Sorachi Ace / cat piss

[robtotten]

I had a Sorachi Ace brew (Brooklyn's single hop 750 series) earlier this year, and wasn't terribly impressed. It tasted earthy (in a bad way, like dirt), although I remained open minded enough to try in a brew. And I tasted the lemon note, which I liked a lot. So I figured maybe the beer I had was old, or transport messed it up.

Anyway, I brewed an American wheat with Sorachi Ace a month ago. Kegged it last week, took a drink that weekend, and just now tried a fully carbed pint. It really does smell like cat pee. I didn't understand the cat piss references to hops until tonight, but this beer smells like cat piss. It isn't overpowering like a house in the ghetto where thirty cats live, but it's a distinctive and bad odor (I stress odor here, rather than aroma). But it doesn't taste like cat piss. It actually tastes ok, it's a quaffable low gravity brew. The aroma doesn't seem to spill over to the flavor. The lemon comes through in the flavor, so does a little earthiness (which I find undesirable in this case, but it's not terrible or overpowering). I probably won't brew with SA again, although I think you could make a good American Wheat with it if you dry hop the ever loving **** out of it with something like Amarillo.

Live and learn!

 

[robtotten]

Here's the recipe, which I won't be brewing again

Type: All Grain
Date: 7/18/2010
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Brewer: Rob
Boil Size: 6.64 gal Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 40 min Equipment: Rob's Brew Pot - 10 gallon
Taste Rating(out of 50): 50.0 Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00


Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
5 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 50.00 %
5 lbs 8.0 oz White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 50.00 %
1.00 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (30 min) Hops 9.9 IBU
0.50 oz Sorachi Ace [10.70 %] (20 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 10.4 IBU
0.50 oz Sorachi Ace [10.70 %] (2 min) Hops 1.5 IBU
1 Pkgs US-05 (Safale #US-05) Yeast-Ale

Est Original Gravity: 1.055 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.010 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.016 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.07 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 0.65 %
Bitterness: 21.7 IBU Calories: 43 cal/pint
Est Color: 4.1 SRM Color: Color

 

[robtotten]

And mashed at 152 for an hour.

 

[SurlyBastard]

Everyone loves the smell of cat piss!

 

[niquejim]

That's what I get with Simcoe, only the cat pissed on a pine tree

 

[AnonyBrew]

I've heard other brewers have the same experience with Sorachi Ace, and some with Simcoe. I think everyone has different personal perceptions of flavors and there's never going to be a taste or flavor or aroma that everyone likes.

For example, I think Cilantro tastes like soap and can't stand anything that has cilantro in it.

 

[DeadHead_Brewering]

I brewed a weiss almost exactly like yours...the weiss from BCS.
I used this hop schedule instead:
14.17 gm Galena [11.00 %] (50 min) Hops 18.5 IBU
8.50 gm Sorachi Ace [10.90 %] (30 min) Hops 8.9 IBU
28.35 gm Sorachi Ace [10.90 %] (0 min


I think it has a nice lemony aroma and flavor...no cat piss in mine!
I'd brew this again with a bit less galena, it has a bit too much bitterness.

But like has been said already; we each have our own impression.

 

[buzzkill]

I dry hopped my IPA today with Simcoe,Cascade,Amarillo. as I was pulling the bung out of the sanky I got this whiff of cat piss. I started looking around like some stray must have pissed in the garage. Then I rememberd I had the Simcoe hops. funny how I love the hops,but damn if they dont smell like piss.

 

[stevedasleeve]

I love simcoe - it is my very favorite hops bar none, I hate sorachi ace. Centennial tastes great in combination but alone as a single hop addition tastes not so good to me. FWIW and WTF, we are all different, no?

Steve da sleeve

PS my favorite ipa combo is simcoe, centennial, and chinook in equal quantities every 5 mins from T-30 + a hefty aroma (0 mins) addition + dry hopping.

 

[mk78]

For example, I think Cilantro tastes like soap and can't stand anything that has cilantro in it.

Your soap reference reminded me of this article about the chemistry behind that particular aversion. Kinda off topic, but related to sensory perception in general and fairly interesting...at least to nerds like me.

 

[robtotten]

That's funny. I used to absolutely loathe cilantro to the point where I would gag if I was eating something with more than a hint of it. Over the years I've slowly come around.

I love Simcoe as well and don't pick up any cat pee from it. It goes really well with Amarillo. Mmmmm.

 

[commonlaw]

I recently had the brooklyn sorachi ace saison and definitely found it a bit funky (and i like funky beers). I have a couple ounces of sorachi ace in the freezer. I like the lemony-ness, but would like to avoid the funky cat piss. Wonder if it was a combo of yeast and hops, or hops on their own? I wonder where the sorachi would best be added in a brew to hit the lemony notes without the wacko cat pee?

 

[SurlyBastard]

I would have to agree that it is entirely perception, or at least the majority of it is. I happen to love Simcoe. I use it in a lot of my beers (Amarillo, Nugget and Simcoe are always in my supply). It all comes back to personal taste. I happen to hate the smell of fish/seafood cooking in any manner. I do love to eat Crabs, but I can't stand the smell of them cooking. That doesn't mean that the person next to me can't stand it. My dad loves to cook his chowder, cause of the way it makes the house smell. Personally, I would rather brew beer, I like the smell of that better

 

[Kralizec]

my friends think that sorachi ace tastes like coconut rum mixed in with the beer. this was with a IIPA, so there was a lot of hops

 

[fineexampl]

I just added 4oz to a Black IPA last night and still have 2 more ounces for dry hopping. It had better not be cat piss! The leaf smelled just great. Now Centennial...there's a hop i can't stand!

 

[the_bird]

I just added 4oz to a Black IPA last night and still have 2 more ounces for dry hopping. It had better not be cat piss! The leaf smelled just great. Now Centennial...there's a hop i can't stand!

Blasphemy!

 

[fineexampl]

Blasphemy!

I know, i know! I should clarify, i hate the smell of centennial pre-brewing. The raw hops smell rancid to me every time. In finished beer, i like them.

 

[rhoadsrage]

I think S.A. hops smell and taste just like Palmolive dish soap, and I wish it had more cat pee qualities. Then I could drink it.