I’ve seen a lot of new varieties (or at least new to me) show up at the places I buy from this year. I’m always interested in trying new stuff. So far I’ve brewed with Whitbread Goldings, Pacific Jade, and UK Pilgrim. I have several more in the freezer waiting their turn. Herkules is one I’m anxious to use. Last year I tried the Falconers Flight blend and liked it, I just used it again as well.
Anybody taking advantage of the new varieties? I really haven’t tried any of the beers above jus yet, most are bottled and will be ready in a couple of weeks.
And on a related topic, I’m not sad that theres a shortage of certain hops and I think by the time the growers ramp up production we brewers will be on to the next hot hop.
And sorry I forgot about the hop subforum, if someone could move this I’d appreciate it.
The Zythos sounds interesting, I’ve had great success with FF. I like the idea of having a tried-and-true blend. Its like wine, blends tend to bring more complexity and even flavors/aromas. I do feel like I have have slightly less control this way, but I rarely do recipes exactly the same anyway.
I also have German Opal, Herkules, NZ Green Bullet, and UK Phoenix. The latter two won’t be done as single hop pale ales since they are mostly bittering hops.
I don’t expect to see recipes for a lot of these hops. Just read the description and then sub it for something in the vicinity. If its citrusy then a nice pale ale, if its floral then something British or German.
I bought a pound from Hops Direct and did a single hop APA. They really smell of pear when you open the bag, but that didn’t come through in the beer. They also have a very strange bitterness and I wouldn’t bitter with them again. It’s not harsh like Chinook. I’m thinking of blending them with Goldings the next time I try them, as I think the floral qualities would combine nicely.
I’ve made APAs with FF for all additions, bitterness isn’t overly harsh and you get a nice citrusy Pacific northwest hop character out of it. My last IPA made with FF didn’t have quite as much aroma, so I’d recommend being fairly generous with the late additions.
I made a Vienna Calypso IPA that was very good. It did take a while to mellow out though. The first few weeks on tap I thought it had an astringency problem, but it mellowed and by the end of the keg I was sad it was gone.
I bittered with Magnum and Galena and did a hop burst with Calypso over the last 10min and dry hopped with Calypso as well. It was quite good, but definitely needed some time to age and mellow out. Next time I won’t hop burst but will just add normal additions. 2x now I’ve tried hop bursting and I’m not a fan of the results. Maybe I’m using the wrong hops for the technique, but it adds a harshness that needs a good deal of time to mellow out. Both beers turned out well, but only after a significant time in the keg and at serving temps.
Thanks for the input dobe! I’ve got some warrior on hand…thinking that would be sufficient in smaller quantities for bittering.
Not looking for your whole recipe, but did you go with 100% vienna malt?
[quote=“dsidab81”]Thanks for the input dobe! I’ve got some warrior on hand…thinking that would be sufficient in smaller quantities for bittering.
Not looking for your whole recipe, but did you go with 100% vienna malt?[/quote]
OG 1.067
SRM 10
IBU 67
ABV 6.9%
96% Vienna
2% C120
2% Caramunich II
Already mentioned the hops used. Like I said earlier, I hop burst this beer and didn’t like the results… at least I didn’t for the first month or so I was drinking it. By the end of the keg it got much better. If I brew it again and I’m pretty sure I will, I’d bitter with Magnum only (86 the galena) and I wouldn’t hop burst. I would just add an ounce or so of Calypso at 15, 10, 5, 1. But that’s just what I would do.
I brewed a NZ Rakau Pale Ale, and have been drinking it lately. Very pleasant, had a bit of a harsh bitterness that has mellowed a little. Otherwise, I’ll go with the slightly helpful descriptors: earthy, with a touch of stone fruit to it. Kind of tastes like a sazz with some apricot/peach to it. I like it a lot, and think it would work well in a lot of styles.
Excellent report. My own single hop Pacific Jade APA is less citrusy than I was expecting, the bittering properties are fairly smooth and it is a nice slightly floral piney hop that kind of reminds me of Kent Goldings. Maybe its the recipe, I’m getting a nice cracker type malt with some sweetness, but I’m tempted to enter this beer as an ESB.
Just saw a decent price per pound on these and figured I may experiment with a couple of brews.[/quote]
Yeah, they’re ok. Just be careful with heavy late additions. And if using a lot of this hop, expect some conditioning time. At least that’s what I’ve experienced. I’m still learning the difference/importance between Alpha & Beta acids. So I’m sure there are some things I need to learn about these and all hops.
