Strisselspalt Hop, where can i get it or what is the closest alternative?

[evil.soup]

Hi, I have bought all the ingredients to get a lager on the go and I am considering dry hopping with Strisselspalt hops as this is the hop used in Kronenbourg lager.

I know it's not as simple as adding this hop to get the same taste as 1664, but the idea is to get that similar flavour/aroma from my brew.

I have been doing a bit of googling and can't find this hop for sale in a simple hop bag.

When dry hopping, am I right in thinking I add the bag of hop after fermentation and leave it in for a couple of days to infuse?

Cheers,
Ian

 

[evil.soup]

After a bit more research I found an alternatives list, so I have ordered 100g Hersbruker and some empty tea bags, I am thinking maybe 20 to 25g straight in a teabag for maybe 2 days?

Any opinions on this?

 

[Clint]

I just chuck the hops straight in and leave them up to five days.

 

[evil.soup]

I just chuck the hops straight in and leave them up to five days.

Ah ok, I don't want anything too hoppy as I am not keen on a strong hop flavour, so a couple of days will do me. Tried hop house 13 and I find it pretty nasty to be honest.
Do you add gelatin afterwards to take out the haze?

 

[Clint]

No finings,my beers usually drop clear but if they don't I don't really care!

 

[An Ankoù]

After a bit more research I found an alternatives list, so I have ordered 100g Hersbruker and some empty tea bags, I am thinking maybe 20 to 25g straight in a teabag for maybe 2 days?

Any opinions on this?

I'd keep looking for strisselspalt or a closer substitute if I were you.
I don't know, what you mean by empty tea bags, but they sound tiny. I use the very finely woven produce bags from sainsbury. They're about a foot square and the hops look pretty lost in there. That's exactly what you want to give as much contact with the beer as possible. Boil the bag in some water fir a couple of minutes, first.
I'll try and find a better substitute for you.

 

[Rodcx500z]

I am with Clint on this i to just chuck em in 3 or 4 days at the end of fermentation, then cold crash for 3 days

 

[The Baron]

Ps if it is the first time you have used the bags AA has mentioned +1. Put 2 SS dessert spoons in the hop bags too to weigh the hops down so they do not float and use some fishing line to suspend it in the FV

 

[An Ankoù]

I'd keep looking for strisselspalt or a closer substitute if I were you.
I don't know, what you mean by empty tea bags, but they sound tiny. I use the very finely woven produce bags from sainsbury. They're about a foot square and the hops look pretty lost in there. That's exactly what you want to give as much contact with the beer as possible. Boil the bag in some water fir a couple of minutes, first.
I'll try and find a better substitute for you.

The closest hops to Strisselspalt are Aramis and Triskel. I can't find those in the UK, either, and they're not really a substitute. I've used them both and they're great hops, but not very much like Strisselspalt.
However, you can get them here:
https://www.autobrasseur.fr/houblons-en-cones-et-pellets/1717-1215412-strisselpalt-fr.html
and they deliver to the UK, but I think there's a minimum delivery charge of €19 so you might want to buy as much as you can to make the delivery worthwhile. Aramis, for example make a lovely English-style bitter and they're one of my favourite hops for a bitter! Barbe Rouge is another interesting hop, but you can get those from CML in Scotland. Nothing like Strisselspalt, however.

Alternative, if you know anyone in France you could get them delivered there and pop over for a holiday and drink 1664 to your heart's content.

 

[An Ankoù]

Hi, I have bought all the ingredients to get a lager on the go and I am considering dry hopping with Strisselspalt hops as this is the hop used in Kronenbourg lager.

I know it's not as simple as adding this hop to get the same taste as 1664, but the idea is to get that similar flavour/aroma from my brew

1664, together with most mass produced lagers is a bit of a struggle to drink in my opinion. BUT, as soon as you make your own, it becomes quite delicious. I think these industrial lagers start off good and then they're filtered and pasteurised until all the freshness and goodness is lost. I haven't made this one, but I've copied other mass-produced beers and, side by side, the home brew is identifiable, but infinitely fresher and lighter. And better.

 

[evil.soup]

Thanks all for the input, glad it wasn't just me looking in the wrong place. I did find 100g of Strisselspalt but was £8 postage on top of the cost of the Pellets so for my first brew I couldn't justify it.

The idea of popping to France to pick some up is quite a good one though lol!

As for the teabags, they are not teabag size, they are quite big and have plenty of room for the hop to move around in, poor description on my part.

I have no ides what these hops I have bought will add to the end result but they seem to be another hop commonly used in european lager and a couple of sites suggested they are a close alternative, so I figured they are worth a try, will have to let you know what it turns out like.

To be honest, I need to rein myself in a bit since this is my first ever brew and I keep adding and changing things before I even start, I may be complicating my life quite a bit for a first brew lol!

 

[YeastFace]

Hallertauer Hersbrücker are a decent substitute so I think you'll be good.

 

[An Ankoù]

Should have picked up on this much earlier, but lagers are not traditionally dry-hopped. I'd be inclined to use them as a late, and then a flame-out addition and leave it at that. I'm sure Kronenbourg (Carlsberg Marston) don't use dry hopping.
What's the rest of your recipe?

 

[An Ankoù]

Hallertauer Hersbrücker are a decent substitute so I think you'll be good.

Nah.
Get some Pride of Ringwood in there and dry hop with Bullion.

Only joking.

EDIT:
I thought I was only joking, but if it's Coopers, it's probably got POR in it anyway!

 

[evil.soup]

Should have picked up on this much earlier, but lagers are not traditionally dry-hopped. I'd be inclined to use them as a late, and then a flame-out addition and leave it at that. I'm sure Kronenbourg (Carlsberg Marston) don't use dry hopping.
What's the rest of your recipe?

Well it started out as a coopers Australian lager kit, but after a lot of research I have swapped out the yeast for novalager yeast and have 1kg dextrose and spraymalt mix as the fermentables. Planning on brewing a little shorter at 21ltrs just to improve flavour and get an ABV of 4.5+.

The hops idea came in late to be honest while having a few cans of 1664, I may have got a bit carried away while drinking and ordered the hops and bags, I need to stop browsing while drinking lol!

I don't want to add any bitterness, just a better hint of flavour. I have had lager from a friend that used this kit per instructions with 1kg sugar and standard yeast and it was a nice lager, but came out a little watery and lacked depth of flavour for me, felt like something was missing.

Anyway, that is where I am at right now, just waiting on all the bits to arrive...

 

[An Ankoù]

The hops idea came in late to be honest while having a few cans of 1664, I may have got a bit carried away while drinking and ordered the hops and bags, I need to stop browsing while drinking lol!

On the contrary. this is what it's all about in my opinion.

I didn't know it was a kit. Dry hopping is the way forward, then.
Good luck and tell us how it turns out.

 

[YeastFace]

Do they still do the Blanc over there, @An Ankoù. Quite like it as an approachable wit, but near impossible to get here

 

[evil.soup]

On the contrary. this is what it's all about in my opinion.

I didn't know it was a kit. Dry hopping is the way forward, then.
Good luck and tell us how it turns out.

Thanks, looking forward to getting stuck in!

Think I need to write myself some instructions before I get going since I have strayed away from the kit instructions by a yard or 2 lol!

 

[An Ankoù]

Do they still do the Blanc over there, @An Ankoù. Quite like it as an approachable wit, but near impossible to get here

I haven't seen it for ages, but, in truth, I haven't looked for it. I'll give that part of the supermarket shelf the once over next time I'm there.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

for my first brew I couldn't justify it.

There's a lot to be said for not overcomplicating things on your first brew, KISS so that you have a baseline to see the effect of changing things in subsequent brews.

Well it started out as a coopers Australian lager kit, but after a lot of research I have swapped out the yeast for novalager yeast and have 1kg dextrose and spraymalt mix as the fermentables....

I have had lager from a friend that used this kit per instructions with 1kg sugar and standard yeast and it was a nice lager, but came out a little watery and lacked depth of flavour for me, felt like something was missing.

The thing that's missing is malt flavour, because half your fermentables are dextrose which contributes sugar (and hence alcohol) but no flavour.

Adding cutting-edge yeasts and fancy hops is rather at odds with that, it's a bit like ordering chandeliers for a council house.

By that point you might as well just ditch the kit and make a brew with (extra) light DME/spraymalt...

Although lagers are really tricky to make really well, from a recipe POV they're really simple as they're typically just extra pale malt and a classic European hop like Saaz, Hersbrucker, or Strisselspalt depending which country you're in. So my SMASH thread would be worth a look.

I have been doing a bit of googling and can't find this hop for sale in a simple hop bag.

You don't get hops prepacked in hop bags except in kits - everywhere else you buy them vacuum packed and then put them in a hop sock or other form of porous bag yourself.

I have no ides what these hops I have bought will add to the end result but they seem to be another hop commonly used in european lager and a couple of sites suggested they are a close alternative

Strisselspalt seems to be related to Hersbrucker, Saaz and Tettnang, which are the classic lager hops of central Europe. So you can't go too far wrong with any of those.

Do they still do the Blanc over there, @An Ankoù. Quite like it as an approachable wit, but near impossible to get here

I'm sure Kronenbourg (Carlsberg Marston) don't use dry hopping.

British 1664 is brewed by Heineken as a result of the breakup of S&N, but they are in the middle of a deal to reunite the UK rights with the original brewery so from 1 June it will all be Carlsberg. One assumes that will make it easier for the other Kronenbourg beers to appear in the UK - if you have a Marston pub locally it's worth asking about the Blanc to try and let CM know that there's demand for it.

But yep, most lagers aren't dry-hopped, they have hops added at the start and end of the boil, although there are some non-traditional exceptions like Tipopils.