Quaffable Tettnanger Help?

I bought a pound of tettnanger a while back and have used a little here and there with recipes I've found here on HBT. I'd like to brew something that will really show off what it's adding to the game. I'd like to make something with only that hop so I don't confuse which hop is contributing what, but I'm not sure if it's the type of hop that can stand on it's own. I recently did Edwort's Kolsch and really like it, but it also used pearl for bittering, and I'm not sure how much that's contributing to flavor.

I'd like to put something light and quaffable together (hopefully around 4.5 ABV), but again I don't know if this is the right approach for this experiment. I've done the Centennial Blonde, and liked it quite a bit, so I was thinking about using that grain bill since it's a low ABV and I don't know enough about grains to put my own together... or maybe this is a good candidate for my first SMASH (grain suggestion?).

Anybody have any advise or proven recipes (all grain) that really show off tettnanger for me to learn from?

I would use it for a Pilsner.

Do you have lagering and decoction mashing abilities?

What is the alpha acid percentage on your Tett?

TB

I use it in my pilsner and in my hefeweizen. it works really great as the only hop variety in both of those styles. the pils is a great way to showcase it. Pilsner malt, tett hops, yeast. that's it.

Tiber_Brew said:

I would use it for a Pilsner.

Do you have lagering and decoction mashing abilities?

What is the alpha acid percentage on your Tett?

TB

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I've never done a Pilsner, a lager, or a decoction. I've stuck with ales so far and I mash in a cooler and batch sparge. I have a temperature controller for a freezer that I ferment in, so a lager isn't out of the question, but I'm still a little intimidated. I'm just now getting up to speed with my diy stirplate for starters and liquid yeast.

It's definitely on the list of to-dos, but can I make something similar as an ale, or is the lager yeast too important?

The Tett I bought is 3.2% by the way.

carrotmalt said:

I've never done a Pilsner, a lager, or a decoction. I've stuck with ales so far and I mash in a cooler and batch sparge. I have a temperature controller for a freezer that I ferment in, so a lager isn't out of the question, but I'm still a little intimidated. I'm just now getting up to speed with my diy stirplate for starters and liquid yeast.

It's definitely on the list of to-dos, but can I make something similar as an ale, or is the lager yeast too important?

The Tett I bought is 3.2% by the way.

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Pilsners showcase the Tett very well, and I would strongly recommend brewing one, if not for your maiden lager attempt, for your Tettnager hops.

If you have a temp controlled fridge, I would give a lager a try. Both Wyeast and White Labs sell great strains of Pilsner lager yeasts. If you've got a stir plate as well, even better, because you'll need a large pitching rate for a lager.

Don't worry about decoction mashing for now. You can make great Pilsners without a decoction too.

I threw together a quick Pilsner recipe for ya, feel free to plug it into your favorite recipe calculator and tweak it.

5 gallon batch

10 lbs German Pilsner malt (UK, Belgian, etc. substitute is OK)

Mash at 148-151 for 70 minutes

90 minute boil
2 oz. Tett (first wort hop) 90 min
1 oz. Tett 20 min
1 oz. Tett 10 min

Wyeast Czech Pilsen yeast (I'd use a 2 liter starter if you can)

Cool, pitch at 55F, cool down to 45 1 deg per day, ferment for 2 weeks

Cool down 1 deg F per day to 34F and hold for 2 months or longer if you can take it. Check for diacetyl and sulfur. Lager for longer if necessary. (I don't do diacetyl rests, but if you wish, you may raise the temp to 68F for 3 days to accelerate the yeast's "clean up".)

I'm not sure if you bottle or force carb in kegs, but give this one about 2.5 to 2.7 volumes CO2. I like my Pilsners a bit more carbonated, but that's entirely up to you.

If you don't want to go the lager route, no problem, just let us know how it turns out whatever method you chose!

Good luck!
TB

Thanks for the great post TB! You've definitely got me interested in attempting my first Pilsner. I may have to wait a little while to schedule it in since my pipeline is lacking as it is, but I'll post back whenever I do get to it. Meanwhile, I may do some reading on decoctions. I'm interested to see how it's different from what I'm doing now and whether it's realistic to do w/o fancy recirculation pumps and such.

As for the Tettnanger sampler, maybe the wheat beer idea would be a good choice with the faster turnaround.

carrotmalt said:

Thanks for the great post TB! You've definitely got me interested in attempting my first Pilsner. I may have to wait a little while to schedule it in since my pipeline is lacking as it is, but I'll post back whenever I do get to it. Meanwhile, I may do some reading on decoctions. I'm interested to see how it's different from what I'm doing now and whether it's realistic to do w/o fancy recirculation pumps and such.

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You're welcome.

You don't need any pumps for decoction mashing. It's merely pulling out part of your mash and heating it up and boiling it separately then adding it back to the main mash. It's not as simple in practice, but in theory it's appealing. I would strongly recommend you try it sometime, but perhaps not with this beer.

As for the Tettnanger sampler, maybe the wheat beer idea would be a good choice with the faster turnaround.

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What yeast are you going to use? I would recommend the cleanest high flocculating yeast you can get if you're interested in highlighting the Tettnanger hops character. You don't want a strong yeast character to cast a shadow on the hops in this one.

TB

Oooh - I've got a good one.

Fat Woody's Pale German Wheat

7 lbs Pale Ale malt
3.5lbs Wheat Malt
8.25oz Crystal 60
Mash 1.25qt/lb @ 154

Centennial 1oz@60 (you could sub an equal AA of Tett for this if you want. I got NO Centennial character.)
Tettnanger 1oz@10
Tettnanger 1oz@5
Tettnanger 1oz@KO
Tettnanger .75oz dry hop 7 days

OG 1.056
FG 1.012

1pk US-05 fermented@ ~65*F

I shoot for 6gal in the fermenter - you may want to adjust for your batch size.

I dry hopped in the keg, but it doesn't matter much, I suppose.

This is a clean, fresh beer with a great mouth feel and head from the wheat, and a fantastic, crisp hop taste from the Tett.

pernox said:

Oooh - I've got a good one.

Fat Woody's Pale German Wheat

7 lbs Pale Ale malt
3.5lbs Wheat Malt
8.25oz Crystal 60
Mash 1.25qt/lb @ 154

Centennial 1oz@60 (you could sub an equal AA of Tett for this if you want. I got NO Centennial character.)
Tettnanger 1oz@10
Tettnanger 1oz@5
Tettnanger 1oz@KO
Tettnanger .75oz dry hop 7 days

OG 1.056
FG 1.012

1pk US-05 fermented@ ~65*F

I shoot for 6gal in the fermenter - you may want to adjust for your batch size.

I dry hopped in the keg, but it doesn't matter much, I suppose.

This is a clean, fresh beer with a great mouth feel and head from the wheat, and a fantastic, crisp hop taste from the Tett.

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That looks like a great recipe.

I'll add that Centennial does have different bittering properties as Tett, not better or worse, just different. I would strongly advise keeping any other hops out of the boil for this one and it would be a good learning experience so you'll know more about Tett characteristics (bittering, flavor, aroma, etc.). Like pernox said, you could sub equal alpha acid units of Tett for his Centennial addition.

Hope it goes well!
TB

I made one recently with pilsener & munich malt (60/40%) and dusseldorf alt yeast. Its really pleasant and going fast.

I'm really looking forward to trying my hand at that Pilsner one of these days, but for now it looks like the Fat Woody with 100% Tett may be just the way to go. I wouldn't have thought to use US05 in a wheat beer, but I suppose it does meet the "cleanest high flocculating yeast" requirement TB mentioned.

It's on the list. Thanks for the help. You folks are awesome.

carrotmalt said:

I'm really looking forward to trying my hand at that Pilsner one of these days, but for now it looks like the Fat Woody with 100% Tett may be just the way to go. I wouldn't have thought to use US05 in a wheat beer, but I suppose it does meet the "cleanest high flocculating yeast" requirement TB mentioned.

It's on the list. Thanks for the help. You folks are awesome.

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I've done several wheat beers with that US-05 yeast. You'll love it.

Keep us updated!
TB

I was just about to put in an order at BrewmastersWarehouse for the ingredients for my modified Fat Woody batch and was also going to get the ingredients to try this IPA. It calls for some Williamette in the recipe, and I saw on a chart somewhere that Tettnanger was a possible substitute for it.

What do you Tett experts think about it in comparison to Williamette? I just posted the question on that thread, but thought I'd see what you guys thought. If they're pretty close, I'd rather use the Tett since I have it on hand.

Any updates?

Well, I ordered and received ingredients for both the IPA and the Fat Woody recipes. My next door neighbor's been craving an IPA and talked me in to brewing it first. I brewed it the Friday before last and probably won't get to brew my Tett showcase until either this weekend or next. This full time job thing really gets in the way of my brewing schedule!

I'll post my updates once it's brewed. I'm chomping at the bit to see how it turns out.

By the way, I used half a vial of WLP001 in a starter for the IPA and got to put my DIY stirplate to use for the first time. Worked like a champ. I figured I could use the other half for the Tett wheat beer. Is that close enough to US05 in your opinion?

Yeah, US05 and WLP001 are essentially the same thing. Hope it turns out!

TB

Well, Fat Woody went in the fermenter yesterday afternoon. After experiencing my first stuck sparge, I was able to re-stir, blow out my stainless braid, complete the batch sparge, and get back on track to hit my numbers on the nose.:rockin:

I peaked in this morning and it already has a creamy film across the top (Yea starter!!!).

carrotmalt said:

Well, Fat Woody went in the fermenter yesterday afternoon. After experiencing my first stuck sparge, I was able to re-stir, blow out my stainless braid, complete the batch sparge, and get back on track to hit my numbers on the nose.:rockin:

I peaked in this morning and it already has a creamy film across the top (Yea starter!!!).

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Excellent!! Can't wait to hear what you think. Hope it satisfies!!

I served up several cold ones to the in-laws over the weekend with great reviews. My all Tett version of Fat Woody really came out refreshing. Thanks a bunch for the recipe. I recognize the Tettnanger from other brews I've made, but before I wasn't able to tell which hops were contributing what. I really like the results from this one! It has a mellower flavor (for lack of a better word) than the other C type hops I normally use. I can see how they could make a great Pilsner. One of these days I'll put some to the test.

Thanks again for your help guys!

carrotmalt said:

I served up several cold ones to the in-laws over the weekend with great reviews. My all Tett version of Fat Woody really came out refreshing. Thanks a bunch for the recipe. I recognize the Tettnanger from other brews I've made, but before I wasn't able to tell which hops were contributing what. I really like the results from this one! It has a mellower flavor (for lack of a better word) than the other C type hops I normally use. I can see how they could make a great Pilsner. One of these days I'll put some to the test.

Thanks again for your help guys!

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:rockin: That's great to hear!

I'll be brewing this again in a couple weeks to put by in anticipation of spring. Think I might go straight Tett this time and see if it changes at all. =)

pernox said:

:rockin: That's great to hear!

I'll be brewing this again in a couple weeks to put by in anticipation of spring. Think I might go straight Tett this time and see if it changes at all. =)

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It was pretty dang good w/ just the Tett, but I may try your original too just for comparison.