Galaxy Hops, Fresh Or Earthy?

[BjornJ]

hi all,
I really enjoy the Stone & Wood Draught, now renamed to Pacific Ale after what I understand.
Brendan of the NBBC is the expert cloner and he makes a cracker clone of this one, fresh and hoppy and an awesome beer.
I got some tips from him about the hopping regime and incorporated that into my first ever IPA.

the IPA was brewed on our BigBrewDay on the 22nd of January, and consisted of
51% pilsner
30% munich
9% wheat
5% crystal
5% dextrose

@60 min: 25 gr Magnum 15%AA - 36.3 IBU
@15 min: 15 gr Galaxy 14%AA - 10.1 IBU
@ 5 min : 20 gr Galaxy 14%AA - 5.4 IBU
@ 1 min: 30 gr Galaxy 14%AA - 1.8 IBU


EBC: 20.4
IBU: 53.4
OG: 1.056
FG: 1.012
alc:6.25 % incl bottle conditioning


the plan was to get some bittering from the Magnum and the fresh hoppiness from the late Galaxy.
No such thing...
It is earthy, slightly metallic (?) and a bit ...hot?
Something on the back of the tounge, I am thinking hot alcohol, fusels even?
Ah, where is the BJCP group when you need them

Has others experienced that, that they get earthy, yeasty or metallic flavours from Galaxy?

(this is my second beer with Galaxy. The first one was a mid-strength pale ale and it had a similar earthy, yeasty character. I thought it was due to the recultured Coopers yeast of that one, but now I am starting to think it's the Galaxy hops.)

But if this is what I get from the Galaxy, it doesn't rhyme with what Brendan and the Stone & Wood guys are getting..

Is it just me, or is the Galaxy hop difficult to get right?

thanks
Bjorn

 

[Silo Ted]

Have sampled his version, and I agree its a great one. but looking at his promash recipe that I happen to have on file, the IBU's are only 22.4. You have blown that out to double with the big whack of magnum

Also, did you use flowers or pellets ? Something makes me think he used flowers at the time.

 

[jyo]

I have used Galaxy loads of times in APA's and it is a beautiful hop when used judiciously. I get the metallic flavour you mention, but overall it is loads of fruity passionfruit and a little melon when used as late additions as you have. The earthiness may be coming from the Magnum (?) yet I haven't brewed with it yet.


Cheers, John.

 

[ekul]

IMO the difference between pellets and flowers with this hop is great. I really like the flowers, i find the pellets to be harsh and less flavoursome. But this could be different people growing the galaxy too.

 

[manticle]

Generally only tasted them rather than brewed with them. One of the few hops I don't like (and I've tasted very well brewed beers made with galaxy).

I just get loads of passionfruit - no earth to speak of.

 

[Brewman_]

Hi BjornJ,

I have used Galaxy quite a bit, but not like you have, in those high amounts at the end of the boil.

I find Galaxy needs to be used carefully. Never had anything but good passionfruit characters from it.


Fear_n_loath

 

[Jimmeh]

Sounds like a fermentation, yeast or water issue.
Coopers yeast is very yeasty tasting typically.
How big was your yeast starter? How many bottles did you culture from?
Did you make any additions to your water?

 

[beersatan]

I've put galaxy in my "treat with respect" hop category with chinook and simcoe. Can be OD'd! :wacko:

A very recent experience with galaxy we noticed some funky "stinky socks" aroma before and after brewing but the flavours were pure awesomeness and didn't notice any yeasty or metallic flavours.

 

[Nick JD]

I hear Kirks is selling a Galaxy-hopped beverage...

 

[Mayor of Mildura]

My experience is:
Galaxy = passionfruit (and lawn clippings if used too late)
coopers yeast = bready and banana or pear

As the others have said you might need to broaden the search to find the culprit.

 

[Doogiechap]

I love the stuff :icon_drool2:
I have made a couple of 22l batches of this (Thanks for the recipe Sinkas):

Ingredient Amount % MCU When
Barrett Burston Pale Malt 7.800 kg 95.0 % 5.2 In Mash/Steeped
Australian Caramalt 0.220 kg 2.7 % 2.1 In Mash/Steeped
German Melanoidin Malt 0.075 kg 0.9 % 0.7 In Mash/Steeped
German Wheat Malt 0.060 kg 0.7 % 0.0 In Mash/Steeped
German Munich Malt 0.055 kg 0.7 % 0.1 In Mash/Steeped


Hops
Variety Alpha Amount IBU Form When
Australian Galaxy 14.0 % 60 g 58.1 Loose Pellet Hops 30 Min From End
Australian Galaxy 14.7 % 153 g 101.2 Loose Pellet Hops 15 Min From End
Australian Galaxy 15.0 % 100 g 27.1 Loose Pellet Hops 5 Min From End
Australian Galaxy 15.0 % 84 g 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops At turn off
US Amarillo 8.6 % 50 g 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops Dry-Hopped


At around 9% it's not subtle but a big resinous grapefruit mind altering experience that I keep coming back for :icon_drunk:

 

[MitchDudarko]

I was hoping to use it in the 10min IPA recipe that's on the forum. Here's a look at the recipe.
Recipe: 10 Min Galaxy IPA
Brewer: Mitch Dudarko
Asst Brewer:
Style: American IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 23.00 L
Boil Size: 26.33 L
Estimated OG: 1.067 SG
Estimated Color: 23.5 EBC
Estimated IBU: 63.9 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
6.20 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 95.09 %
0.32 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (236.4 EBC) Grain 4.91 %
140.00 gm Galaxy [13.60 %] (10 min) Hops 63.9 IBU
Wyeast 1272 or 1056

 

[Steve@PMF82]

Hmm i was considering using Galaxy in a 10min IPA as well.
Reading this thread i think it may not be such a great idea.

 

[browndog]

hi all,
I really enjoy the Stone & Wood Draught, now renamed to Pacific Ale after what I understand.
Brendan of the NBBC is the expert cloner and he makes a cracker clone of this one, fresh and hoppy and an awesome beer.
I got some tips from him about the hopping regime and incorporated that into my first ever IPA.

the IPA was brewed on our BigBrewDay on the 22nd of January, and consisted of
51% pilsner
30% munich
9% wheat
5% crystal
5% dextrose

@60 min: 25 gr Magnum 15%AA - 36.3 IBU
@15 min: 15 gr Galaxy 14%AA - 10.1 IBU
@ 5 min : 20 gr Galaxy 14%AA - 5.4 IBU
@ 1 min: 30 gr Galaxy 14%AA - 1.8 IBU


EBC: 20.4
IBU: 53.4
OG: 1.056
FG: 1.012
alc:6.25 % incl bottle conditioning


the plan was to get some bittering from the Magnum and the fresh hoppiness from the late Galaxy.
No such thing...
It is earthy, slightly metallic (?) and a bit ...hot?
Something on the back of the tounge, I am thinking hot alcohol, fusels even?
Ah, where is the BJCP group when you need them

Has others experienced that, that they get earthy, yeasty or metallic flavours from Galaxy?

(this is my second beer with Galaxy. The first one was a mid-strength pale ale and it had a similar earthy, yeasty character. I thought it was due to the recultured Coopers yeast of that one, but now I am starting to think it's the Galaxy hops.)

But if this is what I get from the Galaxy, it doesn't rhyme with what Brendan and the Stone & Wood guys are getting..

Is it just me, or is the Galaxy hop difficult to get right?

thanks
Bjorn

As with others I've tasted a great many galaxy pale ales and they have all been good, just the balance differs, it's hard to stuff up a galaxy pale ale.


cheers

Browndog

 

[BjornJ]

thanks guys,

sounds like maybe I went overboard a bit on the Galaxy and got some mixed flavours.

Brendan has given me the Galaxy Far Away recipe, will put aside for later and try to stay within guidelines next time

Forgot to say, the Galaxy IPA was made with S-04 yeast, not Coopers.

I had a bottle again over the weekend and it's "ok" at best, a bit on the hot side or metallic or something.

But then again I am very happy with my 3.1% Oats Ale, so overall happy with the last couple of experiments!

thanks
Bjorn