Dark blonde ale hop questions

[jimmyjusa]

I'm planning to do a double batch (10 gallons total) of lower gravity beer, trying to decide on hops but here is what i have so far for the recipe:
10lbs pale 2row
3lbs light Munich
2lbs pilsner- this was leftover from an earlier batch so I'm using it up.
1lb carapils
4.2-4.6% abv
Estimated srm 4.5 so it's in the middle of the blonde ale color range.
This grainbill is set already and mixed together to be crushed.

Right now I'm thinking centennial and simcoe for my hops.
Centennial 1oz @45 minutes
Simcoe 1oz @ 10 minutes
1ounce each @ flameout
All adds up to about 23 ibu

All Other hop options are:
Mandarina Bavaria, Sterling, Crystal,
Calypso, Belma, Bravo, El dorado, Jarrylo
Sorachi ace, Chinook, Columbus, Warrior
Nugget, Galena, Super galena, Cascade

My thoughts on good hops, ideally still using simcoe:
Mandarina Bavaria (as dry hop with the centennial as listed above or with just simcoe)
Bravo to replace the centennial, mine is the same aa levels. Maybe dry hop with it as well.
Sorachi ace at flameout or dry hop

I will have 2 five-gallon batches, one will be with nottingham and the other with us-05. If i dry hop i only plan on doing that with the us-05 batch.

I know many are good just for bittering so I'm not thinking of using them. My goal is something that can be universally enjoyed.

 

[NineMileStyle]

My personal rule-of-thumb.... Alpha Acids > 10 I use for Bittering...<10 for aroma.
I do, however, deviate from this quite often. It's really just a base for thought.
I say, make it one way this time and different the next time. If you save a bottle or two you can do side-by-side comparisons later on and decide what you like best.
Remember....you're making beer for YOU!!!

 

[bradleypariah]

Out of what you listed, I personally would choose Columbus for bittering, and Centennial for dry-hopping. That's my two cents. -but as the comment above mine suggests, taste is subjective.

 

[jimmyjusa]

My personal rule-of-thumb.... Alpha Acids > 10 I use for Bittering...<10 for aroma.
I do, however, deviate from this quite often. It's really just a base for thought.
I say, make it one way this time and different the next time. If you save a bottle or two you can do side-by-side comparisons later on and decide what you like best.
Remember....you're making beer for YOU!!!

I do see and agree with the general rule of thumb there, but there are the dual purpose hops and then also low ibu beers like wheats where those low aa hops are used for bittering. And usually bittering hops don't do well for the aromas or hit a goal in flavor where the aroma hops shine. This is only my 7th beer so I'm definitely still learning. I used calypso in my last two beers and while tasty looking for a different flavor profile for my next beer to have something different and variety in the mix.

 

[jimmyjusa]

Out of what you listed, I personally would choose Columbus for bittering, and Centennial for dry-hopping. That's my two cents. -but as the comment above mine suggests, taste is subjective.

Columbus in exchange for centennial bittering but keep simcoe at ten minutes and flamout with centennial at flameout as well or... just Columbus and centennial period in the recipe?

 

[bradleypariah]

Columbus for bittering, Simcoe 10 minutes, pick your favorite flavor for flame out, Centennial dry hop. That'd be quite floral and juicy as far as I figure.

 

[jimmyjusa]

Sounds good, thanks for the input

 

[jimmyjusa]

Ended up doing Columbus fwh for bittering, combination of simcoe and centennial at both 10 minutes and flameout. Ended up with a sg of 1.045 with around 10.5 gallons. I split the wort into to buckets filled as close to evenly as possible then topped up just above the 5 gallon mark where the first flared piece on the bucket is. Pitched one with Nottingham and one with us-05. Hoping for 4.6-4.8% abv. Calculated efficiency was 81% and that was doing biab with a "fly" sparge where i had the bag over the kettle as it was warming up and i was pouring water over the bag until i got to my volume goal of 9 gallons pre boil.

 

[jimmyjusa]

I'm debating on if i want to keep one batch without dry hopping and dry hop just one or maybe dry hop both but with different hops. If i do just one I'll probably do just an ounce of centennial at most since it's a lower gravity beer and not wanting to necessarily get hop water as I've read some people call it when out of balance. If i dry hop both the second one I'd like to use something different, thinking of maybe using belma because I'm curious about it but unsure if the strawberry notes would clash or not. There is a local company that uses it in one of their beers and the beer itself tastes good but there is something in the aroma that is a little odd and it could be the belma. Since each batch has a different yeast i wouldn't have an apples to apples comparison unless i dry hopped both with the same i guess

 

[jimmyjusa]

Tested gravity today, looks like nottingham is sitting at 1.003 and us-05 is 1.004. Nottingham has watery mouthfeel vs the us-05. They started out at 1.044 or 1.045. This gives an apparent attenuation of about 90% for both yeasts. I decided on using 2oz mandarina Bavaria in the us-05 and 1oz belma in the Nottingham.

 

[brew703]

I hate Notty. Every batch I brewed with Notty was crap. I always kept fermentation temps at or near 60 until fermentation finished then increased to finish.
I have a batch that is kegged and about ready to dump. Will never use it again. For me, just gives off a weird taste and everyone who has tried it doesn't care for it. I have brewed the exact same recipe using US05 and S04 and those were great.

 

[jimmyjusa]

I wouldn't say it's crap for this tasting, finished product will be a better confirmation though. The notty to me had a cleaner taste of the two. First time using it and curious about clarity in the finished beer since i am unable to hold crash and all my us05 batches have seemed to be somewhat hazy.

 

[jimmyjusa]

Us-05 ended up being dry hopped with 2oz mandarina bavaria. It definitely had more flavor before dry hopping, with the notty seeming cleaner in my novice opinion. Here is a picture of the us-05 only chilled a few hours ahead of drinking. Clarity can only get better, no cold crash ability right now, I'm happy with clarity so far.

 

[jimmyjusa]

Notty brew, dry hopped with 1oz leaf belma. One picture with flash and one without.