Cascade/chinook wet hop ale

[mgregg]

My first try at a wet hop ale. I harvested my chinook and cascades today and I'll be brewing in the morning. Here's my plan:

11 lbs 2-row
1lb caramel 40
mash at 152 for 60 min
batch sparge

1 oz cascade pellets 60min
4 oz chinook 20 min
5 oz cascade 10 min
5 oz cascade flameout

1 pckt s-05

How's this look? Any suggestions or should I go with it?
Thanks,
Mike

 

[gmurns]

Hey Mike,

I am also making my first stage at brewing with freshly harvested hops and wanted to see how your batch has turned out/is going so far. We have a similar hop bill: 8 oz of Cascade, 7 oz of Chinook plus 1.7 oz of Magnum. We were hoping to do this all with fresh hops but notice you have Cascade pellets for the full boil. Any input/thoughts/suggestions Gratefully appreciated!
Best,
George
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When you get confused, listen to the music play!

 

[jerbrew]

Hey Mike,

I am also making my first stage at brewing with freshly harvested hops and wanted to see how your batch has turned out/is going so far. We have a similar hop bill: 8 oz of Cascade, 7 oz of Chinook plus 1.7 oz of Magnum. We were hoping to do this all with fresh hops but notice you have Cascade pellets for the full boil. Any input/thoughts/suggestions Gratefully appreciated!
Best,
George
_______________
When you get confused, listen to the music play!

I've never brewed with fresh hops but I can relay this info to you nonetheless. You want to use something commercial for your bittering charge since you don't know the AA of your homegrown hops and it takes a lot more in weight to get the same effect if you did (it may take 4-5 oz of the hops you just harvested do do the same as a commercial ounce). That way you can actually shoot for a decent range for your recipe. Additionally, these are hops as fresh as they get so you want to save them and use them for what they're going to be best at which is flavor and aroma.

 

[jjeffers09]

I personally like saison for a wet hopped ale, and would go with an American saison yeast. for me, personally.

 

[mgregg]

My batch is still in primary. It will need a secondary to clear. Lots of sediment even though I used hop bags. With the 1 oz of pellets and 14-15 oz of wet hops I used the wort tasted more like a mild pale ale then an IPA. Once I transfer to secondary next week, I'll dry hop for a few days with another 5 oz wet cascade to try and add a little more aroma.

 

[gmurns]

Thanks, Mike and thanks jerbrew. We brewed last night using a similar malt profile and about 15 oz of fresh hops at the 10 minute mark, plus 1 oz Chinook pellets for the full 60 minute boil. The fresh hops were 8 oz of Cascade, 6 oz of Chinook, and 2 oz of Magnum, all from first year plants, and we used Safale s-05 with a starter. Based on some other input, we scooped out the hop cones before racking to the primary to lessen the tendency towards grassiness. Sounds like you were doing the same with the hop bags. So far, so good, the wort flavor was promising and there weren't any untoward flavors or aromas. She's fermenting away in the cellar. If there are more fresh hops at the right time in the cycle, we might consider another hopping, too-we'll see. Thanks for blazing the path!
George

_______________
When you get confused, listen to the music play!

 

[BrewerE]

With the 1 oz of pellets and 14-15 oz of wet hops I used the wort tasted more like a mild pale ale then an IPA.

That's because you'd need to use about double the wet hops you did...
Generally speaking you use 5oz of wet to equal a similar addition to an ounce of pellets.

I did a similar wet hop IPA to this and used almost 2lbs of wet hops.

Also, you could crash and gelatin in the primary to help clear it up quicker and with less effort than a secondary.

 

[mgregg]

This beer definitely wasn't an IPA, but it turned out to be a fantastic pale ale. One of the better beers I've made.

 

[gmurns]

Ours is also a pale ale, tasting very nicely. We did a second wet hopping with another 4oz of Cascade, the last to ripen. It's not hugely hoppy given the amount of hops we were able to use (~19 oz fresh wet hops and 1 oz of pellets for the bittering) but it has a nice flavor. Next year hopefully (hopfully?) we will get a larger bounty from the 2nd year plants. Obviously there is much more to control (and to learn how to control) in growing and using one's own hops, but it's just a real kick to combine the product of your own soil with the product of your own hand. Perfect for the season-happy Thanksgiving, all!