# Making the most of Galaxy



## brewtas (12/2/14)

I've been thinking about how I use Galaxy. The received wisdom on this forum seems to be that Galaxy should be reserved for 10-0 minute additions but Hill Farmstead, Brewdog, Anchorage, Cigar City, Bridge Road and Flying Dog are able to make world class beers using Galaxy all the way through (They have scores of 100, 94, 99, 95, 91 and 95/100 on ratebeer.com for Galaxy single hopped IPAs & IIPAs).

So I’m wondering what they're doing to achieve such brilliant beers using Galaxy on its own?

Does FWH help smooth out the bitterness? Are small, frequent doses a better way of achieving the best flavours or is a single addition more effective? Does limiting dry hop contact time help?

I'll be trying some stuff myself but I'm interested in what others have found as well.


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## DJ_L3ThAL (12/2/14)

I've made a "clone" of the Bridge Rd. Chestnut Pilsner which uses Galaxy, I don't know when they use it but mine came out pretty close. I'll up the amounts of Galaxy next time though as it is not quite as punchy as I'd like but it's a very drinkable Pilsner. Link here to the discussion http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/76390-bridge-rd-chestnut-pilsner-clone/

I used a 60min and Cube hop of 0.6g/L and was supposed to dry hop with the same amount, although after reading people say Galaxy becomes grassy from dry hopping I opted not to. I'm defintely going to dry hop next time to see the difference, as the current recipe lacks aroma (although the original does also).


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## carniebrew (12/2/14)

Just pay a LOT of attention as to how long you dry hop with it. Everyone talks about gm/l, but rarely do they specify how long to leave it in. I've had a few beers go positively _nasty_ after leaving Galaxy in the dry hop for 5 days. Have heard since that many people don't go past 2 days....


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## Dan Pratt (12/2/14)

Would S&W Pacific Ale be in this category? brilliant use of Galaxy.Its possible they cold crash and dry hop at lower temps 

To answer your questions - I would not use it for a bittering charge, only late. Im waiting on a bulk buy to try it again, but while waiting I used Simcoe on my Golden Ale which is a mid at 3.4% using 70 pils/30wheat. I done all late additions, 15,10,5 and whirlpool hopstand for 10mins, I also dry hopped and its smells/tastes great. 

The Golden Ale a few before this Simcoe was with Galaxy but a different malt bill (80pils/15munich/5carahell), I added Galaxy at 45mins to 20 ibu and steeped 45g for 20mins @ 80c and it was grassy for about 3 weeks then it finally went away.

Galaxy - all late and dry hop at lower temps.


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## brewtas (12/2/14)

Thanks for the thoughts, guys. I'm formulating a plan. 

Pratty, I understand the the general advice is to avoid early additions but I'm wondering how the breweries I mentioned managed to pull off the earlier ones. The dry hopping advice is interesting and helpful. I'm wondering what's going on to make the cooler dry hopping work better?


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## Markbeer (12/2/14)

Ok, why if you use galaxy in the last 10 minutes do you need a bittering addition?

S&W uses only under ten min additions i am told. My all galaxy hopped ales are best when all the ibus come in the last 5 mins.

I will regularly use 120 gram in a 20l batch.


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## brewtas (12/2/14)

I'm not talking about Stone & Wood, I'm talking about commercial IPAs and IIPAs.


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## Markbeer (12/2/14)

Either way if you want smooth bittering all late is the way to go with galaxy. Try hop bursting over the last 5 mins.

U will need a good chiller or use argon's method.

Are you no chilling?


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## technobabble66 (12/2/14)

I've used Galaxy a couple of times - dry hopped one & another was a S&W PA clone (single hopped @ 20/10/0/dry - a partial that was chilled within a few minutes to 78°C before the 0min addition).
No grassiness - i think some sense it easily, others (like me) don't seem to pick it up.
Also of note: both might've been slightly harsh at 2 weeks in the bottle, but at 6+ weeks this had mellowed out pretty much completely (both were a fraction high in IBUs anyway) and was great [- my non-HB friends said the S&WPA clone was excellent & they'd definitely pay for it.].

Love Galaxy - highly recommend trying it. I personally would use it solely late or in dry hopping, but that's largely because you choose Galaxy for it's amazing flavour & aroma - adding it early means you completely miss this.
FWIW: The harshness from early bittering seems more universal than the grassiness thing.


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## brewtas (12/2/14)

Markbeer said:


> Either way if you want smooth bittering all late is the way to go with galaxy. Try hop bursting over the last 5 mins.
> 
> U will need a good chiller or use argon's method.
> 
> Are you no chilling?


Fair call. I wonder if that's what some of those commercial ones do?

I BIAB and use an immersion chiller so I've got no problem there.

I just ran the numbers for an IIPA, OG 1.071, FG 1.011, 65 IBU would take a single 5 min addition of 245g Galaxy. I'd probably dry hop with at least another 100g. Sounds fun!




technobabble66 said:


> No grassiness - i think some sense it easily, others (like me) don't seem to pick it up.
> ...
> Love Galaxy - highly recommend trying it. I personally would use it solely late or in dry hopping, but that's largely because you choose Galaxy for it's amazing flavour & aroma - adding it early means you completely miss this.
> FWIW: The harshness from early bittering seems more universal than the grassiness thing.


Yeah, I can't say I've noticed grassiness in the ones I've made/tasted and I wondered if it was just me.

I agree it makes sense to use it late, I'm just asking because as I was thinking about these great commercial beers I was wondering what they know about it that we don't.


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## Oakers (12/2/14)

I'm keen to hear some more opinions on this. I use Galaxy a fair bit..I just love the aroma. But, as i have reported elsewhere, i do find that i struggle to get the harshness down to acceptable levels. I BIAB and no-chill so i have resorted to only cube hopping (i guess equivalent to a 15 min addition) and dry hopping for about 3 days with Galaxy. I drank one of my latest batch tonight and while it has improved after a few weeks in the bottle it's is still not quite where i would like it to be. For my next brew I'm thinking of running the same recipe but subbing Citra for Galaxy to see the difference.


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## technobabble66 (12/2/14)

I should've added, the dry hopping i did was for 7 days with both brews.
As said above, no grassiness.

As a minor aside: I did find that the first one (an LCPA clone with dry hopped 2012 Galaxy thrown in on top of the original recipe) produced a really noticeable passionfruit aroma. The second one - same dry hopping was done, plus (2013) Galaxy at 20/10/0 mins, had a significantly lower passionfruit aroma (& subsequently the passionfruit flavour was subdued also - still really good, but just not quite the passionfruit intensity i was aiming for).
Not sure why the difference; but i thought i'd just add it to the Knowledge Collective.
In light of this i'd probably bottle after 2-4 days of dry hopping; but to capture the aroma rather than for any fear of grassiness - probably like many hops out there.

@Brewtas: 245g to achieve 65 IBUs. Wow! I'd be sorely tempted to throw in a little something else in at 60-45mins for bittering and save some of the Galaxy - either a clean bitterer (Magnum, Warrior ?) or a complimentary one (Hellooooo Simcoe!! - though maybe at 20mins instead). I'm not experienced, but it seems prudent. Hell - it leaves you more Galaxy for dry hopping!


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## Dan Pratt (13/2/14)

brewtas said:


> I'm wondering what's going on to make the cooler dry hopping work better?


I listened to a podcast for Can You Brew It talking about the EPIC Pale Ale from NZ. This beer is all cascade and the head brewer described how he showcased the hops using 2 whirpool additions, one for 20mins right after flameout and then chilled that wort to 75c and added more hops for another 20min whirlpool - this created 2 layers of flavour/aroma with the cooler addition whirlpool giving more aromatic oils released and kept.

What they also do is a double dry hop - at 21c for 5days then cold crash and dry hop again at 4c for 5 days - this again creates 2 layers and the hops oils are imparted to the beer differently due to the warm and cool environment.

I have recently tried this with a Amber Ale and Centennial, I only whirpooled right after the boil ended for 10mins but double dry hopped - one warm and one cool and the aroma is really, really good ( as a trial of this i only used 17g and 17g and will charge that up to 28g each next time )

For your Galaxy - 245g at 5mins....crikey :super:

Seen as though you have a IC - try a 10m/50g = 25ibu, 5m/125g = 35ibu, crank up the IC and drop the temp to 80c and turn off the IC - STEEP at this temp by adding hops ( maybe 56g ) and manually whirpool and leave for 20mins to stand (this will add a huge aroma ). Cool and add to FV and dry hop warm for 3days, cold crash and dry hop again for 3 more days. that is my 2c's


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## fletcher (13/2/14)

Pratty1 said:


> I listened to a podcast for Can You Brew It talking about the EPIC Pale Ale from NZ. This beer is all cascade and the head brewer described how he showcased the hops using 2 whirpool additions, one for 20mins right after flameout and then chilled that wort to 75c and added more hops for another 20min whirlpool - this created 2 layers of flavour/aroma with the cooler addition whirlpool giving more aromatic oils released and kept.
> 
> What they also do is a double dry hop - at 21c for 5days then cold crash and dry hop again at 4c for 5 days - this again creates 2 layers and the hops oils are imparted to the beer differently due to the warm and cool environment.
> 
> ...



interesting pratty. did they remove the first dry hop and add the second? or keep the first one in there? i've been known to leave mine in too long so want to try and remove them after 3-4 days for my upcoming IPAs


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## razz (13/2/14)

This my take on how I used it Brewtas, I really enjoyed it. It was bitter and hoppy early in it's life and then hoppy and mellow bitterness after a few months in the keg. I didn't treat Galaxy any different than the other hops I've used in an IPA.

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Stoned & Beaten IPA
Brewer: JD
Asst Brewer:
Style: American IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0) 48 hours SG 1.030. sweet hop flavour/aroma
72 hours SG 1.016.
96 hours SG 1.013.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 57.00 l
Post Boil Volume: 46.50 l
Batch Size (fermenter): 42.00 l
Bottling Volume: 40.00 l
Estimated OG: 1.075 SG
Estimated Color: 8.0 EBC
Estimated IBU: 48.8 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 85.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 85.0 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
15.00 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent 1 -
10.00 g Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 2 -
6.00 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 3 -
9.00 kg Brewers Malt 2-Row (Briess) (3.5 EBC) Grain 4 75.0 %
3.00 kg Wheat Malt, Malt Craft (Joe White) (3.5 Grain 5 25.0 %
25.00 g Galaxy [14.90 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 21.3 IBUs
40.00 g Galaxy [14.90 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 7 20.7 IBUs
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 8 -
40.00 g Galaxy [14.90 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 9 6.8 IBUs
3.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) Yeast 10 -
40.00 g Galaxy [14.90 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 11 0.0 IBUs


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 12.00 kg
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 36.00 l of water at 73.0 C 67.0 C 90 min
Mash Out Heat to 77.0 C over 20 min 77.0 C 15 min

Sparge: Fly sparge with 33.02 l water at 75.6 C
Notes:
------


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## Dan Pratt (13/2/14)

fletcher said:


> interesting pratty. did they remove the first dry hop and add the second? or keep the first one in there? i've been known to leave mine in too long so want to try and remove them after 3-4 days for my upcoming IPAs


mate they have conicals and when they add the hops they are using fresh flowers without a bag. When the cold crash happens the hops fall out of suspension and after a day at low temp they open the conical port valve and dump out before picthing the cold layer dry hops. With my Centennial AAA I talked of in this thread I cold crashed and then hopped again, mind you i was not using a bag just throw em in there B)


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## mje1980 (13/2/14)

I used to FWH all my beers for a while, maybe a year or two. I found it smoothed out the bitterness nicely. Bit hard to judge how much but after a few brews got into sync with it. Be brave to try it with galaxy but it might work very well.

I used to get at least 50% of the bitterness from the FWH, and calcs it as a 20 min addition.


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## fletcher (13/2/14)

Pratty1 said:


> mate they have conicals and when they add the hops they are using fresh flowers without a bag. When the cold crash happens the hops fall out of suspension and after a day at low temp they open the conical port valve and dump out before picthing the cold layer dry hops. With my Centennial AAA I talked of in this thread I cold crashed and then hopped again, mind you i was not using a bag just throw em in there B)


yeah that's how i do it. basically dump them in and they settle before i bottle due to cold crash etc. might try it and use a bag and completely remove them or try the temperature dry hop too; just leaving the first ones in there


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## daveHQ (13/2/14)

Made a 10 min IPA using galaxy


10ltr batch size, 60 min boil, 100g of galaxy @10 min

I put the recipe into beersmith (after I bottled it) and it came out as 105 IBU!!!

It was undrinkable at the first tasting at 6 weeks, tasted like chewing on straight hops, lol

It's been bottled for about 6 months now (I haven't been game to touch it since the first bottle at 6 weeks) and I'm drinking it now and it's bloody good! 

If Made it again I'd drop the hops from 100g to 80g


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## brewtas (13/2/14)

Thanks for all the responses, guys! It's really helpful to get a sense of what people are doing and the variety of methods available.

I'm thinking the next step is to brew a recipe and add the hops two ways. I've worked up an Imperial IPA recipe on the low end of the scale. I might just brew one batch and split it after the mash. The first hop schedule is an exclusively late hopped option similar to the one mentioned by Markbeer (Side note: that reminds me of a Basic Brewing Radio podcast episode a while back about a guy who used 1kg of hops in a brew: 900g @ 5 min and 100g of dry hops). The second is to go with FWH for 50% of the bitterness, as mentioned my mje1980, and then add small, regular additions from 25 min. I'll be steeping and dry hopping both batches the same way.

*Balls Out Galaxy IIPA*
OG: 1.071
FG: 1.011
IBU: 60
EBC: 14
ABV: 8.0%

*Grist*
92% Pale malt
3% Caramalt
5% Dextrose

*Hop schedule #1 (for a 23L batch)*
125g Galaxy @ 0 min (with a 20 min hop stand which I've calculated as a 10 min addition)
100g Galaxy @ 80C (steeped for 30 minutes)
50g Galaxy @ warm dry hop (3 days)
50g Galaxy @ cool dry hop (5 days)

*Hop schedule #2 **(for a 23L batch)*
25g Galaxy @ FWH
10g Galaxy @ 25 min
10g Galaxy @ 20 min
10g Galaxy @ 15 min
10g Galaxy @ 10 min
10g Galaxy @ 5 min
50g Galaxy @ 0 min
100g Galaxy @ 80C steeped for 30 minutes
50g Galaxy @ warm dry hop
50g Galaxy @ cool dry hop

*Yeast*
WLP090


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## DJ_L3ThAL (13/2/14)

Looks good brewtas, ETA for tasting? ;-)


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## brewtas (14/2/14)

I'll have to see but I'll definitely post the results here. There are way too many beers I want to brew _right now_. That's definitely a whinge for the first world problems thread. :lol:


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## brendo (14/2/14)

I have used Galaxy quite a lot and really love it as a hop. I found that moving to FWH certainly seemed to smooth out the perceived bitterness. I have dry hopped with Galaxy with good results, but like others have said, not leaving it too long in the fermenter is key. I have also found that dry hopping prior to the end of active fermentation can help to scrub some of the potential harshness out of it.

An alternative to dry hopping is to make a hop tea using a french press - this was my go to method with no chilling for quite a while, although I have found myself going back to dry hopping more.

Cheers,

Brendo


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## Dips Me Lid (14/2/14)

I use Galaxy a fair bit in pale ales and IPA's, I usually use some Horizon for a 60min bittering charge and save the Galaxy for all late additions, recently started using a whirlpool addition of 20g for 20min and I've noticed an increase in hop aroma and flavour.
I've also been experimenting with cold crash dry hop additions and had good results, I guess the yeast being relatively inactive during the cold crash doesn't allow them to scrub as much aroma compounds. 
I haven't had a problem with any extra perceived harshness from double dry hopping, but I might be using fairly conservative additions, I've just recently done 10g at 5 days at 20c and 15g at 3 days at 3c for a 45l batch of 6% IPA using WLP001. 
I did two batches and had great results.
I love seeing other people's fermentation and dry hop schedules, makes me damn thirsty!


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## BilBrewing (17/2/14)

I love these types of experiments. I'm formulating a DIPA after reading several Bertus Brewing threads and Galaxy was also on my radar. Would love to taste/smell the results!


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## brewtas (17/2/14)

For sure, I'll PM you when it's done. Might be a couple of months though before I get to brew it.


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## Dan Pratt (17/2/14)

brewtas said:


> For sure, I'll PM you when it's done. Might be a couple of months though before I get to brew it.


a couple of months? h34r:


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## brewtas (17/2/14)

Pratty1 said:


> a couple of months? h34r:


Book your flights now :beer:


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## Dan Pratt (17/2/14)

brewtas said:


> Book your flights now :beer:


haha, funny you should suggest it, Im going to Launceston 3rd week of April for the Marine Teachers Conference my wife is attending.

Whats that a 20min drive from Hobart...lol


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## Not For Horses (17/2/14)

Pratty1 said:


> haha, funny you should suggest it, Im going to Launceston 3rd week of April for the Marine Teachers Conference my wife is attending.
> 
> Whats that a 20min drive from Hobart...lol


Launceston is a 0 minute drive from me.
Drop me a message when you're down, I've usually got something with galaxy in it :drinks:


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## Not For Horses (17/2/14)

Oh wait, I knew there was a reason I came in here...

I've just started drinking an all galaxy ale with a big addition at 15 minutes.
It was 1044 and about 30 IBU and man alive is that sucker bitter.
It's borderline unpleasant with the bitterness but I'll soldier through.
It's not the first time this has happened either.

I'm kinda thinking that you probably need to limit your IBUs from galaxy, even late additions, to about 0.5 IBU/GU
Eg, for my latest beer, should have been 22IBU as it was all galaxy.


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## BilBrewing (17/2/14)

It would be interesting to know how the level of sulfates affected the bitterness perception with Galaxy?


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## Not For Horses (17/2/14)

The beer I'm talking about had a balanced sulfate/chloride water profile.


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## carniebrew (17/2/14)

NFH, did your all galaxy include much/any dry hopping? If so, how much and *for how long?*


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## technobabble66 (17/2/14)

@NFH: ...And when you say balanced sulfate/chloride profile, how much did you add or what total levels were you hitting with your additions?
Thanks!


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## Not For Horses (17/2/14)

carniebrew said:


> NFH, did your all galaxy include much/any dry hopping? If so, how much and *for how long?*


2g/L for 4 days dry hop.



technobabble66 said:


> @NFH: ...And when you say balanced sulfate/chloride profile, how much did you add or what total levels were you hitting with your additions?
> Thanks!


I don't have it in front of me but it was roughly in the middle-high of the green range in Ezy water calc for calcium, sulfate, chloride and magnesium.


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## brewtas (18/2/14)

Not For Horses said:


> Oh wait, I knew there was a reason I came in here...
> 
> I've just started drinking an all galaxy ale with a big addition at 15 minutes.
> It was 1044 and about 30 IBU and man alive is that sucker bitter.
> ...


Thanks for sharing your experience, Bill. What was the FG? I wonder if a lower alcohol (and especially low FG) beer has more trouble handling the rougher bitterness?


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## Not For Horses (18/2/14)

brewtas said:


> Thanks for sharing your experience, Bill. What was the FG? I wonder if a lower alcohol (and especially low FG) beer has more trouble handling the rougher bitterness?


1.008 on this one.

Could be the case. I guess I'll just have to brew some more to find out. Bugger


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## brewtas (18/2/14)

Ah, that's interesting. I use the balance value formula rather than BU:GU ratio when I'm planning my brews because it takes the FG into account which radically alters how we perceive bitterness. When I punch your numbers into my spreadsheet it suggests that your beer is balanced a bit closer to an IPA than an APA so that might be part of the issue.

Obviously the Galaxy is enhancing the perception of bitterness on top of that. Like you said, more 'work' needs to be done.


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## fletcher (18/2/14)

brewtas said:


> Ah, that's interesting. I use the balance value formula rather than BU:GU ratio when I'm planning my brews because it takes the FG into account which radically alters how we perceive bitterness. When I punch your numbers into my spreadsheet it suggests that your beer is balanced a bit closer to an IPA than an APA so that might be part of the issue.
> 
> Obviously the Galaxy is enhancing the perception of bitterness on top of that. Like you said, more 'work' needs to be done.


just had a quick read of that formula mate and like the look of it. do you have a template spreadsheet you could attach here in this thread? i'd be keen to use it and test some of mine. i could do it, but i'm at work and being very lazy


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## brewtas (18/2/14)

I always have a look at these numbers whenever I'm making a recipe. I find it gives me a pretty good idea of what to expect in terms of balance and sweetness. The style guidelines info is just a another reference point based on the averages of each style range. It's helpful to use it until you get an idea of what a balance value of 1.5 actually tastes like.

You can use the drop down box to select a style and then fill in the yellow highlighted boxes, it'll tell you how many IBUs you should shoot for given your target OG, balance value and attenuation.

My spreadsheet is built using the info from the BJCP 2008 style guidelines and a few styles from the AABC guidelines.

I'll add this disclaimer: making this totally maxed out my excel skills so I apologise that it's not clearer/arranged better/nicer to look at. If anyone has the ability and inclination to turn it into something better, please feel free. 

View attachment BV &amp; RTE.xlsx


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## fletcher (18/2/14)

brewtas said:


> I always have a look at these numbers whenever I'm making a recipe. I find it gives me a pretty good idea of what to expect in terms of balance and sweetness. The style guidelines info is just a another reference point based on the averages of each style range. It's helpful to use it until you get an idea of what a balance value of 1.5 actually tastes like.
> 
> You can use the drop down box to select a style and then fill in the yellow highlighted boxes, it'll tell you how many IBUs you should shoot for given your target OG, balance value and attenuation.
> 
> ...


mate, legend. never apologise for stuff like that. i calculate my beers with stone blocks and sticks as counters i'm so backwards with technology. thanks heaps.


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## brewtas (18/2/14)

No worries, it's good to share. I traded my blocks and sticks in for an abacus.


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## Dips Me Lid (19/2/14)

Not For Horses said:


> Oh wait, I knew there was a reason I came in here...
> 
> I've just started drinking an all galaxy ale with a big addition at 15 minutes.
> It was 1044 and about 30 IBU and man alive is that sucker bitter.
> ...


What kind of yeast strain did you use and what was your pitching rates?

On a lot of Brewing Network shows they talk a lot about the affects of different yeast strains on perceived bitterness and suggest that certain yeast's may scrub out more bitterness units/compounds than others.

I wonder if yeast selection may have played a part? From my own beers I've made at a similar OG, I've always been higher than 30 IBUs on my calculations (Beersmith 2, I assume Tinseth is the main formula used) and had no problems with excessive bitterness, if anything I've thought they were lacking in bitterness, but I guess everyone's overall hop utilization is different for each system.

You said that your sulphate/chloride ratio was balanced, so I guess that would eliminate that factor as a cause of excessive bitterness.


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## Not For Horses (20/2/14)

1272 with about 50-60ml of compact washed yeast in 8.5L.
I haven't used 1272 enough to comment on how it affects bitterness.


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## Yob (20/2/14)

Dips Me Lid said:


> On a lot of Brewing Network shows they talk a lot about the affects of different yeast strains on perceived bitterness and suggest that certain yeast's may scrub out more bitterness units/compounds than others.


Absolutely, pitch rate is also a factor, have you ever tasted yeast slurry at the end of a ferment? they seem to absorb quite a bit of bitterness.


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## Not For Horses (20/2/14)

Does the yeast strain make a big difference though yob?


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## Yob (20/2/14)

to a degree I guess so, though exactly how much is a little hard to get a gauge on as I rarely brew the same beer twice, you'd really need to do a side by side, same wort, different yeast, same yeast different pitch rates etc. my guess is minimal but peoples taste perceptions are vastly different, what is imperceptible to me may be pronounced to someone else... would be more important to lighter styles of beer I guess.. when using hops like Galaxy, scrubbing a bit of bitterness isnt really a bad thing IMO 

As with most things home brewing, we seem to do trial and error really well with small changes (making vast differences) made to suit our own tastes over time.


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## Dips Me Lid (20/2/14)

Not For Horses said:


> 1272 with about 50-60ml of compact washed yeast in 8.5L.
> I haven't used 1272 enough to comment on how it affects bitterness.


I haven't used that strain myself so I couldn't comment either, but that pitching rate seems right for that size batch, so I guess that might eliminate that factor.

If the yeast you used was a washed re-pitch perhaps it's characteristics may changed after a generation or two?


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## Dips Me Lid (20/2/14)

Yob said:


> Absolutely, pitch rate is also a factor, have you ever tasted yeast slurry at the end of a ferment? they seem to absorb quite a bit of bitterness.


Yeah I tried a sample from an IPA I did, it was really bitter, pretty tasty though!


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## gaijin (20/2/14)

I thought I would add my 2 cents into how my Galaxy additions have turned out...

Just tasted my Stone and Wood Pacific Ale clone after just over a week in the bottle and IMO, it's bloody good. In saying that, I tasted it after brewing and just before it finished the ferment and it was as bitter as Gillard after the Labour leadership coup. Surprisingly, a bit of bottle conditioning has knocked the bitter edge off and it is now pleasantly bitter, but I think a bit more than the 25IBU that it was meant to be (30-35). I think that's probably because my chilling coil sprung a leak and with all my screwing around fixing it, the boil probably stayed hot for an extra 10-15mins (adding to the bitterness).

In a 46L batch (58 initial boil), my additions were:
Hops Weight Time IBU
Waimea 18 60 11.3
Galaxy 20 20 6.5
Galaxy 20 10 3.9
Galaxy 40 0 4.2
Galaxy 20 dry 7day addition

I've picked up a really distinct pawpaw aroma in the glass, with intense tropical flavours. I got a message from a mates' SWMBO who thought it was "out of this world good". She's been drinking Henningers for the last 6 months, so anything with some flavour was always going to taste pretty good


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## Not For Horses (26/2/14)

Yob said:


> have you ever tasted yeast slurry at the end of a ferment? they seem to absorb quite a bit of bitterness.


Just did this after bottling a brew tonight. Took a spoonful just to be sure.
Sweet holy jesus bitter is an understatement. I think it broke my face.


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## Dan Pratt (26/2/14)

Sweet holy jesus bitter is an understatement. I think it broke my face.[/quote]

Hahahaha, that's hilarious.


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## professional_drunk (1/3/14)

I did an APA with galaxy all the way through. Bitterness is harsh. I'm sure it will mellow out a bit more with age. Galaxy is a strange flavour for me. If I were to describe it, it would be subdued citrus peach with sweaty feet. In future I think I'll restrict it's usage and have it complement another hop.


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## BlueMutt (1/3/14)

The last few Pales I have put down with Galaxy have had Cascade for bittering and Galaxy in for the hop stand.
Some of the hop stands have been straight Galaxy and some as a combination of Galaxy, Cascade and or Citra.
Galaxy is just different early.


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## RJB510 (9/3/14)

Hi guy's,
I have been doing some reading on the grassiness of hops and and dry hopping. Good reading on this site here: http://www.mrmalty.com/late_hopping.php
Now through reading this it seems it has some pretty good info on dry hopping and late additions which make sense.

My question regarding the galaxy is, I've already got my beer fermenting and IBU's are at about 24, which I would like to keep close to. Should I dry hop for a couple of days then remove? Or should I risk taking some water or some of the brew (i'm willing to sacrifice some alcohol etc) and boil it to sterilise, then add 25gm or so of Galaxy and let it steep until cool (like a hop tea someone was talking about) which should hopefully remove that "grassy" taste and pitch after krausen?

Cheers


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## DJ_L3ThAL (18/3/14)

brewtas said:


> I'll have to see but I'll definitely post the results here. There are way too many beers I want to brew _right now_. That's definitely a whinge for the first world problems thread. :lol:


Hey mate did you manage to brew the two different batches?


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## brewtas (18/3/14)

Not yet unfortunately. Normally I just brew whatever I'm interested in but I'm trying to stick to a plan this year so the next slot I've got open is in June. I'm itching to try it out though!


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## DJ_L3ThAL (19/3/14)

Well referring back my my OP in this thread, im brewing that chestnut pilsner for the july case swap. Going to leave the grist the same and get rid of the 60min addition, do 2 g/L at 0min and the same cube hopped (cube once convections have slowed and whirlpool), then a hefty dry hop once i cold crash in a hop bag so I can remove it after 2 days for bottling, then lagering in the bottles.

Will get feedback from everyone at the case swap as well as my own comparison to the first use of galaxy and report back here, so should be around same time as your own test


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