CS7 - Hop Harvest Ale - Kauri Road Brewery

[Barry]

Maris otter 4.8kg / 96%

Bairds crystal .2kg / 4%

 

Mash 67° 60min

 

Southern Cross 18gm @ 60min

 

Amarillo 15gm @ 10min

Home grown hop 30gm @ 10min

 

Amarillo 15gm @ 3min

Home grown hop 30gm @ 3min

 

Centennial 40gm dry (in keg)

 

S05

OG 1.051  FG 1.009

ABV 5.4% 48IBU

 

Interesting beer to make for me, this one. I dialed back the crystal to showcase my home grown hops so the beer is lovely and pale and crisp.

The homegrown hops I had thought were smoothcone, but after reading the description of smoothcone on the nzhops website I don't think they are. John Golics (Auckland Guild of Brewers and Winemakers) who gave them to me several years ago mentioned something about them originating with the Puhoi Bohemian settlers which had me calculate them as Saaz in my recipe (4% alpha). They are quite floral and lemony in aroma and flavour, not super lovely tasting but they seem to have rounded out nicely in this beer.

I'm stoked to be able to use them in a beer, they've been growing for 3 seasons and this is the first season I've had any cones at all - I was swamped with them!

Tastings from the fermenter before kegging weren't very promising at all so I threw a good measure of centennial dry into the keg.

 

I'm really happy with the result, I hope it reaches you all in the same kind of nick it's been coming out of the keg at mine!

 

Bottled from the keg so no sediment - give it a good strong pour as it's carbonated on the low side.

[Reviled]

Shit this swap is looking like a good un already!! Can't wait to try this beer..

[Andrew]

Its pretty cool your willing to share your home crop with us all Barry, Cheers.

[Tilt]

I'm feeling priveleged to try this one out Barry - I reckon I might be busting my wet hop cherry with your entry! Yeeah!

[Reviled]

This was my first cs7 beer, tried about two weeks ago cos I couldnt wait!!

Poured hard for a nice slightly hazy golden colour, the haziest I have ever seen one of Bazzas beers so no doubt down to fresh hop oils.. Nice fresh hop aroma, hint of citrus with some grassy notes. A bit thin in the mouthfeel but the hop flavour lingers in a pleasant way, again very fresh tasting! Nice beer mate

[Barry]

hmmm, hazy. That does not bode well.

It was bright clear out of the keg at mine. Bum.

[Reviled]

I did serve it at about 4*c so that could also be why? It didnt really last long enough to warm up

[John H]

My first CS beer.

 

Yum. Poured the bejesus out of it and got a nice bit of head. I got a slight tropical fruit aroma. Liked the crispness and bitterness of the finish.

 

The main pour didnt look hazy at all - (it was 03h00 AM so cant be sure), but the last bit from the bottle had what looked like hop bitties and had a slight haze. Really enjoyed that beer - cheers Barry 

[Matt Smith]

Poured slightly hazy but cleared up nice and bright as it warmed. Some little pieces of floaties in there, bits of centennial from the keg I assume.

I get a hint of lemon on the nose, along with a certain aroma i get in alot of my US05 beers which I cant put my finger on...ive read people describe 05 as having a peach aroma but I'm struggling to remember what peaches smell like.

Nice and crisp, well balanced and refreshing..I'm getting a hint of toffee now that it has warmed up which is nice.

Very nice ! Thanks Barry

[Barry]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

 

Matt, I also get lemon on the nose from that hop.

Glad the crisp finish is coming through and that the balance seems to be OK.

 

Cheers!

 

[Haish]

Looks like a little bit of yeast sediment on the bottom of the bottle so I poured carefully into the glass and didn't manage more than a thin white head. Beer is a crystal bright, golden colour. Aroma is citrus (lime) and hints of feijoa, this may be from the thousands of feijoas in my kitchen, although I have had this from a single hop centennial beer before. Taste is firm bitterness that lingers through the finish with fresh citrus zest, this beer is definitely all about the hops! Well brewed, wouldn't expect anything less from you.

 

Thanks for sharing your homegrown hop harvest beer! I got a rhizome off John this summer so I can't wait to get some fresh hops from it, hopefully sooner than three seasons:)

[Richard Jack]

I should preface this by saying A) Huge thanks for sharing your harvest ale with us (you're a generous soul) and B) I started to feel guilty about halfway through tasting because I was trying to find flaws in a beer than would easily be better than anything I've ever had prior to about 8 months ago. Easily.

 

Taken from the fridge where it's been at 10C for a few days. I could spy a bit of particulate floating around that I thought might be yeast (but I see now was just hops) so I poured into a jug and then into two glasses, one for me and one for my brewer-in-arms, James. From the jug I could pour a bit more aggressively and managed a 1cm head that shrank quite fast. Slight haze, nothing major. Carb probably slightly low for our tastes, but not by much.

The aroma was all pineapple and lemon, but quite sweet smelling, not sharp. like a lemonade lemon. There's a floral sort of smell in it that I can also detect in my gins, maybe iris?

A nice smooth bitterness, with a pleasingly crispness. So damn balanced. A lot of tropical fruit juice taste from the hops for me, James insisted it was pineapple again but I got more mango.

All in all, it makes me feel a little upset that I've hopped the hell out of my own harvest ale. I think (high praise time) that if this was on tap at my (imaginary) perfect pub, it would be my first pint almost every time. Maybe I just had it under perfect circumstances or something, but I wish I had a keg of this to love and cherish as my own. I must plant hops.

Big ups! Loved it.

[vdog]

Don't feel upset Richard, your harvest ale was awesome! I'm brewing something like it next week cos now I feel like I'm missing out on hops with just a porter on hand...