Harvest Imperial IPA: brewing with wet hops

A homebrewing friend of mind has two Centennial  and two Cascade plants. All four plants are in a row and did so well this summer that a portion of the Centennial and Cascade plant grew into each other. Even though the Cascade hop cone is very distinguished, we decided to play it safe and brew a wet hopped Imperial IPA with the hops from the ambiguous area, on the bine.

I haven't brewed an Imperial IPA for awhile, since I don't usual feel that I finish a five gallon keg of it before the hops start to diminish. But since I will be splitting this batch up, it seemed like a perfect excuse to brew a big, carelessly hoppy beer. Leading up to this batch, I did a fair amount of research and decided to get rid of all crystal malt and see what affect it would have on the overall beer. I split the grist with 50% US 2-row, 50% Maris Otter, and added some corn sugar for an alcohol boost. I bittered with Bravo hops and added generous amount of Centennial and Columbus with :10 minutes left in the boil. Finished off the brew day with a massive 24 oz wet hop, hop steep for :60 minutes. Chilled and fermented with a health pitch of WLP090, san diego super yeast.

White Pale Ale: brewing with wet hops

I finally picked up a copy of Mitch Steele's book IPA. The book is centered around the historic, evolution of the modern IPA, but it does go into some variations of the style as well. There is a brief section on White IPAs, citing Deschutes Brewery's Chainbreaker White IPA as a commercial example. Here in Michigan, New Holland Brewery produces White Hatter, and is the only Michigan commercial example I can find. I have never brewer a White IPA, but have had a few commercial examples in the past. One memorable White IPA was when I lived in Chicago and Goose Island Brewery (before Anheuser-Busch) had  one on tap. I don't remember what it was called only that I bought a growler to go, went back a week later for a refill, and it had been replaced.

In summary, a White IPA is a combination of a Belgian Wit and American IPA. Wheat malt, flaked wheat, and flaked oats can all be used in the grain bill and the beer is hopped with pungent, pacific northwest hop varieties somewhere between an American Pale Ale and American IPA. Coriander and orange peel can be added in the boil, as well. Finally, a Belgian Wit yeast strain is used during fermentation with some dry hops. To me the merging of the two styles makes sense and doesn't seem too radical at all. Orange peel and coriander gives off a citrus, pine character, which are similar to the variety of hops used. The grain bill doesn't have a lot of carmel malt, or specialty malts which is perfect for hoppy styles. Belgian Wit yeast attenuates fairly well and gives the beer a unique character of its own. 

Rye IPA: brewing with wet hops

I personally enjoy brewing with wet hops. The fresh, grassy, hoppy aroma and flavor adds a unique character to the beer. The final beer has a fresh taste that is impossible to replicate. Unfortunately, my 2014 hop crop was lacking because I planted the rhizomes so late. But, a local homebrewer donated a pound of fresh Centennial hops.

I've been wanting to brew a Rye IPA  before this summer ends, so the timing was perfect. I used pellet hops for everything, except the hop steep after flame out. Using the 6:1 (5:1) rule for wet hops: pellet hops, the hop steep addition should be equivalent to 2.5 - 3.0 ounces of pellet hops.There is nothing too special about the grist on this beer, as I am looking for the wet hops to dominate the beer. The grain bill is mostly 2-Row, a little crystal, carapils, and rye malt. The rye malt only makes up 13.3% of the grist, which is fairly mild for this style. I am going to see how it turns out, but may up the rye malt for future batches.

Tasting Notes: Michigan Summer Ale vs Bell's Oberon vs Short's Nicie Spicie

In order: Oberon, Nicie Spicie, Michigan Summer Ale

Beer info and tasting notes:

North Peak Brewing Company

North Peak Brewing Company sits in downtown Traverse City, MI. I first noticed North Peak Brewing Company when I moved back to Michigan. Their bottles are very unique, think red stripe style bottle, and I bought a six pack just so I could reuse the bottles for my homebrew. I was up north this July and stopped in for dinner and a few drinks at what I would call a very average brewery.

Northern Lights - suprisingly flavorful for a light, golden ale. I tasted a lot of pilsner malt and Saaz. Very czech pilsner like, but missing the lager yeast. Light, crisp, and complex. Perfect beer after a day on the beach.

Shirley's Irish Stout - perfect balance. There was a great mix of roasted character and hop bitterness. Tasted almost like drinking cold, stale coffee. But, the nitro smooths out all the flavors. Definitely the best beer on tap, that night.

Diabolical IPA - nothing too special. A lot of bitterness up front, but lacking in hop flavor and aroma.

Hop Farm near Traverse City, MI

Hop Farm near Traverse City, MI. No cones yet.

Understanding Hops: Alpha and Beta Acids

2013 Homegrown Chinook

Hops, or Humulus Lupulus, are one of the key ingredients in brewing beer. Hops used for beer come from the female plant and the cones consist of water, total resins, essential oils, tannins, monosaccharides, pectins, amino acids,lipids, and wax.  Total resin (which makes up roughly 15% of the total cone weight) and essential oils (which make up .5% of the total cone weight), together hold the most value to brewers. While the essential oils contribute to the aroma and flavor of the beer, the total resin contains the alpha and beta acids.

Alpha Acids:
Alpha acids are the main source of bittering for beer and are measured by the percentage of total weight of the hop. But, alpha acids are not soluble in wort and impart no bitterness. During the boil, alpha acids are isomerized by heat, into iso-alpha acids. This conversion is slow and almost never completed. After a one hour boil, only 25-30% of the alpha acids have been converted into iso-alpha acids. Therefore, the longer the hops are boiled, the more iso-alpha acids are in the final beer, creating more bitterness. We calculate this by IBUs (International Bitterness Units). The gravity of the wort also has an affect on iso-alpha acid conversion. Higher gravity worts have a slower conversion of alpha acids to iso-alpha acids. This is why extract brewers that only boil 3-4 gallons of their wort and top off with water to reach 5 gallons, need more hops to reach the same IBUs as brewers that use full boils.