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Dry hop - tester APA brew

M

mule

I never knew much the last time I brewed - 18+ yrs ago, so I'm way behind the 8 ball and have nobody to ask...
I'm not up on hops flavors/bittering and aroma, so I'm going to try a "taste test" brew. 
What I am doing is brewing up an APA - loosely based on an IPA.  I'm going to use the following recipe, boil it, pitch the yeast, separate it into 5 - 1 gallon fermenters and add hops to each one before hooking them to the overflow tubes....  I was thinking about 7-10 days of primary then another 10-14 in secondary and then start tasting.  That should give me what I'm looking for correct???

1# Crystal malt 20 (.82#)  I'm not sure I can get that close so I'm rounding up to 1#.
1# English 2 row pale (.79#)
6.5# Liguid Light Extract
White Labs CA Ale yeast.

Now, the recipe calls for 2 oz Cascade at 60 min.  I'm wondering if I should put it in for a base level "control" and the other 4 gallon jugs as the tests?  Or just do all 5 the same way?  I'm inclined to do all 5 the same.
I am planning on using Cascade, Mt. Hood, Chinook, Sterling and something else.  The reason I chose those first 4 is that I am growing them as of this year......  What would you guys recommend for the fifth one?

Amy I way off on this?  Any changes?

Thanks
Greg
 
I'm not sure I understand where you are going with this test so I'm putting it all out there

To test Bittering you would need to boil each of the hops in its own wort.
To test Flavoring you would need to choose a neutral bittering hops (Preferably one you are use to) as a base and then add the Flavoring hops in the last 20 min of the boil
To test Aroma you would need to choose a neutral bittering hops (Preferably one you are use to) as a base and then add the Aroma hops at flameout or in the last 5 min of the boil.

If I were conducting this test, I would cut down the recipe to 15 one gallon batches. I would use a single LME to keep the base recipe simple. No additional malts, Especially stay away from the 2row since it has not been converted, that way you don't get any variation in flavors from one batch to the next.

I would start with the bittering test and pick the one I like most for a base hop.
After I chose a base hop to compare to, I would brew the same batch again, using the different Flavoring hops.
Then after I had that, I would brew again using the same base recipe/bittering hop and the use a different aroma hop.

I would also say that you may want to bottle them and let them carbonate, because the flavors change with carbonation. You will also want to keep good records because at the end of this you will have 6 cases of beer to taste test. Which is not a bad thing!  8)

For the 5th hops, Fuggles is good because you can get rhizomes along with your other hops.

It sounds like a lot of work, but in the end you will have total knowledge of what you like and what you don't. I did something similar with another forum using a single malt and single hop (SMASH), but we each brewed our own and then shared them with each other in a beer swap to taste the differences. It was interesting to say the least.

Cheers
Preston
 
Thanks, that is exactly what I was looking for Preston. 
I was fumbling through it trying to come up with the plan.  So, it was a blind leading the blind thing, only I'm leading myself.

So the new plan is for:
1# "lite" LME per 1.25 gallons water at boil.  OR what about a wheat LME?
Add 1/2 oz hops at 60 min.  OR should that be 1/4 oz?
Then continue with the plan. 

Dividing up the yeast is going to be a PITA.  My first thought is to mix up the liquid yeast in 4 cups of my bottled water with 1/4 cup corn sugar in it.  What do you think?

I'm going to start with the bittering hops first.  Cascade, Chinook, Fuggles, Magnum, Nugget .  Any others that are common? 
 
I'm ordering Fuggles, Nugget and Magnum rhizomes today.  If I don't like them I can always give them to a friend that grows too.

Thanks again
Greg
 
I like game plan about doing some 1 gallon batches for taste testing and I like Preston's prescription for your plan.  When you are dry hopping you should wait until about day 4 if you are going to add them to the primary.  At that point the ph is supposed to be ideal for aroma/flavor extraction without having to soak to long and impart any grassy flavors.  At any rate, my favorite hop for dry hopping is Amarillo.  I've heard it's proprietary though, and you can't get any rhizomes.
 
This is just me, but if it has been 18 years since you last brewed, then I'd recommend brewing this APA once or twice to get back in the groove.  Maybe split the batch into two carboys for a different dry-hopping, or dry-hop one and not the other. 

When I returned after abt 10 years away, I had wort on the counter, floor, everything was hard for lack of practice and good habits.  I brewed yesterday on cruise control b/c I am now used to the process.  You may want to ensure the first one or two are fun and stress-free. 
 
mule said:
So the new plan is for:
1# "lite" LME per 1.25 gallons water at boil.  OR what about a wheat LME?
Add 1/2 oz hops at 60 min.  OR should that be 1/4 oz?
Hi Greg
For the Hops, I would go with 1/4oz or less (.13oz) to keep it in the style you are looking for. This would allow you to use the rest for the other tests. Your experiment, your choice on the wheat or Lite LME.

If you have brewed an IPA before, look at the Bitterness Ratio (Bitterness Ratio= IBU / SG) and try to keep the Bitterness Ratio about the same. That way you don't have "Nasty Hopwatter", You want it to be drinkable right? The reason why is that the IBU may be off because the amount of water being used, so going with the bitterness ratio will keep it more in line with the malt.

Unless you are making several batches at the same time, you don't have to divide the yeast. Just pitch it in. You could even reuse the yeast cake for all 5 of the base beers cutting the costs down considerably. Just rack off the primary leaving the yeast cake in the bottom of the fermenter, install the Airlock back on the bottle. when you are ready to make the next batch, pitch it right on top of the yeast cake. You wont need to aerate your wort because there will already be enough yeast to do the job.

The other alternative would be to use Dry Yeast because the cost is minimal. But make sure that you use the same yeast for all the batches to keep the flavor profile the same.

Good Luck, and keep us updated on the progress. I always find these types of projects interesting.

Cheers
Preston
 
MaltLicker - too funny.  I'm a clean freak when it comes to something like this.  Everything was cleaned, sanitized and positioned in a ready state. ;D 

I have a Honey Wheat (Two Feet Wheat) in primary - racking to secondary today.  We are brewing a Steam beer tomorrow as well as this little taste test.  Kicker is, it's all in our office.  We have an extra office space open that has become the brewery storage room and another one stays around 63-66* so it's the Ale fermentation room.  The basement ranges from 36-55* depending on the snow fall and room.  An inner room in the basement is more stable, but lager temp still so that's going to be the Lager fermentation room......


I was playing with the program and was able to come up with nice recipes for each of the brews.  I'll have them all in the IBU range for an IPA.  So, that should give me good trial beers.  I've decided against dry hoping and going with a full hour boil on them.  This round is the bittering hops, so I'm brewing up 4) 1 gallon batches.  When I get them done, I'll stick the recipes on the board for future newbs like me to ponder.

Thanks for all the input guys.
Greg
 
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