Whats a good hop to pair with Galaxy? I’ve got a big Double Black IPA coming up, and while I’ve used straight Galaxy in the past and liked it, I like a little more dimension. I’ve paired Galaxy with Amarillo in a pale ale and it was a bit of a grapefruit bomb. My typical pairings are Citra & Simcoe in the house IPA, the C-hops in my rye pales ales, and Mosaic & Simcoe in my American Stout. Typically my black IPA is usually Cascade, Amarillo & Simcoe, and I’ve really been leaning to Colombus and Chinook of recent, but I’m not sure the spicy, dank would pair well with tropical fruit! I’ve also got Nugget, Summit and a few others I’ve not used yet.
I’d appreciate some suggestions so I don’t get stuck in a hop rut.
I’m a fan of those pairings as long as the dank stays restrained. I’m working on a pale ale recipe that’s Galaxy, Centennial, and Chinook. Trying 3:2:1 next time.
One of Stone’s better ‘Enjoy By’ IPAs IMO used equal Galaxy and Nelson - it was really good. I’ve used it with several hops ( Amarillo, Cascade , Centennial, Chinook, Columbus) at different points and liked the results. I just made an IPA finished with Ahtanum/Centennial/Galaxy/Columbus @ IIRC 1:1:1:.5. I’m looking forward to it.
My tried-and-true Pale Ale recipe is very straight-forward; Centennial for bittering and Galaxy for flavor and aroma additions. I like the “pure” results a lot, as compared to the idea of “a little this and a little that”. My IPA recipes are usually more “hoptimally” diverse. Opinions vary…
Great feedback, thanks! I’m leaning towards late additions and dry hopping of Galaxy/Simcoe/Columbus at 3/2/1. Bittering will be Columbus, Warrior or Belma. Tempted to use Belma just to use it up.
Here’s my black IPA hop schedule… It’s on tap now for the second time… One of my best recipes…
FWH = 1 oz Chinook and 1 oz Simcoe
60 minute = 2 oz Columbus
30 minute = 1 oz Chinook
10 minute = 1 oz Simcoe, 1 oz Galaxy, 1 oz Centennial, ½ oz Chinook
0 minute = 1 oz Simcoe, 1 oz Galaxy, 1 oz Centennial, ½ oz Chinook
Dry Hop = 2 oz Simcoe, 2 oz Galaxy, 2 oz Centennial, ½ oz Chinook
No problem. The 1/2 oz additions of Chinook in the 10, 0, and DH additions was due to not wanting to seal up an ounce and a half of chinook. It was the bottom of the bag. I didn’t have them there for my first brew of this beer. However, I’d round them up to equal amounts if I were to do it again. This batch turned out a bit citrusy, where the first batch was more piney (what I was looking for). My guess is that it was new bags (2013 instead of 2012) of Centennials and Galaxy from the first brew and that’s the difference.
If you want to branch out, Galaxy pairs with EKG’s quite well. Citra hasn’t been mentioned yet, and that’s what I’d reach for if I were going the tropical route. Meridian would probably be really nice, too.
To resurrect a not that old thread, I’m in the same boat looking for a hop to pair with Galaxy in a Black IPA, but just for the dry hop. I had 6 oz. and used 4 during the boil for a 3 gallon batch, hopbursted at 20, 7, and 0. 1.083 OG, estimated 1.016 FG, and 83 IBU (Tinseth).
The grain bill is 80% pale ale malt, 10% Victory, 5% C10, and 5% Blackprinz.
I plan to dry hop with the 2 oz. of Galaxy and an ounce of something else, but I can’t decide what that something else should be. EKG sounds interesting, or maybe First Gold or Fuggles, but so does something like Chinook or Simcoe to bring out more pine. And something like Amarillo or Citra could bring out even more citrus/fruitiness.
Or I could forgo the 2 oz. of Galaxy and go with 3 oz. of something else entirely.
Personally, I think that the pine from Simcoe or Chinook would be the best balance for the fairly aggressive tropical/ fruity character of Galaxy, especially in something like a black IPA. Sounds like a great beer. Let us know how it comes out !
Simcoe/Galaxy 50/50 is what I brewed this weekend for a 50% maris otter red. These two hops are about as different as any direct comparison I’ve encountered so far… really excited for this.
Thanks, I’m starting to lean that way myself. At first the Galaxy wasn’t as fruity as I expected, and I was actually getting more pine, even a little earthy, characteristics from the fermenter. But that may have been in part from the yeast (Wyeast 1217) which supposedly gives off some strong smells at the start.
As fermentation is slowing down (brewed this on Saturday), however, more of those fruity aromas I expected from Galaxy are prevalent. I took a whiff this morning and it was definitely tropical fruit with some malt underneath, and maybe just a slight hint of pine. I think using Chinook or Simcoe, along with more Galaxy, in the dry hop will be a nice complement.
I’ve decided on pairing mine with Simcoe in the dry hop. I had a tiny, flat, room temp sample on Saturday and it was pretty good as-is, especially for being such a big beer and only a week old. Finished right at 1.016 like I wanted but, due to the hops and the dark malts, seemed drier.
I’m going to let it condition this week, start the first half of the dry hop on Saturday morning (1 oz. Galaxy; 1/2 oz. Simcoe) and the second half next Monday night, cold crash next Thursday and bottle or keg (haven’t decided yet) on Saturday 11/8.