I will be brewing 25 gals of beer for an event. Ingredients provided are Gambrinus Pale malt, whatever specialty ingredients I want in reasonable quantities, and the following hops…Kent Golding, Summit and Glacier. American Ale Yeast or London Ale Yeast.
Another person has already committed to brewing an English style bitter for this event, so it needs to be different.
I have never used Summit hops. I’ve read a lot of negative comments from folks about them. The person providing the ingredients uses a fair amount of Summit and I’m not in love with many of his beers.
I’d love some thoughts on what some of you would brew constrained to these two yeasts and 3 hops varieties…
Oops, forgot to mention…no IPA, Cream Ale or Porter is to be made as those will be supplied by a comm’l brewer.
Thanks for your input though, that would have been my first choice too.
roast some of the pale malt, or get some roast malt, use just enough of the summit to bitter a little and the other hops near the end. shoot for medium to dark amber, lower ibu and use the london yeast and i think you could get somewhere along the profile of a scottish, but with a more pronounced ending hop flavor, aroma. something kind of unique and not provided by anyone else
Both. One of my all time favorite recipes is a past Big Brew recipe called “Griffin Spit” (it’s in the wiki). Uses all Summit hops, all at 20 min. or less. Wonderful tangerine aroma/flavor.
I haven’t used them, but when I have had beers that do, I also have not liked them. I’m wondering if the objectionable flavors are a result of long boil times. Maybe the Griffin Spit would work because of the later additions. I’m thinking an experiment would be in order, but I’m not sure I want to put my name on a 25 gal.batch that I’m experimenting with. Might just try a small batch with some and see what happens. I’ve got time.
Take the summit hops, then resell them to someone who likes garlic and cabbage and use the money to buy something you’d like to use. Seriously. Unless you like beer that tastes like feet, stay away from them.
I’d get some light Munich, and make an American Pale Ale with 90% pale, 10% munich, and featuring the glacier hops in a FWH & hop burst method. Either yeast would work with that. If you saw my talk at the NHC, use that recipe but swap glacier for galaxy. Since there will be an IPA and a cream ale, go middle of the road with the pale ale so you have something for people who want something more bitter than a cream ale but less hoppy and/or alcoholic than an IPA. Shoot for a 5% ABV beer, tops. Maybe 35 IBUs. If it’s not different enough, add some medium crystal malts, lower the IBUs, and make an American Amber.
I like the English brown idea; Dark Mild would be good as well, as long as it was different enough from the commercial porter. You might see what kind of character that has and stay away from similar flavors. For example, if they’re making a hoppy porter, you can make a malty brown and still be distinctly different.
An alternative would be an Irish Red-type beer. Yes, you can use the English yeast for that.
In picking styles, I’d say you are more constrained by what has already been selected than by the ingredients. I wouldn’t want to make me-too beers when a spot in the style space has already been taken. Shoot for something different.
You didn’t say what kind of event; without knowing the crowd, it’s hard to say what beers to make. Don’t want to go too aggressive/unusual for the masses. In general, keep things flavorful and drinkable without going too high on the ABV.
Ya know, I keep hearing about how bad Summit hops are and the onion/garlic thing, and I’ve even tasted it in some beers. But I get a great tangerine flavor and aroma from them. Maybe I got a good batch…
I’ve heard about the tangerine thing too, but I’ve never tasted it. If someone has made one that has that character without the stankiness, I’d love to try it. And I’ve tried them from people who really know how to brew. If Nathan Smith gives me an IPA of his and I don’t like it, then I know I don’t like those hops.
I’ve heard rumors that the character is crop dependent. That certainly doesn’t do us much good since you have to know if you’re buying from a good crop.
There is a sulfur compound, dimethyl trisulfide (DMTS), that is responsible for the Garlic and Onion. It will vary from year to year, and gets higher if the hops are harvested late.
I am not a fan of Summit. The DMTS will boil off, so those can be used for bittering without making a Garlic and Onioin beer.
This is an interesting situation…opposing viewpoints from two people I hugely respect. As Gordon has nailed my
tasting experience with the “stanky feet” commentary and given it a perfect descriptor, I’m going to steer clear of the Summit hops for this batch. I’ll see if I can nab an ounce or two to do a little experiment and determine if Summit is the reason I am repulsed by some beers I have tasted that I believe are using it. Thanks for your input everyone…and Keith, am I to take away from this that you are NOT fond of Summit.
I have had only ever had commercial beers made with the hop. Never had one that I liked. You’d think if it was crop dependent I would have found one I liked. OTOH I have stopped trying those beers now.
