As the DC weather gets
warmer and (extremely) humid, the need for a light, refreshing beer
increases as well. The Craft Brewer's Conference was in DC this past
March, and one of the events I attended was a talk on IPA by Stone Brewmaster Mitch
Steele. During the talk, someone asked Mitch what he thought the
popular hop this year may be. He had two answers. The first was
Mosaic, which I already featured in my red ale, the second was EXP 1210,
an experiment varietal from Hop Steiner. A couple days later, I was
browsing Farmhouse Brewing Supply and noticed that they had some in
stock in 4 oz. and 1 lb. bags. Farmhouse listed the following flavor
descriptors for this hop: "Blackberry, 'Super Cascade', Grapefruit,
Orange, 'Amarillo Like', Lemon, and Pine." That was good enough for me
so I bought a pound of them.
Knowing that I wanted to brew a light, refreshing wheat beer, and having a pound of this new exciting hop in my freezer, I thought it would be fitting to feature this hop heavily. I wanted to have a light body, with just enough bread flavor from the wheat to support the generous hopping. Therefore, I decided to use slightly more flavorful Red Wheat, as compared to White Wheat Malt. I also wanted this to be on more of the citrus side of the flavor profile, so deciding which hop(s) to pair with the 1210 was important. I decided that the citrusy Ahtanum will hopefully bring out some of the lemon and grapefruit flavors of the EXP 1210 without trumping its more unique berry notes. I also had 1 oz. of Motueka left over from the saison I brewed, so I tossed that in too for a little more depth.
Summer Wheat
5.25 gallons
OG: 1.045
FG: 1.007
SRM: 5.3
IBU: 45
Grain
5 lbs. Rahr Red Wheat Malt
4 lbs. Rahr 2-row
6 oz. Carapils
4 oz. Crystal 40
Hops
0.75 oz. Warrior @ 60 min. (Pellet, 16.0% AA)
1.00 oz. Ahtanum @ 0 min. (Pellet, 4.6% AA)
1.00 oz. Motueka @ 0 min. (Pellet, 7.5% AA)
2.00 oz. EXP 1210 @ 0 min. (Pellet, 6.4% AA)
4.00 oz. EXP 1210 Dry hop (Pellet, 6.4% AA)
Yeast
Wyeast 1056, 1000mL stir-plate starter made 5/8/2013
Misc.
1 tablet Whirfloc @ 15 min.
1/2 tsp. yeast nutriend @ 15 min.
Water
Carbon filtered DC cut with 5 gallons distilled with 8g gypsum and 4g CaCl split evenly between the mash and sparge.
Mash
Sacch. Rest 60 min @ 153F
Notes
Brewed 10 May 2013, by myself
Collected 6 gallons of 1.040 runnings-poor efficiency (~64%)
Extended boil by 10 minutes (70 min total) to concentrate wort a little more.
Cooled to 78F, put in fridge for it to cool down some more.
6 hours later, down to 65F, gave it 45 seconds O2, and pitched decanted starter, left at 65F ambient to ferment.
Fermentation within 12 hours, blowing off within 24 hours.
5/17/2013 - Down to 1.008, a little drier than I would have liked, but my efficiency was pretty low, which means I mashed a little lower than I would have for a 1.045 beer (I expected to OG to be around 1.050).
5/21/2013 - Ambient temp set to 50F to drop some yeast out of suspension prior to dry hopping.
5/23/2013 - Dry hopped with 2 oz. of EXP 1210, down to 1.007 (~4.9% ABV)
6/5/2013 - Kegged with the other 2 oz. of EXP 1210 bagged and weighed
7/1/2013 - Tasting notes:
Appearance: Golden with a slight haze, big white head lingers around.
Smell: Grapefruit and subtle blackberry. Nice dough like aroma from the wheat. Seems the Ahtanum and 1210 played really nice together. I don't think there was enough Motueka to really make much of difference, especially with the all 1210 dry hop, I would probably leave that out next time.
Taste: Grapefruit and lemon, perhaps a little too bitter when first kegged, but now after a month the bitterness is about right, unfortunately the big hop nose fell off. Nice bread malt in the background, probably could be a little sweeter. The low finishing gravity coupled with the heavy hopping makes it taste slightly astringent.
Mouthfeel: Medium thin, perfect for a summer drinking beer. Carbonation medium high, nice dry finish.
Notes: Definitely could use a tad more sweetness, but still a great refreshing summer beer. EXP 1210 is definitely a hop worth seeking and I look forward to using again. Nice lemon/grapefruit notes with subtle blackberry undertones.
Knowing that I wanted to brew a light, refreshing wheat beer, and having a pound of this new exciting hop in my freezer, I thought it would be fitting to feature this hop heavily. I wanted to have a light body, with just enough bread flavor from the wheat to support the generous hopping. Therefore, I decided to use slightly more flavorful Red Wheat, as compared to White Wheat Malt. I also wanted this to be on more of the citrus side of the flavor profile, so deciding which hop(s) to pair with the 1210 was important. I decided that the citrusy Ahtanum will hopefully bring out some of the lemon and grapefruit flavors of the EXP 1210 without trumping its more unique berry notes. I also had 1 oz. of Motueka left over from the saison I brewed, so I tossed that in too for a little more depth.
Summer Wheat
5.25 gallons
OG: 1.045
FG: 1.007
SRM: 5.3
IBU: 45
Grain
5 lbs. Rahr Red Wheat Malt
4 lbs. Rahr 2-row
6 oz. Carapils
4 oz. Crystal 40
Hops
0.75 oz. Warrior @ 60 min. (Pellet, 16.0% AA)
1.00 oz. Ahtanum @ 0 min. (Pellet, 4.6% AA)
1.00 oz. Motueka @ 0 min. (Pellet, 7.5% AA)
2.00 oz. EXP 1210 @ 0 min. (Pellet, 6.4% AA)
4.00 oz. EXP 1210 Dry hop (Pellet, 6.4% AA)
Yeast
Wyeast 1056, 1000mL stir-plate starter made 5/8/2013
Misc.
1 tablet Whirfloc @ 15 min.
1/2 tsp. yeast nutriend @ 15 min.
Water
Carbon filtered DC cut with 5 gallons distilled with 8g gypsum and 4g CaCl split evenly between the mash and sparge.
Mash
Sacch. Rest 60 min @ 153F
Notes
Brewed 10 May 2013, by myself
Collected 6 gallons of 1.040 runnings-poor efficiency (~64%)
Extended boil by 10 minutes (70 min total) to concentrate wort a little more.
Cooled to 78F, put in fridge for it to cool down some more.
6 hours later, down to 65F, gave it 45 seconds O2, and pitched decanted starter, left at 65F ambient to ferment.
Fermentation within 12 hours, blowing off within 24 hours.
5/17/2013 - Down to 1.008, a little drier than I would have liked, but my efficiency was pretty low, which means I mashed a little lower than I would have for a 1.045 beer (I expected to OG to be around 1.050).
5/21/2013 - Ambient temp set to 50F to drop some yeast out of suspension prior to dry hopping.
5/23/2013 - Dry hopped with 2 oz. of EXP 1210, down to 1.007 (~4.9% ABV)
6/5/2013 - Kegged with the other 2 oz. of EXP 1210 bagged and weighed
7/1/2013 - Tasting notes:
Appearance: Golden with a slight haze, big white head lingers around.
Smell: Grapefruit and subtle blackberry. Nice dough like aroma from the wheat. Seems the Ahtanum and 1210 played really nice together. I don't think there was enough Motueka to really make much of difference, especially with the all 1210 dry hop, I would probably leave that out next time.
Taste: Grapefruit and lemon, perhaps a little too bitter when first kegged, but now after a month the bitterness is about right, unfortunately the big hop nose fell off. Nice bread malt in the background, probably could be a little sweeter. The low finishing gravity coupled with the heavy hopping makes it taste slightly astringent.
Mouthfeel: Medium thin, perfect for a summer drinking beer. Carbonation medium high, nice dry finish.
Notes: Definitely could use a tad more sweetness, but still a great refreshing summer beer. EXP 1210 is definitely a hop worth seeking and I look forward to using again. Nice lemon/grapefruit notes with subtle blackberry undertones.
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