I am on a small kick where I’m using some new ingredients. Over this past year I thought I would use some of the lesser-known (to me anyway) German hops like Opal, Select and Brewer’s Gold. Some of those beers are coming to the taps soon. I also recently picked up Ultra hops for the first time… they’re hard to find and they sound awesome. I also have some German Hull Melon and Australian Summer hops waiting to be used as well as some Mandarina Bavaria hops which were used in a very nice Sierra Nevada Vienna Lager. I’m also fermenting a beer with WLP011 Euro Ale yeast for the first time right now (a pseudo-altbier) and coming up in the next week or so, I am using Best Malz Red-X malt for the first time in a Red Ale. Has anyone used any of these hops, yeast or malt and have anything to share? I’m looking forward to using the hops for sure. Cheers.
Hey Ken. Brewers Gold is a favorite of mine. It’s actually British in origin although it is no longer grown commercially in the UK. BG has a pretty smooth bitterness, slightly earthy with those nice old-fashioned notes of blackcurrant so it blends very well with most UK finishing hops. I use it in my old Ballantine-inspired IPA as well as stouts, porters and bitters. BG is also grown in the US but I prefer the German product.
:cheers:
Ken, Brewers Gold are great. I think it was The Professor who called them the original grapefruit bomb.
I’ve found they’re best in hop forward beers or with dark malts. I used them in a saison, but they dominated the yeast.
I’ve used select in hefes and paired with columbus in a rye IPA.
It’s funny you mention ultra. I was digging through my freezer today and found a 1 lb bag of whole ultra.
I’d be interested to see what you use them in.
:cheers:
[quote=“mrv”]Ken, Brewers Gold are great. I think it was The Professor who called them the original grapefruit bomb.
I’ve found they’re best in hop forward beers or with dark malts. I used them in a saison, but they dominated the yeast.
I’ve used select in hefes and paired with columbus in a rye IPA.
It’s funny you mention ultra. I was digging through my freezer today and found a 1 lb bag of whole ultra.
I’d be interested to see what you use them in.
:cheers: [/quote]
I’ve always heard that the Brewer’s Gold had some sort of black current thing happening, not grapefruit like Amarillo would be. Hmm.
Also, I hate to be boring but I was picturing a SMaSH blonde ale kind of thing with Rahr Pale Ale malt, the Ultra hops and 1056 or WLP001. It doesn’t have to be that way but I thought it could be a good way to showcase the hops.
Nothing at all boring about SMaSH beers as far as I’m concerned.
Most of the ones I’ve tasted were actually a good measure better than beers made with the ‘kitchen sink’ recipes that seem so popular these days.
And yes…the Brewers Gold you mention is is a really terrific old variety!
It’s been a favorite of mine since I first had the chance to use it so many years ago.
The red X malt is interesting. Use it for 100% around 1.050, it’ll make your beer pretty amber/red and you’ll get good efficiency. It’s kind of like Munich, except darker and not as sweet, I think. I’ve brewed with it twice, a SMaSH lager with Red X and Hersbrucker, and Czech lager yeast. And a Dampfbier with 70% floor malted pils and 30% Red X, with hersbrucker and hefe yeast. I like it, want to brew with it again.
You’re echoing what others have said on another board I’m on… 100% RedX to about 1.050. When you used it as 100% of the grain bill, how/where did you mash it? I’m thinking low… like 150° or so.
You’re echoing what others have said on another board I’m on… 100% RedX to about 1.050. When you used it as 100% of the grain bill, how/where did you mash it? I’m thinking low… like 150° or so.[/quote]
I think I step mashed it, 30 minutes at 145 and 40 minutes at 158. So I guess that won’t be of much help. But it’s a nice malt. How could it not be? It’s Best!
You’re echoing what others have said on another board I’m on… 100% RedX to about 1.050. When you used it as 100% of the grain bill, how/where did you mash it? I’m thinking low… like 150° or so.[/quote]
I think I step mashed it, 30 minutes at 145 and 40 minutes at 158. So I guess that won’t be of much help. But it’s a nice malt. How could it not be? It’s Best![/quote]
Sounds like a Hochkurz step mash that I have done before… 145x30 and 158x60 or thereabouts. I might try that here. Mmm, looking forward to both trying the beer but also seeing the runnings come out of the MT… sounds like it’s going to be redilicious. Cheers.
