Hop Growing

I'll get to review the beer featuring my homegrown Bramling Cross hops shortly, but the early news is that it's not quite the beer I wanted.

However, earlier this week I managed to secure an hour or two up the allotment to tidy up the hop vines and frames. After harvesting, I cut the vines at the base and let them die back. I removed the withered growth from the canes this week, so the frame is now empty as winter approaches.

I also took the opportunity to plant another variety. Regular readers might remember that in addition to the Bramling Cross, I also had some Target in the past. The Target failed to establish as well as the BX, so I dug them out at this time last year, with a view to replacing them.

It was some job trying to remove all trace of the roots, and to ensure there was no mix up with varieties in the future, I left the bed empty for a year. I must have made a good job of it as no growth appeared, so the bed is now ready for its new occupant.

WGV

These are Whitbread Golding Variety (WGV). I planted two rhizomes in a container last year, just to get them going prior to planting out at the allotment. Having retrieved them from the container, they have come on a bundle from their original size, so I'm hopeful of a good start from them next year. 

I tend to use WGV in a Best Bitter, a recipe I've probably returned to more times than any other, usually pairing it with Progress and a late addition of Styrian Goldings. 

Homebrew Review - Longbow Ale

Brewed at the end of June, the recipe for this beer is here.

This was the beer I put together for my local homebrew group, where we all set out to brew what we like, but using a base of common ingredients. We had the choice of any English hops, but I chose to rely solely on 'Target', simply because it's often overlooked by homebrewers.

If you believe the marketing blurb, it's meant to be a harsh hop, best blended with others. I don't always believe what I read and thought this was an ideal opportunity to see what they bring to the table. A beer with Target all the way through, with hop additions at 60mins, 20mins, 1min, plus a few more thrown in for good measure as dry hops.

The beer pours a lovely deep amber/copper colour and is perfectly clear, with a tight head. Aroma is slightly herbal and vegetal. Not unpleasant, but not necessarily inviting, either.

Malt initially dominates the taste with hints of caramel and biscuit, but that is soon enveloped by the hops, which are a bit of a surprise. Yes they are assertive and maybe not for everyone, but there's a nice floral presence and even a faint hint of citrus and sherbet. Not in a big American way, but it's there.

A bitter finish then develops, but it's not harsh. I drank this bottle in the garden, basking in late September sunshine and it tasted as good as anything I'd brewed in a while. Yes, they need to be used carefully, but if this beer is anything to go by, Target are not the vicious, vindictive, bully of hops they are often portrayed to be.

The mouthfeel is soft and so very different to that earlier beer in which I used US05. The choice of WLP051 was a good one - the final gravity was 1.014 so there was plenty of residual sweetness in the beer, something that worked particularly well to help balance the assertive choice of hop.

So it maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but I believe this is a good beer and I'd have no hesitation in brewing it again, maybe adjusting the malts a little, just to add a bit more backbone to the malt base.

Homegrown Hops

The anticipation has started.

My hops have reached the end of the frame and there's the tiniest hint of flowers starting to form. It seems an age since the plants started to poke their way through the earth earlier this year, but now there's just a month or so to go.

These are my 'Bramling Cross'. The second hop frame is currently empty as I dug out the 'Target' and wanted to ensure there was no growth, before I plant up a replacement next year.

The Bramling Cross don't look quite as good as last season, in terms of appearance - the plants don't look quite so lush and vigorous, but that may have something to do with the incredibly dry weather we've endured of late. 30deg may not be much compared to other parts of the world, but for the UK it's damned hot.

It will take a while for the cones to form properly, but with the harvest due in late August / early Sepetember, the waiting is almost over.

Bring it on...

Brewday - Longbow Ale 28/06/2013

With no free time through July or August, I've been busy brewing these past few weeks and Friday will see another brew on the go.

My local homebrew club has a regular schedule of beer styles to brew, but, from time to time, we have one where the style is left open, but only specific ingredients can be used.

So we all get to brew what we like, but only using a set of ‘common ingredients' which were pulled out of a hat, at an earlier meeting. A minimum of 5% on the malts, plus the yeast of your choice.

We don't need this beer until the September meeting, but, with so little time to brew in the coming weeks, I thought I'd crack on.

This time, in addition to Pale Malt, the grist has to include; Crystal, Munich and Caramalt. As for the hops, rather than being specific, we took a broad view; 'American', English' 'Aussie/NZ' etc. And the chosen hop for this brew was English!

Often these 'common ingredient' beers provide a chance to use hops and malts you may not usually be familiar with. Clearly that wasn't going to be the case with the hops this time around, although it does give me an opportunity to try something out.

For a while, now, I've been tempted to make a single hop beer with 'Target'. A robust English hop that seems to be largely ignored among homebrewers. Often referred to as a harsh bittering hop, I have a feeling it tends to get a bit of bad press.

Is it justified? I'm not entirely sure. I've used it in several beers before, but never as a standalone. While I agree it might be an unusual choice for a single hop beer, don't shoot me down unless you've tried it yourself.

Are there any commercial examples out there? Brakspear's 'Triple' is a nice drop of ale and their website lists Target as the sole hop. If that's the case, it can be done.

I also thought that, with the malts we're required to use for this brew, the malty base will need a fairly robust hop to help balance the beer. As I'm brewing it well ahead of the meeting, if the hops are quite harsh, then it will also have time to mellow.

So, I shoved all the ingredients into Beersmith and came up with 'Longbow';

common ingredients 2 (Longbow)

Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)

Type: All Grain	Date: 28/06/2013
Batch Size (fermenter): 50.00 l	Brewer: Mark
Boil Size: 61.39 l	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 75 min	Equipment: Elite Brewery
End of Boil Volume 55.12 l	Brewhouse Efficiency: 73.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 50.00 l	Est Mash Efficiency 77.4 %
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage	Taste Rating(out of 50):
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Ingredients Amt Name Type # %/IBU 8000.00 g Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 1 70.2 % 2000.00 g Munich Malt (17.7 EBC) Grain 2 17.5 % 800.00 g Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (118.2 EBC) Grain 3 7.0 % 600.00 g Cara (Crisp) (34.5 EBC) Grain 4 5.3 % 30.00 g Target [11.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 16.5 IBUs 50.00 g Target [11.00 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 6 16.7 IBUs 20.00 g Target [11.00 %] - Boil 1.0 min Hop 7 0.5 IBUs 2.0 pkg California Ale V (White Labs #WLP051) [35.49 ml] Yeast 8 -
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.052 SG	Measured Original Gravity:
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG	Measured Final Gravity:
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.3 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol:
Bitterness: 33.6 IBUs	Calories:
Est Color: 19.5 EBC

The IBU's look a little light at first glance, but that doesn't worry me too much. Most of the hops are going in fairly late in the boil and I'm pretty sure the software over compensates.

I'll be mashing in on Friday morning and I'll report back on whether it hits the mark, later in the year.