AG#18 - One Four Two - Simcoe Hop Burst

[Skittlebrau]

Back to back brewdays this week to get my King Kegs refilled and provide me, my partner, friends and colleagues some good beer to drink over summer. I managed to score some Simcoe from Dean on eBid and since I haven't used the hop before and the alpha acid levels are suited to it, I decided to go for a hop bursted recipe like the one I've done a couple of times with Citra. The brew day was yesterday, started and finished much earlier than the previous day and went off more or less without a hitch. Hit 1.040 on the nose. The yeast I actually used was reclaimed St Austell yeast. Hoping this will behave more or less like US-05, from reading what others have said that is what I am expecting. If not then this might not be as hoppy as I'm hoping for.

The beer is named for the Class 142 Diesel Multiple Unit, that I have been training to drive (among others) since October last year. It is a s**theap, but I have a certain amount of affection for it.



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Recipe:

One Four Two
Special/Best/Premium Bitter

Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (L): 25.0
Total Grain (kg): 4.371
Total Hops (g): 100.00
Original Gravity (OG): 1.040 (°P): 10.0
Final Gravity (FG): 1.008 (°P): 2.1
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 4.19 %
Colour (SRM): 4.0 (EBC): 7.9
Bitterness (IBU): 26.8 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 75
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill
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4.000 kg Pale Malt (Maris Otter)(91.51%)
0.200 kg Wheat Malt (4.58%)
0.171 kg Biscuit (3.91%)

Hop Bill
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36.0 g Simcoe Leaf (15% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil) (1.4 g/L)
18.0 g Simcoe Leaf (15% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Boil) (0.7 g/L)
46.0 g Simcoe Leaf (15% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Aroma) (1.8 g/L)

Misc Bill
----------------

Single step Infusion at 64°C for 90 Minutes.
Fermented at 18°C with Ale yeast


Recipe Generated with BrewMate

Pictures:

Malts and salts



Swirly whirly



Run-off cloudier than I would've liked. This is the second time I've used biscuit in a recipe and the second time that I've had to recirculate more wort than usual. I lost patience in the end, this picture is about how clear I got it before recirculating what had run off and starting to collect wort for the boil. I have used cloudier wort before and still ended up with clear beer, but I really should've been more patient.



Simcoe at the ready!



Pre-boil dark arts



Boil begins



St Austell starter



All the hops in now, steeping begins



Oil slick after 40 minutes of steeping



Both of this week's brews in the brewfridge this morning. One Four Two on the top shelf, 80/- on the bottom.

[seymour]

Sure seems like it would be heavenly. How's it drinking?

[AdyG]

Simcoe is a very distinctive but also great tasting hop, I'm on my second brew using it. I use it as a late hop with small amounts of Columbus and Centennial too, but I'm sure a single hop Simcoe would be lovely.

As Seymour as above.... what do you think of it? (Seymour gave me valuable advice on my first dabble with Simcoe - great brew that one )

[Skittlebrau]

It's pretty good! A bit winey, a bit piney. Some slightly Apollo-esque flavours to it and also not a million miles from my beloved Citra. It's a good beer, but not one I'd fall over myself to recommend other people brew like with my Citra one.

I was thinking of doing my next one of these with Galaxy or Columbus. I've never used Galaxy before and have only used Columbus in combination with other hops. Anyone got any thoughts on this idea?

[AdyG]

It's pretty good! A bit winey, a bit piney. Some slightly Apollo-esque flavours to it and also not a million miles from my beloved Citra. It's a good beer, but not one I'd fall over myself to recommend other people brew like with my Citra one.

I was thinking of doing my next one of these with Galaxy or Columbus. I've never used Galaxy before and have only used Columbus in combination with other hops. Anyone got any thoughts on this idea?

I've only used Columbus with other hops like Simcoe. All the APA recipes I've done have been a mix of 3 or 4 hops... I've not been brave enough to try a single hop yet in case it isn't as good... unless I've tasted it first of course.

I think of it like making a good home made curry, you need a blend of chilli, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric etc, and hopefully it all mixes into something amazing

[seymour]

...I was thinking of doing my next one of these with Galaxy or Columbus. I've never used Galaxy before and have only used Columbus in combination with other hops. Anyone got any thoughts on this idea?

In my opinion, Galaxy is one of the most mesmerizingly delicious aroma hops, but has a very harsh unpleasant bitterness. So a single-hop Galaxy IPA wouldn't be a good idea. However, if you use Columbus and/or another good high-alpha for the early bittering addition, and all your Galaxy late, it could be fantastic.

[Skittlebrau]

I have some Warrior so could do a bittering addition with that and then do 30g Galaxy at 5 mins and 70g for an 80 degree steep. May do an all-Columbus instead.

[seymour]

I have some Warrior so could do a bittering addition with that and then do 30g Galaxy at 5 mins and 70g for an 80 degree steep. May do an all-Columbus instead.

Both good options. I highly recommend Galaxy at flame-out or dry-hops, though. Fear not!

[Skittlebrau]

Okay, if I do it with Galaxy it'll be 100g at steep.

[Lugsy]

I love Galaxy late in the boil but I've had massive problems with using it as a dry hop - every time I've tried it I've ended up with a sour beer which I'm now assuming is down to the particular batch of hops I've been using. I'd always thought that no souring bacteria would live on a hop but I've had the same result in 3 different batches including one I'm drinking now. The beers have always been almost bright by the time I dry hop them but by racking time they've been cloudy and sour. I thought at first it was something I'd done wrong sanitation-wise but this is the only batch of hops it's happened with so now I think it's the hops themselves - I've considered that I'm sensitive to one of the compounds in them but commercial examples have all been delicious and other people have tasted the same sour flavour in mine. I quite like the sourness I'm getting but it's definitely not what I'd expect from a dry hop and I'm almost sure it's bacterial in origin. Weird, eh?