Has anybody figured out how to use centennial and not have taste of fruit loops (excluding bittering)? I like a lot of commercial beers that use a lot of centennial and don’t get much if any fruit loop flavors.
The fruit loop flavor could be from specific yeast strains. Some like S-04 can get quite fruity at fermentation temps above 66 degrees. The fruity esters combined with the nice citrusy punch from Centennial could be causing the fruit loop flavor you are describing. To avoid this I generally ferment cooler and use a more neutral yeast. Something like S-05/Nottingham or WLP-001 in the low 60s.
I have used 001, 1056, 05 as well as several english strains that were recommended by the commercial brewery that gave the recipes. All were fermented cool, say 62 to 66 for the english and 64 to 65 cal ale. Didn’t know if it old hops or when they were added or ect.
I’ve fermented with BRY97, US05, S04, and 1056, all around 67F and I’ve never gotten fruit loops from centennial. Was this just a one time thing or something you see consistently?
+1. Same here. I have used ALOT of Centennial over the years and haven’t gotten it.
You don’t by any chance use iodophor as a sanitizer do you?
Starsan only. They are in recipes like SN Celebration and FS Union Jack given from the brewery.
Sorry missed this one. Consistently, not real sure if i have never not gotten it.
Hmmmm . . . what is your water like?
I’ve used Centennial many times and have never gotten that flavor from them. Are these hops from the same producer and/or same homebrew store?
Ro water, hops are from several big online retailers. Over several years, some are hop union some are strait from the hop farmers.
What do you do to your RO water?
You could bring your fruit loops beer to the Christmas party and make us drink them. Perhaps we’ll even figure something about this out while drinking Imperial beers! ;D
add minerals back possibly cut with tap water if a lot of alkalinity is needed. (Normally isn’t)
I could see it happening if you used a British-type strain and maybe went a little warm fermenting - maybe something sort of “fruit-loopy” . But not with a clean (American) strain regardless. Maybe there was a fair amount of variability in the Centennial crop from a few farms, but I’ve always found them very consistent.
I’ve got nothing. Everything I can think of seems fine.
Have you asked a second opinion?
I can do that, I did had some at the last kcbm meeting but didn’t get to it. After several imperial beers you probably won’t taste fruit loops anyway.
Were these all single-hop beers, or did you blend with other hops? I could see how blending with Citra or Mosaic for example might give a perception of that. And did it diminish at all using a clean strain vs a British one ?
Well let’s try for a fruit loop beer early in the evening then.
cascade and centennial in both. No real difference between 001 and 002