Thinking about an ESB with Admiral hops....anyone tried it?

[beowulf]

So I got in on the Hopsdirect yard sale and picked up a pound each of 5 different types, 4 of which I haven't used before. One of them is Admiral. I looked around on HBT and there aren't a lot of posts related to this hop, so I thought I'd reach out to see if anyone has used this in an ESB or English Pale Ale of some sort.

I'm thinking of a Fuller's ESB-ish beer using all Admiral hops up to about 45 IBUs. I've heard this is a great bittering hop for English beers (supposedly a sub for challenger/northdown), but not sure about late addition...anyone have experience in this area? If not Admiral, I can probably find something else for late addition, but I will have a whole pound of it. Thanks!

 

[beowulf]

Anyone??

Did anyone else pick up some Admiral hops at the Hopsdirect yard sale? If so, how do you plan on using them?

 

[SwampassJ]

Small writeup on brew-dudes with some comments at the bottom from others.

 

[skibb]

I say go for it!

I'm doing an English IPA next week with Admiral for bittering and in the dry hop (along with EKG). I hear it imparts typical English hop character along with some pleasant orange notes.

FFF uses this hop, along with EKG and Styrian Goldings, in their Black Heart English IIPA. That beer is amazing.

 

[beowulf]

Thanks...and yes, I did read the Brew Dudes article. Good feedback. I don't have any EKG, so maybe I'll blend it with Willamette or just leave it single-hop. I haven't tried Blackheart (don't get FFF here), but I too heard that it's fantastic.

 

[Hawaiianbrewer]

I just posted an almost identical thread to this then stumbled here. I as well picked up a lb of admiral hops during the yardsale and am in the same quandary. There isn't much out there on this hop and I have no clue on how to use a LB of it. Logadacious on hbt made an all admiral brew once but wasn't too found of the late additions I believe.

I'm tempted to throw a bunch into a DIPA as early additions to use up alot then maybe try a lord admiral nelson clone? I dont know what to do. Did you end up doing anything yet?

 

[beowulf]

Yeah, actually I did! I just brewed an ESB yesterday using some Admiral and Delta from the yardsale. I'd definitely say it's inspired by KingBrianI's "Common Room ESB", but I had to make a few adjustments based on what I had on hand. It's fermenting vigorously now, but I'll post some results down the road once it's finished if you're interested. Anyway, here's what I brewed:

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.052 SG
Estimated Color: 10.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 35.5 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
8.5# Maris Otter - 89.47 %
12 oz Crystal 60L - 7.89 %
4 oz Crystal 120L - 2.63 %

1 oz Delta [6.50 %] (60 min FWH)
.5 oz Admiral [14.75 %] (15 min)
.5 oz Delta [6.50 %] (15 min)
1 oz Admiral [14.75 %] (0 min)
1 oz Delta [6.50 %] (0 min)

1 tbsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 min)

Mashed @156F for 60 minutes
Pitched slurry of S-04

 

[beowulf]

Just cracked this open last night, and all I can say is "I'm impressed"! I ended up at 1.013 for about 5.1%. I really like the flavor and aroma of these hops, but it's hard for me to describe. I'd say maybe a little fruity/herbal/citrus, but not too much of any one thing. Overall it's just really tasty and has a pleasing aroma. For such a small beer, it sure has a lot of flavor, and the mouthfeel is really nice....tastes bigger than it is.

 

[SwampassJ]

Just cracked this open last night, and all I can say is "I'm impressed"! I ended up at 1.013 for about 5.1%. I really like the flavor and aroma of these hops, but it's hard for me to describe. I'd say maybe a little fruity/herbal/citrus, but not too much of any one thing. Overall it's just really tasty and has a pleasing aroma. For such a small beer, it sure has a lot of flavor, and the mouthfeel is really nice....tastes bigger than it is.

Sounds like I'll have to give them a try when I get back into the English beer mood. How do you think they would play in something like a porter?

 

[beowulf]

I think it would do just fine in a porter since porters are generally not too hop-centric. I've been subbing admiral and delta for the more well-known hops with pretty good success. Subbing admiral for challenger/target, and delta for willamette/ekg. Not exact matches, mind you, but I'd say they're working pretty well.

 

[copper2hopper]

Resurrecting this one fellas since its been a long while but if your all still here....any final recipes on this clone for FFF Blackheart? I'm looking to brew this with a buddy who him and his wife absolutely love it....thanks.