British hops

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RivelinBrewing
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Re: British hops

Post by RivelinBrewing » Tue Apr 12, 2022 5:53 pm

I adore the US 'C' hops. I have been brewing a Black IPA (Black Bear) for years and it has become a favourite with friends and family. It uses a tonne of US hops (citra, columbus, chinook, centennial, cascade). But I have started brewing as environmentally as possible. As such, I want to reduce the food miles where a satisfactory substitute is available. I've just bought 200g of Harlequin to see if I can start substituting some of the US hops. I wonder if there will be further development of British hops with the US chemical profile, given the cost of importing hops.
Other things I'm doing to reduce impact of brewing include using only electrical heating and on green tariff. I brew twice in a day, using the 'waste' scalding water from the plate chiller for my second brew of the day. This has reduced water and energy consumption. The second batch of cooling water is used for washing up after. The rest is stored in plastic Winchesters for next brew day. No water gets wasted. This works for me.

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MashBag
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Re: British hops

Post by MashBag » Wed Apr 13, 2022 7:44 am

I agree with you whole heartedly on waste.

I only brew once in any one day. I don't chill.

charlie
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Re: British hops

Post by charlie » Wed Apr 13, 2022 1:13 pm

I use my chilling water for sanitising the grainfather and cleaning up my shed.
I sanitise my kegs with the pre mixed solution that comes out of the boiler.
They're not full but if I leave them on their side and turn them whenever I go in the shed it does the job.
Brewing in the badlands between Arnside and Milnthorpe.
Cumbria

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Northern Brewer
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Re: British hops

Post by Northern Brewer » Wed Apr 13, 2022 4:31 pm

bitter_dave wrote:
Mon Apr 11, 2022 2:59 pm
Presumably the can is to denote scale rather than suggest it was sent with the hops.
I did wonder if it was one of those weird gifts you sometimes get, particularly from businesses that mostly sell to other businesses, like little bags of Haribo or something.
Fr_Marc wrote:
Mon Apr 11, 2022 6:30 pm
On the bag it says 5kg net… Maybe the weight of the fresh hop before being processed into pellets? 🤔
Just a company that's always sold B2B in the past and just isn't quite geared up to selling retail yet....

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MashBag
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Re: British hops

Post by MashBag » Tue Apr 19, 2022 8:34 am

The race is on.
Cascade vs Ernest in a single hop IPA.
So they went in yesterday. Yeast just waiting for aeration today. Saf-ale @ 19c

Used the same recipe so any predictions?

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MashBag
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Re: British hops

Post by MashBag » Thu Apr 21, 2022 10:39 am

Day three we have clear winner after first tasting.
Ernest makes cascade look like a Model T Ford

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bitter_dave
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Re: British hops

Post by bitter_dave » Thu Apr 21, 2022 11:43 am

MashBag wrote:
Thu Apr 21, 2022 10:39 am
Day three we have clear winner after first tasting.
Ernest makes cascade look like a Model T Ford
Yes, I agree with you there!

+1 for Ernest hops!

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Dennis King
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Re: British hops

Post by Dennis King » Thu Apr 21, 2022 9:09 pm

I will be doing my 3rd brew with Ernest next week after being impressed with the first 2 brews. If I may make one suggestion try it with a better yeast than S0-4

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MashBag
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Re: British hops

Post by MashBag » Fri Apr 22, 2022 7:57 am

It's gets better 😱😱 surely not.

What would you recommend?

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Dennis King
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Re: British hops

Post by Dennis King » Fri Apr 22, 2022 7:19 pm

MashBag wrote:
Fri Apr 22, 2022 7:57 am
It's gets better 😱😱 surely not.

What would you recommend?
Any other yeast will be an improvement over SO-4. Personally I use liquid yeast but always keep a pack of Nottingham as a back up.

sandimas
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Re: British hops

Post by sandimas » Tue May 31, 2022 8:43 pm

Mangrove Jacks MJ36 Liberty Bell is my go-to dry yeast for British ales, really brings out the hops compared to S04.

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bitter_dave
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Re: British hops

Post by bitter_dave » Wed Jun 01, 2022 1:27 pm

sandimas wrote:
Tue May 31, 2022 8:43 pm
Mangrove Jacks MJ36 Liberty Bell is my go-to dry yeast for British ales, really brings out the hops compared to S04.
Yes, agree with what you say. Like S04 it is quite flocculent and is reliable from a fermentation perspective, but the hop flavour comes out a bit more.

Just made another batch of Ernest Ale using Liberty Bell yeast and it is promising (four days after bottling). I find its good to mash hot with that yeast (69 c) and i've taken to using some Munich malt for body.

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MashBag
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Re: British hops

Post by MashBag » Thu Jun 02, 2022 10:36 am

Hmmm. I am going to have to sit down and think that through.

Mash temp effect on yeast. Hmmm indeed

f00b4r
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Re: British hops

Post by f00b4r » Thu Jun 02, 2022 12:38 pm

MashBag wrote:Hmmm. I am going to have to sit down and think that through.

Mash temp effect on yeast. Hmmm indeed
Control of the attenuation / end mouthfeel. When swapping out the yeast for another with no other changes there may be changes to attenuation, that may not be desirable but by changing the mash it lets you tweak that (back) if wanted.

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MashBag
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Re: British hops

Post by MashBag » Thu Jun 02, 2022 7:40 pm

I see that. Adjusted mash temp in the normal way. Never dawned / didn't realise you can use it to tweak a yeast. Everyday is a school day.

Thanks. I can feel some tweaking going on real soon. Just purchased 5kg of Ernest for £60, to keep myself busy.

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