New hops are always fun to write about and this variety is as new as they get. Since I am on an AU kick, here’s another variety from that country.
Vic Secret hops, which had a name change when a certain chain of women’s intimate apparel told them they couldn’t use the formal name anymore, were made available to commercial production last year.
Clearly named for the state of Victoria and not the store, the variety was developed in 2000 with the same parents as Topaz hops. They have been used in some brews as experimental or showcase beers with local breweries in coordination with Hops Products Australia for a few years now.
Since they are new, they may not be in your local home brew shop here in the States, but be on the look out for them since the fruity hop revolution is underway. Read below to learn more about the details of this hop.
Origin: Australia
Aroma/Flavor: Pineapple, pine, passionfruit. The flavors are lighter than the ones you will find in Galaxy hops.
Alpha Acid: 14 – 17%
Typical Usage: This variety is definitely a flavor hop. The notable fruit flavors really come out in the finished beer when Vic Secret are added as a whirlpool addition or when dry hopping.
Beer Styles: Any hoppy beer style you can think of.
When it gets down to it, these fruity varieties inspire me to do a few things. The first thing is to not waste their delicate flavors by putting them in early in the boil. The second thing is to come up with a game plan to use hops with flavor profiles that complement each other. Does pineapple go with apricot? I don’t know. Maybe a better plan is to find hops that fit in the same flavor quadrant and max it out with unique but similar hops. Lastly, getting the dry hopping practice down is imperative. I cannot say I have a ton of experience doing it but maybe that is something I can work on this summer.
If you’d like to read more about this variety, check out Beer Maverick’s Vic Secret hops post where common pairings of other hops are discussed.
Jason Nelms
My suggestion on dry hopping is to not let the hops sit more than 10 days in the secondary. When they sit too long, they can produce a harsh, somewhat vegetal flavor. Personally, I stagger my dry hopping over a 7-10 day period and just split the hops into 2-4 bags and drop one bag in every couple of days, stopping about 3 days before bottling.
SeñorBrew™
What are your chances of getting a hold of any of these in the near future anyway?
John
Hi Jason,
I read that 4 to 7 days is the max you want to dry hop. How many ounces of hops do you use during your dry hopping process?
Jason Nelms
It really depends on the ABV and the final gravity. I just finished an all Mosaic IPA that finished at 1.001 and is 8.1% ABV. I used 3 sets, the first 2 were 2 oz per hop back(pellets) and the last one was 3.5 oz with 3 days to go. Nothing scientific there but it tends to really make the hops shine. Hope this conjecture helps. =)
John
Hey SeñorBrew™,
Near future? Slim to none, but they’re on my list. I may bring my request to the local and see if they can order them for me.
John
Cool – thanks for the info. Those are some big amounts but then again, that’s a big beer. I may be able to get away with smaller amounts in a SMaSH beer.