Northern brewer hops

[Bert]

Hi,

I am a bit of a newbie when it comes to hops. Can anyone tell me if hallertau northern brewer are the same as northern brewer listed in snpa recipes?

Cheers!

[seymour]

To be honest, I've never heard of Hallertau Northern Brewer. Is that how they were listed for sale or something? Assuming it's not a typo, then it would indicate they are Northern Brewer hops (bred in 1934 at Wye College in Kent England from a Canturbury/East Kent Golding femaile and a male plant, OB21, which was a seedling from Brewers Gold and a Californian
male, OY1) except instead of being grown in England, this particular offering must've been grown in the famous Hallertau hops-growing region of Germany. If so, it should possess the excellent woodsy/minty traits typical of Northern Brewer plus perhaps some noble-German "terroir". If so, that would rock.

No matter what, any form of Northern Brewer would work in a recipe calling for it. That said, Sierra Nevada is not the American Pale Ale brewery famous for using Northern Brewer hops, that would be the Anchor. Sierra Nevada is best known for popularizing Cascade hops.

I have recipe details for most of these; let me know if there's a particular beer you're trying to clone.

[Bert]

Hi Seymour,

Thanks for you quick response! Yes, they were listed for sale as Hallertau Northern Brewer. By what you have said they should be good for the job. I am attempting to do Mysterio's SNPA clone, viewtopic.php?f=24&t=30813.

I also have challenger if that would be a better fit? Also, I am brewing this in the morning and have just got the hops - would you bother to freeze them?

Thanks for your help!

[seymour]

Hi Seymour,

Thanks for you quick response! Yes, they were listed for sale as Hallertau Northern Brewer. By what you have said they should be good for the job. I am attempting to do Mysterio's SNPA clone, viewtopic.php?f=24&t=30813.

I also have challenger if that would be a better fit? Also, I am brewing this in the morning and have just got the hops - would you bother to freeze them?

Thanks for your help!

Sure thing. As much as I love Challenger--and I really, really do--it would be out of place in Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Stick to your recipe, I guess. I've had this exact conversation before and I don't want to step on Mysterio's toes, whom I greatly respect. That will certainly produce great ale, many members here will confirm, you won't be disappointed.

But it's not the recipe for Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, which uses Magnum and Perle bittering hops (previously Perle and Cascade), then a large late Cascade addition for aroma and more Cascade dry hops. That's it, no Northern Brewer, see their own website: http://www.sierranevada.com/beer/year-round/pale-ale

Mysterio's fine recipe looks more like a cross between Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Anchor Steam to me, both delicious, so you can't really go wrong. I just wish everyone would stop insisting it's a truer Sierra Nevada Pale Ale recipe than the true Sierra Nevada Pale Ale recipe.

And no, don't bother freezing your hops at this point. They're good to go, nothing bad will happen in so short a time.

Happy brewing!

[Bert]

Thanks for the advise Seymour. I will go with the northern brewer and do it with magnum and pearle next time.

If it smells as good as my first AG last week, I will be happy!

Cheers

[seymour]

Thanks for the advise Seymour. I will go with the northern brewer and do it with magnum and pearle next time.

If it smells as good as my first AG last week, I will be happy!

Sounds great. And don't get me wrong: you'll DEFINITELY be happy with your "Mysterio American Pale Ale" which I'd bet is tastier than Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, simply because of the distinctly English Northern Brewer hops, if nothing else!
When yours is ready, do a fun side-by-side taste test with true SNPA.

[mabrungard]

I do expect that Hallertau NB would be SIMILAR to other NB hops, but this is where the effects of Terroir come into play. I'm sure there would be some difference, however I don't know what that might be. I have a nice bine of NB growing up the side of my house now. Its only season 2 for that plant, so I haven't had the chance to test the Indiana Terroir on the hops yet. NB is one of my favorites.

Seymour's information on SNPA hopping agrees with what I've understood for years. Its always been hopped with Perle and Cascade and they recently supplemented with Magnum since that is such a fine bittering hop and it reduces the brewery's costs due to its higher alpha and the reduced hop mass in the kettle and subsequent trub wort retention.

[seymour]

I do expect that Hallertau NB would be SIMILAR to other NB hops, but this is where the effects of Terroir come into play. I'm sure there would be some difference, however I don't know what that might be. I have a nice bine of NB growing up the side of my house now. Its only season 2 for that plant, so I haven't had the chance to test the Indiana Terroir on the hops yet. NB is one of my favorites...

We should keep in touch, Martin. I'm growing a couple Missouri Northern Brewer plants, too. If we both get a harvest, it would be fun to compare and contrast their brewing characteristics!

P.S. Did you have a chance to taste Schlafly Yakima Wheat? It was a single-hop brew using Yakima-valley Washington-state grown Challenger hops. It was really interesting picking-up some very subtle American notes from one of my all-time favourite English hops.

[mysterio]

Hi Seymour,

Thanks for you quick response! Yes, they were listed for sale as Hallertau Northern Brewer. By what you have said they should be good for the job. I am attempting to do Mysterio's SNPA clone, viewtopic.php?f=24&t=30813.

I also have challenger if that would be a better fit? Also, I am brewing this in the morning and have just got the hops - would you bother to freeze them?

Thanks for your help!

Sure thing. As much as I love Challenger--and I really, really do--it would be out of place in Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Stick to your recipe, I guess. I've had this exact conversation before and I don't want to step on Mysterio's toes, whom I greatly respect. That will certainly produce great ale, many members here will confirm, you won't be disappointed.

But it's not the recipe for Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, which uses Magnum and Perle bittering hops (previously Perle and Cascade), then a large late Cascade addition for aroma and more Cascade dry hops. That's it, no Northern Brewer, see their own website: http://www.sierranevada.com/beer/year-round/pale-ale

Mysterio's fine recipe looks more like a cross between Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Anchor Steam to me, both delicious, so you can't really go wrong. I just wish everyone would stop insisting it's a truer Sierra Nevada Pale Ale recipe than the true Sierra Nevada Pale Ale recipe.

And no, don't bother freezing your hops at this point. They're good to go, nothing bad will happen in so short a time.

Happy brewing!

No toe stepping taken buddy!

I agree Magnum and Perle is the way to go for an authentic version, I personally think the difference is minimal compared to watching the fermentation parameters. I subbed Northern Brewer as it's what I had on hand at the time and it's a reasonably neutral bittering hop. All my other attempts use Magnum (although I usually skipped Perle as the amount was small) I did some blind tastings with some homebrew friends and it was this version that passed the 'triangle test'. Oddly enough I think the most important thing was re-pitching some top cropped yeast which really lets the malt and hops sing. I never really claimed NB was in the recipe, I just think bittering hops are an obvious candidate for substitutions and using up the hops in the freezer. This might sound crazy, but I've even used Amarillo or Centennial in Belgian ales as the 90 minute hop.

But yeah, of course swap in Magnum and Perle and I bet you would get even closer. It's an interesting discussion to be sure

[seymour]

No toe stepping taken buddy!...

I'm glad to hear it. Like I said, this recipe (as well as many others which you've posted) looks delicious in it's own right. I realize, of course, I'm a nerd making much ado about nothing. You're right, fermentation technique will make a bigger difference that which high-alpha hop is used for a 90 minute addition. I make indiscriminate bittering hops substitutions as often as the next guy, no big deal.

I think my frustration stems from the fact your "Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Clone Recipe" is enshrined on the Malt Miller website http://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/index.ph ... at&catId=9, the ingredients even promoted like a kit. Since The Malt Miller is such a popular source for members on this forum, and since your recipe will consistently brew tasty, true-to-style American Pale Ale, it has taken on a life of it's own, leading people to defend it like the Bible, y'know? It's just funny since many of the same brewers quibble endlessly over minutiae like this regarding clone recipes of beloved English ales, venemously rejecting any deviation from the true recipe. At the end of the day, though, who cares? It's all good beer and good fun, right?

[Bert]

I ended up brewing it at the weekend and it smells gorgeous. Haven't seen brown bubbles before, any idea what they are? I'm sure its ok but I'm just a bit concerned, only AG#2 and didn't have them on #1.

[Bert]

Think the green bit must be a bit of hop