AHS Apocalypso Opinions

Just ordered the Apocalypso extract kit, any of you guys have that one under your belt and can comment on the taste, smell or whatever else?

I know i'll like it for the summer with it's low IBU's but i've only got 3 brews through my system so i'm not whiz at looking at the ingredients and know what it'll be like before i actually raise the glass to my lips.

Can you post the recipe?

I looked up description http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=12971

56 IBU's is pretty bitter for a 1.048 beer.

Here are the comments that other people posted about it:

"Comment by Brendan M on Wednesday 29 June, 2011
I agree with previous review, this gets better with time, I'm at 2.5 weeks bottle, it drinks like a fresh pale ale. Bitter for sure, but that should simmer with time. I plan on getting this kit again but adding 1lb rye and 2lbs 2 row to up gravity and simmer down the bitter. I think the Cylipso hops do have a fruit flavor, can't pin it down, but I think they would meld well with a rye spice.....I'll post how it turns out. All in all anouther great kit from you guys, rarely get a complaint from this guy...
Comment by Scott W on Wednesday 22 June, 2011
I bought the partial-mash kit, and used Nottingham. Kegged at 1 month. To be honest, it's not bad. The hops came on a bit strong for me, although my friends (who love hoppy beers like IPA's) loved it. It definitely got better as I drank it over a period of 2 weeks. Very drinkable."

You could pick up a pound or two of extract to add to the boil to tone down the bitterness if you want.

Just bottled mine today. It is a little hoppy, but not to a IPA level. Tasted good without carbing.

just kegged mine last night, seemed a little shallow in body...

I've had mine in the keg for a few weeks now. I haven't touched it in a week, but the last I had it was still pretty hoppy, but the hop has a great flavor. If I did this again, I might prefer to reduce the bitterness to make the hop flavor stand out. Bittering for this was magnum. Not sure how calypso would have been as a bittering hop...

I think I might try to brew a go-to blonde that I normally get from my local HBS, but using the calypso for flavoring and dry hop. I do like the AHS recipe, but now want to experiment with that hop!

BTW, I went with Nottingham yeast. I don't know how much the yeast would impact the flavor.

I just ordered this extract kit because it was so darn cheap. I might reduce the bittering hops as I'm not a huge hop head and 56 ibu's sounds pretty high to me.

It's actually not that high, around average for a standard APA (at least in my head). What really makes the hops stand out is the light body flavor from the malt. It's only 7lbs of LME and (i think) .5lb Maltodextrin for a bit more body.

I got an IBU of 72 when I put it in to Beersmith. That seems WAY high. That is with a full boil which I always do. I can't believe it increased the IBUs that much. I guess I'll have to scale it back.

Also, I was surprised about the simplicity of the recipe too. Just 7 lbs of LME and 8 oz of malto dextrin and thats it. Perhaps that is why it appears so bitter, because there are any specialty grains added?

I am brewing this one today. I ordered it on their 20th anniversery free shipping special with a Rogue Dead Guy, also. I have never used malto dextrin before. I got the all grain versons.

Zixxer10R said:

It's actually not that high, around average for a standard APA (at least in my head). What really makes the hops stand out is the light body flavor from the malt. It's only 7lbs of LME and (i think) .5lb Maltodextrin for a bit more body.

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There are a lot of schools of thought on hop bitterness levels of APA's. I'm of the Tasty McDole school of thought that APA's shouldn't rival IPA bitterness levels otherwise, you've not really made an APA. 1.166 is a high BU/GU ratio for an APA. For my own personal interpretation of the style and my own personal taste, I'd keep the IBU's on a 1.048 APA under 40 IBU's.

It's settled down a bit once i hit it with gas, and it's been on the gas for two weeks now. What i was after was a slightly crisper APA than i would normally do so it's been sitting on 15 PSI instead of the ususal 12 that i supply.

Overall this beer isn't going to be great (probably because of the simplicity of the grain bill) but it will be good and drinkable. Best part is? $28 for 5 gallons, and for my school of thought i'm quite happy with a crisp drinkable lighter beer when it's freakin' 30 days solid of 100 degree weather.

I nearly died brewing it because it was so hot!

Zixxer10R said:

It's settled down a bit once i hit it with gas, and it's been on the gas for two weeks now. What i was after was a slightly crisper APA than i would normally do so it's been sitting on 15 PSI instead of the ususal 12 that i supply.

Overall this beer isn't going to be great (probably because of the simplicity of the grain bill) but it will be good and drinkable. Best part is? $28 for 5 gallons, and for my school of thought i'm quite happy with a crisp drinkable lighter beer when it's freakin' 30 days solid of 100 degree weather.

I nearly died brewing it because it was so hot!

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Do you think it'd be better with some steeping grains? I didn't realize how simple this recipe is. It doesn't seem like it would have much flavor to it. I'm debating whether throwing in some crystal malts or something.

Saturday I will try one out. I made this batch for a party that is Sunday, but the directions said to bottle for 3 weeks and I will only be giving it 2 weeks, but I did keep it in the seconary about 1.5 longer because it was still working at the orginal suggested bottling time.

I think this would absolutely benefit from some sort of specialty grain. Like i said before, it's not bad...it's just not great because (i'm assuming) the grain bill is so simple. Sometimes simple is good though.

I'm thinking it might be worth it to add a little crystal 40, or something like that. I'm guessing it will depend on whether I can make it to the LHBS prior to brewing it.

It's good the way i made it, but again, i was after a cheap 5 gallons. If i wanted something more complex i would have altered the grain bill more.

I think AHS had this exact mindset when they created the recipe.

I'll be brewing this tomorrow. I don't have any specialty grains to add but wonder what people thing about throwing some vanilla beans into the boil? I know vanilla typically is reserved for stouts/porters but wonder what people think.
Thanks.

I had this at their 20th anni party and thought it was solid. It does showcase the earthy-apple-pear flavors of the hop well. I'm more of an IPA guy but I'd recommend this for anybody looking to get a good feel for Calypso.

I brewed the AG version last week, and my fermenter bubbles smell great- very hoppy. Super simple recipe, as has been mentioned before. I was a little awestruck/ concerned with the single base malt, but everything I'd heard about the beer is positive. We'll see in a couple weeks! Kyle

beerandloathinginaustin said:

I had this at their 20th anni party and thought it was solid. It does showcase the earthy-apple-pear flavors of the hop well. I'm more of an IPA guy but I'd recommend this for anybody looking to get a good feel for Calypso.

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This certainly does showcase the hop flavor. At first when it wasn't carbed completely i thought it was still green, but i was mistaken. It turns out the apple-y flavor is part of the profile of the hop if used for flavoring/bittering and not aroma.

As far as the vanilla addition, i'm not sure that would jive well with the apple/pear flavor...unless you've tasted those flavors together before, then, by all means move right on ahead with your idea.

This hobby is all about learning and experimentation!

Zixxer10R said:

It's good the way i made it, but again, i was after a cheap 5 gallons. If i wanted something more complex i would have altered the grain bill more.

I think AHS had this exact mindset when they created the recipe.

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The more I think about it the more I'm thinking I'll just brew it as intended. It'll actually be nice to do a quick and easy brew. That way I can get it done on a week night. Not that steeping grains is hard, but without it the brew process couldn't be any easier. Might not be the best brew but it will allow me to do my pumpkin ale on the weekend.

Over a month since brew day. Just tried 2 and it tasted of apples and maybe tangerine... with a finish of hot dog water. Probably would be good if I was eating hot dogs.

I don't get any hot dog water flavor in mine. Doh. My wife just said this is her favorite beer right now.

I just brewed it tonight but cut the bittering additions by half, especially considering that I did a full boil....rehydrated my yeast for the first time, so hopefully i didnt mess anything up.

Yup, i'd cut the bittering by about a 1/3 personally. What's surprising to me is that this beer holds up nicely as a "working in the garage, but only sipping the beer" drink. The high heat in my garage doesn't affect the flavor negatively.

It's also interesting to note that each time i pull a pint i'm finding somethig new about the complexity i like more and more. It's still needs to tone down the bitter just a tad because it doesn't match the malt texture but every single pint i find something i like about my "Calamity" Ale.

I just brewed this kit on Saturday. I pitched 1 quart of slurry (Safale-05) from a wheat summer ale that I had just bottled. I am fermenting in a 6.5 gallon bucket at 68 degrees and it has blown through the airlock three times since yesterday, although it finally seems to be slowing down. I have never had a blowout prior to this in my previous 10 batches. Anyone else had a similar issue? Could it be the malto dextrin (which I have never used before)?

I had a pint of this again today and I think the fruitiness comes out even more now. It's very clean and the pear flavor is faint and the bitterness has mellowed out a lot.

Skipper74 said:

I just brewed this kit on Saturday. I pitched 1 quart of slurry (Safale-05) from a wheat summer ale that I had just bottled. I am fermenting in a 6.5 gallon bucket at 68 degrees and it has blown through the airlock three times since yesterday, although it finally seems to be slowing down. I have never had a blowout prior to this in my previous 10 batches. Anyone else had a similar issue? Could it be the malto dextrin (which I have never used before)?

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My fermenter filled two 1.75 liter Beam bottles worth of blowoff before the raging storm passed. No idea if the malto has anything to do with it though.

jaynik said:

I had a pint of this again today and I think the fruitiness comes out even more now. It's very clean and the pear flavor is faint and the bitterness has mellowed out a lot.

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Crisp to the very end Jaynik. Even my keg-kicking foam was crisp and earthy.

Skipper74 said:

I just brewed this kit on Saturday. I pitched 1 quart of slurry (Safale-05) from a wheat summer ale that I had just bottled. I am fermenting in a 6.5 gallon bucket at 68 degrees and it has blown through the airlock three times since yesterday, although it finally seems to be slowing down. I have never had a blowout prior to this in my previous 10 batches. Anyone else had a similar issue? Could it be the malto dextrin (which I have never used before)?

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I rehydrated my nottingham and didn't have any issues. Was 68 the ambient or the actual temp? Because from what I've read if it is too warm it will cause a more vigorous fermentation. Could also be because you pitched from a slurry, I've never done that but I would assume a more rapid fermentation.

Apocalypso is one of my favorites. In my short brewing career (~40 batches), I've brewed more of it than any single kit. Part of the reason is the price, but the main reason is the flavor. I like APA's and this is a great example of the style. It's simple to brew since it has no steeping grains, but still has plenty of bitterness and flavor for my taste. Mine have had a pretty distinct but not excessive pear flavor. Two batches have been through the "pipeline" (double entendre not an accident ) and I currently have one batch aging in a keg, two batches fermenting and another one in kit form waiting to be brewed.

Do the kits store well? I would consider buying a few to have on hand if I knew that they would still be "fresh".

jaynik said:

Do the kits store well? I would consider buying a few to have on hand if I knew that they would still be "fresh".

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if you are talking about the extract version, it comes with liquid extract so that wouldn't store very well. I'm sure AHS could work something out so you could get it with DME to make it store better. Or just build it yourself. The only other ingredients in it are hops, yeast, and malto dextin, which all those should store easily.

I will be brewing the mini-mash version of Apocalypto in a few days. This will be my fourth batch of homebrew and first kit from AHS.

I only have a 20qt brew pot, so I will be doing a partial boil. I am unsure if I should follow the directions as written and add all of the fermentables at the start of the boil, or should I hold off on adding some of the LME until the end of the boil to maximize hop utilization?

I expect that the fine people at AHS have developed the recipe to produce the desired result when the written instructions are followed. However, I am interested to learn what others have done with the Apocalypto kit and what they might suggest.

It's literally one malt and one hop. Just follow the instructions. You can experiment on something a little more complex that actually has substance to the recipe.

Zixxer10R said:

It's literally one malt and one hop. Just follow the instructions. You can experiment on something a little more complex that actually has substance to the recipe.

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fyi - it's two hops.

Well whatever. It's been weeks since i finished that keg, i forgot.

Just wanted to make sure he didn't get confused.

Mine is going on four weeks in the fermenter...just waiting to clear some room in the kegerator.