Getting passion fruit out of Galaxy hops

[bry2]

Hello all

I recently brewed for the first time in 2 years. Used the following kit recipe (ended up with 25 L):

* Morgans canadian light tin (1.7 kg)
* Morgans master wheat LME (1.5 kg)
* 10 g galaxy pellets @ 10 min
* 15 g galaxy pellets @ 0 min
* US05 yeast @ 17 deg C
* 75 g galaxy pellets dry hop for 4 days
* Cold crash @ 0.5 deg C
* Bulk primed and bottled.

I was going for something like the S & W pacific ale. I love how this beer has that passion fruit aroma followed by the light malt flavour.

My beer ended up well balanced / slightly sweet with a strong fruity flavour from the hops (probably closest to peach) and very little passion fruit if any at all. It is nothing like the pacific ale and no where near as good.

This is now the second time I have used galaxy (the first being a full extract) and I have never been able to replicate the passion fruit aromas from these hops. Can any one offer some advice how it is done?

 

[Coodgee]

where are you getting the hops from? That recipe should be getting a very similar aroma to stone and wood pacific ale. if the hops are old or stored poorly it can impact the aroma. New season is due pretty soon I think. also I find adding the hops at fermentation temperature gives the best aroma.

Also, in my personal opinion, galaxy has changed a little bit over the last few crops. It doesn't always have the strong passionfruit aroma that it is famous for. This might be because they are growing it in different areas now? Dunno. I don't think pacific ale tastes quite the same either any more, could be just my tastes changing, they reckon they have never changed the recipe except for adding more "spirit of Byron Bay" by the marketing team.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Double the dry hops. That puts you at 6g/l. Some home brewers indulge in up to double that again. I know it might hurt to throw in so many hops and can be a problem for transferring. You need some kind of screen filter for the outlet. Hop aroma is not easy to get I think its somewhat a trade secret to sustain it too.

 

[captain crumpet]

I feel like galaxy has changed too, big dry hops use to smell like passiona, but now its more generic hop smell. Maybe im talking crap and doing something wrong, i dont know.

 

[hoppy2B]

Weren't there Galaxy hop shortages in the early days? Maybe that explains what happened, the stuff available now is just not as fresh as what it once was.

 

[fungrel]

Weren't there Galaxy hop shortages in the early days? Maybe that explains what happened, the stuff available now is just not as fresh as what it once was.

I believe it's more like the best lots available are being selected first and going to breweries.

 

[labels]

Chuck your hops in with the yeast for maximum aroma and flavour

 

[bry2]

where are you getting the hops from?

Bought them from www.aussiebrewmakers.com.au

They smelled fresh to me but seem to have a lot more 'peach' than grapefruit.

 

[Woong]

Chuck your hops in with the yeast for maximum aroma and flavour

+1 here. I find smaller amounts like 10 to 50 gm chucked into primary ferment (ie. with yeast) gives good flavour and aroma result.
Suck it and see

 

[fdsaasdf]

Galaxy has given me passionfruit when added at the start of primary, maybe biotransformation helps bring this out more? In any case it helps reduce oxidising your beer, which will also impact the hop aromas in the finished product.

 

[hoppy2B]

Hello all

I recently brewed for the first time in 2 years. Used the following kit recipe (ended up with 25 L):

* Morgans canadian light tin (1.7 kg)
* Morgans master wheat LME (1.5 kg)
* 10 g galaxy pellets @ 10 min
* 15 g galaxy pellets @ 0 min
* US05 yeast @ 17 deg C
* 75 g galaxy pellets dry hop for 4 days
* Cold crash @ 0.5 deg C
* Bulk primed and bottled.

I was going for something like the S & W pacific ale. I love how this beer has that passion fruit aroma followed by the light malt flavour.

My beer ended up well balanced / slightly sweet with a strong fruity flavour from the hops (probably closest to peach) and very little passion fruit if any at all. It is nothing like the pacific ale and no where near as good.

This is now the second time I have used galaxy (the first being a full extract) and I have never been able to replicate the passion fruit aromas from these hops. Can any one offer some advice how it is done?

You don't say if you no chill.

I'd be using flowers in the kettle. Put the flowers through the blender and put them in at 15 minutes if you chill, or at flame-out or wait till the wort cools down to 85-90 degrees if you no chill. Use at least 50-100 grams if you want lots of flavour.

Dry hopping with pellets is a better option than dry hopping with flowers, as the pressing into pellets process is likely to kill microbes that would otherwise spoil your beer. I'm not sure when to dry hop it, maybe try some early and some later. You probably don't need to dry hop for 4 days. I have read that most of the oils in the hops come out fairly quickly, something like 4-6 hours. Agitating the dry hops helps to release the oils.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

I feel like galaxy has changed too, big dry hops use to smell like passiona, but now its more generic hop smell. Maybe im talking crap and doing something wrong, i dont know.

I suspect the dates sometimes. Its a high demand hop and say some have it stored frozen. Then a low season that sells out, then to sell off the older stock re-dated as new maybe? Its been done all through the food and beverage trade.
I'm of the same feeling that the kilo of Galaxy pellets I'm using at the moment aren't as good as my first experiences with this exotic hop.

 

[hoppy2B]

Too much body seems to have a serious impact on hop flavours for me. Could be the can of wheat malt extract that is the problem. The best IPA recipes tend to consist of base malt and nothing else. Even though it seems counter-intuitive, replacing the can of wheat with a kilo of sugar is probably going to work wonders for hop flavour.

 

[bry2]

You don't say if you no chill.

I boiled hops in a smaller batch ~6L then poured into fermenter which contained the remainder of water cooled in my ferment fridge to give me a good pitching temp.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Interesting thoughts on dry hopping before primary fermentation. Certainly haven't heard that recommended before.

 

[koshari]

+1 here. I find smaller amounts like 10 to 50 gm chucked into primary ferment (ie. with yeast) gives good flavour and aroma result.
Suck it and see

+2 here. Last batch was a galaxy dryhopped batch and had to fix a kegs poppet valve oring the other day. When i vented it the galaxy aroma was lovely.