I will be harvesting my homegrown Chinook hops in about 2 to 3 weeks and haven’t come up with an idea of what to use them in. I really don’t know how much I’ll get from the one Chinook plant I have, but it is full of happy 2" long hops. I was thinking of using them in a one hop variety winter warmer or some type of stout. I am thinking of making this beer in the 1.065 - 1.075 range. Target brew date would be September and drinking it in late December or early January. My problem is I’m totally stumped on a recipe idea. Any suggestions? Or do any of you have a tested recipe using Chinook that would be good for a cold winter’s day?
Not a winter warmer, but you can search for “Sister Star of the Sun” and find a recipe that makes something akin to a British IPA that is down right a pleasure to drink. I like mine with some age on it, very dry. Might dry hop the keg as it is about 9 months old now.
Really, Jeff? 9 months? So you plan on possibly dry hopping after it has been conditioning for 9 months? I agree that a little time takes away some of the harshness, but I never really considered a 9 month conditioning period. It sounds like you’re treating it as an historic English IPA. But frankly, I don’t understand how Chinook could really pass for an English bittering hop.
This is a recipe that I have made many times. It has a harshness when fresh that mellows with time. It is now very dry - as my wife says “It has crossed the equator twice.” The dry hopping can give it a nice hop aroma. I have done this with 3 or 4 British style beers SSoS and a historic IPA, and it works for me. The historic IPA was pretty mush undrinkable from the harshness from the huge charge of EKG for bittering, but after it aged, it was very nice. Try it some time.
If you have 30 cornies you can tie a few up with beers to age.
Look up this in Zymurgy for reference and inspiration. Brew it for Ant.
The Evolution of English IPA Ant Hayes July/August 2009
I made an American version of a Winter Warmer… I called it an “American Stock Ale” and entered it in the specialty beer category. It’s the only beer I have ever got a 40 for. It was the NHC though, so it didn’t even make it into the top 3 in the category
I did a little searching on this recipe and it definitely looks worth trying! Thanks for posting the suggestion. I made a note of it to try making sometime. I think for this one, I’m going to avoid making an IPA. If I can save back some hops, I’ll do that one late winter so it’s ready for spring and summer.
Did this American Stock Ale contain Chinook hops? It sounds like it is a proven recipe. I should also note that I don’t mind adding another hop variety to the mix, as long as the Chinook are the “showcase” hop. I want to show off my homegrown stuff a little.
Hops- (really, do what you want, but the idea was to be fairly balanced, with most of the hops added at 20 min)
IBU’s 65.4
Columbus- .4 oz @60 min
Nelson Sauvin 1 oz @ 20 min
Riwaka- 1 oz @ 20 min
Citra- .5 oz @ 15 min
Citra- 1 oz@ 10 min
Citra- .5 oz @ 5 min
I didn’t dry hop, but feel free…
