Sorachi Ace

Any one have any experience with this hop variety? I have some on order from fresh hops, and am planing on using it in a wit with an IBU@20.

A Japanese winner by all counts with its powerful lemon aroma, high bittering value and flavorful personality.

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I like the Idea lemon aroma to accent the fruity esters of a wit.

Hops arrived today...My plan right now is to buy a pound a month of stuff I use and new stuff to try out.

I had a English IPA brewed with Sorachi from a commercial brewery that I thought tasted pretty awful. It definitely has an interesting lemon aroma/flavor, but in this particular example it came out tasting like lemon Pledge.

My advice is to use sparingly.

I've used them in a summer ale, blond type. Definitely adds the lemony taste folks talk about, even in lower quantities. I really like them in this type of a beer.

this thread is kind of old, but I kind of want to use sorachi ace for a smash... any ideas? to do or not to do...

It's lemony flavor is a nice addition to an american wheat.

enderwig said:

It's lemony flavor is a nice addition to an american wheat.

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could i brew a smash with white wheat malt and sorachi ace? i guess what i'm asking is can i mash just wheat?

bhatchable said:

could i brew a smash with white wheat malt and sorachi ace? i guess what i'm asking is can i mash just wheat?

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The short answer is no. I would do a 50/50 2row and white wheat. Above and beyond that, you are gonna run into problems with conversion, lautering, and I am sure some other things as well.....

yeah i didn't think a wheat smash was possible... what malt would make a good sorachi smash base?

well the slightly longer answer is yes. As long as it is malted wheat it should convert itself just fine. I believe malted white wheat malt has the highest diastatic power of the wheat malts. You could use say 10% 6-row barley malt to ensure conversion (6-row has a very high DP). Use lots of rice hulls. I haven't read of about anybody actually doing it but it is theoretically possible. There is a formula to figure out if your grain bill will convert itself but I'd have to look it up...

but no way to truly make a smash, huh?

Like I said, white wheat malt is suppose to be able to convert itself. I have heard it talked about and mentioned in books as being possible but I've never heard anybody say they have actually done it. I think it would be a cool experiment and sorachi hops sound like they would be excellent in a wheat beer.

i think i may jump on this then

I have an american honey wheat that's been in the fermenter for 13 days now. I missed my O.G., and boiled the first 45min with only the partial-mash.....so my IBU are probably around 31 (edit: hops were 13.6% AA). They smelled really good, but what hops don't?

The hydrometer sample was pretty bitter, but I still drank it. Haven't messed with it yet, as it still bubbles out of the tube every 5-7 seconds and it's only been two weeks. I will check on it at the 21-day mark and most likely bottle for another 3 weeks.

If it gives off that much lemon flavor, I'd only really put it in wheat beers or maybe a spice/herb/veg of some kind. I will let you know in about a month.

Later,

I used it for a simple American Wheat last summer that was a big hit. I used 10 grams (about 1/3 oz) in 5.75 gallons of 1.045 beer for about 19 IBUs, then tossed in another 14 grams (1/2 oz) at flameout. The lemon flavor was definitely noticeable, but not in an overpowering way. I thought it was great in this application. I haven't used it in any other beer though.

I found it catty. My wife didn't help out with that keg and by the time the keg kicked it, I was pretty much done with it. We pitched the remaining four ounces.

Up date: I been sampling the wit that I put 1oz in at the last 5min of the boil. The lemon is there but not over powering. I think the next batch I'm going to up the late hop addition to 3oz.

I was pretty excited about this hop, and drove all over town looking for Brooklyn's Sorachi Ace. I wasn't very impressed. It does have a lemony quality as others have noted, and I didn't notice the pledge flavor. It seems similar to Saaz but earthier (to the point of having a flavor that reminds me of newly turned over dirt) and more lemony. I have 2 ounces of the hops on the way, and I'll use them just to make sure the Brooklyn beer wasn't a fluke, but after having high hopes, I'm pretty disappointed with the flavor of this beer I'm drinking. But the packaging was top notch! haha.