hops for a smooth high ABV beer?

So i decided to try something a little different. My goal is create a beer that is near black in color, but with out any roasted flavors. I want it to have a high ABV (10%+), but be an easy drinker. Basically something that drinks like its 5%, but is 10%+. I think I've got an idea for a grain bill. I'l thinking 14oz carafa III, 2lbs dextrose, 8oz carapils, 8oz white wheat, and enough 2-row to get an OG of around 1.090. I'm Thinking of using WLP051 for this to give it a little mroe flavor and body than WLP001, but not too much.

I'm kind of lost with the hopping though. I don't want it to be too hoppy like and IPA or IIPA, but just enough to balance out the sweetness and make it an easy drinker. I have a few varieties, but am somewhat open to using others. Hops I have are: amarillo, chinnok, simcoe. cascade, centennial, magnum, czech saaz, and stryan goldings. The goldings, cascade, and centennial are pellets but the rest are leaf.

I was thinking of using magnum for bittering because of it's clean profile, but not sure about the rest. Any ideas?

(sorry for the long post)

really most of the high abv beer recipes i have seen use nobles..if it were me, id get some Hallertau..but you got the goldings and Saaz..1 oz goldings 60 and then 1 oz saaz 5 min
but its all opinion..just my .02

Styrian goldings and saaz are very soft...I would use those for flavor. And defnitely use some magnum for bittering.

Good luck, it sounds tasty.

Styrian goldings and saaz are are about the only choices from that list for flavor and aroma, dark ales don't do very well with citrus hops.

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'll play around with magnum for bittering and the saaz for flavor/aroma. I think i may have an ounce or 2 of hallertau left over from a hefe so that may come into play as well.

HEY HEY!
you and me are in the same little boat here. Your on the right track though by researching. I already brewed mine without looking for proper hops. In return I have a very malty sweet beer. I used an oune of goldings and an ounce of cascade. Now that I look back its incredibly obvious that that wasnt enough. (I always wondered when the day would come where I say "that" twice in a row with it still making sense)

Sorry to hear that yours didn't turn out as planned. I have definitely made my share of overly sweet beers, mostly due to better than planned efficiency though. I typically do at least some research for any new recipe. This one is taking a bit more creativity though because the beer is not to any "style" more of just an idea. I'll be brewing it next weekend so i have some time to play with the ingredients. Plus I'll need the time to ramp up the starter a couple of times.

david_42 said:

dark ales don't do very well with citrus hops.

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It can be done: have you had a Stone 'Sublimely Self-Righteous' ale? dark and citrus/pine-y - it's delicious.

schristian619 said:

I have definitely made my share of overly sweet beers, mostly due to better than planned efficiency though

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when I have an unexpectedly high efficiency; I notice it when taking a pre-boil gravity reading. I then can remove some wort and dilute it to the proper pre-boil gravity and save the excess wort in the freezer for starters (or if I have enough extra hops, I can rescale the recipe to a larger batch and just make more beer than planned). that way you get the anticipated gravity and balance.

I have had great sucess with Simcoe in big beers-they are super low co-humulone, the bitterness is not harsh. And yes, they are "piney and citrusy" These work great with big American APA and IPA, but I also use them in my American stout and porter, both of which have won gold in competition. My 2 cents.

I've happered out my efficiency issues, so all is good in that regard.
I thought about using simcoe, but in small quantiies as I am not looking for much hop aroma. For now though, I think I'm going with magnum for bittering and czech saaz for flavor/aroma. I have a week before brew day so that may change. But I'm stuck on yeast as I'm making the start this weekend so I have time to ramp it up a couple times.

cheschire said:

HEY HEY!
you and me are in the same little boat here. Your on the right track though by researching. I already brewed mine without looking for proper hops. In return I have a very malty sweet beer. I used an oune of goldings and an ounce of cascade. Now that I look back its incredibly obvious that that wasnt enough. (I always wondered when the day would come where I say "that" twice in a row with it still making sense)

Click to expand...

If you are very unhappy with the beer, you could:

1 - Make another similar beer with *alot* more hops, and blend the two
2 - Try to make some sort of bitter hop tea to add (not sure if you get much isomerization without sugars)
3 - Add another bitter flavor
4 - Someone else might have some good ideas for "fixing"

Good luck