Tropical/Fruity Pale Ale Hop Combos

[Rob2010SS]

Looking at doing a pale ale coming up. While the stats of the beer will fall in line with an American Pale Ale, we're shooting more for a tropical/juicy pale. I'm curious on thoughts for these combos. Some of these I've never used and I haven't decided on quantities yet, but aiming to keep IBU's right around 40-50.

1. Nugget for bittering, Citra, Galaxy, Mosaic (Cheater hops, I know)

2. Warrior or Nugget for bittering, Galaxy, Wai-iti, Rakau

3. Warrior or Nugget for bittering, Citra, Wai-iti, Rakau

4. Warrior for bittering, Cashmere, Amarillo, Citra, Simcoe

5. Nugget for bittering, Centennial, Amarillo, Citra, Simcoe

Open to other suggestions as well.

The grist is the following

84% Pale 2 Row (29.30#)
10% Munich 10L (3.69#)
3% Biscuit (1.08#)
3% Caramel 20 (1.11#)

WY1272 Yeast

 

[day_trippr]

1 is a total lay-up, definitely can't go wrong with that one
I've never used Wai-iti or Rakau or Cashmere so I'll leave those combos for others to comment.
5 would be my second choice from the list...

Cheers!

 

[GBRbrew]

Centennial for bittering and azacca and galaxy is what I use in my pale ale

 

[ArizonaGoalie]

I like options 4 and 5 a lot, with 5 my favorite. Mosaic isn't my favorite, it's so widely used and overpowering. Love me some nugget/amarillo combos.

 

[Dgallo]

Every combo you listed will pretty much hit the targeted profile you are looking for.

Do you always use 16% of crystal/specialty grains in your pales?

 

[FromZwolle]

#2 is right up my alley, but nugget for bittering... what a waste of a delicious hop.

 

[mashpaddled]

These beers are not my preference to brew or drink but I think you will get better feedback defining what you want the beer to taste like.

Rakau is kind of a weird hop. It's apricot and pine but has almost an artificial flavor. You don't see it in a lot of beers for good reason IMO. I do know people who really like it though.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Do you always use 16% of crystal/specialty grains in your pales?

Munich's not really a specialty grain - it's a malty base malt. That grain bill is very similar to what I use for my standard 'old school' pale (along the lines of sierra nevada). It's also the same yeast!

 

[Dgallo]

I took Munich 10l as a cara Munich malt. Was a long day

 

[couchsending]

They will all accomplish what you’re trying to do. More Southern Hemisphere hops, more Southern Hemisphere character.. more US hops, more US hop character. The bittering hop doesn’t really matter

Open the bags and use the ones that smell the best in the dry hop.

I don’t think I’ve ever found good Amarillo and to me Cashmere has a distinct pencil shavings note to it. I don’t get that hop at all.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

These beers are not my preference to brew or drink but I think you will get better feedback defining what you want the beer to taste like.

Rakau is kind of a weird hop. It's apricot and pine but has almost an artificial flavor. You don't see it in a lot of beers for good reason IMO. I do know people who really like it though.

I didn't like Rakau at all. The descriptor I kept seeing was 'the whole orchard' and I definitely got fruit from it, but it wasn't the kind I found pleasant. More like a darker fruity flavor, but I'm terrible at picking out/describing flavors. I couldn't put my finger on it but then I went back and read the hop descriptions again and saw FIG mentioned, and that was it. Not my thing

 

[VirginiaHops1]

Cashmere I like, I get citrus with some lemon/lime going on but it seems pretty subtle to me. If you're using it with 3 other powerhouse hops like Citra, Simcoe and Amarillo I think it'll be drowned out completely.

 

[Jag75]

I didn't like Rakau at all. The descriptor I kept seeing was 'the whole orchard' and I definitely got fruit from it, but it wasn't the kind I found pleasant. More like a darker fruity flavor, but I'm terrible at picking out/describing flavors. I couldn't put my finger on it but then I went back and read the hop descriptions again and saw FIG mentioned, and that was it. Not my thing

I have a few ounces of Rauka. Never have tried them but was gonna mess around and experiment with a Rauka Pilsner . I thought it wasa slight citrus mango , stone fruit .

 

[VirginiaHops1]

I have a few ounces of Rauka. Never have tried them but was gonna mess around and experiment with a Rauka Pilsner . I thought it wasa slight citrus mango , stone fruit .

Try it out. Taste is subjective and everyone's palate is different but I can tell you that I got no citrus or mango and I used it several times, once in a single hop pale ale.

 

[Zemillard90]

#5 would be my pick here. Have done quite a bit with Amarillo and Citra with good results.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Thanks for the input here everyone. Sorry, was a long weekend so didn't get around to replying here. Some of these hops, I've never used - Rakau, Wai-iti, Cashmere. So I appreciate the insight into these, especially Rakau. Sounds like kind of a weird hop and last time I tried a weird hop (Lotus), wasn't really my thing.

 

[FromZwolle]

Thanks for the input here everyone. Sorry, was a long weekend so didn't get around to replying here. Some of these hops, I've never used - Rakau, Wai-iti, Cashmere. So I appreciate the insight into these, especially Rakau. Sounds like kind of a weird hop and last time I tried a weird hop (Lotus), wasn't really my thing.

i've done a fun experiment with unfamiliar hops, similar to this:

https://www.bertusbrewery.com/2013/03/dry-hopped-bud-light.html
i have no idea where i saw the original posting of the concept; it was a while ago. It doesn't give you a complete picture of how the hop performs in beer, since no boiling happens, but it's still a good way to get acquainted with a hop without the full investment of brewing.

i used labatte blue instead of any 'lite' beer, but same type of results.

 

[Rob2010SS]

i've done a fun experiment with unfamiliar hops, similar to this:

https://www.bertusbrewery.com/2013/03/dry-hopped-bud-light.html
i have no idea where i saw the original posting of the concept; it was a while ago. It doesn't give you a complete picture of how the hop performs in beer, since no boiling happens, but it's still a good way to get acquainted with a hop without the full investment of brewing.

i used labatte blue instead of any 'lite' beer, but same type of results.

Absolutely brilliant! While I'm sure others have done similar things, this is the first time I've heard of it. Will absolutely steal your idea!

 

[Rob2010SS]

Alright, so the wife voted for cheater hops. So, we're doing cheater hops - Citra, Mosaic, Galaxy. It's a new combo for us so I'm all for it.

One of the goals here is to have a pale ale that isn't in your face hoppy. While we want it to be flavorful, this is going to be served to some people that aren't big hoppy fans. We did a pale ale 3 years ago with Columbus, Centennial, and Cascade, 37 IBUs. That hopping rate for 6 gallons looked like this...

The wife loved it. So we're trying to use the same hopping rates for this pale ale. I did increase the hopping rate in the 15 and 5 min mark but not by much. So, our recipe for the cheater hops pale ale is as follows...

Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: American Pale Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 18 gallons (ending kettle volume)
Boil Size: 19 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.054
Efficiency: 78% (ending kettle)

Hop Utilization Multiplier: 0.97

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.057
Final Gravity: 1.015
ABV (standard): 5.5%
IBU (tinseth): 44.54
SRM (morey): 6.1
Mash pH: 5.44

FERMENTABLES:
29.3 lb - Pale 2-Row (82.2%)
3.69 lb - MUNICH MALT (10.3%)
1.08 lb - Biscuit (3%)
1.11 lb - Caramel / Crystal 20L (3.1%)
0.48 lb - Acidulated Malt (1.3%)

HOPS:
1.6 oz - Warrior, Type: Pellet, AA: 16, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 25.33
1.1 oz - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 11, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 5.94
1.1 oz - Mosaic, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.5, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 6.75
0.5 oz - Galaxy, Type: Pellet, AA: 14.25, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 3.5
0.5 oz - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 11, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 1.08
0.5 oz - Mosaic, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.5, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 1.23
0.25 oz - Galaxy, Type: Pellet, AA: 14.25, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 0.7
1.25 oz - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 11, Use: Aroma for 0 min
1.25 oz - Mosaic, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.5, Use: Aroma for 0 min
0.75 oz - Galaxy, Type: Pellet, AA: 14.25, Use: Aroma for 0 min
1.125 oz - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 11, Use: Dry Hop for 2 days
1.25 oz - Mosaic, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.5, Use: Dry Hop for 2 days
0.625 oz - Galaxy, Type: Pellet, AA: 14.25, Use: Dry Hop for 2 days

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 154 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 11.87 gal
Starting Mash Thickness: 1.35 qt/lb

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
2 g - Calcium Chloride (dihydrate), Time: 60 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
14 g - Gypsum, Time: 60 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
6 g - Magnesium Chloride, Time: 60 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash

YEAST:
Wyeast - American Ale II 1272
Starter: No
Form: Liquid
Attenuation (avg): 74%
Flocculation: High
Optimum Temp: 60 - 72 F
Fermentation Temp: 70 F
Pitch Rate: 0.35 (M cells / ml / deg P)

TARGET WATER PROFILE:
Ca2: 54
Mg2: 9
Na: 8
Cl: 49
SO4: 104
HCO3: 16


We'll see how it turns out!

 

[Apple_Jacker]

Looks good! I've made a Mosaic & Galaxy hopped pale ale a time or 2; they go great together.