What happened to Galaxy?

I noticed the same type of quality fall off with Nelson Sauvin hops starting circa 2014ish. It just lost a lot of that earthy white wine character that I had originally experienced. In more recent years, though, I feel like it has bounced back a bit. I don't know if it was a similar situation as described above or what?

 

That sounds neat! And I think you may be right as per blending suspicion. Tree House did a curiosity series a while back highlighting Citra from two different spots. Other Half has done it with Strata, Mosaic, and Citra, in their Dank Squares series by releasing two single hopped beers at the same time that are nearly identical except for where the hop is from.

 

I had HF Double Galaxy in December 2018 on tap. Wow, it’s was so good I had two. If I have to compare with this beer most will not compare. Can’t say I’ve had a lot of galaxy but this one was a big win.

Enjoy

 

When your buying hops on the market how would you know the hops were good or bad? I’m just curious because it’s such a costly and important decision.

 

Galaxy still seems to be a popular hop to blend, perhaps the blending smooths out the variances. I’ve got such a dumb palate I don’t think I could tell one hop from the next blind or without a coach. I only know if I like the beer or not.

 

I think there’s several potential things. New hops can sometimes have really good years when they first get harvested and it ends up being the outlier years that we see first. I also think there’s a lot more Galaxy planted now which means it takes longer to harvest and the harvest window is wider unless they increased their equipment capability. That could mean some hops are harvested early, some perfectly on time, and some are older on the vine than ideal (which is typically when you starry getting those garlic/onion compounds)

 

Weedy, FWIW that is my theory/guess as well. I do not have figures but I suspect that over the recent years there is a lot more acreage of Galaxy hops now (vs. 3+ years ago) and managing that increase of hops via best harvesting practices is problematic.

From the article is appears that one way they are 'managing' this situation is by mixing the 'good' Galaxy hops with the 'bad' Galaxy hops with the hope that it will produce a more 'evened out' product. If this is indeed the strategy it seems to be a way to achieve mediocrity in the product.

Cheers!

 

I wonder if this is why Stevens Point no longer makes their Beyond The Pale IPA? The timing would suggest that could have been one of the reasons they replaced it in their line-up.

I personally really like that beer, my wife who is more of a hop head didn't like the taste that the galaxy hops provided.

 

I'd defer to any of the brewers posting in this thread but my understanding was that for a number of years Nelson was a complete crapshoot in part because it was coming from multiple smaller growers. There was also one or more years where hail damage limited the harvest to a large degree. I believe a lot of the supply and quality issues changed with the rise of Freestyle Hops (which is also responsible for the increase in Riwaka over the last two years).

 

I would love to hear any informed opinions on this matter. To be exact my non-brewer opinion is based solely on four beers: Coriolis, Unicorn Farm, Nelson, and Eureka w/Nelson.

 

Schlafly TIPA is a galaxy beer that I've had each year since 2013, often multiple six packs. It's a beer I've had so much I can imagine what it tastes like right now. This years was so different and solely from the hops. It wasn't bad, but wasn't the bright citrus of old. More melony. I had one on draft Monday and it was the same as the cans I'd had a month or two ago. I'd wondered what was going on with the hops, and this has given me some insight.

 

Galaxy is in Easthampton! https://www.galaxy413.com/

 

Galaxy has become an increasingly frustrating hop. When it's on, it's great, but when you get a bad box the resulting beer can be almost undrinkable if it's the main player. I too have definitely seen a huge difference in consistency between Victorian and Tasmanian grown lots. I can feature Victorian grown, but if I get a box of Tasmanian I know that I need to use it in a beer with several other hops

 

It would seem that they named this hop appropriately:

“Definition of enigma

1 : something hard to understand or explain”

Cheers!

 

Took the words out of my mouth. In the last 4 to 5 years I have noticed a marked decrease in the vineous notes and a distinct cedar note moving out from the darkness.

 

Last batch of other half all Galaxy everything was terrific. Super white wine-y with tropical papaya kind of secondary notes. Reminded me what I love about Galaxy to begin with.

 

Per this post, I saw YVH is having a May the Fourth special on Galaxy. I asked and they are shipping out Victorian galaxy fyi!