Bought the wrong hops! Help me fix this

[Draken]

As the title says I bought the wrong hops while at the store. I have neither the time or patience to drive back to the LHBS as its over an hour away. So based on what I have on hand and this recipe, what should I use?

10.00 lbs 64.52 % Briess 2-Row Pale Ale Malt 60 mins 1.037
0.25 lbs 1.61 % Caramunich Malt 60 mins 1.033
0.25 lbs 1.61 % Special B Malt 60 mins 1.030
5.00 lbs 32.26 % NB Gold Malt Syrup

White labs 550 Belgian Ale

Hops on hand:
1.25 German tradition
1.1 german hersbrucker
.25 Perle
.25 saaz
1.0 Mt Hood

Obviously drifting off style, but aiming for something close to a strong belgian. So any guesses on the hops I should use and schedule?

 

[sweetcell]

mt. hood is very close to hallertauer, so i'd use those for your 60 min addition. really, you could just go with them and the fermentables you have and have a decent belgian. lots of belgians only have bittering hops. you could also throw in some flavor and aroma hops if that's your thing, luckily everything you have on hand is in the ballpark.

quick calc shows that 10# of 2-row + 5# LME, plus the specialty grains, get you close to 1.100 on a 5 gallon batch. is that your intention? if so, be sure to make a big starter. you might also want to give the mt. hoods a little backup, since that's a big beer for 1 oz to take on on its own...

 

[Draken]

Odd I'm showing a starting OG of 1.082

 

[Yooper]

Odd I'm showing a starting OG of 1.082

With that grainbill, I'd get more like 1.089 or so. Isn't that what you're going for with that grain bill?

What was the original recipe (hops)? We really can't make a good sub without knowing the original IBUs and the hopping schedule.

 

[Draken]

With that grainbill, I'd get more like 1.089 or so. Isn't that what you're going for with that grain bill?

What was the original recipe (hops)? We really can't make a good sub without knowing the original IBUs and the hopping schedule.

So I am aiming for a Belgian Strong Dark. IBU between 20-35. I am more concerned about the finishing additions and not using hops with clashing profiles, or is this a case of only use buttering hops?

 

[Yooper]

So I am aiming for a Belgian Strong Dark. IBU between 20-35. I am more concerned about the finishing additions and not using hops with clashing profiles, or is this a case of only use buttering hops?

I'd use just bittering hops, but you could use one flavor addition if you really wanted to. According to the style guidelines, hops flavor and aroma is usually not present but it's "acceptable" if you want to use some light noble hops for flavor.

 

[ChillWill]

Saaz would go well with the wlp550, but as yooper says, that style isn't hop heavy so don't go overboard.

You could pretty much use any of them for bittering if you have enough I'd go for Perle

 

[Draken]

Saaz would go well with the wlp550, but as yooper says, that style isn't hop heavy so don't go overboard.

You could pretty much use any of them for bittering if you have enough I'd go for Perle

Would Saaz go well in combo with the hersbrucker for flavoring/aroma? Use the perle to get the IBU's and then small additions of Saaz and Hersbrucker at 30 and 10? Or should I just go with hersbrucker. I have such a small amount of Saaz left.

 

[oakbarn]

Bittering hops do not matter in general. Just get the oz and AAU to match the original recipe. We have used a mixture of small amounts of left over hops from a previous brew to bitter. The aroma and flavor hops should be near the same AAU and the same or near region if you have them. Call your local LHBS and they should tell you what substitues (they do this all the time when they are out of a Hop)

 

[Draken]

OK so. Switched up the mix a bit, but I came up with two option/choices for hops:


Grains & Adjuncts
Amount Percentage Name Time Gravity
10.00 lbs 68.97 % Briess 2-Row Pale Ale Malt
4.00 ozs 1.72 % Caramunich Malt
4.00 ozs 1.72 % Special B Malt
3.50 lbs 24.14 % NB Gold Malt Syrup
0.50 lbs 3.45 % Candi Sugar, Dark

Hops
Amount Name Time AA %
1.00 ozs Tradition 60 mins
0.30 ozs Pearle 60 mins
0.50 ozs Hallertauer Hersbrucker 10 mins
0.50 ozs Hallertauer Hersbrucker 30 mins

Or these hops:

Amount Name Time AA %
1.00 ozs Tradition 60 mins
0.30 ozs Pearle 60 mins
0.40 ozs Hallertauer Hersbrucker 30 mins
0.12 ozs Saaz 30 mins
0.40 ozs Hallertauer Hersbrucker 10 mins
0.12 ozs Saaz 10 mins

 

[sweetcell]

i like option #2, but both seem like they'd work well.

 

[Draken]

i like option #2, but both seem like they'd work well.

Yeah option 1 is borrowed from an NB kit recipe for the style, 2 was just being a bit more adventurous without increasing the total amount of hops.

 

[TomBrooz]

So I am aiming for a Belgian Strong Dark. IBU between 20-35. I am more concerned about the finishing additions and not using hops with clashing profiles, or is this a case of only use buttering hops?

mmmm....

Buttering hops...

 

[Draken]

Brewed it Sunday with the option 2 hops. We'll see how it goes.