Reader update: Mike has added another little brew dude to his family. His wife gave birth to a baby boy last Friday night. Everyone is doing well and they should be coming home soon.
I thought I would update everybody just to let you know that he’s been brewing up more than just Oatmeal Stouts lately.
CHEERS!
Ok. I was reading How To Brew last night just to recheck how long I should lager the Maibock and I came across the passage about suggested lagering times.
In the book, it states that the time depends on temperature:
After this passage, a question is posed.
If the beer will condition faster at higher temperatures, why would anyone lager at the low temperature?
The first answer that is provided has something to do with icehouses and tradition…I guess icehouse got the beer’s temp to 35 degrees.
The second answer states that colder lagering temperatures work better in getting proteins and tannins to drop out of the beer.
My question is, why does lager-style conditioning work “faster” at warmer temperatures?
I think the bad tagline for this hop would incorporate something about them being “out of this world.” See, I told you it was bad.
Anyway, Galaxy hops were bred in 1994 by Hop Products Australia. This company owns a hop garden called Rostrevor in North Eastern Victoria where they were grown for the first time. It’s now grown in both Victoria and Tasmania.
It is a cross between an Australian female and a male Perle hop. Here are the stats for Galaxy hops:
Origin: Australia
Aroma/Flavor: Pleasant, Citrus, Passionfruit
Alpha Acid: 13.0 – 14.8%
Typical Usage: Mostly bittering, although noted as a dual purpose. Could be used as flavoring hop as well.
Beer Styles: I didn’t see any clear indications in my research about beer styles. My opinion is that they would do well in American Pales and IPAs.
I think the key to lagering is to buy a fridge. My wife bought me a refrigerator for my birthday last month and it has come in handy for the lagering of the Maibock.
Right now, I have the cider that we made last October conditioning in there and some maple porters from two years ago.
I’ll get a thermostat for it eventually. This set up will eliminate the fusel alcohol issue I had last summer when my basement was in the high 70s in the month of August.
If you can get your hands on a used fridge, I think it is a good investment.
Just a quick update: I racked the Maibock to a secondary vessel, a glass carboy. It is now in the beer fridge chilling out at about 37°F.
It’s been in there for a day and a half and it is not as clear as I thought it would be at this stage. I guess we shall see as time goes on.
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