mash underway - your recommendations please!

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Gurgeh

mash underway - your recommendations please!

Post by Gurgeh » Sat Mar 22, 2008 7:55 pm

Evening all!

I've just got mashing at 67C a variation on my standard grist:

4.5Kg MO (normally 4Kg)
500g Crushed maize
350g crystal (normally 300g)

I bought some pioneer hops off BB this week and wondered if anyone has any experience of them?

my last few beers have been bittered to 37IBU with pacific gem, then i use a characterful hop for flavour & aroma.

I would quite like to use the pioneer but there's not a lot posted about them. Brupaks advice is that they 'are to become a firm favourite with home brewers' but is that just because of the 9%AA?

so should i go for pioneer or shall i replace or blend with any of:

styrians
goldings
fuggles
progress
bramling x
EKG

roger the dog

Post by roger the dog » Sat Mar 22, 2008 8:04 pm

I've never used them I'm afraid but good luck with it !

Gurgeh

Post by Gurgeh » Sat Mar 22, 2008 8:06 pm

cheers RtD,

first batch draining now...

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Horden Hillbilly
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Post by Horden Hillbilly » Sat Mar 22, 2008 8:10 pm

roger the dog wrote:I've never used them I'm afraid but good luck with it !
Ditto, I have not used pioneer myself. Why not try a 50-50 blend with one of your favourite hops? That way it will not be a total disaster if you don't like the taste of the pioneer hops.

Good luck with the rest of your brewday, enjoy it! 8)
Last edited by Horden Hillbilly on Sat Mar 22, 2008 8:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

roger the dog

Post by roger the dog » Sat Mar 22, 2008 8:15 pm

Just had a look in the BYO hop guide & Pioneer are described as 'Mild, typical english aroma'. They recommend EKG as a substitute hop so I reckon you could go with Pioneer for both bittering & aroma additions.

Gurgeh

Post by Gurgeh » Sat Mar 22, 2008 8:28 pm

Thanks guys.

i read that they have a delicate bitterness and fine aroma so maybe i'll do a single hop job:

37.5 at start of boil and again with 15 mins to go. remainder of pack at flame out and will hold at 80C for 5 mins before continuing cooling.

that'll get to grips with them!

Gurgeh

Post by Gurgeh » Sat Mar 22, 2008 10:52 pm

just realised this should have been in 'brewdays'. sorry!

Well i'm all done - amazing how easy it is when not videoing it at the same time... :roll:
completely free of cock-ups (as far as i've noticed so far :lol:)

100% pioneer as posted previously. collected 24L at 1.047 & 39 IBU and pitched a heap of crouch vale yeast a few minutes ago.

roger the dog

Post by roger the dog » Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:48 pm

Nice work G, I'll be interested to see how this turns out. Don't forget, if you don't like it, it was Horden Hillbilly that told you to go 100% Pioneer :wall :lol:

delboy

Post by delboy » Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:53 am

Good work gurgeh, you'll be able to be the resident expert on pioneer for a single hop brew, you could say you 'blazed the trail' for their homebrew use :lol:, pardon the deliberate non-pun :oops:

Gurgeh

Post by Gurgeh » Sun Mar 23, 2008 8:49 am

just been to have a look - full on 4" krausen already!

thanks SC & DaaB for advice on yeast harvesting, the difference is obscene 8)

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