Finally got some Nelson Sauvins...now what?

Yeah, I never got the really strong grape flavors that are often described...more juicy fruit, mango, etc. Not so much herbal here, though.

 

I just brewed a Nelson/Simcoe rye ipa, inspired, of course, by Alpine's Nelson. Turned out simply fantastic.

 

There is a recipe on homebrewtalk for Nelson IPA that apparently came from Pat at Alpine. It uses Southern Cross and Nelson. I haven't brewed it yet, but it is next up.

 

Yeah, several iterations of that recipe are floating around on hbt, hopville, rtc. Who knows if it's legit from Pat...I emailed him to ask if it was the real deal, and he never returned my email. I wanted to try it, but I couldn't find Southern Cross anywhere last year when I wanted to brew it, so I just did my own thing based on that one and Denny's Rye.

 

Just be mindful of one thing: In the wrong situations Nelson Sauvin does like to produce cat piss in large quantities.

 

I'd sprinkle them over my breakfast cereal... Or brew them into a Saison. The choice is yours.

 

I made that recipe and subbed Sorachi Ace for the Southern Cross. Turned out great.

 

Southern Cross is for sale at farmhouse brewing supply. I just picked some up with the intention of making something close to Nelson.

 

Maybe because it was in my head, but I did get some of the grapey, sauv blanc qualities in the Widmer Nelson IPA. Actually seemed more gerwurztraminer than sauv blanc, but it was there. You need to remember that sauv blanc should have strong tropical fruit characteristics as well with some herbal qualities. Here is a basic description:
http://wine.about.com/od/vineyardvocab/g/SauvignonBlanc.htm

 

Not to take this thread too off afield but a Sauvignon Blanc wine will taste very differently depending on where the grapes are grown. I am a huge fan of Sauvignon Blanc wines from the US Pacific Northwest; they have a lot of tropical fruit flavor with low herbal qualities. Sauvignon Blanc wines from New Zealand can be drastically different. When they are very herbal with the infamous gooseberry flavor I don’t like them at all.

On a beer related note the only Nelson Sauvin hopped beers that I have tried have been an all Nelson Sauvin hopped IPA from Sixpoint (part of their spice of life series of IPAs) and one from a local brewpub. I didn’t like the Sixpoint Nelson Sauvin IPA at all and the brewpubs version was not a favorite of mine.

I have never tasted gooseberry (e.g., gooseberry jam) and based upon these two beer drinking experiences (plus my dislike of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wines) I intend to never eat anything with gooseberry in it.

Cheers!

 

Jack,
I never had New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and I don't think I ever had Nelson Sauvin hops, but from time to time we pick wild gooseberries and make gooseberry pie, gooseberry tarts, etc. It's mostly a tart/sweet thing; I am hard pressed to recall the flavor beyond that. I think it is rather non-descript to my palate and can't imagine how anyone would find it offensive. I wonder if the descriptor of gooseberry in wine is really accurate, or if it is just a convenient term to describe a flavor that is only marginally reminiscent to some of gooseberries. One oenophile I know talks about diesel fuel as an aroma he gets from white burgundy (he loves it, by the way). Anyhow, if you tasted gooseberry jam, I doubt it would kill you

In the spirt of putting names on flavors and aromas: I have tapped that Classic American Pils in which I used the Wyeast American Lager 2035. Recall that Dave Berg said something about that yeast reminded him of Chardonnay? I think I get it too. Not buttery, as I was concerned about, but sort of white wine grapey undertones. You'll remember that I struggled with the diacetyl rest on this beer; it didn't go away for several weeks and I ended up dosing the beer with some active yeast, but all I could get was Nottingham -- so I guess there's no way of knowing if the subtle grapey flavor is from the lager yeast or the Notty. It's not a bad beer, but I probably will not use that yeast again given the problems it gave me.

Peter

 

I just brewed a Nelson IPA, I used Magnum for early hop additions, and the Nelsons for mid, late, and dry hop additions.
Magnums are high AA hop with a sort of neutral bitterness, they really let the Nelsons shine, it was a great beer.

 

Peter,

I trust you so I will indeed try gooseberry (e.g., pie/tart/jam) if presented with the opportunity. If nothing else it will provide me with a ‘baseline’ on the flavor/aroma of gooseberry. Whether the “gooseberry” flavor/aroma is what I find ‘offensive’ in New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wines or not I am uncertain. Not all of the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wines that have drunk are offensive to me but plenty were.

I am very glad to hear that your CAP turned out OK. I have brewed with Nottingham many times; it has always been a very neutral yeast for me. I am fairly confident that the Nottingham did not produce any grapey flavors. I trust that bergbrew knows 2035 very well and I am confident that it was 2035 which produced the flavors you describe as “grapey”. I have brewed several times with 2035 and I have always thought there was something ‘different’ about the lagers (Pilsners) from the 2035 batches. I most recently used 2035 to make a CAP (the online vendor was out of 2124). That batch was OK but not a ‘favorite’. I would highly recommend that you use 2124 for your next CAP; the resulting beers are very tasty and I have personally never experienced a diacetyl problem with that yeast (although in all fairness I have never experienced diacetyl problems with 2035 either).

Cheers!

Jack