Single Hop Brews v2.0

[Brewsmith]

I'm planning the next go around for my single hop beers experiment. As before here's the plan:
1. Use the same grain bill for all brews
2. Keep the grain bill simple so that the hops can shine
3. Use a single hop variety for the brew
4. Use hops in all stages of usage (bittering, flavor, aroma)
5. Try to get the same IBU for each
6. Use the same clean yeast strain in each so that yeast flavors are consistant.

Here's how this will be accomplished

Grain Bill (6 gallons):
10 lbs 2-row
0.75 lb Crystal 35
0.75 lb Victory

Yeast - White Labs 001 CA Ale

There will be one mash and the wort will be split into three equal brews to result in 3, two-gallon beers. This time I will use what I have on hand for hops. Cascade, Amarillo and Saaz
18 IBU 60 min
7 IBU 30 min
3 IBU 15 min
2 IBU 5 min
1/3 oz Dry Hop

 

[chillHayze]

That is a good idea! At first I thought you were going to make 5 gallons of each hop, then I read on about splitting it up. Good experiment because the beers will all age the same amount so you can drink them w/o the effects of age on the flavor and aroma.

Just planning these 3 for now or are more to come?

 

[debtman7]

Here's a good reference:

http://www.ratebeer.com/Story.asp?StoryID=482

 

[Brewsmith]

I did this before several months ago with Chinook, Colombus and Liberty. I figured that making 5 gallons of each would take too much time to cconsume it all to get around to another brew, especially when there are other brews on my schedule as well. 5 gallons split into 2 seemed reasonable, but just making a little more and splitting into three seemed like a better idea.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Sounds like a great idea. IIRC that recipe is somewhat similar to the PA Walker-san did yesterday. At least it included Victory, I'm pretty sure.

You might consider adding a little gypsum, as well, to get your sulfates to the 150-200ppm point which would really make the hops pop. Then again, with all the beers side-by-side to do the comparison it may not make that much difference.

 

[Brewsmith]

My water table from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power gives me the following averages for sulfate content of my water: 138, 46, 145. My water comes from three possible filtration sources. We have relatively hard water here, so I've never added any salts.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Yeah, i wouldn't touch that either...it's definitely close enough (at least 2 out of 3 times!).

 

[Brewsmith]

And thats just the averages. The highest one says it varies between 104 and 189.

 

[chillHayze]

Who exactly did you call to get your water info? The bureau of water, or something?

 

[Brewsmith]

The LADWP puts their annual water report on their website. I just printed it out.

 

[cweston]

I did this before several months ago with Chinook, Colombus and Liberty.

I'm sure you've reported your impressions of these three, but I must have missed it.

Care to reprise that report?

 

[Brewsmith]

The Chinook definately had the "piney" flavor that is talked about with this hop. Not spicy or harsh but very "chinooky" if I can use that word. I don't think I would ever use all chinook in another brew, but definately in bittering. The Colombus was very nice. For being a high AA% hop, it has a very smooth. A little citrusy and a little spicy. The other was Liberty. the AA% on that one was about 4% and there was a difference between it and the high AA% beers. The flavor was much mellower, even though they were all at about 30 IBU's.

 

[Desert_Sky]

When I do a single hop brew, I usually FWH the bittering additions. It seems to blend the bitterness and flavoring together a bit more.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

I did an all-Columbus APA and while it wasn't my best brew ever, I did really like the Columbus. Walker has an all-Columbus APA going which I'm interested in trying.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

When I do a single hop brew, I usually FWH the bittering additions. It seems to blend the bitterness and flavoring together a bit more.

What is your impression of FWH? I had read that FWH usually yielded a bittering roughly equal to a 20 minute addition (it's a very subjective opinion, I would say). I recently tried it and definitely enjoyed the bittering, though I think it was far less than what I got from the bittering hops themselves.

 

[SwAMi75]

I did an all Simcoe APA. I thought I posted a recipe, but I can't find it now. Anyway, here's some impressions:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=10259&highlight=simcoe

It was a good learning experience.

 

[Desert_Sky]

What is your impression of FWH? I had read that FWH usually yielded a bittering roughly equal to a 20 minute addition (it's a very subjective opinion, I would say). I recently tried it and definitely enjoyed the bittering, though I think it was far less than what I got from the bittering hops themselves.

Personally I love it. The bitterness is definitely there, but the edge is taken off the bitterness, making it much smoother IMO. Not quite as sharp. And I find it ties the bitterness and flavor together alot better. You can always up the amount of FWH used to bring it up if you want.

The only drawback is that you better get just the right amount of wort out that you originally planned. Theres no boiling down to get your desired amount. You will change the hop schedule completely.

 

[mbreen01]

When I do a single hop brew, I usually FWH the bittering additions. It seems to blend the bitterness and flavoring together a bit more.

I'm not sure I know what FWH stands for...
I'm gathering maybe fresh whole hops...as opposed to pellets??

Marc.

 

[Desert_Sky]

FWH = First Wort Hop

As you take your first runnings from your mash, you add the hops. They sit in the hot wort until you finish sparging and start to boil.

 

[mbreen01]

What is your impression of FWH? I had read that FWH usually yielded a bittering roughly equal to a 20 minute addition (it's a very subjective opinion, I would say). I recently tried it and definitely enjoyed the bittering, though I think it was far less than what I got from the bittering hops themselves.

So if you are adding the hops to the inital runoff, then going through all steps as before...wouldn't you expect to extract more IBU from the hops? Or are you just steeping the hops in the runoff and then removing them prior to boiling?

Thanks for the info.
Marc.

 

[Brewsmith]

I'm doing it today. The mash is going right now and I'm heating the sparge water. The wort will be three seperate boils, ending up with three, 2-gallon beers, Cascade, Amarillo, and Saaz.

 

[Brewsmith]

First boil is on now...

 

[Brewsmith]

Brew one and two are in primaries, the third boil is half way through.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Sounds interesting...interested to hear your thoughts in a month or two. I've kind of gone the other way this year by ordering hops in bulk and limiting myself to 4-5 varieties, but I'm not sure what I've learned (and you know what that means...nothing!).

So if you are adding the hops to the inital runoff, then going through all steps as before...wouldn't you expect to extract more IBU from the hops? Or are you just steeping the hops in the runoff and then removing them prior to boiling?

You would expect to, but it doesn't work that way. I'm not sure why. There is some debate about how many IBU's are extracted, but it's generally agreed that it's less than a full boil extraction and the hop bitterness is much smoother, for lack of a better term. I suspect that by steeping the hops at ~130-150F (the wort is probably in that range as it collects in the kettle) certain aromatic/flavoring compounds are extracted and that they then bind somehow will compounds in the wort before the boil. I'm not sure.

You do leave them in for the entire boil.

 

[Brewsmith]

Well the hop varieties I chose were ones I had a ton of in the fridge. Last year I bought mostly pellet hops in 2oz bags from the LHBS. Lately I bought several 4 and 8oz bags of whole hops. I'm liking them better than the pellets by a long shot. This next year I'll see about ordering some online in bulk.

 

[Brewsmith]

All done. I started at 11am and everything was basically done and put away around 6:30. Not bad for a mash and three boils. My volumes came out perfect. The two buckets I have for primaries show the level right at 2 gallons. I don't have any markings on my 6.5 gal carboy so I'll assume it's about correct. OGs on all three come in right about 1.056. As far as taste, the Cascade seems to have the most bite to the bitterness, while the Amarillo seems to be the mellowist. The Amarillo was also the only one that used pellet hops. In the kettle, the Saaz had a wonderful aroma. It's hard to tell right now just because the wort samples were obviously sweet and having tasted them seperately over an hour apart, it's hard to directly compare. I'll post more tastings as they progress.

 

[mbreen01]

but not exactly...
Does anyone know of several commonly available commercial brews that represent good examples of a particular hops? There are some hops that I've never used and am not quite sure what bitterness/flavor/aroma they contribute. Sure I can read descriptions, but sometimes the true proof is in the pudding.

Thanks,
Marc.

 

[Desert_Sky]

You would expect to, but it doesn't work that way. I'm not sure why. There is some debate about how many IBU's are extracted, but it's generally agreed that it's less than a full boil extraction and the hop bitterness is much smoother, for lack of a better term. I suspect that by steeping the hops at ~130-150F (the wort is probably in that range as it collects in the kettle) certain aromatic/flavoring compounds are extracted and that they then bind somehow will compounds in the wort before the boil. I'm not sure.

I believe its 10-15% less IBUs by going FWH than just adding them at the beginning of the boil

 

[Brewsmith]

I bottled my single hop brews tonight and got a good taste of each one Here goes:

Cascade: Not as strong as I thought it would be. My hops may not be as fresh as I thought they are. Although there was bitterness, flavor and aroma there, it was more subdued that I was expecting. It also might be due to the fact that I have a slight cold. I think I need to wait for another tasting of this one.

Amarillo: Grapefruit aromas and flavors are there. This was also the only brew to use pellets. Not harsh or astringent, but definately more assertive hop bitterness. For you Bridgeport IPA fans out there, there's probably a good amount of Amarillo in the flavor and aroma additions on that one.

Saaz: The mildest bitterness of the three. All three took whole/pellet hops into account as well as AA% in figuring the approximately 30 IBU's in each, but this one is definately the softest of the three. A very floral aroma, literally. Very flowery and herbal, almost like a tea. I can tell where the "earthy" descriptions come from. Not spicey, piney, or citrusy at all.

All of the descriptions are likely to change according to my cold right now. When they're bottle conditioned and chilled I'll post another response with further tasting results.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Excellent summary, thanks.