Tag: hops

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Kiwi Hops

After reading about New Zealand in the current issue of All About Beer, I was intrigued by the new hops talked about and thought that a little hop education was in order. But since I am not a grower or brewer, I decided to let the descriptions from THE source do the talking. New Zealand Hops Limited


Pacific Gem
A high alpha hop with a pleasant aroma and a useful bitterness level of 13% alpha acid. Pacific Gem can produce a cask oak flavour with distinct blackberry aroma, along with a woody character. Used as a bittering hop by internationally famous European brewers.

Green Bullet
This hop variety has a unique raisin-type character, a slight floral note and has been likened to giving a Styrian style flavour to the beer. It consistently averages more than 12% alpha acid and its aroma qualities match its excellent bittering power.

Super Alpha
A very reliable variety always giving better than 10% alpha acid. Super Alpha has a very encouraging humulene-caryophyllene ratio, similar to European aroma hops. A unique cross of the best English and German hops, Super Alpha produces a crisp clean flavour and also has some nice resin character.

Southern Cross
A spicy and lemony character typifies this high alpha variety with some slight piney and woody hints. Southern Cross has an excellent essential oil profile and low Cohumulone, whilst still producing alpha acid of 12%. It produces a very “European” flavour in beers.

Pacific Jade
The most recent release of the New Zealand Hop Research Programme Pacific Jade is a high alpha hop, averaging 12-14%, with low Cohumulone and an excellent oil profile. Brewing trials have shown that this hop gives the beer a clean crisp taste, with a nice balanced palate.

Both Pacific Jade and Green Bullet intrigue me. But which hop would you like to see more of?

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Naja’s IPA Festival

“And so… It’s time for Naja’s Place to kick off our…

3rd Annual IPA Festival on Thursday, April 21st, 2011 for one week.

To mark our 30th Anniversary, this year we will feature somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 of the baddest, rarest, and resinous IPAs, DIPAs, and IIPAs on the West Coast (and a few beyond).”

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2 Excellent Beer gifts

I just had to share two of the best Christmas gifts (Beer related category) that I received this year…

So what you see is MALTed milk balls, a rabbit that is HOPping, some wheat and a packet of yeast. All of the ingredients in beer! A clever sister-in-law I have.

I have had great help in chasing my 50 Beers / 50 States goal but this wins a big prize. My wife found a friend who was traveling in the vicinity of some of my missing states and enlisted her to help me. And did she ever. She got beer from 5 states! Thanks to Ayn for single-handedly knocking 10% of my list away! Unbelievable!

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Odell Myrcenary

“Named for Myrcene, a component of essential oils in the hop flower, Myrcenary Double IPA is our tribute to those who revere the illustrious hop, and their unyielding exploit to craft hop forward beers. Brewed with a blend of hops containing the highest levels of Myrcene, this double IPA prevails with a tropical fruit-like flavor, a pungent floral aroma, and a clean getaway.”

I have recently had a couple of Odell’s beers. Both were good but didn’t blow me away, maybe this is the beer that changes that.

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Bump in the Night

The Full Sail Brewmaster series marches on with a great beer name for what promises to be another great addition to the legend of Full Sail, Bump in the Night.

This is in the NW style of CDA (Cascadian Dark Ale) which is a big malty and hoppy hybrid beer that has really been a hit across the nation. If it is as good as the last reserve beer, Sanctuary then it is not to be missed.

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Hoptimum

Sierra Nevada is fast becoming the big IPA game in town and today (in limited release) comes a Beer Camp Brew sure to please the lovers of bitterness.

Here is what the brewery says about it …“A group of hop-heads and publicans challenegd our Beer Camp brewers to push the extremes of whole-cone hop brewing. The result is this: a 100 IBU, whole-cone hurrican of flavor. Simply put- Hoptimum: the biggest whole-cone IPA we have ever produced. Aggressively hopped, dry-hopped and torpedoed with our exclusive new hop varieties for ultra-intense flavors and aromas.”

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Hop Candy

If you are still looking for something to stick into the stocking of your beek geek friends this Christmas (oh and if you are near Belmont Station in Portland), grab some hard candy.

Oh, it’s made with hops. Bitter and sweet and tasting of Fuggles or Cascade hops.

I googled and bing’d the heck out of the interwebs but could find no company that manufactures them or any photos. All I know is that they exist, like the Yeti.

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Coffee + IPA = Mikkeller

File this under, might work. Two distinct flavors that may fight each other to a standstill. The coffee is called Guji Natural and is roasted by a by Koppi of Sweden. The hops in the other corner are Tomahawk. And it was brewed at Mikkeller’s default brewery De Proef.

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Is it Halloween or Christmas

Holiday seasonals seem to be showing up left and right. Though I give this one a pass because of the name.

Love the Rankin-Bass.

Here are the specs: “This mythological beer emerges from the depths of our brewery every winter. Made with Cascade, Centennial and Simcoe hops and six organic malts, “A-Bomb” has a complex floral, spicy and citrus hoppiness backed up by just the right amount of malt sweetness. 7.3% ABV.”