I finally decided to grab a vacuum sealer and go in on some bulk hop purchases, so now I have a few ounces each of some varieties I've never used. I was thinking of making small batches of a simple pale ale to showcase the different flavors. Does anyone have a good base recipe in mind? It wouldn't need to be a SMaSH, since I intend to bitter with some dirt-cheap Millennium and use the new hops for flavor and aroma. I wanted to showcase Simcoe, Meridian, and Citra, maybe 2.5 gallons each. Ideas?
I cannot vouch for this recipe because I have never made it. However, it is the base recipe my club (BWP) is using to showcase single-hopped beers. So far we have 16 members signed up to do single-hopped versions of this beer, using everything from Amarillo to Zeus. Tasting is scheduled for the May meeting. Club Pale Ale 5gal, 1.054ish, 40ish IBUs 9# 2-row 1# C40 1.25oz of your hop @60 (or whatever it takes to get to total bitterness around 40 IBUs) 1oz @15, 5, 0 2oz @ Dry Hop 1 pack Fermentis US-05 Mash @154 F Ferment mid-60s
I've done this for the last 6 lbs of hops I purchased. I call it hop characterization. make 3 qts wort at ~1.050, using 90% 2-row and 10% C40, boil, let cool to 190 (to avoid breaking glass jug) transfer to glass jug with 1/2 oz hops, swirl, add air lock and cool over night add yeast in the am, bottle after one week (~ 6-7 bottles) sample one week after bottling. I do this in parallel with brewing a regular batch, so it's not much more work. Within 2 weeks of receiving the hops you will get a good sense of the hop's flavor, aroma and intensity by sampling it in a simple PA. Easy Peasy (sp)
