Ok, so I have a bit of an embarrasing admission. When going to the local home-brew store for the first time, I had the mission of finding a way to alter my kit into a "hoppy beer", but may have gotten a little carried away. I had been reading on this board about "hop bursting" and really like the idea of big hop flavor with less bitterness (similar to bells hopslam). Well... at the homebrew store I ended up buying five ounces of different hops soley based on thier descriptions thinking "oh that sounds good" but now that I have all seven ounces sitting in front of me, I am wondering if I have just created a muddled mess.
The recipe is a "copper ale" kit from midwest with:
6 lbs LME
1 lb light DME
steeping grains:
8oz munich
6oz crystal 80l
2oz roasted barley
I am thinking I want to add 1 extra pound of extra light DME and 1lb honey to create a larger beer (calculated to be 1.068 OG)
So far so good? (correct me if i'm off here, im still pretty new to this)
But here's where things get tricky... hops
They gave me 2oz of hops with the kit
1oz chinook, which I had read was a harsh bitterness
1oz willamette, which sounded nice
then i got...
1oz warrior (lower cohumolones than chinook for smoother bittering?)
1oz glacier
1oz german hersbrucker
1oz ahtanum
1oz hallertau
When entering the store I was really hoping to get citra, simcoe, and amarillo, only to find that all three were gone.
So... my question is, is there any way I can make a comprehensible beer with these hops? And more, is there any way that a hoppy (hop bursted) but not bitter beer would taste good with these hops?
Thank you so much for your help! Until then, I'll be busy relaxing, not worrying, and having a homebrew... oh this is so long overdue (i'm a medical student and just finished an exam, so i'be got a one day break... woohoo!)
The recipe is a "copper ale" kit from midwest with:
6 lbs LME
1 lb light DME
steeping grains:
8oz munich
6oz crystal 80l
2oz roasted barley
I am thinking I want to add 1 extra pound of extra light DME and 1lb honey to create a larger beer (calculated to be 1.068 OG)
So far so good? (correct me if i'm off here, im still pretty new to this)
But here's where things get tricky... hops
They gave me 2oz of hops with the kit
1oz chinook, which I had read was a harsh bitterness
1oz willamette, which sounded nice
then i got...
1oz warrior (lower cohumolones than chinook for smoother bittering?)
1oz glacier
1oz german hersbrucker
1oz ahtanum
1oz hallertau
When entering the store I was really hoping to get citra, simcoe, and amarillo, only to find that all three were gone.
So... my question is, is there any way I can make a comprehensible beer with these hops? And more, is there any way that a hoppy (hop bursted) but not bitter beer would taste good with these hops?
Thank you so much for your help! Until then, I'll be busy relaxing, not worrying, and having a homebrew... oh this is so long overdue (i'm a medical student and just finished an exam, so i'be got a one day break... woohoo!)
