Mystery Hop Ale - Need Recipe Help

[Brew Engineer]

I'd like YOUR help contributing to my beer-experiment!!!

My parents planted some "Common Hops" a few years ago for a decorative plant, to cover an old chain link fence. They have taken off and my parents get a ton of hops, which until now have gone to waste. I'm planning on running a beer experiment, and try brewing with these hops. I suspect that they may be Cluster, but I have no way to know for sure. Cluster hops were apparently widely grown in this area of New York years ago.

My question is: what should I brew to try these hops?

I'm thinking a basic American Pale Ale. I have no way of estimating an Alpha Acid content, so I'd like a style that can handle a wide range in IBU, depending on how it turns out. I was also thinking of using som eof my first year hops I've got in my backyard (Goldings, Fuggle, and/or Cascade) in conjunction with the mystery hops as flavor/aroma additions.

Any ideas?

My first thought for a 5 gallong batch was:

7-8 lbs light LME
.5 - .75 lbs of light Crystal (15, 40) or maybe Victory

as a basic pale ale backbone. Then assume about 4-5% AA, and shoot for the middle of the IBU range. Also adding some flavor and aroma additions.

Does anyone else have any ideas? Would a APA be a good base beer to experiement, or is there another style that might work well?

Thanks!

[6thstreetbrewer]

An APA sounds like the best bet; you may get away with an IPA as well. Are you planning on curing these first or using them fresh?

[Lars]

I'd probably go with something really simple - maybe a blonde. If it were me, I'd want to brew something where the hops could really shine through. Recently* I've been brewing single hop blondes so I can explore some of the available hops.








*Ok, so I haven't had much time to brew recently, but I did brew a single hop blonde with all santium. It was really quite good and well recieved from my local brew buddies.

[dmtaylor]

I made a sort of American brown ale with all Clusters that turned out really nice. Cluster is a good guess, my understanding is that it's sort of the original American hop of choice used by the early settlers. It's a good match with brown ale IMO. Also a good match for classic American pilsner (CAP), it's what the old German settlers might have used.

+1 on the blonde ale suggestion as well. I do the same thing, even splitting a blonde ale batch to use several different types of dry hops. I plan to do the same with my homegrown Hallertauers in another month or so when they are ready. In past years I've made pale ales with the homegrowns, but the crystal malt covered up the hop character too much. My hops are very very mild indeed. So this year I'll try a blonde ale without crystal malt in order to get a very good feel for what they can add to the flavor and aroma.

More on my homegrowns if you're interested -- I know they are a touch low on the bitterness side, but still bitter enough. Alpha acids were probably in the low 4% range in 2006, and low 3% range in 2007. It seems 2007 was a bad year for nearly all hop varieties, with respect to alpha acids, so it's no real shocker. OTOH, I think 2008 will be a very good year. My plant has never ever been so vivaceous. We have gotten a TON of rain this year so I'm sure that's helped a lot. Last year at this time, my plant was dried to a crisp. This year, the leaves are HUGE and deep green. It will be a very good year.

[Quin]

You might also send an email to the guys at Hop Union. They could probably give you an idea of what hop it may be and approximate AA%.

I would skip the crystal and shoot for on OG of 1.048. That way the hops would definitely stand out kind of like a SNPA.

[Brew Engineer]

I'm interested in the Blonde suggestion. I've never done a blonde... Beer that is!


I'm traveling now, and don't have my "Brewing Classic Styles". What does a Blonde grain bill look like, and what yeast is suggested?

[dmtaylor]

A blonde ale is supposed to be like a combination between a pilsner and a pale ale, with no crystal, low to medium hop character, low BU:GU, and obviously an ale yeast which separates it from pilsner territory. Cool ale fermentation (upper 50s to lower 60s) with a very clean American type yeast is a good idea (I use Nottingham; US-05 or WLP001 are also perfect), as you want just a touch of estery fruitiness but not a lot. It's an American style so Briess 2-row or the like is appropriate, but not an absolute requirement. The fact is, you can use pretty much any kind of base malt and hops that you want. This is also a perfect style for extract brewers, as you wouldn't need anything besides extra-light extract. A touch of character malt is fine but don't overdo it. Its simplicity and flexibility is what makes it the perfect style for experimentation with either malts or hops, or both. What you're looking for is a light, clean, easy quaffer of an ale with a little something that makes it unique, whether it's malt or hops.

Style guidelines sort of indicate that you should go easy on the hops -- This is not to say you shouldn't jack up the hops to get a good feel for them. I'm not a hophead, but I like to hop my blonde ale pretty high. I like to use Cascades for bittering, flavor, and dry hopping, but I've also used Hallertauer with great results. It's my favorite beer that I make. Also scored well in competition. The judges said that although it had too much hops for the style, they loved it. I don't care that it's overhopped. I'm making it again for the 4th time, next month, after my homegrown Hallertauers and Cascades are matured. I guess you could call this my "house" beer. Everyone loves it, both casual drinkers and homebrewers alike. My recipe is as simple as it gets -- base malt with plenty of hops, and I also add 3/4 lb sugar per 5 gallons to kick up the alcohol a notch. Nothing else. OG=1.061. I guess mine is more like an "imperial blonde", as it's too big for the style guidelines. Fine by me. Whatever tastes good. And it's the perfect beer to split up to try different dry hops. I just bought some more buckets so I can dry hop with like 4 different hops and see what I like best.

[Brew Engineer]

Thanks for the info! Now I'm back home and reunited with my Brewing Classic Styles book (Cue the music: reunited and it feels so good...)

Um, where was I... Oh yeah, thanks. I'm going to review the styles again and see about that blonde. I wont be able to brew this beer until later in the fall, and that may influence my final style choice. If I was brewing wihtin the next month, Blonde would be a perfect summer beer. I'll let you guys know what I brew.

Any tips on wet hopping vs. drying? preferences?