Recipe Advice Thread

[denimglen]

Thought it might be handy to have a thread for some of the more advanced brewers to give some advice on recipes.

Let's see how it goes eh...

[jt]

have done experiments with beers that have only bittering additions and the flavour most definately comes through!!

 

True, but it is possible to drown them out with later additions yeah ?

[denimglen]

Not to piss on the parade but both those hops are kinda shit IMO (key word IMO :-) and I'm talking about the 2010 harvest) but if you're happy with what you've brewed with them go for it.  Lately I've found that NS is just all burnt rubber and damp tree bark, and I've made beers with a ton of rakau and have got hardly any aroma or flavour out of it at all.

 

You're right on NS dominating, so if you want to stick with those varieties I'd go like 5:1 - 6:1 NS.  So something like 30g Rakau to 5g NS would be about right.  This is a trick I learned off StuM on here.

 

With that amount of flavour/aroma hops I'd call it an IPA.  If you want something bitter but drinkable work on an IBU:OG ratio of about 1.1:1 - 1.2:1  So for a 1060 beer about 70 IBUs, 1070 about 80 IBUs etc etc.

 

no point in a 45 min addition is there? all your doing is adding extra bitterness.

might as well add it at 60 TBO. bitterness is bitterness so i've been told.

 

Yes and no, it's a pretty gray area.  I think multiple hop additions do add a certain complexity to the hop character and it does seem a slightly softer bitterness for hops added towards the end of the boil.  Is it worth standing over the kettle for the whole 60 minutes though?  Up to the brewer I guess.

[jt]

those hops are kinda shit IMO (key word IMO :-)

 

Dunno about particular harvests, but I did find it hard to get anything good out of the rakau I had - but that might've been my expectations - which is pretty much in line with your O !

[MrC]

I quite like Rakau in the Renaissance MPA but that's it!!!

[jt]

yea, good comment, maybe my use of it wasn't the best ?

[denimglen]

I've had two bottles of that and same thing as when I used it in my beers.

 

At first I thought it was just an old bottle, but then the next one was fresh and the same thing.  It's hard to explain.  I drink it and think to myself 'that's hoppy' but when then I can't acutally pick up any distinct flavour/aroma from the hops.  Weird shit.  They probably need to use some unorganic shit on it :-P

[denimglen]

Oh yeah, the harvest thing was referring to NS, not rakau.

 

Although I found that nasty burnt rubber thing in Bookie last weekend too, so maybe same buzz with 2010 riwaka.  Heard somewhere that the sulfur compounds come about when they leave the hops on the bine a bit longer to increase AA% at the expense of aroma.

[MrC]

Bookbinder hasn't been doing it for me this year sadly :(

[denimglen]

Does 'this year' include 2010 as well?  Cause the last time I had (before last weekend) it was the LL Beerfestival and I'm pretty sure it had the burnt rubber thing then too.  Sucks because it's such a great beer.

[MrC]

Does 'this year' include 2010 as well?

By "this year" I meant "last year", 2010.  Didn't have the uplifting hoppiness that I've enjoyed in the past and used to convert people to craft beer.

 

Sucks because it's such a great beer.

Agreed!

[Paul Harrison]

thanks for the ratio advice. I've enjoyed NS ineverything its been in so far and I have never used Rakau so we will see if its to my liking.

[JR]

When I think Rakau I think strongly resionous.

I make a pale ale with 200g of hops in the last 15 mins with no bittering addition and usually use cascade.  I wanted to try it with Rakau but was warned not to use too much so I ended up knocking it back to 100g.  It still seemed like too much.  It's probably a hop best used in moderation.