This is a recipe Marshall designed to test out hops he’s either unfamiliar with or just wants to learn more about. Despite being slightly darker than one might expect, this Hop Test Bitter recipe works quite well, and given the lower OG, it’s just as easy to drink as it is to make. Marshall has made this beer with classic hops like Cascade, Centennial, and Fuggles, as well as modern varieties including Galaxy, Mosaic, and Calypso.
Hop Test Bitter
Recipe Details
| Batch Size | Boil Time | IBU | SRM | Est. OG | Est. FG | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 gal | 60 min | 28.4 | 11.6 SRM | 1.044 | 1.012 | 4.2 % |
| Actuals | 1.044 | 1.012 | 4.2 % | |||
Fermentables
| Name | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Pale Malt, Maris Otter | 7 lbs | 80 |
| Caramel Malt 60L | 1 lbs | 11.43 |
| Victory Malt | 8 oz | 5.71 |
| Caramel Malt 120L | 4 oz | 2.86 |
Hops
| Name | Amount | Time | Use | Form | Alpha % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOP OF CHOICE (~8 IBU) | 15 g | 60 min | Boil | Pellet | 4.5 |
| Willamette | 15 g | 20 min | Boil | Pellet | 5.5 |
| HOP OF CHOICE | 15 g | 10 min | Boil | Pellet | 4.5 |
| HOP OF CHOICE | 21 g | 5 min | Boil | Pellet | 4.5 |
| HOP OF CHOICE | 21 g | 10 min | Aroma | Pellet | 4.5 |
Yeast
| Name | Lab | Attenuation | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pub (A09) | Imperial Yeast | 74% | 64°F - 70°F |
Notes
| Water Profile: Ca 69 | Mg 1 | Na 10 | SO4 97 | Cl 49 |
Download
| Download this recipe's BeerXML file |
33 thoughts on “Hop Test Bitter”
What’s the purpose of the Willamette addition when all others are the hops under test?
I like what a mid-boil earthy hop does for beers. May be unnecessary, but simple enough for me to continue.
Hi, I just finished kegging this beer, I used cascade and San Diego Super Yeast, which I harvested from a starter using your technique and also fined with gelatin using your technique. Cheers for a good beer 🙂
Cheers! I look forward to hearing how it comes out.
It turned out a great easy drinking beer, cheers for that. The Victory is a good idea helping to make this an enjoyable beer besides just for hop testing, the biscuit note from this malt will have a home in my next English style beer. As for my choice of Cascade, it works well in his beer but I think I’m somewhat desensitized to this ubiquitous hop, and could have gone for bigger late doses. For a tweak to promote the hop aroma I’d suggest a quick cool to 180F then add the steep hops for a 30 minute steep and also consider a dry hop charge. How much do you think my usage of WLP090 over WLP002 affects this beer?
In my experience 090 and 002 are pretty different, but I bet the 090 produced a great beer regardless! I may hop stand this beer next time I make it, good idea. Cheers!
Great idea to have a standard base recipe for testing different hop varieties.
Backing up a step or two, do you have a similar recipe (or thoughts on what you might do) for a “malt test mild” to provide a base for evaluating various malts? I am working on training my palate to recognize different malt characteristics, trying to put together a small batch recipe for something drinkable, if not necessarily to style,
In those times I want to test a malt, I usually just make SMaSH beers using very minimal hopping, just enough to provide adequate bitterness and very little flavor or aroma. It’s simple and works rather well. Cheers!
When brewing with higher alpha hops (for example, 16.5% Topaz) do you suggest adjusting one of the additions to keep it in the 25-40 IBU range? Or should I just let it ride?
For all post-20 min additions, I let it ride.
What does letting it ride mean?
Leave it alone until it’s done.
Might be a weird question, but how do you calculate you FWH addition to 8IBU?? I notice some use it as a 20min FWH ratherthan the normal FWH at 60 min
Not a weird question at all! I use BeerSmith and add enough hops at the FWH addition to equal 8 IBU, I think most brewing calculators are capable of doing this.
Are the grain amounts already scaled up for no sparge?
Not necessarily
No, I do a 2 step batch sparge. It’s quick and i get the results I desire.
I plan on trying this recipe using Bertwell hops (indigenous to Southern Ontario). I was curious what water profile you tend to use for this beer. I was planning on going with the “amber, balanced” Bru’n Water profile even though it is a “hop test” beer.
Thanks!
That’ll work great!
Man, I’m impressed that something with that much C60 ends up so nicely balanced. That’s a good recipe. The flavour and aroma of Bertwell are too subtle, which is probably why you only see it in one-offs up here, but I’ll be making this again… probably go classic English or classic American. Thanks again for the recipe.
Hi, thanks for your posts – great info for us all 🙂
Just a quick one as I am lazy with conversion. Is there any chance that in your recipes you could quote in metric also? Just makes it easier of us Europeans. 😉
Thanks and continue the great work! Looking forward to doing some hop testing with this recipe!
Cheers!
And do the hard work for you? Where’s the fun in that?!?!
BeerSmith only allows for 1 type of measurment. Sorry 🙁
Great idea with the hop test beer. I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. My first no sparge batch is actually in the fermenter now. I’ll definitely do it again. Made for a streamlined brew session that I could squeeze in on a work night. Thanks for the Beersmith tutorial as well. Getting my mash profile set up for no sparge made planning much easier!
Any thoughts on how this would work with hops like Huell Melon or Mandarina?
And thanks for pushing me to BIAB and no sparge – it has simplified my brew days to where my wife doesn’t even complain!
My guess is it’d be great!
Hello, what would be the best dry yeast for this recipe?
Hmm, I’m not really a big fan of any of the dry English strains I’ve used (S-04, Nottingham), and neither do I much enjoy US-05, hence I’d be compelled to use something like Saflager W-34/70, which I’ve found ferments super clean even when treated like an ale yeast!
Looking to try this recipe out this summer as a hop test for Calypso. What do you think about adding a dry hop charge a few days before cold crashing?
I think that’s a mighty fine idea!
Why Willamette – Boil 20.0 min?
I feel it gives the beer a nice mid-palate hop fullness.
I noticed in one of the recent podcasts that this recipe is slightly different now.
80% MO
11% C10
5% Victory
4% C60
Do you still keep the hop additions the same as before based on this new recipe?
Yeah, I do.