Challenger as a single variety hop?

[booldawg]

Not brewed for must be well over 3 years so easing back in gently.

Was planning a brew with a simple grain bill and simple hop schedule to make things easier on the day.
I was hoping to use Styrian Goldings for both bittering and aroma.

When I got to LHBS I noticed the AA on the Styries were quite low (around 2.5%) Maybe they are a generally low AA hop? Never used them before!
Could've gone for 200g as a 100g wouldn't be enough, I decided to buy a 100g bag of a higher AA hop.

Impulse bought Challenger. I know I've used these before but possibly with other hops.

Schedule wise looking at 90 min & 20 min additions to give 45 IBU and 25g dry hop.

Is Challenger good as a multi use hop and what kind of flavour does it bring?

[Dennis King]

Probably my favorite hop no problem as a single hop brew.

[booldawg]

Thanks Dennis - good to hear it! Glad I picked them up.

[liamtmt7]

Yes really good. I made an incredibly pale ale with only challenger and it was fantastic .

I over primmer mine which was a bit of a pain, was almost lager like but the taste, bitterness and aroma were fantastic.

[liamtmt7]

here is my recipe - looks like I actually brewed it last New Years Eve (needless to say there is none left)

Challenging Eve

Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (L): 23.0
Total Grain (kg): 4.600
Total Hops (g): 70.00
Original Gravity (OG): 1.047 (°P): 11.7
Final Gravity (FG): 1.012 (°P): 3.1
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 4.62 %
Colour (SRM): 5.2 (EBC): 10.2
Bitterness (IBU): 34.8 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 75
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill
----------------
4.000 kg Maris Otter Malt (86.96%)
0.300 kg Flaked Oats (6.52%)
0.300 kg Wheat Malt (6.52%)

Hop Bill
----------------
40.0 g Challenger Leaf (6.1% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (1.7 g/L)
30.0 g Challenger Leaf (6.1% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil) (1.3 g/L)

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

Single step Infusion at 70°C for 90 Minutes.
Fermented at 20°C with NBS Ale Yeast

[scuppeteer]

Looks great. Challenger is a brilliant all rounder. Have you any spare for putting in late, say last couple of minutes? Would make a huge difference to the overall flavour.

[booldawg]

Pretty much using the whole 100g. Maybe I'll do the 20 minute addition at 10 minutes? Expect it wont drop too many IBUs!

[Mr. Dripping]

York Brewery's 'Yorkshire Terrier' is single hop challenger and is a very decent pint.

[liamtmt7]

One thing I would say, it was fantastic but it did take 6 weeks or so to come good in the bottle

[booldawg]

One thing I would say, it was fantastic but it did take 6 weeks or so to come good in the bottle

I'm a great advocate of the '4 weeks maturation per 10 gravity points' kind of man!

[MarkA]

I've got a Challenger single hop brew in the fermenter at the moment and tested the gravity earier today. I had a sneaky taste and it's fantastic, and the aroma is amazing!

I posted a while back that I was thinking of doing this brew and someone told me I should 'forget the Challenger'. Each to their own, but I'm really glad I went for it. It's going to be hard waiting for it to mature so I can drink it

[Mattpc]

I think it's easy to dismiss the British hops when there are so many tasty "shouty" ones coming from America and the New World.. However, we shouldn't really because British hops are also fantastic.

[Martt2]

Challenger is the stuff. Coniston Bluebird. Need I say more?

[demig]

Love Bluebird, looks like I need some Challenger! Actually what I need is to finish installing Mrs Demig's new kitchen so I can get a brew on, can't even get to my beer fridge at the moment as IKEA boxes are in the way

[Fil]

best smash brews ive done have all been challenger/MO, go for it, aim for circa 4 - 4.5% and its a perfect crisp summer ale..