Sweaty Lunch Snack...Pale ale

I am trying out a new Hop Variety called Comet.

I will be bulding it into a recipe that I use already. It will take the place of centennial hops.

Give feedback.

I am curious what others think

My goal is a hoppy pale ale or Session style IPA. I like a hoppy beer with sweet citrus flavor with lunch.


Batch 10.0 Gallons
75 % efficiency
OG 1.049

Grains:

Oregon Select 2 row 14.0 lbs
American Vienna 2.0 lbs
cara pils 1.0 lbs
belgian biscuit .5 lbs

Hops

Comet 11.0 AA 1 oz 60 min
comet 2 oz 20 min
cascade 2 oz 20 min
comet 2 oz 5 min
cascade 2 oz 5 min
comet 2 oz dh
cascade 2 oz dh

American Ale II yeast


Let me know what you think.

Today is Brew Day!

I got the day started at about 8:15.

It is now 9:30 and I have gotten the mash started. I hit about 140 for 15 min then brought it up to about 147 for about 20 min. I just brought it to 154. When conversion is complete I will turn the burner on so I can bring the whole kettle to about 170-180. Then I transfer into the lauter tun.

I plan on gettin the boil started between 12 and 1. depending on how long the conversion takes.

Not a new hop. Curious to hear how it turns out.

samc said:

Not a new hop. Curious to hear how it turns out.

Click to expand...

Sorry, new to me. The brew went pretty smoothly. I used my counterflow chiller for the first time and it was very effective. I yielded appx 10.5 gallons into primary @ 1.046. So I was a little under my goal of 1.049, but not enough to get worried about.

It smells very good so I have high hopes.

I plan a pale ale tuesday w/ comet hops. Just curious of your opinions of the comet hop variety. I was planning a comet hop only recipe.

tinman1 said:

I plan a pale ale tuesday w/ comet hops. Just curious of your opinions of the comet hop variety. I was planning a comet hop only recipe.

Click to expand...

I have only used Comet hops in this beer. I have not had enough time to get it bottled and tasted. Dec 10 is bottling day. appx Dec 24 for a good taste test.

However, I did get a feel for its properties based on the aroma, look and AA. The aroma was very similar to a Cascade hop. The Aroma was a little less floral, I expect more of a citrus character. With the higher AA than most Cascades It is going to work well for you bittering addition too. I am pretty impressed. I will update this posting after trying the beer.

Lastly, I found this to be a great reference for hops:
http://www.hopunion.com/17_HopVarietyHandbook.cfm?p3=open


Enjoy the brew!

Thanks. We will see how it goes!

I have been drinking this beer for about a week.

It is only about 5 1/2 weeks old. It will probably get a little better yet in the next two weeks.

So far I would describe this beer as very clean, it is generally clear too. The Comet hops are very noticable in the aroma, but the flavor is kinda week. I think it will need just a hint more sweetness from the malt, and quite a bit more flavor. The bitterness is close but possibly a little too high.

The comet hops actually remind me a bit of the chinook hops, but with more fruity aroma.

This beer will need to have a tweak done to the recipe before I will post it in the recipe section.

Here is a picture of the current beer.

Awaiting version 2.0

Got my "HopComet" kegged....Very tasty- I like these hops.I too found them to be not nearly as bittering as they are supposed to be. I will rebrew using a bit more on the bittering and flavor additions.

So I entered this beer in the local homebrew competition, KLCC homebrew competition, where it did quite well.

In a flight of only six beers it placed first. The score 35.66. Not too shabby.

Here are some of the comments from the judges.

"Enjoyable citrus hop aroma, mildly sweet malt (aroma.) Clean w/o off flavors"

"Bittering on the front end a little strong w/ some resins in the finish"

"A well made pale. Bitterness a bit strong, at the top end of the style. Aftertast is a little distractive, would like to see a bit cleaner than this, but still a good pale ale"

"A well brewed Pale Ale. Bitterness levels approaching Ipa levels. Cut back a bit on the bittering hops and put more emphasis on the late additions."

"A nice citrus nose. (Sounds like a skin condition-ha!)" yes the judge actually wrote that on the scoresheet.

"Lovely golden. Happy Bubbles. Great head retention."

"I'm going to mow the lawn and then have one of these."

I think I agree with the judges. The bittering was a bit too much with such a light malt back bone. I think I will eliminate half of the Cara pils, add back in a little more belgian biscuit, and then move my 60 minute addition to 30 minutes or 45 minutes.

After a few more batches I plan on moving this one over to the recipe forum.

Hey Hoplife - did you ever finalize this recipe to your liking?