Centennial Hops

[Vaan]

Hi Guys,

A bit of background, i'm fairly new to the brewing game. Have completed 3 successful brews thus far just straight out of the kit. But i'm looking to expand my knowledge a bit. I came across the following http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/21 ... salad.jpg/ and thought that i would give it a crack, but i just have a few questions.

1) I was browsing the craftbrewer website and saw these http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=603. If i used these in place of cascade hops would it still produce a good beer? Or should i stick to the program and use Cascade?

2) What yeast should i be using? I want to use a more specialised yeast as opposed to the one that comes with the kit, so i purchased this: http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=1631. After doing some research (which i should have done before purchasing ) it seems that this may not be the right yeast to use.

Any advice would be great!

[chadjaja]

Hey mate. For what you are making centennial will be a fine substitute. They are often Called super cascade after all. I use them a lot in combination with cascade as well. You might find they impart a more piney aroma as well.

For yeast its easy. Either safale 05 or craftbrewer sells twin packs of American ale yeast basically the same thing. Good Luck

The beer they mention gets it fruit characteristics from the hops. Amarillo cascade impart grapefruit citrus qualities to beer. The yeast you bought imparts fruity flavourz thru the esters of the yeast that will. Cover up the hops used. By using a more neutral yeast that highlights the hop additions you will get the desired outcome

[Oliver]

Hi Vaan,

Centennial is a classic American hop and similar to Cascade, so you could swap out the Cascade for Centennial with no problems. Either way you'll end up with a nice beer. Are you still using the Amarillo as well?

I wouldn't use this yeast in this beer. A appropriate dried yeast will do you fine. Given what you're aiming for is an American-style beer, you probably can't go past Fermentis Safale US-05. This is widely available.

Keep the yeast you've purchased for a beer to which it would be more suited. i.e. a witbier or belgian ale. Using it in the beer you're aiming to make will impart flavours that could be, well, an interesting combination with the hops You want a fairly clean-fermenting yeast, not a fruity, clovey variety. The fruitiness should come from the hops, not the yeast.

I can understand why from the name (forbidden fruit) you may have thought this would be a good yeast. But Forbidden Fruit is the name of a Belgian ale.

Cheers,

Oliver

EDIT: chadjaja and I were typing at the same time, but with the same message.

[Vaan]

Great advice mate thanks. Also as per the brewing instructions, should i just follow them and steep the hops in hot water for 30 mins? Or maybe add them to the boil for 20 mins or so in a stocking then dump the whole lot into the primary to get some aroma happening?

[earle]

+1 on using a fairly neutral yeast as suggested so that your main flavours/aromas come from the hops.

Although that does mean you'll have to start researching belgian beers so that liquid yeast doesn't go to waste.

In terms of a boil you don't really need one. Just steep the hops as per the recipe. For this type of pale ale you want restrained bitterness. Both of your hops can have high AA% which means they can add a lot of bitterness. Your after aroma from the hops which can be achieved by steeping.

[Vaan]

Should I just be steeping the hops and then be done with them? Or should I add them into the primary fermenter?

Also, so that yeast doesn't go to waste, can anybody point me in the direction of some recommended reading in regards to that particular yeast? E.g. storage instructions, beers that it would suit, etc.

Thanks!

[Oliver]

Hi Vaan,

No harm chucking the whole lot in. However, I'd recommend putting them in a hop back or (clean!) stocking because they can be a bit of a pain when bottling because they have a tendency to clog the little bottler.

Do a search for 'belgian recipe' on the forum and you'll come up with a few suggestions on how to use the yeast. Also try a searche for 'forbidden fruit'.

Keep the yeast in the fridge. Depending on the gravity of the beer you eventually brew and how old the yeast is by that time, you might want to think about doing a starter to get the yeast cell count up.

Cheers,

Oliver