The homegrown hops crop will be good this year. With the varieties I have on hand, I started to think about a simple American pale ale recipe where they could be put to good use.
Since this brew will be enjoyed after summer is over, here is my Autumn ale recipe.
Depending on the flavor and aroma of the Cascade grown in my yard, this beer could be pretty good or fairly weird. I am not sure what the terrior is going to bring to a well known hop variety, but as long as it seems American it might be ok. An American variety grown in America shouldn’t have a problem with an identity crisis but there is only one way to find out.
Simple grain bill with a few different hops addition. If my harvest yields more than an ounce of Cascade, I will add it to the boil – up to doubling the amounts below.
Ingredients:
10 lbs American 2-Row Malt
0.5 lbs Victory Malt
0.5 lbs 2-Row Caramel Malt 40L
0.5 oz Magnum Hops (14.50 %AA) boiled 60 mins
0.5 oz Cascade Hops (5.50 %AA) boiled 10 mins
0.5 oz Cascade Hops (5.50 %AA) boiled 1 mins
Yeast: White Labs WLP001 California Ale
Predictions:
Original Gravity: 1.050
Terminal Gravity: 1.012
Color: 9.45 °SRM
Bitterness: 31.7 IBU
Alcohol (%volume): 5.1%
Instructions:
Make a 2 liter yeast starter a few days before you brew. Mash all the grains at 150° F for 60 minutes. Collect enough wort for a seven gallon volume. Boil for 60 minutes and add the hops at the times specified. With the late Cascade additions, you can double the amounts if you want more hop flavor. I will be using homegrown hops so the alpha acid percentages noted are standard. I will not know what the percentages will be on mine but I like living on the edge.
Ferment at 68° F for 2 weeks and bottle or keg as usual. There is no need for a secondary phase. This beer should be good to go once it is fully carbonated. I am going to target 2.5 volumes of CO2 for mine.
Ray
Ah, good! I just dried an ounce from a first-year Cascade plant (SoCal location) and wanted something simple to try it on. Timely recipe, and like you, I really have no idea if these hops will taste and smell true to the variety. When harvesting, I was surprised by more skunkiness than I had anticipated. The more typical aroma was in there, too, so who knows what we will find in the end? Thanks for this!
John
Hi Ray – my Cascade hops smell fruity. They definitely have the grapefruit aroma that we all know. Have fun brewing with them. I will probably brew this Autumn ale in the next week or two.
Black Spruce
I collected some hops too early, they had a very vegetal and garlic like smell. I waited 2 weeks, then picked more. These hops were a lot better smelling when drying.
John
Black Spurce,
Yeah, early picked hops are a bad thing. It is best to leave them on the bines for longer rather than pick them young.