right?)

Above all, remember that your goal isn’t to brew an inferior copy – you want a beer just as good as the commercial one, if not better. As one expert brewer wisely said: “Remember, you want your beer to be better than the one you are cloning!!”. So if your version turns out like a fresher, bolder take on the original, that’s a win in our book!

Final Thoughts (and a Cheers)

Cloning your favourite beer is equal parts art, science, and sheer drinking pleasure. It makes you a better brewer by pushing you to understand ingredients and process on a deeper level. Plus, there’s no feeling quite like handing a mate a glass and hearing, “Mate, this tastes just like [Insert Beer Name]!” – or maybe, “I reckon this is even better!”. So go on, give it a crack. Do the research, brew with care, and enjoy the journey (and the many beers along the way).

And if you’re keen to see cloning in action, don’t forget to check out our Flying Wombat TV YouTube video on this topic (for all you legend visual learners). Until next time – cheers, and happy cloning!

‍