What's your favourite grainbill for hop trial recipes?

[seymour]

When brewing to show-off a new hop, what sort of grainbill do you use? What is your thought process?

For instance, are you shooting for the most neutral malt possible to shine the spotlight entirely on the hops? Or, do you brew a favourite recipe which has some malt complexity, just to see what new hops might add to it? Or what?

Word to the wise: any answer to this question would also make a good Green Hop recipe.

Here are some historic and commercial examples, plus some culled from our own forums!

1440 Liers, Flanders Hop Beer: 60% Oats, 20% Barley, 20% Wheat

Alpha Brewing Co: 90% Pale, 10% Cara 40L Malt

Brooklyn Sorachi Ace Saison: Pilsener Malt, White Sugar

CestrIan Single Hop Ale (a Jim's Beer Kit member): 91% Maris Otter, 4.5% Crystal Malt, 4.5% Torrified Wheat

Eadweard Hop Trial Recipe (a Jim's Beer Kit member): 95% Maris Otter, 5% CaraMalt

Frog Island Fire-Bellied Toad: Maris Otter, Crystal Malt, Wheat Malt

Green Flash Single Hop Session: Maris Otter, Vienna Malt

Hanglow Standard Golden Ale (a Jim's Beer Kit Member): 95% Maris Otter, 5% Wheat Malt

Heavy Seas Gold Ale: Pale, Wheat Malt, CaraMalt

jimp2003 Cracking Bitter (a Jim's Beer Kit member): 87.9% Maris Otter, 7.7% Crystal Malt, 3.3% Wheat, 1.1% Black Malt

Larkins Single Hop Best: 90% Pale, 10% Crystal Malt, dash of Chocolate Malt

Magpie Hoppit/Hoppily Ever After: 100% Maris Otter?

McMenamins Thundercone Fresh Hop Ale: Pilsener, CaraMunich Malt

Mikkeller Single Hop Series: 67% Pilsener Malt, 11% Crystal Malt, 11% Munich II Malt, 11% Flaked Oats

Mike C-Z Single Hop IPA: 84% Pale, 14% Rye Malt, 2% Honey Malt (+ rice hulls to prevent stuck sparge)

Monkeybrew Single Hop Best (a Jim's Beer Kit member): 86.6% Maris Otter, 6.6% Crystal Malt, 3.6% Oats, 2.4% Brown Malt, .7% Chocolate Malt

Mr. Dripping Hop Trial Recipe (a Jim's Beer Kit member): 90% Pale, 7% Munich Malt, 3% Wheat Malt

New Belgium Hop Kitchen: Pale, Cara 120L Malt, Flaked Oats

Nobby IPA Hop Trial Recipe (a Jim's Beer Kit member): 90% Maris Otter, 5% Pale Biscuit Malt, 5% CaraPils

Northern Brewer Single Hop Best Bitter: 80.6% Maris Otter, 6% Dark Crystal Malt, 1.5% Pale Chocolate Malt, 11.9% Corn Sugar

Oppigårds Single Hop Golden Ale: 82% Pale, 18% Wheat Malt

Pelican Elemental: 100% Pale

Russian River Hop 2 It Single Hop Trial: 74% US Pale, 13% Maris Otter, 10% Dark Crystal Malt, 3% Enzymic/Aciduated Malt

Saint Arnold Single Hop Ale: Pale, Vienna Malt, CaraMalt

Schlafly Hop Trial APA: sometimes 100% Pale, sometimes 88% Pale, 10% Cara 60L Malt, 2% English Chocolate Malt

Scuppeteer Hop Trial Recipe (a Jim's Beer Kit member): 90% Pale, 8% Munich Malt, 2% Flaked Barley

Seymour Single Hop Cream Ale (a Jim's Beer Kit member): 75% Pale, 15% Vienna Malt, 2.5% Crystal 40L Malt, 2.5% Aciduated Malt, 5% Flaked Corn

The Kernel Single Hop Pale Ale Series: Maris Otter, Wheat Malt, CaraGold Malt

Wadworth Malt & Hops: 98.7% Pale, 1.3% Crystal Malt

Westerham Single Hop Varietal Series: 100% Maris Otter

Widmer Single Hop Barleywine: Pale, Caramel 10L Malt, Caramel 60L Malt, Black Malt

[NobbyIPA]

90% maris otter 5% pale biscuit malt and 5% carapils for me

smash brews are ok for this but have found adding 5% or less biscuit gives a hint of sweetness not too much though that then balances the dryness of a smash brew you can end up with
which then makes the hops shine through more IMO

[seymour]

90% maris otter 5% pale biscuit malt and 5% carapils for me

smash brews are ok for this but have found adding 5% or less biscuit gives a hint of sweetness not too much though that then balances the dryness of a smash brew you can end up with
which then makes the hops shine through more IMO

That sounds delicious too, makes me think of Marble Dobber.

[Hanglow]

Standard golden ale base is the best imo, something like 95% MO and 5% wheat

I think all the best hop trials are like that, about 4% ish and 40 IBU or so

Although bigger 'murican style IPAs are good for it too, but I'd probably use a similar grainbill

[Eadweard]

I go for 95% MO 5% cara if I remember rightly. Just a little sweetness to balance the hops.

[scuppeteer]

90% Pale, 8% Munich, 2% Flaked Barley. Stops the beer being too thin and gives a little more body.

I always use 100g hops in 5 gallons with IBU's around 30 depending on the AA% and always have at least 50g at flame out. This balances everything and you can see how punchy or not the hop is on flavour, especially if you are comparing 2 or 3 varieties at once.

[seymour]

All really great suggestions, thanks for sharing guys!

I added them to the list in the OP, for anyone who reads this thread in the future.

[Deebee]

I usually do

85 pale
5 crystal of your,choice
5 carapils
5 wheat

[seymour]

I usually do

85 pale
5 crystal of your,choice
5 carapils
5 wheat

That's another good-looking recipe, Deebee. Would that be 5% Wheat Malt, or unmalted such as Torrified Wheat?

[Mr. Dripping]

The grain bill I am most familiar with (and use to trial a new hop) is:

90% pale malt
7% munich malt (Thos. Fawcett)
3% wheat malt

OG 1045
60 minute hops for 15-20 IBU
10 minute hops for 20-25 IBU
30g at flame out

[Deebee]

I usually do

85 pale
5 crystal of your,choice
5 carapils
5 wheat

That's another good-looking recipe, Deebee. Would that be 5% Wheat Malt, or unmalted such as Torrified Wheat?

Whatever i have to hand.
I love torri wheat thogh and also flaked wheat.. gives almost an oats like creaminess.

[oz11]

89.8% Pale
5.1% Munich
5.1% Caramalt