Argentine Gold

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TexLaw

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So, I had a half-pound of Argentine Cascdes in my freezer and some inspiration from BierMuncher's Sterling Gold when I put together this recipe for a 5.5 gallon batch:

4.5# U.S. 2-row pale malt
2.0# Belgian Pilsner
0.75# Flaked rye
0.5# CaraPils
1 oz. Cascades (Argentine) 3.2% AA 75 mins (FWH)
1 oz. Cascades (Argentine) 20 mins
0.5 oz Cascades (Argentine) 10 mins
0.5 oz Cascades (Argentine) 5 mins
WLP029 German Ale/Kolsch yeast

I brewed it yesterday, performing a brief protein rest before a single saccharification rest around 150F and a 75 minute boil. Here are the numbers:

OG - 1.042
IBU - 23.7
Color - 2.8 SRM (calculated, of course, and it looks like I just might have pulled that off in reality, or close to it)

Right now, the yeasties are having quite a party in the mid-60s. They had an overnight pre-party in a one quart starter, pitched while still active but declining. Still they were underway in just a couple hours or so. It's been a while since I've brewed a beer so light in color, body, and alcohol, and I had nearly forgotten how quickly these suckers convert in the mash tun and kick off fermenting. :)

I wanted something a little sweet, a little crisp, a little spicy, and that would show off these crazy hops that are like are more like a slightly citrusy noble hop with a bit more spice. I'll report on any developments.


TL
 
Looks like that'll be nice and tasty for when it REALLY starts to warm up. Should be pretty quick, grain-to-glass, with that gravity. You gonna dry-hop it?
 
I got some Argentine Cascades from a raffle, and I have been wondering the difference in flavor from American Cascades.
 
nl724 said:
I got some Argentine Cascades from a raffle, and I have been wondering the difference in flavor from American Cascades.

Each Argentinian IBU is worth about 1/300th of an American Cascades IBU.
 
So basically using 1oz of an Argentinian cascade will provide a hint of bitterness if boiled for 1 hr?
 
nl724 said:
I got some Argentine Cascades from a raffle, and I have been wondering the difference in flavor from American Cascades.

We'll see how the flavor actually comes out, but I expect they will be quite different from U.S. Cascades. Like I mentioned, this is an unusual hop, in that it is spicy and citrusy. It really does make me think of a cross between citrusy American hops and noble hops or Styrian Goldings. They do not have any of the piney, resiny notes un U.S. Cascades.

I thought about mixing in some Willamette, Sterling, Centennial, or U.S. Cascades, but I decided against it because these hops already are complex and I wanted to see how they stood on their own. So far, all I've done is smell them in the bag and boiling wort, but I like what I smell.


TL
 
the_bird said:
Looks like that'll be nice and tasty for when it REALLY starts to warm up. Should be pretty quick, grain-to-glass, with that gravity. You gonna dry-hop it?

I don't know if I will dry hop it or not. I keep going back and forth on that, so I guess I will decide when I rack it to the secondary. If I do, it will be very lightly - no more than an ounce, and probably more like half an ounce. I do not want to overwhelm the other facets of the aroma and muddy up the spiciness from the rye.

I can tell you, though, I do like smelling these hops. I hope they stick around and become more available in time.

And, the idea was to make a good Summer beer. It's about that time down here. :)


TL
 
nl724 said:
So basically using 1oz of an Argentinian cascade will provide a hint of bitterness if boiled for 1 hr?

Pretty much. According to ProMash and the good Mr. Tinseth, the ounce I used for first wort hopping and a 75 minute boil got me a whopping 12.2 IBUs in that low gravity wort. If I were to brew something with a higher gravity or bolder malt flavors, I would not even think of using these as bittering hops (or, at least, as the sole bittering hop). I would like to try an IPA with these hops later on and use Summit or Centennial for bittering and the Argentine Cascades for one or more later additions.


TL
 
Just an update on this one.

It came out great. I did dry hop with a half ounce, and I could be persuaded to bump that to about 0.75 oz, or maybe I could add a little more to the aroma boil additions. I might also want to cut the pale malt to 4# and bump the Pilsner to 2.5#, just to experiment.

Aroma is clean, a little sweet, with mild spicy, floral, and citrus notes from the hops. There is a mild Pilsner malt note, and just a touch more spiciness from the rye (which I might bump to 1.5#).

Appearance is light golden (around 4 SRM, as best as I can tell) with a meringue-like, white head that lasts and provides light lacing. It started off quite hazy at first, but it has been clearing up rapidly.

Flavor follows aroma: a little sweet with very mild hop flavor. It dries out quickly in the mouth and finishes mildly bitter.

Medium-light body gets a little support from the rye, and that keeps the beer from feeling watery. I kept the carbonation down on this one a little, as I do not like beers that get too fluffy or lose flavor and aroma to carbonation bite. There is no astringecy, diacetyl, or any other unexpected sensations.

I wanted a nice, Summer drinker, and I got it. I also like the Argentine hops very much, as they let me get a mild but complex hop profile without a complex recipe or measuring out quarter ounces. I may tweak this around when I brew it again, but just for the sake of playing. It is good as it is. So far, I've received comments along the lines of "delicious" and "refreshing."


TL
 
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