Hop ideas

[Baldylocks Brewery]

Hi All, some time ago I bought a bunch of hops I liked the sound of which were 100g each of Harlequin, olicana, mystic and azacca . I used 50g of the harlequin in a pale ale hop stand which I’m still drinking and like, but not sure what to do with the rest?
I think I bought the first three based on being suited to grow in my garden.

So two questions:
What to brew with them, anyone had good results?
Is Anyone growing them and getting good crops?
Cheers All

 

[clib]

The Craft Brewing Channel recently got together with Meantime brewery and made an English IPA with Harlequin, Olicana, Mystic and Jester. You havd three of those. It's called Now IPA. The recipe is on the grainfather recipe webpage.

The CBC video on YouTube is really good. Very long but very interesting.

 

[Stan's Brew]

Hi All, some time ago I bought a bunch of hops I liked the sound of which were 100g each of Harlequin, olicana, mystic and azacca . I used 50g of the harlequin in a pale ale hop stand which I’m still drinking and like, but not sure what to do with the rest?
I think I bought the first three based on being suited to grow in my garden.

So two questions:
What to brew with them, anyone had good results?
Is Anyone growing them and getting good crops?
Cheers All

I've just brewed an IPA using Olicana as the dominant hop with a small amount of EKG & Fuggle and Lallemand Verdant yeast using a dry hopping bio transformation technique and it's turned out to be a pleasantly fruity and quaffable IPA.

As there is a push to use more British grown hops in various styles to support the UK hop growing industry, I think you could brew just about any British style you like from Bitters, Pales and IPAs with these hops and possibly using bio transformation can make hoppy American styles using the same hops (if that is your thing), SMASH it!

 

[Clarence]

CML add Archer and Jester to the three English hops to make their tropical mix. While I haven't tried it yet (I've got a brew in the fermenter) I've heard nothing but good reports about this beer. There's no good reason why you shouldn't try the same with the three English hops instead of the five. The recipe is here:
https://www.crossmyloofbrew.co.uk/beer-recipes?pgid=krxkwatx-adc7a9ca-a820-4576-916c-fab4ed3cc279Azacca is an Azacca is an American hop. Why not try making a single hop beer, like an APA, with it.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I think I bought the first three based on being suited to grow in my garden.

Well they're all proprietary varieties that you need a licence to grow - which won't normally be granted for growing in other than under a commercial contract with Farams.

Azacca is an Azacca is an American hop. Why not try making a single hop beer, like an APA, with it.

I know it's not a universal opinion but personally I think Azacca is one of those hops that is a bit one-dimensional for use on its own. It works well as a "supporting" hop in hoppy pales though. The notable thing about it is that it's a rare US dwarf hop.

 

[Baldylocks Brewery]

The Craft Brewing Channel recently got together with Meantime brewery and made an English IPA with Harlequin, Olicana, Mystic and Jester. You havd three of those. It's called Now IPA. The recipe is on the grainfather recipe webpage.

The CBC video on YouTube is really good. Very long but very interesting.

Thanks Clib , I'll check both out

 

[Baldylocks Brewery]

I've just brewed an IPA using Olicana as the dominant hop with a small amount of EKG & Fuggle and Lallemand Verdant yeast using a dry hopping bio transformation technique and it's turned out to be a pleasantly fruity and quaffable IPA.

As there is a push to use more British grown hops in various styles to support the UK hop growing industry, I think you could brew just about any British style you like from Bitters, Pales and IPAs with these hops and possibly using bio transformation can make hoppy American styles using the same hops (if that is your thing), SMASH it!

Hi Stan, thanks I've been looking into bio transformation as I didn't know about that or done much dry hopping but will try it out.
I've got plenty of home grown Fuggles and EKG so just need the Verdant yeast.
I'm more an IPA drinker than APA

 

[clib]

I'm more an IPA drinker than APA

I'd be inclined to do an IPA with the four hops, Harlequin, Olicana, Mystic and Azacca. Could work nicely. I regularly add some American hops in with English. Not too much or the English are overwhelmed.

 

[Baldylocks Brewery]

CML add Archer and Jester to the three English hops to make their tropical mix. While I haven't tried it yet (I've got a brew in the fermenter) I've heard nothing but good reports about this beer. There's no good reason why you shouldn't try the same with the three English hops instead of the five. The recipe is here:
https://www.crossmyloofbrew.co.uk/beer-recipes?pgid=krxkwatx-adc7a9ca-a820-4576-916c-fab4ed3cc279Azacca is an Azacca is an American hop. Why not try making a single hop beer, like an APA, with it.

Hi Clarence, Tropical IPA sounds and looks lush but I'm a bit of a newbie for a 5x hop beer as I've never used more than two and not dry hopped, so fancy the Azacca APA or Smash first cheers

 

[Baldylocks Brewery]

Well they're all proprietary varieties that you need a licence to grow - which won't normally be granted for growing in other than under a commercial contract with Farams.

I know it's not a universal opinion but personally I think Azacca is one of those hops that is a bit one-dimensional for use on its own. It works well as a "supporting" hop in hoppy pales though. The notable thing about it is that it's a rare US dwarf hop.

Hi NB, shame about the licensing show-stopper, hadn't realised that was the case

Any suggestions on what you would pair the Azacca with would be much appreciated?

 

[Baldylocks Brewery]

I'd be inclined to do an IPA with the four hops, Harlequin, Olicana, Mystic and Azacca. Could work nicely. I regularly add some American hops in with English. Not too much or the English are overwhelmed.

HI Clib
How about 50g each of the English hops and 25g of Azacca giving 175g total?
Would you dry hop or use all as late boil or hopstand?
Cheers

 

[clib]

HI Clib
How about 50g each of the English hops and 25g of Azacca giving 175g total?
Would you dry hop or use all as late boil or hopstand?
Cheers

I think a bit more. I'd aim for something like 10g per litre total, personally, for IPA. People go higher.

200 to 250g. I think 40-50g Azacca.

 

[Baldylocks Brewery]

I think a bit more. I'd aim for something like 10g per litre total, personally, for IPA. People go higher.

200 to 250g. I think 40-50g Azacca.

Thanks Clib, 10g per litre I can work with , much appreciated

 

[clib]

Thanks Clib, 10g per litre I can work with , much appreciated

No worries. I should add that I'm not really a brewer of big American style IPAs. And I've not used those hops myself. But I regularly use 8 to 10g per litre and I think it's a good amount for very hoppy beers made in a home brew set up. I once got an IPA recipe from Northern Monk a few years back and when I made it the wort was like hop soup. I learned to scale back the hopping for practical purposes. But I also found my beer is hoppier than the commercial beer with less hops.

 

[Baldylocks Brewery]

Hi Clib, good to know to go easy with the hops to start with.
I wonder if HB beer is hoppier than the commercials as it's spent less time on the shelves?
I've heard a few comments that big hop profiles are short lived so unless you neck it quick it fades in weeks.
Since I haven't tried a dry hop I haven't experienced it.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Hi NB, shame about the licensing show-stopper, hadn't realised that was the case

True of most new hop varieties these days I'm afraid - in the UK it's been the case ever since hop breeding at Wye stopped being government-funded in the mid-1990s, First Gold was about the last UK one to be released to the public without conditions. Stateside it was probably Centennial in 1990, although they've recently renewed their public breeding programme which this year has resulted in Vista becoming available.

Even when things come off-patent it takes a few years for them to reach the market - Simcoe and Amarillo came off before Covid and still don't seem to be available as plants yet.

Any suggestions on what you would pair the Azacca with would be much appreciated?

Pretty much any New World hop, or mix it with your British hops, it's pretty flexible.

 

[clib]

I wonder if HB beer is hoppier than the commercials as it's spent less time on the shelves?
I've heard a few comments that big hop profiles are short lived so unless you neck it quick it fades in weeks.
Since I haven't tried a dry hop I haven't experienced it.

I dont know if HB is always hoppier. I think it generally is but it depends on the hop batches used obviously, for one thing. And hopping techniques.

When i visited Cloudwater the brewer said they do beers that have 25g per litre just in the dry hop. If i put 500g of hops in 20 litres in a bucket it would be a nightmare. I struggled with a 7g/L dry hop and haven't tried it again since!

The Northern Monk recipe was scaled down from their own batch size. I've found I can make a hoppier beer than theirs with fewer hops. But they may have reduced the hopping with expanded production for all I know.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

The big advantage the commercial breweries have over homebrewers is they have access to things like centrifuges which means they can use higher hop charges without losing so much beer in the hops and also to some extent managing the "greenness" of the vegetative material in the hops. Plus they have access to first pick of the hops, and are more likely to use derivatives like cryo etc which is another way to have high g/l equivalents without the side effects.

 

[clib]

The big advantage the commercial breweries have over homebrewers is they have access to things like centrifuges which means they can use higher hop charges without losing so much beer in the hops and also to some extent managing the "greenness" of the vegetative material in the hops. Plus they have access to first pick of the hops, and are more likely to use derivatives like cryo etc which is another way to have high g/l equivalents without the side effects.

James Campbell at CW (now Surefire) talked about how important it was to centrifuge the beer to remove the yeast. I didn't really get this but he hates yeast in packaged beer. I mentioned real ale, bottle conditioned beer, hefeweizen etc and he just shrugged and smiled and said he hates yeast in the final product!

 

[Clarence]

I know it's not a universal opinion but personally I think Azacca is one of those hops that is a bit one-dimensional for use on its own. It works well as a "supporting" hop in hoppy pales though. The notable thing about it is that it's a rare US dwarf hop.

Thanks N.B. I've got a packet in my fridge and I was wondering what to do with them. (Why? I just love trying out different hops) I'll take what you say on board, but then there's this from Beer Maverick:
Azacca has an amazingly refreshing aroma. It's descriptions usually include aromas and flavors of mango, papaya, orange, grapefruit, lemon, pine, spice, pineapple, grassy, tropical fruit, and citrus. However, the Azacca hop has a very delicate hop aroma that can be easily overpowered by other hops and flavors. (My underlining)

So I think I'll do a pseudo-lager with them.