Challenger Smash

[iandiggs]

hi All,

I've also just got some challenger through and am brewing with some MO, crystal (maybe munich) - all challenger and north yorkshire yeast this weekend.
Looking forward to it.
Ian

[seymour]

I've also just got some challenger through and am brewing with some MO, crystal (maybe munich) - all challenger and north yorkshire yeast this weekend.

Sounds great, Ian; I can't wait to hear how it turns out.

What is "North Yorkshire Yeast," is that a BrewLab strain? Sam Smiths? Black Sheep?

[iandiggs]

Hi Seymour. It's a Wyeast, 1469 West Yorkshire strain; i bought it after seeing Rubbery's A2 challenger recipe. Not sure how it's going to turn out. Some on the site have mentioned Timothy Taylor but others have emphasised the sweetness/maltiness created by it, which i'm not sure TT has(?).
My original impulse to use all challenger was prompted by drinking a really nice ale brewed for last year as a one-off in the UK called 'Red, white and Brew' (corny, i know); loved the hop taste and someone said it was all challenger hops.
Not sure after reading the links on 1469 yeast if it's the right one as it may strip away all the hop taste in favour of a malty/sweet brew. Not that this would be a bad thing, just not what i'm aiming for. I've got some Mauribrew, S-33 and S-05 in reserve, but i'm bored of using s-05 now and need to do something different. Not sure if s-33 is suitable either, as i've heard it's for belgian-style beers. Mauribrew? I do not know much about it.
Also, i've used new-world hops for my last few brews and have really gone overboard on the 80 degrees hop-steep; 80g-100g with Nelson Sauvin/Cascade respectively. Not sure if i can get away with adding these quantities with english challenger as i may get that 'grassy' flavour as i did when i tried to steep a lot of EKG/fuggles (bit of a novice). I may do 50g max on the steep.
Thanks for your interest.
Cheers
Ian

[Padalac]

Fwiw I've found that challenger interacts very well with wyeast1968. I made a pale ale with it recently (along with a couple other hops) and made 5 separate additions of challenger: Bitter, flavor and aroma additions, then a 1 week dry hop and a last minute hop tea addition. The result is just gorgeous, rich satsuma notes that hit you in the middle of the mouth and finishing dry with little pucker and no harshness. None of the pine or blackcurrant leaf thing you get from certain American hops.

[DeGarre]

... Not sure if s-33 is suitable either, as i've heard it's for belgian-style beers....

S33 is the old EDME yeast, it is very neutral and not Belgian at all. I just used this for my Rauch beer. Only problem I've had with this yeast is that it's quite floaty in the bottle and gets into the glass easily - so luckily it is neutral tasting.