Super Kiwi Brew

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jamesnsw

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Grains/Fermentables
  1. 1 lb Belgian Biscuit
  2. 6 lbs Light LME
  3. 1.5 Alfalfa Honey

Hops

  1. .5 NZ Super Alpha (13.3%) - 60 min
  2. .5 NZ Super Alpha (13.3%) - 15 min
  3. 1 NZ Super Alpha (13.3%) - 5 min

Directions
  1. Steep the Belgian Biscuit malt at 160° or so for 30 minutes in 1 gal of water, while heating 2 gallons of water to a boil in a bigger pot (I do this because it takes so long for water to boil).
  2. Dump the wort from the Biscuit into the other pot, and add 3 lbs of the LME and the first round of hops.
  3. Add the honey, the rest of the LME and the 2nd batch of hops after 45 minutes.
  4. After 55 minutes, add the remaining hops.

NZ Super Alpha hops have high AA's, but are supposed to have a nice lemongrass flavor when used as finishing. Will let you know how it turns out. I'm calling it Super Kiwi not because of any actual Kiwi flavoring, but as a nod to the New Zealand Hops.
 
It's fermenting out right now, seems to be going well.

BTW- Are there any guidelines on what recipes should be posted here- I couldn't find any. Sorry if it's only completed recipes that should be posted.
 
Whoops- i was looking in the wrong forum for the guidelines. Sorry!
 
We'll get it moved, no problem.

Other than that, the recipe looks interesting. The honey will dry it out a bit. The hops sound really good, I've never had them.
 
Moved to Recipes/Ingredients until complete and tasting notes provided. :D

Thanks!:mug:

It's smelling quite good after an entire 3 days. This is my first time using the Nottingham, and the krausen looks a lot different than what I'm used to. Actually there are a lot of firsts for me here- Nottingham, NZ Super Alpha hops (which I picked up 60% off at my LHBS), irish moss, honey, and biscuit malt. Also the first one where I made my own recipe (hence the overeager posting :eek: ).

Super Alpha seems like a rarer, or at least lesser used hop, so I'm eager to see what it actually tastes like.
 
Update/Question:

It's been 3 weeks, all in primary. My OG was 1.052, and my SG has been steady at 1.020 for awhile now. The krausen hasn't fallen, but I understand Nottingham does that occasionally.

My understanding was that Notty would dry things out, that honey would dry things out. So why isn't it drying out?

My hydro samples don't taste that cloyingly sweet.

Tomorrow is my day to either throw in some yeast nutrient or bottle. Any suggestions?
 
yeast nutrient will not dry out the beer if that is what you are after. If you want it to dry out further toss in a drop or two at the very most of beano. yes the stuff that stops you from farting. It breaks down the sugar chains into smaller more easily eaten chains for the sluggish yeast to eat.
 
If you want it to get lower, get a package of 1056 or WLP001, make a 1L starter, pitch the yeast in the starter, wait for it to krausen, and then pitch it into your primary.

But I would probably just bottle it. Just depends on the taste.
 
OK, it's been awhile since I bottled this, and after 3 weeks away from my brew, I am back.

I'm not a huge fan of this beer. It's drinkable, well made, but I don't like the Super Alpha hops. I think they work fine for bittering, but I don't think it is suitable to be used as a finishing hop. It's lemongrassy, but almost astringent or abrasive. I may have overpowered with the finishing hops- maybe in a much lower quantity it would be better.

My goal was to test out these hops, as there is not a lot out there on them. On that note, I succeeded. On making a great drinkable beer? Not so much.
 
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