Hop suggestions anyone?

Hi All,

I'm working on a wedding day brew from my wedding coming up in about seven weeks. I need help on the hop profile for the beer. I was thinking about the following grain bill:

11.5% Munich Malt
88.5% Maris Otter

The weather where we are (dare i say) wedding in late July is 90+ degrees on average so I'm aiming for a lighter bodied - but high alcohol - beer with a nice assertive and tasty malt profile balanced with a mildly bitter alpha hop (30 IBU). I would like to create a beer that would finish bright and floral/citrus but not so much as it would overpower the malt. Anyone have any suggestions on what hops to combine to achieve the goals as stated above? Remember: I'm not aiming for a super-citrussy Sierra Nevada type beer, but more of a Speakeasy IPA kinda beer.

Open to other suggestions on recipe as well.

Thanks in advance broieeees.:rockin:

From my experiences, everything I make with amarillo hops is enjoyed by about anyone who tastes it.

Amarillos are really nice. I think the Simcoe/Amarillo dry-hop combination is hands-down my favorite. Might be a bit much though if you don't want too much citrus (i.e. if you say SN is too citrusy).

What about something clean and crisp like Mt. Hood for bittering, and then dry hop with 1/2oz amarillo?

Speakeasy uses Columbus hops in their IPA I believe. At least that is the dominant one I taste. You will likely need more than 30 IBU's for a high ABV type IPA or it might be a bit sweet.

Well, I may go as high as 35ibu. I would really like to create a well balanced beer so I don't want to go too high and I love the flavor from Maris Otter so I don't want to run it over.

BTW, I was probly gonna go with Dry English Ale Yeast from Whitelabs if this helps with making suggestions.

Amarillo's quite nice for citrusy flavours, but Cascade also works and is a slightly more floral version of the citrus note. I quite enjoy the 30IBU mark, especially for the more 'refreshing' brews - if you calculate your hops as if you're just adding in bittering, and then toss in 150-200% for an aroma addition, I think that should serve you well.

You should consider targeting a BU/GU ratio instead of targeting a specific IBU.

So, if you compare to SNPA:

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

The IBUs are 37. The gravity is 13 plato or 1.052. Divided 37 by 52 and you get a .711 BU/GU ratio.

If you wanted something like SNPA's bitterness (which I'm not saying you do) but brewed something at a gravity of 1.070, you shouldn't just make it 37 IBUs. You'd need 49 or 50 instead.

Not saying you should aim it that high. From the sounds of it, not. By you don't really mention specifically what the gravity will be, just that it's high.

Anyway, lotsa good hop recommendations here already. But I'll throw Crystal into the mix. Great aroma profile with some citrus in it. But it's cleaner than Cascade, at least to me. I've done a ton of beers mixing Columbus and Crystal and they work great together.

Haven't used Amarillos yet, but if you look at the cohumulone, it's really low (clean bitterness, yay!). And those alphas are decently high. So that could work great for a dual use hop in something like this. Everyone seems to love it, as folks are saying.

tetrylone said:

Hi All,

I'm working on a wedding day brew from my wedding coming up in about seven weeks. I need help on the hop profile for the beer. I was thinking about the following grain bill:

11.5% Munich Malt
88.5% Maris Otter

The weather where we are (dare i say) wedding in late July is 90+ degrees on average so I'm aiming for a lighter bodied - but high alcohol - beer with a nice assertive and tasty malt profile balanced with a mildly bitter alpha hop (30 IBU). I would like to create a beer that would finish bright and floral/citrus but not so much as it would overpower the malt. Anyone have any suggestions on what hops to combine to achieve the goals as stated above? Remember: I'm not aiming for a super-citrussy Sierra Nevada type beer, but more of a Speakeasy IPA kinda beer.

Open to other suggestions on recipe as well.

Thanks in advance broieeees.:rockin:

Click to expand...

Great question with a ton of different answers I bet! I brew a very similar beer and it is a clone Sierra Nevada ESB. I use different hop additions depending on my mood, but the use of Challenger in all boil and flavor additions works very well, and the use of Crystal gives a more floral aroma than most others I have used (when dry hopping).

Shoot for a BU:GU ratio of .7, and if making a 5 Gallon batch, use .5 ounces of Crystal for dry hopping. That will give you a nice but very subtle floral aroma. I would use British Ale for a sweeter finish, American Ale for a dry, more crisp finish.



Cheers!



Here is a pic...SWMBO rates this here favorite beer.

I've used chinook bittering and cascade for flavor/aroma which has turned out very nice.
I currently have in primary a summer ale with columbus bittering and cascade and amarillo for flavor/aroma.
Centennial could also be used.

tetrylone said:

Well, I may go as high as 35ibu. I would really like to create a well balanced beer so I don't want to go too high and I love the flavor from Maris Otter so I don't want to run it over.

BTW, I was probly gonna go with Dry English Ale Yeast from Whitelabs if this helps with making suggestions.

Click to expand...

My experience with any English Ale yeast is that it will mask the Hop Flavor substantially. I've made a couple of Pale ales with an ounce of Centennial for Bittering and then another at 30 for flavor, then some golding at 15 and 5, they all came out malt forward when used English and Dry English Ale yeasts. I personally would stick with an American strain of yeast if you really want the hops to come through. Anyhow,Columbus is a great hop, and Centennial with Kent Goldings is a mix I like.

Thanks for the guidance everyone. I decided to go with a single hop variety in the hopes of really being able to enjoy the character of one hop and I decided to go with Ahtanum. Everything i read said this was a good floral and citrussy hop. Anyone have experience with this variety?

Oh yeah. I also decided to go with a different yeast as well. I will be using WLP001 (California ale yeast). I was told this would better play up the hop aroma.

That yeast will be great for a summer ale, very clean and user friendly. For the hop blend, I suggest Chinook, Centennial, and Amarillo for bittering, flavor, and aroma. For five gallons, use 0.5 oz @ 60, 0.5 oz @ 20, and 1 oz. at flame out, respectively. This will get you right around 28 IBU, depending upon your OG.

Hey, congrats on the nuptials.