Warrning: This is an experimental recipe. Never use wild hops, as you can’t be sure what chemicals or other poisonous materials they carry. Especially don't use hops growing near roads. Using wild hops could lead to poisoning, only use store brought hops when brewing beer.
IDEA
I read in forums and social media groups that many people had successful brews with wild hops. I live in an area where wild hops are not a common sight. When one of my friend approached that they have some wild hops in their backyard, I immediately took the opportunity to try them out. This recipe was an ad hoc one, only used spare ingredients that I found at home. The batch size is 15 liters because of the amount of wild hops I could get.
When brewing with hops of unknown alpha acid content, such as homegrown or wild hops (although this is true for hop pellets too) add them at the end of the boil. I would recommend an all-in approach by adding them at flame out. Another option is to add them gradually at the following points:
5 minutes before the end of the boil (1/6)
flameout (1/6)
90℃ (2/6)
80℃ (2/6)
Then let the hops rest for 30 minutes. To add bitterness, always use a neutral bittering hop at the start of the boil. This way, you will fully utilize the taste of the hops, without any interference from the bittering addition.
Recipe
Stats:
Est. OG: 1.051
Est. FG: 1.011
ABV 5.3%
Color: 7.8 SRM
IBU: 30.4
Est. Brewhouse Efficiency: 70%
Boil-Time: 30 minutes
Water Profile: Pale Ale/IPA
| Name | Temperature (Metric) | Temperature (US) | Time (minute) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mash In | 66.7℃ | 152.06℉ | 60 | |||||||
| Mash Out | 75.6℃ | 168.08℉ | 10 | |||||||
| Boil | 100℃ | 212℉ | 30 | |||||||
| Whirlpool | 64℃ | 147.2℉ | 30 |
| Name | Weight (Metric) | Weight (US) | Percentage | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simpsons - Maris Otter | 2.9 kg | 6.39 lb | 80.6% | |||||||
| Weyermann - Munich I | 0.5 kg | 1.10 lb | 13.9% | |||||||
| Weyermann - Caramunich I | 0.2 kg | 0.44 lb | 5.6% |
| Name | Weight (Metric) | Weight (US) | IBU | Alpha Acid | Time (minute) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnum | 16.5g | 0.58 oz | 26.2 | 12.5% | 30 | |||||
| Wild Hops | 200g | 7.05 oz | ? | ? | 30m Whirlpool at 64℃ |
| Name | Producer | Type | Style | Dry Alternatives | Liquid Alternatives | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US-05 | Fermentis | Dry | Chico Strain | BRY-97 - LalBrew M44 - US West Coast |
WY1056 - American Ale WLP001 - California Ale Yeast RVA-101 - Chico Ale A07 - Flagship OYL-004 - West Coast Ale I BBUSA1 - Classic American GY001 - NorCal Ale #1 |
| Strike Water (Metric) | Strike Water (US) | Sparge Water (Metric) | Sparge Water (US) | Ca | Mg | Na | SO4 | Cl | HCO3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14.4L | 3.8 gal | 7.14L | 1.89 gal | 60 ppm | 7 ppm | 7 ppm | 141 ppm | 28 ppm | 7 ppm |
| Name | Weight (Metric) | Weight (US) | Time (minute) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yeast Nutrient | 1g | 0.04 oz | 15 | |||||||
| L-Ascorbic Acid | 3g | 0.11 oz | Strike Water before mash | |||||||
| Supermoss | 4g | 0.14 oz | 15 |
Brewday
In the morning I crushed the malts, as I already collected the RO water the day before.
I added the crushed malts to the kettles; the mash was a bit thicker than expected. I suspect this is due to the smaller batch size.
Ten minutes after the start of the mash, I checked the pH of the wort. The pH of the wort was in the optimal range.
After the mash was done I made an iodine test, which showed that every starch was converted to sugar. Then I proceeded with the mashout and the sparge. The pre-boil gravity came out at 1.046, which was the expected value.
While the wort was heating for boil, I measured the bittering hop additions.
Because I used the wild hops for flavor, I only needed to add the bittering hops to the boil. At flameout, I added the wild hops. The wild hops were freezed a week before the brewday.
After the wort was chilled down to 64℃ (147.2℉), I started the 30 minutes long whirlpool.
When the whirlpool finished, I cooled the wort to pitching temperatures and measured the original gravity of the beer, which came out at 1.048.
The fermentation temperature was between 17.8℃ (64.04℉) - 21.1℃ (69.98℉), with an average of 19.1℃ (66.38℉).
Please note that the gravity readings by my iSpindel are used for the tracking of the fermentation and should not be taken as specific gravity.
The final gravity came out at 1.010, which is 0.001 points below the expected 1.011.
Tasting
First week: The smell of the beer was floral, sweet with notes of biscuit and citrus. In it’s taste the floral sweetness dominated the beer with some acidic undertone. The body was medium-light, perfect for the style.
Later on: As time passed, the beer started to go rancid, with heavy sourness taking over the brew.
Conclusion
I was not a big fan of the beer from the first sip. However, as time passed, the situation got only worse. I’m sure that some wild yeast survived the freezer and the temperatures in the kettle. This is one of the risk one might take using wild hops, which again I don’t recommend. It was a cool experiment, however I will keep using store-bought hops in the future.