Does anyone have a good experience with a hop blend for Sorachi Ace? I know the hop seems love it or hate it (mostly hate it) but I have enjoyed it in and find that it works well for saisons, and I still have some I need to use. I'd like to avoid/hide the strong lemon plague and buttery notes - otherwise I enjoy the lemongrass and black pepper character. I'm specifically thinking of using it for a simple 6%abv dry hopped 3711 Saison but suggestions don't have to be for that specific yeast/style. I'm considering using Sorachi for late additions and a small dry hop with one of the following; citra, simcoe, EKG, styrian goldings, amarillo, ahtanum, cascade, hallertau, centennial, or maybe even columbus...? Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks in advance. Andrew
I have a tendency to use (for the most part) a similar dry hop as I would use late in the boil. For a consistent aroma to flavor experience if that makes sense. I could see how a combo of EKG and Sorachi would be a nice floral, lemon, and spice thing.
I think I'm going to try EKG, Styrian, with a touch of Sorachi in the boil then dry hop 2:1 EKG:Sorachi. I've hardly ever attempted a more tradition tasting saison with 3711 instead I tend to go more tropical hops and make more of an "india saison". The next time I might try Sorachi with some tropical hops like citra or nelson.
In our pale ale at work, a year ago we did a 1:1 ratio of Sorachi ace and Citra. I thought it was undrinkable as it was... I compared it to lemon pledge and butter, which I originally mistook for diacetyl and considered dumping it. I ended up blending Centennial, Citra, and Chinook in a second batch and blending the two together. This year we changed the recipe to a 3:1:1 ratio of Cascade, Sorachi Ace, and Chinook with great results.
That's good to know. In my limited experience that lemon pledge and butter notes come out at fairly high use but I'm not sure how early, late, or dry hop additions impact it. Do you remember how much Sorachi you used in your pale w/ citra? I'm looking at keeping the Sorachi usage under 2oz/5gal (probably going 3:1 with other hops).
