James Squire Hop Thief 6 - Extract

[paulyman]

Haven't tried a second attempt yet. Will be brewing an amber ale during the week, and will try the second attempt once that is bottled. Let us know how the batch turns out Natsta.

 

[paulyman]

Have you attempted your brew yet Natsta?

My Amber Ale is coming along nicely, first attempt at rehydrating the yeast before hand, usually just sprinkle it into the fermentor. Wow, I'm used to working with Sourdough starters, so this stuff is amazingly active!

I bought some extracts in the Coopers free shipping deal so will probably adjust my recipe to stay at 25-30 EBC (which seemed right colour wise) and 5.0 ABV. I am intrigued by the concept of a 10 minute APA so may play with that as well, although reading the All Grain thread they suggest 20 minute additions. So I may adjust my 20 minute additions to get to the 40 IBU Shacked suggested and try that without the 60 minute Magnum addition. (Not that the All Grainers were recommending all late additions, I'm just curious).

I guess if I muff it up again its only me drinking it.

 

[Natsta]

Yep. It's on it's way. Took a gravity reading on Sunday to see how things were going. The smell is certainly similar but didn't have a JS HP6 on hand to compare. The taste is lacking yet but I still have my dry hop to go so hopefully that brings it on par with the HP6. I made some late changes to the final recipe I used and will post it up at a later date but the IBU's ended up really close to 40 and I think this is about right for this clone. The colour seems a little light but I'll jist have to wait it out to see how far out.

 

[BlueMutt]

Hop Hog is good but if you want the same but better try and find founders all day session IPA.

Glad the beer is drinkable... I just want to check and see as you said it was really sweet that you did have a stable gravity for 3 days before botterlig didn't you? Don't want any bottle bombs.

I tried a Founders Centennial IPA from a can after a service job at the local Pub, it motivated me to brew a batch the same week. Will be in the keg this weekend, samples are as good as I have done.
Simple, Pilsner malt 95% Crystal 5% Simcoe @60 Centennial @30 and 0

 

[Natsta]

Based on colour and aroma this may come somewhere very close to a hop thief. I did my dry hop today and drew a sample to check progress. More bitter than the original but the dry hop should cover some of that. So far I think it's on track. I need this for the weekend on 13th so pushing a little faster than I prefer. 4 weeks total from boil to keg. Hopefully by then it's shining.

 

[Natsta]

Oh and the left is the clone beside the original JS HT6 on the right just in case anyone was wondering.

 

[paulyman]

Looks really good. What was the recipe you ended up going with?

My next batch arrived today, so will be brewing another batch soon. Will keep you posted.

 

[Natsta]

The brew was 45 litres so half it for a standard 23 litre brew. Next attempt will have some of the LDM replaced with LME since I found the sweetness seems low and HT6 has that suttle sweetness.​

​

As follows;​

​

Steep in 3.5litres at 65-70;​

1kg x Caramunich 3​

50gm x Roasted Barley​

​

30 mins steep time​

Sparge grains with an additional 3.5litres and top up to 11 litres for a 30 min boil​

​

Columbus x 10g @ 20 Mins​

Simcoe x 15g @ 20 Mins​

Columbus x 15g @ 5 Mins​

Simcoe x 40g @ 5 Mins​

​

Columbus x 20g @ Flameout​

Simcoe x 25g @ Flamout​

Columbus x35g @ Dryhop 7 days​

Simcoe x 80g @ Dryhop 7 days​

​

2x Coopers Lager cans​

2.5kg LDM added at end of boil​

​

I forgot to add the LDM during boil so wacked it all in at the end. Like I said, this is a little heavy on the bitters (not by much) but should reduce over the next week or so. Also needs a little unfermentable sugar to add to it but who knows? It's not finished yet....​

 

[paulyman]

I put the second batch down yesterday. Had to make some changes as craft brewer were out of magnum when I ordered.

Not too different to Natsta's recipe.

Went with:

2.5 kg LDME
450 g medium Crystal
300 g caramunich 2
30 g roasted barley
100 g dextrose (to get to 5% ABV)

10 g Simcoe @ 20
25 g Columbus @ 20
10 g Simcoe @ 5
5 g Columbus @ 5
25 g Simcoe @ 0
15 g Columbus @ 0

Made up to 23 L @ 18 degrees.

US05 pitched and fermenting at 18 degrees.

SG 1048 expecting FG of 1012 and ABV of 5.1%. Ian's spreadsheet predicts an EBC of 29 and IBU of 41.

Will dry hop on day 8 or there abouts depending on how fermentation goes.

 

[paulyman]

BlueMutt that sounds nice. Keep us posted.

 

[shacked]

Looks like a good brew Paulyman! Keep us posted on your progress with this one mate.

 

[Three Sheets]

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

 

[RobboMC]

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.

 

[paulyman]

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.

 

[Three Sheets]

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.

 

[Natsta]

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.

 

[Three Sheets]

I put the second batch down yesterday. Had to make some changes as craft brewer were out of magnum when I ordered.

Not too different to Natsta's recipe.

Went with:

2.5 kg LDME
450 g medium Crystal
300 g caramunich 2
30 g roasted barley
100 g dextrose (to get to 5% ABV)

10 g Simcoe @ 20
25 g Columbus @ 20
10 g Simcoe @ 5
5 g Columbus @ 5
25 g Simcoe @ 0
15 g Columbus @ 0

Made up to 23 L @ 18 degrees.

US05 pitched and fermenting at 18 degrees.

SG 1048 expecting FG of 1012 and ABV of 5.1%. Ian's spreadsheet predicts an EBC of 29 and IBU of 41.

Will dry hop on day 8 or there abouts depending on how fermentation goes.

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]

I've just noticed there is an IBU and Calculated IBU cell on the spreadsheet. The calculated IBU says 34.7, so I'd say you are right.

 

[Spohaw]

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

 

[paulyman]

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.