So... I'm just starting to get into homebrewing, and I grabbed a few bottle of the Mikkeller Single Hop beers for some reference (yeah, yeah, hate all you want, but I'm trying to learn). Here is my issue: Theses bottle are probably about 10 months old, and I'm getting a huge "berry" characteristic from the Galena hop version. My palate is picking up some mild raspberry, strawberry, and blueberry. Is this normal for this hop? I've never heard of a "berry" hop before. If my perceptions are on point, I could see this hop being great in stouts and fruit forward IPAs. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Cheers! - T
Honestly... never thought of that. With all the mikkeller single hop beers being equal, i guess i totally overlooked that aspect.
Me and some of my buddies did single hop pales, same grain bill, different hop. We wanted to pick hops that people don't know (No cascade, centennial, amarillo, citra, etc.) I did one with Galena. I didn't really pick up a berry flavor, but it did have a strong fruitiness to it. It also had a weird citrus aspect I didn't care for. Something I'd use again, but in conjunction with a citrusy hop to try to cover up the weird factor in the galena. However... it wouldn't surprise me if it can have a berry flavor, depending on that year, growing location, etc.
“These bottle are probably about 10 months old …” That is a lot of age for a hop forward beer. I would be concerned that 10 months of aging might produce ‘unusual’ flavors? Cheers!
not Galena, but have heard Bullion be described as black currant....maybe a similar derivative trait (?)
just did a quick look, Galena was listed as a sub for Bullion according to this reference: http://hbd.org/brewery/library/Hopprofs0497.html
