Hop addition to a California Common

[bignews]

This is my first 5 gallon extract brew. I'm brewing a California common and primary is near done(within 2 points). I tasted the sample and i taste the malt but only get bitterness on the sides of the tongue. Almost no hops. Will this develop as i let it sit for another week? Original recipe was 3 oz northern brewer. 1 at start, 1 at 30 mins and 1 at 15mins. Should i dry hop? What do you think would be a complementary addition? I prefer more piney than floral.

 

[mongoose33]

I brew a California Common and also use 3 oz of Northern Brewer. However, my additions are .75 oz at 60 minutes, 1.25 oz at 10 minutes, and 1 ounce at Flameout.

One thing you might want to check as well is what kind of alpha acids you're getting. The amount has varied a lot recently by the lot year as well as by manufacturer. My most recent one used two different hop lots; the first additions were an ounce with AA of 9.6, but the last two ounces only had 4.9. So I let the first be a bittering hop and the last two more flavor and aroma.

To stay true to the style, you might try dry hopping an ounce of NB. And then when you do this recipe in the future, try the last hops at later editions. You're getting a fair amount of bittering out of additions at 30 and 15 minutes.

BTW, here's my recipe which came from CatDaddy66:

8# 2-Row
1.5# Munich
1# 60L

Wyeast 2112 or WL810 in a starter. Hop schedule as above, mash at 149 for 60 minutes.

 

[bignews]

Thanks for the reply and the info. It was a kit and all the AA were 6.9 i believe. I'll dry hop and see how it turns out.

 

[mongoose33]

But do it again and try the hop schedule above. Friend of mine was in Chicago recently, brought back a bottle of Anchor Steam against which we could compare my own California Common.

Hands down, we both felt mine was better. Wasn't even close.

 

[Kerrbrewer]

Wlp810 with palisdes and willamette. Youll taste that combination.