Topaz

[Manngold]

Hi all,

I purchased 400 grams of this on a whim and don't know what to do with it. I have recently gotten into brewing BIAB and have been thinking of how to use it. Was thinking of doing a simple single hop pale with lots of late hops and a 100 gram dry hop.

What is this hop like, from searching JBK, it seems people aren't that impressed. Is it worth saving and mixing with other hops?

Thanks

[Wonkydonkey]

I thought it was alright, I used in a brew as the bittering, and mixed a few loose hops for aroma, which was pulled from the fermenter yesterday and is in the pressure barrel, and just this eve dry hopped with mosaic

[seymour]

In my personal opinion, Topaz is good not great. Definitely worth a try in a hops-forward APA or IPA, especially since you already own it. And of course, you might enjoy it even more than me. It's a modern high-alpha Australian hop, somewhat similar to the legendary and much-sought-after Galaxy hop, and some brewers have been experimenting with using it instead of, or along with Galaxy in their popular IPA recipes since Topaz is more plentiful (and thus, cheaper, as you must've discovered.) The Australian hops breeders describe it as "Provides earthy notes comparable to old English varieties" but I think that's an understatement, Topaz has some intense, unique, fruity aspects when you use lots of it. It's cleaner than Pride of Ringwood, a little less complex than Ella.

Following are my notes from a couple all-Topaz commercial brews:

ALPHA TOPAZ PALE ALE: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/alpha-topaz-pale/265207/
5.5% ABV, 20 IBU

AROMA 6/10, APPEARANCE 3/5, TASTE 7/10, PALATE 4/5, OVERALL 14/20 = 3.4/5
Tasted on tap at the brewery tasting room. It poured a nice light golden amber colour with a little chill haze, weak off-white foam and a little lace. Due to extremely high demand, there is a shortage of Cascades hops, so suppliers are recommending Topaz as a substitute. Huh? That’s crazy talk, Topaz is NOTHING like Cascade. Even so, Topaz makes for a pleasant APA in its own right: grassy, fruity, hints of melons and juicyfruit gum, shares some characteristics with Mosaic and Simcoe. An easy-drinking pint, with a little more complexity than typical grapefruity APAs.

SCHLAFLY IMPERIAL TOPAZ ANNIVERSARY ALE: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/schlafly-i ... le/307594/
10.2% ABV, 85 IBU
AROMA 7/10, APPEARANCE 3/5, TASTE 6/10, PALATE 3/5, OVERALL 14/20 = 3.3/5

Tasted at Schlafly Bottleworks in a sampler glass. It poured a mostly clear golden colour with thin but persistent white foam, some lace. Fairly nondescript malt bill, hint of residual caramel sweetness. The emphasis obviously placed on intense Topaz hoppy traits: citrus rind, tropical fruit, hint of melon and tomato plant. Bitterness was a little coarse, flavour was better, aroma was best of all, much like Galaxy and Enigma hops. I notice their Tasmanian IPA was previously all Galaxy, now a blend of Galaxy and Topaz, which makes perfect sense as a cost-savings. Medium body and carbonation, smooth alcoholic warmth, lingering fruity aftertaste.

[orlando]

So far I've used it as a bittering hop only as the massive AA% means a little goes a long way, but have been impressed with its aroma as it hits the boil and wondered if it could become duel purpose. Suggest you start using it the same way and experiment with late hopping with it if your happy with the bittering profile.

[PhilB]

Hi Manngold

My research around what Topaz hops are like suggested that people generally found it to (probably) not have enough about it to make good beer when used on it's own .. there were a couple of suggestions, however, that it goes well with American "C" hops ... so I made a beer that used my whole (100g) pack of Topaz and a (100g) pack of Columbus too, mostly used towards/after the end of boil, which has turned out very nice, as it happens

You can see a pic of the beer and some of my initial tasting notes over there (link), there are opinions from some other brewers that I did a bottle swap with further down the thread (you don't have to just take my word for it), and the recipe is further up the thread (I'm sure you can skim past the blather/banter to find the pertinent bits )

Hope that helps,
Cheers, PhilB

[RobWalker]

The information that I read points to the aroma being more desirable in the boil rather than in the dry hop. obviously you should use both for hop forward, but it might suit a hoppy english beer well. i found it interesting, peachy and appley.

[Dennis King]

I used it once as a direct replacement for galaxy in my galaxy delight. I thought it turned out OK if not quite the same.

[Manngold]

Did a brew with this today. Thanks for all your comments. In the end I added a minimal amount of Topaz at the start and ramped up towards the end. Planning to dry hop with a big amount, possibly 100g.

Thanks all.

[AnthonyD]

I've used Topaz in two beers. A lychee saison as the bittering charge only, and in my last IPA - along with Citra, a smaller amounts of Equinox and Galaxy. Turned out very very well indeed with great fruity aroma! I think it's definetly a blending hop however.

Recipe is here: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=71141&p=748198&hil ... ic#p748198