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Northern Brewer Zombie Dirt Clone Tasting and Review

I had a lot of concerns with this in the first week after it was bottled. There was a cloying sweetness in the background that was unpleasant. Having never used Munich malt before I can only assume that was what the sweetness was. Over the following weeks the sweetness began to fade. The overall malt flavor came up. The hop aroma and flavor became more pronounced. After 3 weeks in the bottle the aroma had matured to the pine forest level I describe in the video. The same also applies to the pine flavor.

This turned out to be a great beer that I will definitely be brewing again.


You can view the full brew day video for this one here.

Tasting Notes

  • Color and Appearance
    • Medium Amber
    • Slightly Hazy
    • Good rocky head retention
    • Fast rising carbonation
  • Aroma
    • Pine and spruce with hints of citrus
    • Low to medium malt
    • Grapefruit esters
  • Flavor
    • No detectable alcohol
    • Pine with hints of grapefruit
    • Moderate to aggressive bitterness
    • Medium malt
  • Mouth Feel
    • Low to no astringency
    • Medium body
    • Full carbonation
    • Medium finish

Music:
The Waster
Scott Buckley
http://www.scottbuckley.com.au/

Updated 4/1/18 09:03 AM. A previous version of this story referenced honey malt when it should have been Munich malt.

Northern Brewer Zombie Dirt – Cloning a Clone for 30% less

When I began my home brewing career in August 2017, one of the first beer recipes I heard about was Zombie Dust from 3 Floyds Brewing Co. Back then I was brewing all extract. To say the least, I was rather intimidated by the thought of brewing an all-grain recipe. I looked at several different clone recipes. Beer-N-BBQ by Larry has one. More beer has a kit they call Soulless. I knew about the Northern Brewer Zombie Dirt kit.

By the end of 2017, I had sworn of of kits. The quality of the ingredients I was receiving was questionable at best. The hops weren’t vacuum sealed. Who knew how long those ingredients had been sitting around. I know most places say the kits are “built to order” but I’m not buying it.

A comment on my Upgrading to Partial Mash video in early January 2017 changed my mind. I had a request by Tetman74 to brew Zombie Dirt. I thought about it for a while and came up with the idea to build the kit by myself using their recipe. I knew I could do it cheaper. I picked up some of the grain from Atlantic Brew Supply when I ordered the triticale for the Sherman’s Planet IPA recipe. The Citra Hops came from Yakima Valley Hops. The rest came from my LHBS.


You can view the recipe for yourself over on the Northern Brewer site here.

Brewing grain substitution chart

Here is the cost breakdown:

2-row: $19.43
Crystal 60: $1.68
Munich: $2.33
Carapils: $0.85
Citra: $12.99
Yeast: $7.75

Total: $45.03

VS.

Zombie Dirt Kit: $61.51, ($69.26 with yeast)

Total Savings: $24.23

Music:
The Waster
Scott Buckley
http://www.scottbuckley.com.au/