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James Squire Hop Thief 6 - Extract
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Three Sheets
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Thanks for sharing the ideas and pics people.
I've come close with this recipe, one comment was like hop thief but more hoppy. IBU @ 52 might be a bit higher than desired but I think it adds to it.
I've only tried sample bottles and the keg is still a week or two away but its shaping up as a keeper.
So anyone who likes Hop Thief 6 and uses this as a base would go too far wrong.
1.5 Kg light liquid malt extract
1kg light dry malt
500g of liquid wheat malt (added to 5 litres water for the boil)
250 grams of dextrose
hops bill
Galaxy 10g@60
Columbus 10@30
Columbus 15@15
columbus 15@5
Simcoe 25@5
Steeped for 10 mins
BRY97 yeast
Dry hopped on day 4
15grams Columbus
15grams Simcoe
22 litres
I've come close with this recipe, one comment was like hop thief but more hoppy. IBU @ 52 might be a bit higher than desired but I think it adds to it.
I've only tried sample bottles and the keg is still a week or two away but its shaping up as a keeper.
So anyone who likes Hop Thief 6 and uses this as a base would go too far wrong.
1.5 Kg light liquid malt extract
1kg light dry malt
500g of liquid wheat malt (added to 5 litres water for the boil)
250 grams of dextrose
hops bill
Galaxy 10g@60
Columbus 10@30
Columbus 15@15
columbus 15@5
Simcoe 25@5
Steeped for 10 mins
BRY97 yeast
Dry hopped on day 4
15grams Columbus
15grams Simcoe
22 litres
RobboMC
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Please note this comment is a slam at JS and NOT at you excellent home brewers.
I tasted the Hop Thief 6 last week and I thought it should be called flavour thief instead.
My partner gave it a sniff and was highly critical of it for lack of depth. She said it was nothing like some of my good
home brewed stuff. It has the Simcoe aroma and little else.
There is little flavour or bitterness in the background to compliment the aroma.
I have heard of hop driven beers but never before have I found an 'aroma driven' beer.
These recipes are already looking much better than the original. I would just forget the dextrose, so
the beer comes out at 4.8% instead of 5%, so what.
If you really want to, adjust the volume down a bit, or sometimes when I get lazy
I throw in an amount of brew enhancer 2 to up the abv, at least that is 50% malt.
I tasted the Hop Thief 6 last week and I thought it should be called flavour thief instead.
My partner gave it a sniff and was highly critical of it for lack of depth. She said it was nothing like some of my good
home brewed stuff. It has the Simcoe aroma and little else.
There is little flavour or bitterness in the background to compliment the aroma.
I have heard of hop driven beers but never before have I found an 'aroma driven' beer.
These recipes are already looking much better than the original. I would just forget the dextrose, so
the beer comes out at 4.8% instead of 5%, so what.
If you really want to, adjust the volume down a bit, or sometimes when I get lazy
I throw in an amount of brew enhancer 2 to up the abv, at least that is 50% malt.
paulyman
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Fair call RobboMC, I have made a habit of grabbing a small selection of craft pale ales and IPA's each fortnight since beginning this quest. Started with Hop Hog. My eyes have definitely been opened to all that is out there.
That being said I do love the match of Simcoe and Columbus, it's quite different. I want to nail a close approximation then aim for better.
It's 4 days in on tho second batch and it's the best krausen I've ever seen. I paid very close attention to nailing a consistent temp for my wort in the feementor and my yeast starter. I have a digital temp probe attached to the side and it has sat between 18 and 20 at all times.
Unfortunately I don't have a fermenting fridge yet. But have begun to watch evilbay and gumtree plus the local group here on AHB. I think I've convinced the other half it's a good idea, plus she gets a walk on wardrobe in the bedroom to make way for it in the study.
Once I have that I know my brews will become nice and consistent, then on to BIAB.
That being said I do love the match of Simcoe and Columbus, it's quite different. I want to nail a close approximation then aim for better.
It's 4 days in on tho second batch and it's the best krausen I've ever seen. I paid very close attention to nailing a consistent temp for my wort in the feementor and my yeast starter. I have a digital temp probe attached to the side and it has sat between 18 and 20 at all times.
Unfortunately I don't have a fermenting fridge yet. But have begun to watch evilbay and gumtree plus the local group here on AHB. I think I've convinced the other half it's a good idea, plus she gets a walk on wardrobe in the bedroom to make way for it in the study.
Once I have that I know my brews will become nice and consistent, then on to BIAB.
Three Sheets
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Hey Robbo, did you try Hop Thief on tap or stubby? Reason I say that is I've has some disappointing 5 and 6's when it comes to cartons, but have found the stuff on tap far superior. Not sure why the inconsistency occurs in the stubby but I've found that on a number of occasions with the JS range.
Keep at it Paulyman , let us know how this batch turns out.
Keep at it Paulyman , let us know how this batch turns out.
Haven't found it too bad out the carton. A little light on the bitters but still good. Fair to say it's no Hop Hog but don't have the same price tag either.
Kegged my batch last night. Aroma is spot on! Flavour and mouthfeel need some work. Next batch I think I want more caramunich and a little more roast barley. Bitters are a tad high for me mainly because the malt isn't balanced.
Personally I think it's a ripper! Slight improvements but well and truly an enjoyable drop.
Kegged my batch last night. Aroma is spot on! Flavour and mouthfeel need some work. Next batch I think I want more caramunich and a little more roast barley. Bitters are a tad high for me mainly because the malt isn't balanced.
Personally I think it's a ripper! Slight improvements but well and truly an enjoyable drop.
Three Sheets
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Hey Paulyman, I just put your hop bill into Brewmate and it came up with an IBU of 32. I'm beginning to think Brewmate might be a little out.paulyman said:
Spohaw
Well-Known Member
Edit : need to read the whole thread before posting next time
Could be using different hop utilisation tables for their ibu calc
Think you can change which table you want to use on brewmate
Could be using different hop utilisation tables for their ibu calc
Think you can change which table you want to use on brewmate
paulyman
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Dry hopped on the weekend. Was at 1018 and a stable 18C, expecting 1014. Tasted much better than last batch, could sense the bitterness this time. Perhaps still slightly underbittered? Will have to compare to a proper when it's bottled and ready to drink.
The krausen on this batch was amazing, never had one that good before, it's dropping now.
Plan on bottling on Thursday as I have time then, that will be a 5 day dry hop. Will test the gravity on Tuesday and Wednesday to be sure.
The krausen on this batch was amazing, never had one that good before, it's dropping now.
Plan on bottling on Thursday as I have time then, that will be a 5 day dry hop. Will test the gravity on Tuesday and Wednesday to be sure.
Sounding good Paulyman! I will be putting a couple new batches down soon. Got 2 empty FV's atm so will give your last recipe a crack and do another with a few variations I've been thinking of.
My dry hop was after the end of fermentation so it I'll be interested to hear if you still get the strong aroma dry hopping at 1018.
My dry hop was after the end of fermentation so it I'll be interested to hear if you still get the strong aroma dry hopping at 1018.
paulyman
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Mine is on the right, the Hop Thief is on the left. (Mine is only 5 days in the bottle so still not fully carbed).
I'll try and detail my findings, although I've never done a side by side before.
Colour - Mine is slightly lighter in colour, there really isn't much in it.
Aroma - Hop thief is more earthy and mine is more citrusy.
Mouthfeel - Mine is much lighter bodied.
Taste - Hop thief tastes more malt driven, while mine is more hop driven. Furthermore: hop thief tastes resiny and piney, while mine tastes citrusy and piney? I'm not sure how better to describe that. Mine also has a slight twang to it, which I'm guessing is the dextrose. (Really shouldnt have bothered with that).
Bitterness - About equal, mine tastes just slightly more bitter.
All up. I'm so much happier with this batch. If I was just brewing an APA I'd be stoked.
As for a Hop Thief clone. As an extract brew I'm not sure I can really play with the malt profile too much, I need to work on the hops. I think the citrus has come from pure late additions? So I might try a 60 and maybe 30 minute addition and see what that brings.
#Edited to fix up the image.
paulyman
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Interesting. I had bottled most in James Squire bottles but bottled 3 in 500ml Rekorderling bottles i had lying around. Opened one today, it tastes bang on, earthy and resinous!
So I guess I leave the smaller bottles for a week to loose their green taste.
So I guess I leave the smaller bottles for a week to loose their green taste.
Looking good paulyman! I slightly increased my roast barley in a second batch this weekend for the same reason. Had a nice colour but still closer to a golden ale than the full blood red mahogany of the HF6. I was almost tempted to lower the bitters too but by the time I tapped the second keg I liked just the way it was.
The twang may not just be the dextrose but from the kits themselves. Something I'm happy to live with atm as no room or spare cash to set up a HERMS. Maybe down the track I'll work on it.
The twang may not just be the dextrose but from the kits themselves. Something I'm happy to live with atm as no room or spare cash to set up a HERMS. Maybe down the track I'll work on it.
paulyman
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As an update. Drinking the last 6 pack this week.
Was really really nice. Definitely more citrusy than the real deal, but a real nice APA. Will substitute some earlier hop additions next time to see if that gives it a more pine and earthy taste.
But this will all be on hiatus until I get a ferm fridge. Put in a few bids on evil bay but either been outbid or had the bids pulled. Not cool.
May just bite the bullet and buy a homemaker 115L from Kmart, at least I've seen they fit a fermenter.
Natsta keep us updated on your version.
Was really really nice. Definitely more citrusy than the real deal, but a real nice APA. Will substitute some earlier hop additions next time to see if that gives it a more pine and earthy taste.
But this will all be on hiatus until I get a ferm fridge. Put in a few bids on evil bay but either been outbid or had the bids pulled. Not cool.
May just bite the bullet and buy a homemaker 115L from Kmart, at least I've seen they fit a fermenter.
Natsta keep us updated on your version.
Yeah dry hopped my second batch on the weekend. Next attempt I think I want to include some galaxy to give a bit of passionfruit/tropical flavour. Have not used it before so it will be an interesting experiment. Hopefully a good one though. Somewhere between HT6 and Hop Hog is the aim.
With the fridge. I picked up a couple perfect fridges through facebook bss sites for free. 1 is only 4 years old. Although you have to keep your eyes peeled it may be worth a try paulman.
With the fridge. I picked up a couple perfect fridges through facebook bss sites for free. 1 is only 4 years old. Although you have to keep your eyes peeled it may be worth a try paulman.
Gigantorus
Well-Known Member
On ya Paulyman.
I'm also a Hop Theif lover - though enjoyed the No5 more than No6. But still love the style of beer.
You might be interested to know that I did a small brew in my old Mr Beer 8.5 Litre keg a few weeks back. Spoke to my local brew shop dude and said I wanted to create a similar batch to Hop Thief and he gave me a can of Coopers Real Ale and said to use that with no sugar and then dry-hop at the end. Well the fermentation (krausen) went crazy but didn't affect the beer and dry-hopped with 100grams of Simcoe pellets (love my hops) and bottled a week or so ago and plan to drink my first one in a week & a half. The brew was in the keg fermenter for a total of 3 weeks - I dry-hopped for the last week. I tried it when I did the bottling and it was amazing - the colour was perfect, the flavours were very similar to Hop Thief. So once the carbonation is up it should be a good brew. I might even try doing a batch in my 30 Litre fermenter - use 2 cans of Coopers Real Ale and 100 grams of Citra or Kohatu hops this time. But anyhoo I'll report back when I drink the first one around the 18th October.
Cheers,
Pete
I'm also a Hop Theif lover - though enjoyed the No5 more than No6. But still love the style of beer.
You might be interested to know that I did a small brew in my old Mr Beer 8.5 Litre keg a few weeks back. Spoke to my local brew shop dude and said I wanted to create a similar batch to Hop Thief and he gave me a can of Coopers Real Ale and said to use that with no sugar and then dry-hop at the end. Well the fermentation (krausen) went crazy but didn't affect the beer and dry-hopped with 100grams of Simcoe pellets (love my hops) and bottled a week or so ago and plan to drink my first one in a week & a half. The brew was in the keg fermenter for a total of 3 weeks - I dry-hopped for the last week. I tried it when I did the bottling and it was amazing - the colour was perfect, the flavours were very similar to Hop Thief. So once the carbonation is up it should be a good brew. I might even try doing a batch in my 30 Litre fermenter - use 2 cans of Coopers Real Ale and 100 grams of Citra or Kohatu hops this time. But anyhoo I'll report back when I drink the first one around the 18th October.
Cheers,
Pete
Gigantorus
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Couldn't help myself. Had to try one before the 3rd week came around. My attempt at an APA was not bad. Could have eased back on the amount of hops used (I used 100grams - should have only used half that). She's a thick brew - so very much a "sipping" brew 
Not a session beer either. Already formulating the plan/recipe for the next APA.
Pic attached from yesterday.
Cheers,
Pete
Not a session beer either. Already formulating the plan/recipe for the next APA. Pic attached from yesterday.
Cheers,
Pete
Gigantorus
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Hey Natsta,
Yeah it was a solid meaty brew. The krausen was very fierce too and cracked the tap on the little keg (so I found out when bottling) - it also spewed froth out all over the floor (so be warned). So the 8.5L keg is out of action until I can find another tap to fit it (the standard taps for the 15L and 30L fermenters don't fit the keg). Have already mentioned how it went to my LHBS - he wasn't surprised aboutn the big flavour.
I've since bought a 15L and 30L fermenter and will play with those. I might do another similar batch in the 15L fermenter and fill to 10L mark and just use 50grams of Galaxy as a final dry-hop.
I plan to mix up a batch of the Cooper's Scotch Ale or Fruit Salad Ale (can't make my mind up yet) this weekend in the 30L barrel. http://www.coopers.com.au/diy-beer/beer-recipes/ale/detail/scotch-ale/ http://www.coopers.com.au/diy-beer/beer-recipes/ale/detail/fruit-salad-ale/
Also need to find a brew to do for Christmas.
Look forward to hearing how your batch went too?
Cheers,
Pete
Yeah it was a solid meaty brew. The krausen was very fierce too and cracked the tap on the little keg (so I found out when bottling) - it also spewed froth out all over the floor (so be warned). So the 8.5L keg is out of action until I can find another tap to fit it (the standard taps for the 15L and 30L fermenters don't fit the keg). Have already mentioned how it went to my LHBS - he wasn't surprised aboutn the big flavour.
I've since bought a 15L and 30L fermenter and will play with those. I might do another similar batch in the 15L fermenter and fill to 10L mark and just use 50grams of Galaxy as a final dry-hop.
I plan to mix up a batch of the Cooper's Scotch Ale or Fruit Salad Ale (can't make my mind up yet) this weekend in the 30L barrel. http://www.coopers.com.au/diy-beer/beer-recipes/ale/detail/scotch-ale/ http://www.coopers.com.au/diy-beer/beer-recipes/ale/detail/fruit-salad-ale/
Also need to find a brew to do for Christmas.
Look forward to hearing how your batch went too?
Cheers,
Pete
Gigantorus
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Tried one of my IPA's on the weekend, which I was expecting to be a better drink than the APA experiment. Expected it to be better because I followed the recipe to the T
The IPA was very good. Was a bit darker than I expected. But all very nice. It seems all my beers of late are coming our the same dark colour I guess it could be worse and all the beers tasting like crap. Pic of the IPA below. Has a good carbonation too. I could drink lots of this beer easily.
Laid down a 23L batch of the Coopers Scotch Ale on the weekend. Looking forward to that. Am trying to build a stockpile of beers for the Xmas/New year break.
Cheers,
Pete
The IPA was very good. Was a bit darker than I expected. But all very nice. It seems all my beers of late are coming our the same dark colour
I guess it could be worse and all the beers tasting like crap. Pic of the IPA below. Has a good carbonation too. I could drink lots of this beer easily.Laid down a 23L batch of the Coopers Scotch Ale on the weekend. Looking forward to that. Am trying to build a stockpile of beers for the Xmas/New year break.
Cheers,
Pete
Gigantorus
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Natsta said:
Hope that's not the case. That was my fav beer of late. Been a few months since I bought some.
Alex.Tas
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I reckon this stuff is boring in the bottle.
Tastes completely different off tap at the pub. Much much much better.
Gigantorus, i made a toucan brew to ~20L with two real ale cans (similar to your half size 1 can brew) and it was the worst beer ive ever made. way too bitter. Got worse with time too, lost a lot of the dry hop flavours and the little extra i put in as a 5-10 min addition. I hope yours was much better!
Tastes completely different off tap at the pub. Much much much better.
Gigantorus, i made a toucan brew to ~20L with two real ale cans (similar to your half size 1 can brew) and it was the worst beer ive ever made. way too bitter. Got worse with time too, lost a lot of the dry hop flavours and the little extra i put in as a 5-10 min addition. I hope yours was much better!
