While the rest of the world dooms-and-glooms over our ruined economies and inept political organizations, the hop-heads among us are in party mode. And rightly so. For if you really like brewing and drinking hoppy beers, you now have more hop combinations and varieties at your fingertips than at any other time in history. The number of new hop varieties on the market are truly staggering. Whereas a homebrew store might have carried a dozen or so varieties five years ago, they would now be foolish to carry anything but four times that. And as beer drinking goes, the aromas and flavors one can get from these new hop varieties is equally remarkable. Besides from price, there is little to complain about when it comes to hops these days.
Anyways, I brewed this beer back in early November, hoping it would showcase the aroma and flavor of the Galaxy-Nelson Sauvin hop combo. Having heard so many good things about these hops and never having tried them before, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Well, now that I've sampled the results, I "get" it. In short, these hops are crazy good. I rarely get excited about hoppy beer, but trying this hop combo for the first time is up there on my list of beer enlightenment moments. For my tastes, these hops have a wonderful mix of tropical fruit, pine, and an earthy-overripe fruitiness that is damn near unworldly. Miles above what I hoped or expected. Lastly, the beer itself is not perfect - it needs some work - but these hops are really something special.
Galaxy APA: American Pale Ale
Appearance - Pours a hazy/muddy orange color with a two-finger white head with good retention. I wanted better clarity, but the haziness could be due to the dry hopping or yeast issues.
Aroma - Hugely aromatic; overripe mango and passionfruit with a (pungent) piney-tropical fruit character that is unlike any hop combination I have ever encountered before. The hop character totally steals the show.
Taste - First impression is of mango and passionfruit followed by a strong, resinous bitterness and a hit of earthy pine needles at the end. Although largely overshadowed by the hops, the malt character is lightly biscuity with minimal caramel flavor and the yeast contribution is clean and neutral. The beer finishes dry and crisp.
6.0% ABV, 45 IBU, Wyeast 1332 Northwest Ale. Recipe Here
Anyways, I brewed this beer back in early November, hoping it would showcase the aroma and flavor of the Galaxy-Nelson Sauvin hop combo. Having heard so many good things about these hops and never having tried them before, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Well, now that I've sampled the results, I "get" it. In short, these hops are crazy good. I rarely get excited about hoppy beer, but trying this hop combo for the first time is up there on my list of beer enlightenment moments. For my tastes, these hops have a wonderful mix of tropical fruit, pine, and an earthy-overripe fruitiness that is damn near unworldly. Miles above what I hoped or expected. Lastly, the beer itself is not perfect - it needs some work - but these hops are really something special.
Galaxy APA: American Pale AleAppearance - Pours a hazy/muddy orange color with a two-finger white head with good retention. I wanted better clarity, but the haziness could be due to the dry hopping or yeast issues.
Aroma - Hugely aromatic; overripe mango and passionfruit with a (pungent) piney-tropical fruit character that is unlike any hop combination I have ever encountered before. The hop character totally steals the show.
Taste - First impression is of mango and passionfruit followed by a strong, resinous bitterness and a hit of earthy pine needles at the end. Although largely overshadowed by the hops, the malt character is lightly biscuity with minimal caramel flavor and the yeast contribution is clean and neutral. The beer finishes dry and crisp.
Mouthfeel - Carbonation
is medium and the beer has a smooth mouthfeel, almost nearing that of a witbier, but with a drier finish. Given the big hops in this beer, it goes down very easily.
Drinkability & Notes - Where have these hops been all my life? I rarely get excited about hop aroma/flavor the same way I do for malt/yeast, but damn, these hops are incredible! If you have ever walked through an apple orchard in the late fall, when the fallen apples fill the air with an intensely sweet and pungent fruity aroma... these hops are sort of like that, but with mango and passionfruit. Beer wise, there are things to work on - better clarity, more malt and hop flavor - but this beer has certainly opened my eyes to what Aussie and NZ hops are capable of. I will certainly be using this hop combo again.
Drinkability & Notes - Where have these hops been all my life? I rarely get excited about hop aroma/flavor the same way I do for malt/yeast, but damn, these hops are incredible! If you have ever walked through an apple orchard in the late fall, when the fallen apples fill the air with an intensely sweet and pungent fruity aroma... these hops are sort of like that, but with mango and passionfruit. Beer wise, there are things to work on - better clarity, more malt and hop flavor - but this beer has certainly opened my eyes to what Aussie and NZ hops are capable of. I will certainly be using this hop combo again.
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The only beer I tried Galaxy in picked up an infection, so I'm none the wiser with that hop. I've got some unopened Nelson Sauvin hops that I'm waiting to try and I'm looking forward to using them after your review.
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