Hop Thief 5 - James Squire

[linny]

Just wondering if i could get a bit of talk about this years hop theif 5 , i was about to put down a beez neez but family dragged me out to lunch where i had a beer..... Long storey short. I loved it, a bit heavy for me but i'd like to have a crack at it, but theres not much info on it....

This was on James Squires site

VARIETAL

Craft beer

STYLE

American pale ale

SIZE

Tap only

ALCOHOL BY VOLUME

5.0%



close

the colour is close to a red with a tall head, and i would have a guess with the IBU being around 35 , and i found a review that said :

"Hop Thief 5 delivers a distinct, full-bodied hop flavour true to the American Pale Ale-style. The Centennial and Citra hop varieties add robust citrus and stone fruit characters, balanced by a rich malt body"


My guess centennial would be a bittering and citra being flavour hop ? what would aroma be ?

I'm still new to this but ive been brewing 13L size batches to get skills and techniques up faster

 

[Byran]

Havent tried this yet mate but Im guessing you would be right. Although citra is a great bittering hop also with high AA%. You could bitter with something piney then use centennial and citra late .? Do they dry hop it? Citra would be great for that in any case as an aroma. Red colours can be from a touch of roasted malt at the end of the mash to get the colour but not the flavour? What's it taste like malt wise?
Im keen to go find it.........for 1.

 

[indica86]

Centennial and Citra both work very well for aroma and flavour.
I'd go Magnum for bittering and then 10, 5 and dry hop with both of those ^^^ while watching the IBU.

 

[linny]

How would you aim for colour with grain, majority pale malt with caramalt and a tiiiiny bit of crystal? if so how much caramalt is too much

I am no good at describing flavors, haven't quite got there yet

 

[OneEye]

I work at JS and you're well on the way using a clean buttering hop to about 10IBU make up the final 25-30 with Centennial and Citra late in the kettle, pretty much all at flame out. Whirlpool/Hot stand for 20 odd mins and you're good to go

Also going for a malt bill similar to LIttle Fellas Pale Ale and upping the crystal slightly will have you in the ball park

 

[bigmacca]

Just want to say... im a huge fan of this beer!!

 

[NewtownClown]

I work at JS and you're well on the way using a clean buttering hop to about 10IBU make up the final 25-30 with Centennial and Citra late in the kettle, pretty much all at flame out. Whirlpool/Hot stand for 20 odd mins and you're good to go

Also going for a malt bill similar to LIttle Fellas Pale Ale and upping the crystal slightly will have you in the ball park

"...upping the crystal slightly...", do you mean adding a slight amount of crystal? For there is no crystal in LFPA (other than cara-pils which would only add more body rather than color or flavour, right?).

 

[Hoppers]

I love this beer too, well the entire squire range. Glad to see that only the hops are seasonal now

Would love to make this at home, but im too far off at this stage

 

[linny]

"...upping the crystal slightly...", do you mean adding a slight amount of crystal? For there is no crystal in LFPA (other than cara-pils which would only add more body rather than color or flavour, right?).

Dont worry i was picking up what he was putting down ^_^

 

[bambi99]

So has anyone had a go at making this and if so how did it turn out and what was the grain bill and hop additions this beer is awesome

 

[davedoran]

Ive done a similar brew using citra and centennial. Used EKG for bittering. Ready to bottle in a couple of days.
Tastes good so far.

71.4% Marris Otter
17.9% Munich
5.4% Carapils
5.4% Wheat.

9.1 IBU @ 45
18 IBU @10
12 IBU @ 5

10g each citra and centennial dry hop 5 days

 

[marksy]

Bloody love this beer. It was perfect after a hard days work in 40c + weather. There are a few recipes of the older versions floating around, I remember when looking in to making my own. I just put down pale ale last night using the same hops, in the hope to have something similar.

 

[davedoran]

Sorry should also mention the colour of this is a lot paler than Hop Thief ive had on tap in the pub. Recipe works out about 11.3 EBC but happy with the taste.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

A touch (like a teaspoon or so) of black or roasted barley gets the colour adjusted quick smart without imparting much extra sweetness and the roastedness is too small to detect.

Just a tip I got from AABC style guidelines.

 

[Rod]

Ive done a similar brew using citra and centennial. Used EKG for bittering. Ready to bottle in a couple of days.
Tastes good so far.

71.4% Marris Otter
17.9% Munich
5.4% Carapils
5.4% Wheat.

9.1 IBU @ 45
18 IBU @10
12 IBU @ 5

10g each citra and centennial dry hop 5 days

I make my brews with extract

is it possible to substitute something for the maris otter and munich

 

[davedoran]

Found this online. Might be harder to get out here but nothings impossible

Marris Otter Extract

They also have a munich extract but could possibly sub that for an amber extract.

 

[Not For Horses]

Would Squire use Maris Otter though? I would've thought being owned by Lion Nathan would mean that you have to use Joe White. Just guessing mind you.

 

[davedoran]

Yeah mate, probably right. Just an experiment for me.

 

[dicko]

I would just use your base extract and steep some Carared or medium crystal and maybe a tad of roast or chocolate to colur

 

[technobabble66]

Fwiw, I researched HTA extensively about a year ago and came across mention from somewhere in their website that the grains claimed to be used in the first 3 HTAs were all the same: Pale Ale malt, Munich malt & crystal.
Not sure whether HTA5 would be the same, but I believe HTA4 followed the same grist.