Mystery IPA

[Gropo]

I've got access to a brand new hop variety, that is yet un-named. It's grown here in Washington, so I'm guessing that it's probably close to the American "C" hops in flavor, aroma and alpha content. I'm going to churn out a 5 gallon batch using these new hops exclusively to get an idea of what they are all about. Any suggestions on how to schedule the hop additions for maximum critiquing? Here is what I had in mind: (pellet hops BTW)
2 oz @ 60 minutes
1.5 oz @ 15 minutes
1.5 oz @ 0 minutes
2 oz dry hop in primary
Thanks

 

[terrapinj]

do you know the AA%? i'd think it would be hard to get the right amount for bittering without knowing AA

 

[Gropo]

I don't....if I had to guess I would think in the 8% - 10% range.

 

[beergolf]

Without knowing the AA it just becomes all WAG or SWAG.......

 

[Gropo]

Without knowing the AA it just becomes all WAG or SWAG.......

Does that mean it could be good or bad??? sorry...not familiar with WAG & SWAG.

 

[Airborneguy]

I brewed one of my best beers with hops my friend picked while driving around upstate NY. He gave me a gallon sized ziplock of whole hops. The beer was ridiculous.

Whatever WAG and SWAG mean, disregard them either way and go make an awesome beer!

 

[kable]

Couldn't you use a known bittering hop and just use your hop for flavoring and aroma? In this case, just follow a schedule from one of your favorite C hopped recipes.

 

[beergolf]

Does that mean it could be good or bad??? sorry...not familiar with WAG & SWAG.

WAG= wild a** guess

SWAG= Scientific wild a** guess

 

[Gropo]

I have a gallon bag of Centennial leaf hops that I won at our home brew club meeting, so Kable's idea is a good one. I could bitter with those, since that's a great bittering hop. Then again, it IS homebrewing after all, and winging-it towards unknown results is a big part of the fun, so I might just use some alchemy and stick with the unknown, like Airborneguy suggests.
Either way, I'll give an update in a few weeks. If it turns out great, I'll make sure to post the name, AA% and characteristics on this hop variety as soon they become available.