AG#044 - Hophead?

[SiHoltye]

Hello,

Brewing on Friday for a beer like Dark Star Hophead. Loads of cascade flavour/aroma, elderflower notes, low bitterness, summer in a pint glass (for some)

Brewery leaflet said OG 1.040 OK
Spoke to Dark Star Brewery who said pale malt with a touch of cara OK
Also said cascade only to low bitterness and mass of cascade 5 mins from end, no steep or dry hop Bittering with Fugg cos not got more Cascade
Also said a mixture of US-05, S-04, and Nottingham yeasts Open 3 packets of yeast, are you mad? I'll see how it goes with S-04

Ingredients
23L, 90 min mash from 67°C, 90 min boil, liquor type: Bitter
Amount Item Type % or IBU
3.36 kg Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 98.00 %
0.07 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 55L (120.0 EBC) Grain 2.00 %
35.00 gm Fuggles [4.50 %] (90 min) Hops 17.2 IBU
100.00 gm Cascade [5.34 %] (5 min) Hops 10.9 IBU
1 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) Yeast-Ale

Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.040 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 3.84 %
Bitterness: 28.1 IBU
Est Color: 9.1 EBC

[Gurgeh]

you and your elderflower

bizarre yeast arrangements Simon

Are you sure about your plan to use SO4? I reckon that'll seriously retard the hoppiness

I reckon they've used us05 for interest, nottingham for attenuation and so4 to get the job done quick. speculation obviously, but that beer is all about hops and SO4 aint the strain for that (IMO)

[SiHoltye]

I could do any combo of S-04 and Notts. What do you reckon in 23L:

- 11g of each?
- 6g of each?
- 11g of S-04?
- 11g of Notts?

[SiHoltye]

Hmmm.

Tempted to pour 11g of S-04, and 11g of Notts directly onto the wort and stir. What about all the foam we create when paddle aerating, don't the sprinkled on yeast just sit on this? Might prove them together in a DFS first, old habits die hard

[SiHoltye]

Righty...
Run off from boiler to FV without the usual aeration via paddle in drill (glamorous eh), then check at 20°C to sprinkle on yeasts, wait 30mins and stir in. No additional aeration save the drop from the boiler. The FV is a 30L one holding 23L brew so it'd make a mess paddle aerating when filled.

[Matt]

You're on fire at the moment Si. Have you retired or something

[SiHoltye]

You're on fire at the moment Si. Have you retired or something

Ha, unfortunately not. I work for myself, and I could work harder

[Oggy' Bar]

Also said cascade only to low bitterness and mass of cascade 5 mins from end, no steep or dry hop

That is interesting because it is also a conclusion I had come to re Cascade.

I have brewed an all Light grain all cascade brew on 3 occasions now, with the result that Brew 1...Low bittering hops, lots of 15 min hops was very good.

Brew 2...Higher bittering hops, 15 min hops and large qty of steep hops...astringent taste and haze that did not subside.

Brew 3 Low bittering hops, 15 min hops, steep hops and Dry hops (loads of em)....Astringent taste and haze.

So my next brew was going to be low bittering hops and no steep hops and no Dry hopping. It is almost certainly the steep and dry hopping that is causing the astringency and probably the haze.

Low bitterness seems to be the order of the day with Cascade as the hop citrus taste is akin to bitterness anyway.

I'm going to give your 5 min hopping a go.

[SiHoltye]

An hour into the boil and it's going good so far. I swapped the Fuggles bittering for Challenger 'cos I had an open packet. Got the 100g Cascade sat next to me ready to add at 5mins from end. Am boiling outdoors so IC & icey weather should mean easy chilling

[SiHoltye]

Argh! Forget to add the mineral additions to the copper , the brew is cooling now. Any thoughts on adding them at this stage?

[SiHoltye]

What about adding them to the fermentor dry and then racking from boiler onto them...any point?

[SiHoltye]

Dissolved them in the first couple of litres of run-off into the fermentor by swirling it around. Have just sprinkled in 1 pack of S-04 and 1 pack of Notts, after 30mins I'll give it a stir.

[SiHoltye]

All done, 20L @ 1.040. Boiler losses were up a bit.

[oblivious]

Nice work SiHoltye

[SiHoltye]

Ta Ob.

My fermentation chamber is being commandered next Sunday for the storing of vittles of a seasonal nature (Wife's loading it with food we'll never manage to eat over Xmas ) so this baby has got 9 days before kegging . I've had a word with the yeast and they say it should be do-able.