Experimental Hops - What do you do?

[Jordan Logo]

Hello Everyone!

While I was pigging out on Yakima Valley’s $7 a pound sale I couldn’t help browsing all the different hops they have.

Anyways, many questions:
How do you guys experiment with new hops? Where do you find recipes that incorporate these weird hops?
What’s a good base SMASH recipe, and do you have to change your SMASH grains depending on what style you do (say for an IPA or Blonde Ale, etc)?

Thanks everyone!

Brew On!

 

[Maverick986]

I've been testing out different hops by doing 1 gallon batches with DME. I've been playing with how I do hop additions, but found 0.75oz whirlpool for 30min @ 160°, and 0.25oz dry hop for 5 days seems to work well. I may change this up for the next time I do it, but just with wjem/how I do hop additions.

Recipe I use:
1gal bottled water
1.25lb light DME (I've been using golden, may look at Pilsen for future)
0.75oz hop - whirlpool 30min at 160°
0.25oz dry hop 5 days
OYL-004 Omega West Coast Ale I

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I have been doing something similar with small hop samplers inspired by Basic Brewing (they have a YouTube channel and a podcast). Their process is

• Mix 1 lb DME with 3/4 gal water (I think they use Pilsner DME, I have been using Pale DME).
• Bring to a boil and add ~1 oz hops (they use less hops for high AA hops, I have just been using 1 oz)
• Let steep for 20 minutes, chill, ferment, bottle, drink. I have been repitching 4oz of WLP001 slurry into the batches, but a partial pack of dry yeast works.

I felt like I was not getting enough hop aroma in the beers, so my last few I changed to the following. I did feel like the one I did that way had a better balance of hop flavors and aroma...but it was Mosaic and anything tastes good if you throw Mosaic at it.

• Add 1/3 oz, boil for 10 min
• Add 1/3 oz at flameout, and start chill (no hop stand)
• Add 1/3 oz dry hops (I just added them into the fermenter with the wort to make it easy)

I would like to brew more single hop pale ale batches, but I just felt like it would take several years to even make a dent in the new hops (plus I realized that there are a ton of hops that I have used mixed in with other hops that I want to understand better). The samplers make 6 or 7 bottles of a reasonably enjoyable pale ale beer and they are so easy I can knock 2 to 4 out each month.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Hello Everyone!
Anyways, many questions:
How do you guys experiment with new hops? Where do you find recipes that incorporate these weird hops?
What’s a good base SMASH recipe, and do you have to change your SMASH grains depending on what style you do (say for an IPA or Blonde Ale, etc)?

I've used numerous techniques over the last couple of years.

Single hop beers (SNPA's clone recipe, Bell's Two Hearted, Toppling Goliath PsuedoSue, Bell's Porter clone recipe) are another way to learn about hops without brewing. Descriptions of new / experimental hops often come with aroma/flavor charts and style suggestions, so knowing the classic hops helps.

As an alternative to SMaSH, there are bloggers / authors who write about using two base malts in a 80% / 20% ratio (80% brewers malt, 20% munich or vienna) when brewing single hop beers (Munich and Vienna DME do exist so this recipe 'scales down' easily to a "Hop Sampler" approach).

If I had a number of new to me aroma / flavor hops that were recommended for dry hopping, I would likely brew a "basic pale ale" (80% brewers malt, 20% munich, 40 IBUs using Magnum/Warrior, 30 minute boil), then split the batch for dry hopping. After dry hopping was complete, I'd sample before bottling, maybe blend some combinations.

Also, with aroma / flavor hops, a "hop steep only" variation on "Hop Sampler" (steep the hops in wort at 160* F or 180* F for around 20 minutes) provides me with a good sample.

Their [BBR's] process is

• Mix 1 lb DME with 3/4 gal water (I think they use Pilsner DME, I have been using Pale DME).
• Bring to a boil and add ~1 oz hops (they use less hops for high AA hops, I have just been using 1 oz)
• Let steep for 20 minutes, chill, ferment, bottle, drink. I have been repitching 4oz of WLP001 slurry into the batches, but a partial pack of dry yeast works.

As best I can tell, their hop steep ends around 155 for a 30 minute steep (3-7-19 episode between 33:30 & 34:30). And, if pellet hops "get to work quicker" than classic models of IBUs suggest (see Master Brewers podcast #123 & BBR podcast 11-1-18), then different end temperatures for the cool down could have a noticeable impact on the outcome.