# Ella (formerly Stella)



## jyo

*MOD: *Topic merged by Lord Raja Goomba I, so that description shows at the very top of topic.
ABOUT ELLA
More subtle in character, Ella (previously known as Stella) packs less of an upfront punch than her big sister Galaxy, but is no less of a star.
The changing faces of Ella make her an intriguing hop to experiment with.
In lower doses, Ella can display floral and subtle spice notes, such as star anise, which is best appreciated in lagers or pilsners. With larger additions or when dry hopping, Ella imparts distinct grapefruit and tropical flavours which can be used to offset robust malt and yeast characters in many styles.

BREW TIPS 
A high level of essential oil presents many options to brewers, who will be rewarded with enticing flavour combinations when varying doses are added to the mix.

HOP STORY
Ella’s story is similar to half-sister Galaxy; however this time the male parent hop was derived from Spalt.
Born in Victoria in 2001, her star quality was notable even as a seedling, so her brewing assessment was accelerated and she was unveiled to brewers for trials in 2007.
Her early appearances revealed strong floral, noble hop character complemented with a delicious spicy finish. Making a great first impression, brewers couldn’t get enough of Ella and she was fast-tracked into commercial production.

*MOD: *Original Post:

Hi brewers,
Little Creatures recently had a keg of their pale ale on hand pump at the brewery dry hopped with Stella for free tasting (couldn't get down there ) and this was the first I had heard of Stella hops. This is from the Craftbrewer website:


Stella is a new aroma variety which contributes hoppy and floral notes, with subtle hints of anise and a satisfying fullness of palate. Stella is reminiscent of, yet distinctly different in character to noble European varieties, and provides a contrast to the citrus and tropical fruit characters of many modern hops. Stella grows vigorously, producing moderately large, dense cones which mature mid- to late-season, with a broad harvest window helping to ensure excellent physical and
chemical quality in the final product. With an alpha acid content of ~15%, Stella is an aroma hop with options. This newly developed aroma hop deserves experimentation � the hoppy characters and texture on the palate would provide a new twist to a pilsner or lager, while the floral characters could provide a highlight in a wide range of beer styles.

This sounds really interesting. Has anyone brewed with these yet?

Cheers, John.


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## keifer33

Ooo that wasnt there when I last looked. Also missed out on the LC so will have to order some to experiment myself. Gonna have a run of Single Hop beers with all these new ones to try.


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## O'Henry

Yeah, it is tasty as. 

Mango and fruit salad when used liberally ( <4g/l late). Blended with Challenger in equal amounts to bring out a nice spicy note (1g/l each). Was an exciting hop, and I really enjoyed bring with it. Still have some left for a brown ale hopefully.

*Verdict: A hop for both hop heads and appreciators of the lighter hop notes, depends on how it is used.*

Note: I only used flowers.


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## jyo

[quote name='O'Henry' post='788937' date='Jun 28 2011, 12:29 AM']Yeah, it is tasty as. 

Mango and fruit salad when used liberally ( <4g/l late). Blended with Challenger in equal amounts to bring out a nice spicy note (1g/l each). Was an exciting hop, and I really enjoyed bring with it. Still have some left for a brown ale hopefully.

*Verdict: A hop for both hop heads and appreciators of the lighter hop notes, depends on how it is used.*

Note: I only used flowers.[/quote]

Cheers, Fellas.
This is sounding fantastic.


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## felten

Damnit I wanted to try these and they weren't in the shop when I put an order through last week


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## beachy

[quote name='O'Henry' post='788937' date='Jun 27 2011, 11:29 PM']Yeah, it is tasty as. 

Mango and fruit salad when used liberally ( <4g/l late). Blended with Challenger in equal amounts to bring out a nice spicy note (1g/l each). Was an exciting hop, and I really enjoyed bring with it. Still have some left for a brown ale hopefully.

*Verdict: A hop for both hop heads and appreciators of the lighter hop notes, depends on how it is used.*

Note: I only used flowers.[/quote]

Hi, was that your Stella hopped pale ale on the WA stand at the conference?
If so it had a unique flavour and aroma that to me was sort of peachy/apricot/spicy. Again if it was yours can you please share your late hopping amounts for that beer. If the beer at the conference was not yours then i suppose this whole post is a bit pointless. :blink:


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## Lord Raja Goomba I

[quote name='O'Henry' post='788937' date='Jun 27 2011, 11:29 PM']Yeah, it is tasty as. 

Mango and fruit salad when used liberally ( <4g/l late). Blended with Challenger in equal amounts to bring out a nice spicy note (1g/l each). Was an exciting hop, and I really enjoyed bring with it. Still have some left for a brown ale hopefully.

*Verdict: A hop for both hop heads and appreciators of the lighter hop notes, depends on how it is used.*

Note: I only used flowers.[/quote]

Stella plus Citra (or Galaxy) :icon_drool2: 

My next Pale Ale is sorted.

Goomba


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## O'Henry

beachy said:


> Hi, was that your Stella hopped pale ale on the WA stand at the conference?
> If so it had a unique flavour and aroma that to me was sort of peachy/apricot/spicy. Again if it was yours can you please share your late hopping amounts for that beer. If the beer at the conference was not yours then i suppose this whole post is a bit pointless. :blink:



Yep, that was the Stella Single Hop beer brendanos and I made. 

Stellaaa(aaaaaa) 18/9/10
6kg galaxy ale
300g special b
10g stella(aaa) 30 mins
30g stella(aaa) 20 mins
30g stella(aaa) 10 mins
28g stella(aaa) 0 mins
start boil: 30L @ 13.4 Brix
in fermemter: 19L @ 16 Brix / 1.063
tg: 1.013

That was the whole beer, fermented in around a week and kegged to go to the conference. Hope this helps!

Edit: alpha on last year was 16.3%, oil was pretty high too. They were also flowers, not pellets.


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## beachy

[quote name='O'Henry' post='793442' date='Jul 10 2011, 01:49 PM']Yep, that was the Stella Single Hop beer brendanos and I made. 

Stellaaa(aaaaaa) 18/9/10
6kg galaxy ale
300g special b
10g stella(aaa) 30 mins
30g stella(aaa) 20 mins
30g stella(aaa) 10 mins
28g stella(aaa) 0 mins
start boil: 30L @ 13.4 Brix
in fermemter: 19L @ 16 Brix / 1.063
tg: 1.013

That was the whole beer, fermented in around a week and kegged to go to the conference. Hope this helps!

Edit: alpha on last year was 16.3%, oil was pretty high too. They were also flowers, not pellets.[/quote]

Thanks, that is a great help. I really liked that conference beer and now i should be able to make something pretty close.


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## Dazza88

Anyone drinking a stella brew yet?

I got some, thinking of a LCBA grain bill with stella hopped like the schedule above. Have s-189 in stock at the moment.


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## LukeRules

I tried the Bridge Road Brewers Stella IPA (barrel aged) recently and really enjoyed it.

It felt citrusy but rounded. Normally I don't enjoy single hop IPAs as they are a little... one dimesional, but the stella really held up from start to finish. It was impressive.


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## Lord Raja Goomba I

Courtesy of another (probably unneeded, but fun nonetheless - thanks SWMBO) trip to craftbrewer (I'll probably be back next weekend, and I'll bring a bottle next time, Ross), I now have in my freezer:

90g Galaxy
225g Citra
454g Willamette
454g Cascade US
90g Stella
Leftover Nelson Sauvin and Smaragd (good, cheap hop that one, will post a recipe, when I photo the beer and feedback on Smaragd).

And the malt milled for 1. An APA and 2. Roggenweiss

So I'll give feedback on Stella in due course.

We should (AHB I mean) have a section (or database) where people discuss specific hop varieties. Given there are so many new varieties, it might be good to have a database of these. Not "I H8 NS" or anything, just feedback, AA% variations and seasonal changes, styles of beer they suit, what they work well with.

Goomba


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## brendanos

Stellaaaa(aaaaaaa[aaaaaaaaaaaa])!!!!

As O'Henry/Ben said it is very Mango-ey but it has a little bit of spiciness about it. Kinda herbal too? I got a lot less Mango on the Creatures dry hopped beer & much more herbaciousness ie coriander. Not sure if it a seasonal variation (first time I have tried this year's crop) or just usage/presentation. I hope it stays tropical!


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## bignath

Lord Raja Goomba I said:


> We should (AHB I mean) have a section (or database) where people discuss specific hop varieties. Given there are so many new varieties, it might be good to have a database of these. Not "I H8 NS" or anything, just feedback, AA% variations and seasonal changes, styles of beer they suit, what they work well with.




BIG +1 to that...

The Lordeth hath spoken....


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## Samuel Adams

I have a pack of Stella after I got it by mistake in my order instead of Simcoe.
Looking forward to giving it a go and tasting the results now.

Yeah +1 for hop section on forum (+ yeast too)


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## Not For Horses

I'm curious to know what people have experienced when brewing with this hop.
HPA say "Ella can display floral and subtle spice notes, such as star anise, which is best appreciated in lagers or pilsners. With larger additions or when dry hopping, Ella imparts distinct grapefruit and tropical flavours..." 
They also say "Her early appearances revealed strong floral, noble hop character complemented with a delicious spicy finish"
I was thinking of using it in ESB-ish brews and I also found Dead Dog Stout by Black Dog Brewery and that uses Ella and Hallertau.
Sounds like a fairly diverse hop but I'd like to know what others have found.


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## syl

So would I since I ordered a kilo with you! It was on a whim, not my style, but wanted to diversify a little!


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## brewtas

I used Ella in an IPA earlier this year and got plenty of floral aroma and some anise too. I'm planning on doing an all Ella pale ale when I get mine to give it a chance to express itself alone.


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## Not For Horses

I'll do a stout then and we can swap.


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## slash22000

Personally it's not my favourite hop in an IPA/pale ale. It just tastes like flowers to me. Dandelions. I tried a single hop Ella IPA once, it tasted the way a florist smells. If that's your bag, go for it.

I would say use it in combination with other hops, or maybe in a more subtle style of beer.


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## brewtas

Not For Horses said:


> I'll do a stout then and we can swap.


For sure!


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## Not For Horses

Dandelions is a long way from tropical fruit. And not just in the alphabet.
What do you think about an Irish red then slash?


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## slash22000

I don't really have any experience with Irish Red. Never brewed one, don't think I've ever drank one. I think it would go better in a European style though, so you're on the right track. Anything that typically calls for noble hops I imagine it would work in.


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## treefiddy

My last kits and bits brew was stella + topaz. It was by far my favourite but I can't remember exactly what about it was good. 

I'm in the same boat I guess.


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## BilBrewing

I'm going to try a English bitter with my Ella and Summer.


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## treefiddy

In this thread the guy uses all Stella hops.



> I will probably buy this hop again. I think its well-suited to a single-hop beer.


I was thinking of using this as a FWH addition. I figured it may help smooth out the bitterness seeing as the cohumulone content is reasonably high.


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## Not For Horses

I've done quite a few brews with this hop now and love it.

Kinda floral, think fruit blossoms not wild flowers, in low doses around 20-30 min.
In higher late doses, maybe 2+ g/L at 10 or 5, gave really delicious apricot/marmalade flavours.
~1 g/L at flameout gave a nice balance between fruity apricot and floral aroma.
I've used it for bittering in a blonde ale with 30% maize and didn't find it harsh at all. I figured if it was going to be harsh, it would do so in this beer.

I've used it at 60, 30, 15, 10, 5 and 0 have have loved every beer.
The only thing I haven't done yet is dry hop it.


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## manticle

Sounds good to me. I was put off by the earlier reference to star anise (love anise but not in beer). Anyone else get this character? I'm more a noble hop guy than a new world guy.


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## sponge

I got a nice smack of mango when I brewed a single hopped pale ale with this, with more fruit and less spice than some other reports.

Speaking of which, I should probably get some more and do some more experimenting...


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## MitchD

Any one used ella in an ESB type beer?

I was thinking:
OG: 1.042 4%abv
FWH to ~13 Ibu
@30 to ~15 ibu
@5 to ~5 ibu
WLP 023


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## GalBrew

sponge said:


> I got a nice smack of mango when I brewed a single hopped pale ale with this, with more fruit and less spice than some other reports.
> 
> Speaking of which, I should probably get some more and do some more experimenting...


I agree with the more fruit and less spice assessment. I cubed hopped a pale lager with some Ella and during fermentation all I got was tropical fruits, not spicy or floral at all.


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## ScottyDoesntKnow

I love this hop, it needs a bit of time to mature and then the spice and earthy bitterness really starts to shine through.
Fungrel's awesome Ella Centennial Citra ale here: http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/93295-fungrels-ella-centennial-citra-ale/?hl=%2Bfungrel+%2Bella+%2Bcitra
So good the first time I brewed it, ordered some more Ella a few days ago for a double batch this time.


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## GalBrew

Yes my beer is currently lagering, so will be interesting to see what it is like after 6 weeks of aging.


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## MitchD

So I used this on Sunday and it's nearly at fg. The description of fruit, spice and floral really nails it. 10g @60, 10g @30 10g @10 very tasty


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