Have fresh Cascade hops, but don't like IPA

[okiedog]

I just left my LHBS with a 1 lb. bag of fresh Cascade hops (I couldn't help myself). Actually they flushed them with nitro and froze them, so technically they are not fresh. Anyway, they are about as fresh as any Cascade hops i'll probably get. Though I don't like highly bitter beers like many American IPA's, I don't mind a lot of hop flavor and aroma.

Any ideas for me?

 

[KurtisCummings]

A hoppy blonde or a hoppy wheat? Only add a small 60 min addition, or do a FWH addition with no 60 min addition, then maybe add a flame out addition or dry hop - keep your IBU's low and just have fun with it.

 

[kh54s10]

Late additions will give a lot less bitterness. For aroma use some as a dry hop.

Do you use a recipe calculator and design your own recipes? If so just keep the bitterness scale to the low end. If not and you are adding to a kit, again late additions. I would say 5 minutes or less depending on the recipe. Or a dry hop.

 

[Moose_MI]

I think the bitterness is simply a factor of the amount that goes in at 60.....half oz at 60 and then 15.5oz at 5min .... Or something like that. . I'm kidding I'm kidding....don't do that

 

[CA_Mouse]

Unless they are very high in Alpha Acids, I would think the following would be good. If they are high AA (<9) then adjust the bittering hops down by 25%.

You can try an hoppy Pale Ale.
For a 5 gallon batch do a 1oz bittering addition and a 3oz flameout/whirlpool addition. For a 10 gallon batch change it to 1.5oz bittering and 5oz flameout/whirlpool. Then depending on how it smells and tastes, probably do another 3/5oz for dry hop. Use an English yeast to leave a little bit of the malt sweetness.

Or an American Orange Wheat.
For a 5 gallon batch do a 0.5oz bittering addition and 2oz at flameout/whirlpool. You can use sweet orange peel or (my favorite) fresh thin skinned navel oranges cut up and crushed (I cut them into 8 pieces and put them in a large nylon sack, crush them with a potato masher and dump juice and all into the boil with 5 minutes left).

 

[BugAC]

You can still make a very hop forward but low bitterness pale ale or IPA. Add a small bittering amount, about 40 IBU's then add a large whirlpool addition and a large dry hop addition. I'm assuming leaf hops? I use pellet but I typically do 4-5 oz whirlpool addition and a 4-6 oz dry hop for IPA's and a 3 oz whirlpool to 3/4 oz dry hop addition. Of course this is for citrus forward hops, so should work well with cascade.

And for your whirlpool additions, add them at 170 to reduce AA pick up and focus more on oil extraction.

 

[buzd]

I'm currently drinking a hoppy (citra) lager by one of our local microbreweries, and it's fabulous.

 

[okiedog]

Late additions will give a lot less bitterness. For aroma use some as a dry hop.

Do you use a recipe calculator and design your own recipes? If so just keep the bitterness scale to the low end. If not and you are adding to a kit, again late additions. I would say 5 minutes or less depending on the recipe. Or a dry hop.

I use BeerSmith and make my own recipes. I know I should get aroma from 5 min. or less, but how much flavor contribution will I get with 5 min. addition?

 

[okiedog]

You can still make a very hop forward but low bitterness pale ale or IPA. Add a small bittering amount, about 40 IBU's then add a large whirlpool addition and a large dry hop addition. I'm assuming leaf hops? I use pellet but I typically do 4-5 oz whirlpool addition and a 4-6 oz dry hop for IPA's and a 3 oz whirlpool to 3/4 oz dry hop addition. Of course this is for citrus forward hops, so should work well with cascade.

And for your whirlpool additions, add them at 170 to reduce AA pick up and focus more on oil extraction.

I think the AA should be reasonably low. Fresh hops will have about half (or less) the % AA as dry hops, anyway. The advantage, of course, is the fresh flavor and aroma.

 

[madscientist451]

I'd be happy to trade you home grown Brewers Gold hops 1 year old that would be great for Belgian, sours or lighty hopped ales. I'll trade 10 oz Brewers Gold for 4 oz of your Cascade.

 

[okiedog]

I'm currently drinking a hoppy (citra) lager by one of our local microbreweries, and it's fabulous.

Citradellic, maybe? I like it! It's quite hoppy, but not too bitter.

 

[okiedog]

I'd be happy to trade you home grown Brewers Gold hops 1 year old that would be great for Belgian, sours or lighty hopped ales. I'll trade 10 oz Brewers Gold for 4 oz of your Cascade.

I'm not sure my Cascade would be so good when they arrived. They are still fresh, not dried, and preserved by freezing in nitro flushed bag. Sounds interesting, though. I'll have to give that some thought.

 

[okiedog]

Here's what I'm thinking: British Golden Ale, which I have been wanting to brew. It is a hop forward beer style that often uses American hops instead of the English varieties. I would like to add a small amount of Citra as FW hops, then use the fresh cascade for flavor and aroma, plus perhaps dry hops (if I can preserve them until then).

 

[buzd]

Citradellic, maybe? I like it! It's quite hoppy, but not too bitter.

This one, actually:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/45129/225022/

25 IBU

 

[Jwin]

Remember, fresh hops are less hops because of water weight. I would throw the whole pound in at flameout/5-10min split. It's probably equal to 6-7oz of pellets. Would have refrigerated them instead of freezing too. May be mushy. Your freezers defrost cycle will make it worse over time. My .02

 

[okiedog]

This one, actually:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/45129/225022/

25 IBU

I haven't tried that one, but I do like Vienna Lager.

 

[okiedog]

Remember, fresh hops are less hops because of water weight. I would throw the whole pound in at flameout/5-10min split. It's probably equal to 6-7oz of pellets. Would have refrigerated them instead of freezing too. May be mushy. Your freezers defrost cycle will make it worse over time. My .02

I was wondering about the effects of freezing fresh hops. I won't keep them long though. They're all going in my next brew.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

use this recipe but just use all cascade, it wont be bitter at all

http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/28546/sierra-nevada-pale-ale-clone

change the 60 minute to 1 ounce

 

[okiedog]

Thanks, Ozarks. I'll consider it.

 

[okiedog]

Well now I'm being encouraged by family (at least one member) to brew an IPA. I've been too busy to brew this week end, so it will probably happen sometime mid-week. I'm looking at different IPAs, and tinkering with recipes. I'm trying to fit all the hops in, starting with 2 oz. in the mash, and ending with dry hopping. I'm aiming for lots of flavor and aroma, without overwhelming (to me) bitterness.

 

[arnobg]

While it isn't an IPA I recommend Yooper's Pale Ale. It uses all Cascade and is delicious.

 

[okiedog]

While it isn't an IPA I recommend Yooper's Pale Ale. It uses all Cascade and is delicious.

Yooper's Pale looks great, but that would still leave me with a lot of wet hops. If I could brew 10 gallon batches, maybe, but I'm still limited to 5. Thanks for the recommendation, though. I'll have to try brewing that some time.

 

[arnobg]

Yooper's Pale looks great, but that would still leave me with a lot of wet hops. If I could brew 10 gallon batches, maybe, but I'm still limited to 5. Thanks for the recommendation, though. I'll have to try brewing that some time.

No problem. You could always ship some my way so I can make a Golden Promise/Cascade SMASH. Always wanted to do a wet hop beer myself.

Cheers

 

[okiedog]

Arnobg, I'm not sure how these hops would hold up in shipping. They are frozen and in a nitrogen flushed bag. I'd expect that they will degrade quickly after being opened and thawed. I'll save some for dry hopping by quickly sealing them back up with as little air as possible, and tossing them back in the freezer. Ideally, I'm told, wet hops should be used within a few hours of picking. A Golden Promise/Cascade SMASH sure sounds good though.

 

[okiedog]

After whining about not liking IPAs, I did brew an IPA anyway, with encouragement from mi esposa's nephew, who is a real craft beer fan. For my very 1st IPA, I really wanted to keep the bitterness moderate, around 50 IBU. Having said that, I wanted to maximize flavor and aroma. So...armed with a full pound of fresh wet (frozen) Cascade hops, I mash hopped, first wort hopped, had 5 late hop additions to the boil, and 2 dry hop additions. After 1 week on an ounce of fresh Cascade hops, I siphoned the beer off the yeast onto 2 ounces of fresh Cascade in the secondary. Wow! Let me tell you... the aroma was unbelievable! :rockin:

 

[Jwin]

A hop head is born. Hope you love it. I know a lot of love went into it

 

[okiedog]

Jwin, you're right. A lot of love did go into it, and so far, judging by the aroma from the primary, it's ready to give that love back. I mostly like balanced beers, where hops and malt share the spotlight. But my taste for hops has evolved to where I can enjoy a good hoppy beer, like Citradelic. I still don't like extreme bitterness though. When it's ready, I'll let you know how this one tastes.

 

[Jwin]

How did the fresh hops hold up being frozen?

 

[okiedog]

How did the fresh hops hold up being frozen?

They held up great, if the aroma from the primary is any indication! The hops were barely a week old when I bought the frozen 1 lb. nitrogen flushed bag from my LHBS. They went straight into the freezer as soon as I got home. I used 13 oz. on brew day. The remaining 3 oz., I rolled up very tightly in a ziplock bag and threw them back in the freezer. Not even thinking about it at the time, the tightly rolled frozen hops fit right into my glass carboy like a fat cigar.

 

[okiedog]

I just wanted to update this post and tell everyone how great my IPA turned out with a whole pound of wet Cascade hops! Though, as I originally stated, I don't like most IPAs, this one was very drinkable. Most of the hops was added late in the boil, except for some FW mash hopping, plus 1 ounce in primary and 2 ounces in secondary. Although it not quite as fresh now, it is still very aromatic and full of citrusy grapefruit flavor typical of Cascade hops.
Thanks for all the encouragement and ideas!