Hophead IV - No winging it this time

[yashicamat]

Ooh, 8 days in and chilled down to 6degsC to drop some yeast. Warmed up sample tastes...well like Hophead Looking forward to this one.

Looking forwards to hearing how this one progresses, Si. Was enjoying a pint of Hophead after a mountain bike ride the other day . . . talk about the ideal pint to quench my thirst after a fantastic ride!

[Whorst]

The wonders of UK-05!

[OldThumper]

I tried Hophead for the first time in London on Friday and it was superb! I will definitely be making this when I get some cascade hops in. It would be interesting to find out what malt Darkstar uses for definite.

SiHoltye, please let us know your verdict when it is ready!

[SiHoltye]

Will do,

Low colour maris otter, pinch of caramalt, whole cascade hops, small bittering charge large late hop, yeast blend of S04/Notts/US05. That info is from the brewery

[OldThumper]

Ah ok, so it is simply the quantity of hops and malt (pale and caramalt) that is not known for sure. Do you think using 40g of crystal malt as opposed to caramalt will make much difference? 40g is such a small quantity that I imagine it is just for colour.

I attempted Hophead III (viewtopic.php?f=24&t=23273
) a few weeks back with the addition of 50g fresh elderflowers 10 mins from the end but the beer tastes horrid at present. I think may be it has become infected, unless this is normal when using fresh elderflowers! those cascade hops were expensive as well.....

[yogester]

Will do,

Low colour maris otter, pinch of caramalt, whole cascade hops, small bittering charge large late hop, yeast blend of S04/Notts/US05. That info is from the brewery

how is it tasting? have you had a sneaky sip yet?

[SiHoltye]

Of course I've had a cheeky sample but at only 2 days after kegging the half I drew tasted predominantly of yeast and isinglass The weight/body and sweetness seemed just right and there are cascades in there. Can't wait to crack this when it's matured for 4 weeks at the beginning of Aug, a 2 week hol between now and then will help me keep my mits of it.

[OldThumper]

Hi SiHoltye,

Any news on your brew?

I copied your recipe and the brew has been fermenting for about 4-5 days now. I just took a SG and it is about 1012 and tastes pretty good and is very very light in colour

I will report back in a few weeks time but I am interested to hear how yours is now it has matured a fair bit.

Cheers.

[SiHoltye]

Here on HH4 I've used LCMO. It contributes the sweet malt body of an OG 5-6 points lower IMHO and so what is evident here is the bittering hops with little to balance them. Should I continue with LCMO I'd go with 4-5% Caramalt next time but since I don't want to commit to brewing with LCMO I'm gonna move forward with a sack of Golden Promise. I taste a lighter body with this grain than with MO (discuss). Plans for HH5 brewing on Wednesday consider:

Malt sweetness: Increased from HH4 through use of GP and upped Caramalt to 3% from 1% (not 5% as HH3 was too sweet. NB using MO)
Hop bitterness & flavour & aroma: Heading back to HH3 regime as I was happy with it as a base but couldn't assess fully as sweet body was off-setting it in that brew (5% Caramalt)

If that makes any sense to anyone but me I'll be surprised Having fun though.

HH5
Amount Item Type % or IBU
3.57 kg Golden Promise (3.5 EBC) Grain 97.00 %
0.11 kg Caramalt (26.0 EBC) Grain 3.00 %
30.00 gm Cascade [6.35 %] (90 min) Hops 21.7 IBU
40.00 gm Cascade [6.35 %] (5 min) Hops 5.4 IBU

Yeast will be dried one, maybe S04 'cos I can spot it subtley in the original, I'll ferment at 18 in an attempt to limit it's contribution to 'subtle' if I can. Having listened to an article about the temp very early in the ferment affecting the creation of pre-cursors that potentially are not fully utilized later on I'm also concentrating on pitching at the right temp for once...who else pitches at 25°C and leaves the fridge to chill it over 3-4 hours the final way to 19-20°C?

[OldThumper]

who else pitches at 25°C and leaves the fridge to chill it over 3-4 hours the final way to 19-20°C?

I have done the last few times I have brewed! Honestly! I am on a water meter so by the time my wort gets down to 25C - 30C I am very worried about how much the immersion chilling has cost me!

[SiHoltye]

HH5 admittedly is not ready yet but the cascade effect is evidently not in full effect here. I've dry hopped with 20g cascade pellets 4 days ago and already they're lifting the beer into a 'like the original' state. Proper tasting hasn't begun yet as not officially matured until the 19th, however, am planning HHVI on the basis of a large single very late addition. Loving the base malt and caramalt contribution, just not sorted the fresh hop fragrance/flavour yet. Bitterness is sorted, it's just that finishing aspect to nail down. Is slightly perplexing and a good learning point though that a similar weight late addition of nelson sauvin in another brew is way more pungent than cascade has proved to be. I'd equated AA as a marker for bitterness contribution only, perhaps it indicates potency more generally, and if so perhaps contribution at all stages can be assumed through this? Dunno from my experience so far.

[fivetide]

Hophead is one of my all-time favourite beers. Darkstar can do no wrong.

I would say though, that you need a lot more late hops, plus a good chunk of dry-hops.

I also have no idea how they get that elderflower nose to it. I don't imagine they use elderflowers, as it's not very strong, but perhaps they use Cocktail or something.

Who knows?

(well, Darkstar...)

This reminds me of my attempts to make an Over The Moon style mild. I was quite pleased with my attempt in the end, but their recipes are absolutely tip-top.

When does Winter Solstice come out? That's a cracker too.

[simple one]

who else pitches at 25°C and leaves the fridge to chill it over 3-4 hours the final way to 19-20°C?

I have done the last few times I have brewed! Honestly! I am on a water meter so by the time my wort gets down to 25C - 30C I am very worried about how much the immersion chilling has cost me!

Ditto. I look forward to winter.

[SiHoltye]

Not a kerbillion miles away in the end, but not a gnats whisker either.

Body too light so upping cara by 1% but more importantly changing yeast to WLP028 from Notts.
Hop flavour too low so adding in a flavour contribution.
Upping the aroma.

Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU
4.73 kg Golden Promise (3.5 EBC) Grain 96.00 %
0.20 kg Caramalt (26.0 EBC) Grain 4.00 %
30.00 gm Cascade [6.35 %] (90 min) Hops 21.1 IBU
20.00 gm Cascade [6.35 %] (10 min) Hops 4.8 IBU
50.00 gm Cascade [6.35 %] (0 min) Hops -
1 Pkgs Edinburgh Ale (White Labs #WLP028) Yeast-Ale

Brewing Sunday

[fivetide]

Carry on the good work Si - just let us know when the water's perfect and we'll all jump in