Galaxy hops

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Yooper

Yooper

Ale's What Cures You!
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Bob had a beer last summer he loved- Tallgrass 8-bit pale ale. So today I ordered a pound of galaxy hops.

Now what? :D

From Tallgrass' website:
Malts: 2 Row, Victory, Vienna & Munich
Hops: Magnum, Centennial, Cascade & Galaxy

I assume that I'd bitter with the magnum, and use centennial, cascade, and galaxy for late additions and galaxy for late additions as well as the whirlpool hops.
 
That recipe looks good! I never use epsom salts in my water, nor baking soda, nor table salt. But I sometimes use gypsum or calcium chloride if I need it.


I want something about 5.2%, and 10 gallons with out any crystal malt but with a warm solid malt flavor.

I've come up with this (but unsure of the hops at this point, I'll probably change that up):

14 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 71.8 %
2 lbs Munich I (Weyermann) (7.1 SRM) Grain 2 10.3 %
2 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 3 10.3 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Victory Malt (biscuit) (Briess) (28.0 SRM) Grain 4 7.7 %

0.75 oz Magnum [11.60 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 16.0 IBUs
2.00 oz Centennial [11.90 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 6 21.7 IBUs
2.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 7 4.0 IBUs
3.00 oz Galaxy [14.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 8 0.0 IBUs
 
I would dryhop with an 1 or 2 oz of galaxy. It really adds somthing different.
 
I've never tried 8-bit before, so I don't know how malt forward it is, but I'd dial back your malt bill some. Galaxy has a very nice passionfruit/tropical character (often with some pine), but its flavor/aroma can easily get lost when you throw a lot of malt and other hops into the mix.

It also pairs beautifully with nelson sauvin, 50/50, especially in pale, hoppy beers.
 
Looks like a solid grain bill. I think a 10/10 split of Munich and Vienna sounds good. I might come down slightly on the Victory, maybe 5%, but I'm sure you've used it enough to know your tastes. As for hops, I would probably do some kind of blending with their late additions, although if Galaxy is the centerpiece, loading it up at the end makes sense.
 
Yooper,

That was my first attempt at building a water profile from RO water. I've since dialed it back on the salts (one of my other other beers came out "mineral-ly"), eliminating epsom salts completely, and recently began using acidulated malt to hit the mash pH.

If you're game, I'll trade a bottle of mine for a bottle of yours (I want to taste your recipe before I brew it). I'll even advance you a bottle before you brew yours.
 
MikeInMKE said:
Yooper,

That was my first attempt at building a water profile from RO water. I've since dialed it back on the salts (one of my other other beers came out "mineral-ly"), eliminating epsom salts completely, and recently began using acidulated malt to hit the mash pH.

If you're game, I'll trade a bottle of mine for a bottle of yours (I want to taste your recipe before I brew it). I'll even advance you a bottle before you brew yours.
Click to expand...

Well, I have to receive the hops first! But this might be next up, as long as I have everything I need. I will probably keep the victory malt, but I might not have the Vienna malt so I might sub some Maris otter in for some of the Munich malt and all of the Vienna. I'm waiting for a huge order from Northern Brewer, and then I'm doing my inventory. I'll let you know what I brew, and keep you posted!
 
bierhaus15 said:
I've never tried 8-bit before, so I don't know how malt forward it is, but I'd dial back your malt bill some. Galaxy has a very nice passionfruit/tropical character (often with some pine), but its flavor/aroma can easily get lost when you throw a lot of malt and other hops into the mix.

It also pairs beautifully with nelson sauvin, 50/50, especially in pale, hoppy beers.
Click to expand...

I don't have any nelson sauvin or any other NZ or AU hops so I've got to use what I have. I have a few noble hops, and a few British hops, and the rest are all US hops.

I don't think I've had the 8-bit either, as he didn't share with me but he told me he loved it. He described it has having a strong malt character, but without any crystal notes at all. I think I'll cut the Munich malt, but I'm not sure yet. Thanks for the input!
 
Yopper I've had different IPAs win some medals with galaxy both laste additions and dry hop

Belma and Galaxy has been the best combo

Comet and Apollo go good too

Your grain bill and hop schedule very similar and should make a good 8-Bit attemp which Is what drawn me to Galaxy hops when I had that beer

HAppy IPA Day
 
terrapinj said:
they're pretty similar to Citra - hope you like them ;)
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Ha. I hope they're like citra in that they are hops. Hopefully, they don't taste like MANGO. I don't mind a little fruitiness (that's what I'm looking for) but if I make another Juicy Fruit Gum beer I might not be too happy! :D
 
Try old golden hen, if you can get hold of it. It uses galaxy hops. I agree that it has a very tropical flavour, I get very little pine from it.
 
Yooper said:
Ha. I hope they're like citra in that they are hops. Hopefully, they don't taste like MANGO. I don't mind a little fruitiness (that's what I'm looking for) but if I make another Juicy Fruit Gum beer I might not be too happy! :D
Click to expand...

i'd prob avoid using them as a single hop - i don't get an overwhelming fruitiness but def tropical/mango notes to them
 
I get passion fruit and think they are great for a single hop beer. I make a great Amber Ale using only galaxy. Enjoy!
 
bbrim said:
I get passion fruit and think they are great for a single hop beer. I make a great Amber Ale using only galaxy. Enjoy!
Click to expand...

I think they are great as a single hop but Yooper is an unabashed citra hater and I think the two varieties are close enough that she personally may not like a single hopped galaxy beer.
 
Yoop, have you tried emailing the brewer and asking for a recipe or feedback on yours? Never hurts and can often be very helpful.

Not sure how you'll simulate the hop back. Good excuse to a buy a new toy. :D
 
terrapinj said:
I think they are great as a single hop but Yooper is an unabashed citra hater and I think the two varieties are close enough that she personally may not like a single hopped galaxy beer.
Click to expand...

I think you're right! I think the centennial/cascade/galaxy combo is probably a good idea for me.
 
Galaxy hops don't have the flavor that I don't like in citra hops. It's not all citra beers or all citra hops, but in large quantities they often give off the synthetic flavor of orange tic-tacs (this is all I can think of when drinking zombie dust [not a favorite of mine]). Galaxy has a nice tropical flavor, but needs help from other hops. Centennial and galaxy work really well together. Amarillo or citra thrown into the mix are nice too.
 
AnthonyCB said:
Galaxy hops don't have the flavor that I don't like in citra hops. It's not all citra beers or all citra hops, but in large quantities they often give off the synthetic flavor of orange tic-tacs (this is all I can think of when drinking zombie dust [not a favorite of mine]). Galaxy has a nice tropical flavor, but needs help from other hops. Centennial and galaxy work really well together. Amarillo or citra thrown into the mix are nice too.
Click to expand...

Mmm, orange tic-tacs. Good analogy! Thanks. I think that I heard "melon" describing these hops before, and that's more what I was hoping for- but I will definitely use some centennial and/or cascade with them and see what happens. I appreciate on the help on this- thanks!
 
Yooper said:
I don't have any NS hops. I don't care for them anyway, so I never use them, but I don't have them available even if I wanted to use them!
Click to expand...

We have a HUGE hop contract where I work we supply a few breweries I can always send you whatever , just in box me in the future
 
Just throwing it out there, I've had 8-bit and it was the can that made me buy it. One of the coolest beer cans I've ever seen, and the beer was good, too.
 
wkaidy said:
I use it for a single hop white ipa. comes out great
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^This. I did a clone of Anchorage Galaxy White, white ipa with Brett, and it's great.
 
Galaxy is most similar to Nelson Sauvin in my opinion, but much less Chardonnay grape tasting. I don't love NS, but I do really like Galaxy. It is a more subdued S. Hemisphere hop. It has a berry, melon, grape-like aroma and flavor. It is not all that similar to Citra I don't think, but others may disagree.
 
gbarron said:
Galaxy is most similar to Nelson Sauvin in my opinion, but much less Chardonnay grape tasting. I don't love NS, but I do really like Galaxy. It is a more subdued S. Hemisphere hop. It has a berry, melon, grape-like aroma and flavor. It is not all that similar to Citra I don't think, but others may disagree.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm hoping for! I just can't love Nelson Sauvin, as it's way too "wine" tasting to me. But I would love to get some melon and fruit flavor and aroma in the beer to go with centennial and/or cascade (which I have tons of).

I think I'll brew tomorrow and see what happens!
 
I recently made an IPA with Galaxy, Pacific Jade, and Pacifica. All late additions (first @ 15 minutes). It's one of the better beers I've brewed.
 
Though my galaxy recipe calls for two late boil galaxy additions, it also calls for a mid-wort-chill galaxy addition at 140 degrees for 30+ minutes (if this article is to be believed) in order to get the most out of galaxy's essential oils, and a dry hop addition.

I've used the mid-chill hop addition twice with galaxy and once with mosaic, and both times I've been rewarded with wonderful fruit aromas. And at 140 degrees for 30+ minutes, you're still within pasteurization range for beer.
 
+1 to the galaxy/NS combo.
I have a beer cold crashing with rye, caramel rye, pale 2 row and C10.
Magnum @60 and the galaxy/ nelson sauvin at 10, 5 and FO.

The hydro tastes so good.
 
This a Recipe that i came up with


5 Gallons The Galaxy hops i got where at 15% Alapha
6 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 60.0 %
2 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 2 20.0 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 3 15.0 %
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4 5.0 %
0.50 oz Galaxy [15.00 %] - First Wort 60.0 min Hop 5 34.3 IBUs
0.30 oz Galaxy [15.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 6 9.3 IBUs
0.35 oz Galaxy [15.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 7 7.9 IBUs
0.35 oz Galaxy [15.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 8 4.3 IBUs
1.0 pkg American Ale Yeast Blend (White Labs #WLP060) [50.28 ml] Yeast 9 -
2.00 oz Galaxy [15.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days

its not totally carbed yet but the flavor is amazing

SIDE Note i took some left over Galaxy Hops put them in a Tea Leaf Sifter and put it into a Rolling Rock beer to Dry hop it for 10 min and boy did it add some great flavor and totally im prove the beer
 
I'm brewing this now, with a few changes (I didn't have any Vienna malt so used MO for it instead). I'm using a pretty high sulfate water for this, similar to Mosher's pale ale water profile.

I'm using Northwest ale yeast, Wyeast #1332. I'll try to remember to update this with results in two weeks or so. I'll decide then whether to dryhop it!
 
I want to use more New Zealand hops in my beers. Unfortunately, I don't know if I'll be able to get any more of my favorite Riwaka. I may have a hard time getting some Super Alpha too; real nice bittering hop! I'm working on plans for a couple other combinations.

Good luck with your brew day, Yoop!
 
hope2perc said:
I want to use more New Zealand hops in my beers. Unfortunately, I don't know if I'll be able to get any more of my favorite Riwaka. I may have a hard time getting some Super Alpha too; real nice bittering hop! I'm working on plans for a couple other combinations.

Good luck with your brew day, Yoop!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'm a NZ hop (and Australian hop) noob for sure. I've been sort of stuck in a rut, and using all my favorite US hops for ages so it feels weird to sort of branch out. I'm definitely taking baby steps.

Tiber_Brew was visiting last weekend (fellow Yooper, in the Keweenaw) and tried my English IPA. He pronounced it "Very fugly". He's not a fuggles fan, but said it was a good EIPA. That's the first time in ages that I even used fuggles and EKG, so maybe I'm growing up a bit. :D

I'm sparging now. The wort is beautiful, and the smell is intoxicating. Oh, and maybe the beer is too.
 
Enjoy sniffing the airlock for the next week or so, and definitely dry hop to get some of that precious aroma back in that was driven out during off-gassing.
 
Yooper said:
That recipe looks good! I never use epsom salts in my water, nor baking soda, nor table salt. But I sometimes use gypsum or calcium chloride if I need it.
Click to expand...

Yooper said:
I'm brewing this now, with a few changes (I didn't have any Vienna malt so used MO for it instead). I'm using a pretty high sulfate water for this, similar to Mosher's pale ale water profile.
Click to expand...

There's a few "Mosher's pale ale" water profiles floating around on the web. The one I used (and I have no idea if this is the genuine "Mosher's pale ale" water profile):
Ca=111, SO4=337, Mg=18, Na=35, Cl=32, CO3=38

That recipe I referred to? If you take 5.25 gallons of RO water and add 9.5g of Gypsum, 1.0g of table salt, 3.6g of Epsom salt and 1.1g of baking soda, you get:
Ca=111.3, SO4=337.4, Mg=17.9, Na=34.9, Cl=31.4, CO3=39.8

It came out fantastic. All malt and hops with no mineral taste at all.
 
MikeInMKE said:
There's a few "Mosher's pale ale" water profiles floating around on the web. The one I used (and I have no idea if this is the genuine "Mosher's pale ale" water profile):
Ca=111, SO4=337, Mg=18, Na=35, Cl=32, CO3=38

That recipe I referred to? If you take 5.25 gallons of RO water and add 9.5g of Gypsum, 1.0g of table salt, 3.6g of Epsom salt and 1.1g of baking soda, you get:
Ca=111.3, SO4=337.4, Mg=17.9, Na=34.9, Cl=31.4, CO3=39.8

It came out fantastic. All malt and hops with no mineral taste at all.
Click to expand...

Ok, but why the baking soda? What's the mash pH? If you use baking soda, it can raise the mash pH. Most people have problems with a too-high mash pH (not too low) so it seems like you're adding stuff to raise the pH and stuff to lower the pH at the same time, and not considering the mash pH nor the flavor impact. That's a very small amount of baking soda, of course- a "why bother" amount actually, but I simply don't need it in my water and my mash pH is 5.35 without it in this recipe. I just took my mash ph about 1/2 hour ago. I don't need the table salt, as my chloride is fine without it (31). I think the sodium level (34.9) is higher there than my taste would like although some people do like a higher sodium level.

Malt has plenty of magnesium, but some people like to add it to sharpen the hops bitterness. That amount is fine, but in larger amounts it's "sour" tasting, and in even larger amounts it has a laxative effect. I'd rather use CaS04 to raise the sulfate, and the calcium, and not the magnesium.

In any case, I think water preferences are a matter of taste, just as hop flavor is so I don't think either is "bad" but I don't add unnecessary salts and I make sure my mash pH is optimal, and that's about it.
 

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