In revisiting my ipa after a month or so in the bottle, I'm getting more of the light fruit described earlier. Very mild apple coming through now.
dlutter said:I was given 2 pounds of Calypso from a client who works in a hops warehouse in WA. I have made an all Calypso APA and a Willamette & Calypso IPA. These were my first attempts at doing my own thing recipe wise. I used two recipes from "The Joy of Homebrewing" as a guide. I agree with the later posters in this thread. Lots of bitterness, maybe some grassiness but no fruit.
Calypso Pale Ale
5 lb amber LME
60 min boil
1.5 oz Calypso at 60 min
0.5 oz Calypso final minute
1056 American Ale Wyeast
This was very bitter and not much else
Calamity IPA
1lb 10L munich malt & 1 lb 30L crystal malt steeped at 160 for 30 min
60 min Boil 5.5 lb amber LME, 1 oz Willamette whole hops, 1 oz Calypso pellets
0.75 oz Calypso during final minute
1028 London Ale Wyeast
This one is still quite bitter with a small amount of maltiness. Still no fruitiness.
After I drink these up I think I will try Calypso with Cascade or Centenial in a partial mash IPA.
Definitely a very good bittering hop, but not much character in the areas of flavor and aroma. As was mentioned above though, my additions were concentrating mostly on bittering and aroma... Maybe I would have gotten more flavor from bigger additions at 20/10 mins???
Still a good Smash, and I like the hop... Just may be more of a bittering hop.
"And what an aroma it has! Another informal brewery poll—conducted with a pint glass full of fresh hop pellets—netted these descriptors: lemons, tart apples, cherry blossoms, black pepper, bitter orange, mint, pear. The aroma is at once distinctly American, insofar as it is remarkably unsubtle and sappy, while also being very fruity, a combination unlike any other hops I’ve smelled. It was almost universally well liked by those polled. A 15-gallon single hop IPA is Calypso’s next stop."
I'm finding it incredibly bizarre that we're only getting two major opinions on this hop: "clean but boring" or "fruity and awesome!". Then again, I suppose hop tastes are always a bit subjective.