Galaxy/Rakau DIPA Tasting

When I suggested brewing a double IPA recipe that featured about a pound of hops in five gallons (6+ lbs per bbl), split between Rakau and Galaxy, Jacob told me that it sounded like fun, but probably wouldn’t happen full-scale at Modern Times given hop prices/availability. Although it highlighted a question that we’ve been trying to figure out, how will the hop additions scale from my modest homebrew setup to the 30 bbl brewhouse currently being manufactured for the brewery? Bitterness will be relatively easy to scale once we determine the hop utilization of our kettle, but hop aromatics are a trickier matter.

As a homebrewer it is easy to buy more hops if I need more hops. With the demand for these oil-saturated varieties though, on a commercial scale we’re forced to lock-in amounts now with contracts for nest fall (or the next three years for varieties from Australia and New Zealand). Meaning that we'll only have a certain amount to use, so increasing the hops in a recipe means reducing the number of batches we’ll be able to brew of it until the next contract.

Jacob has been talking to craft brewers who brew hoppy beers he enjoys, and the general message is that we should be able to cut my dry hop amounts per gallon in half and still achieve similar results. Could I do that at home, or is there something more efficient about the way craft breweries dry hop? Is it the larger volume? The fact that many breweries circulate the beer to increase exposure to the hops? No answers yet, but I’m glad we are (if anything) over-estimating the amount of hops we’ll need.

For this Southern Hemisphere DIPA I was hoping to compliment the tropical fruitiness of Galaxy with Rakau, which I read has a more herbal/piney character plus a unique fruitiness of its own. My hope was this would achieve a balance similar to the one created by Amarillo’s fruitiness and Simcoe's mango-pine thing. The resulting beer is solid, but the balance of aromatics isn’t what I hoped for in a double IPA. Considering the high (absurd?) hopping rate late in the boil and split between two dry hop additions, the aromatics aren’t as bold as I wanted! The hops smelled great coming out of the package (unlike my first Galaxy-only DIPA), but that didn’t translate to the finished beer.

Southern Hemisphere DIPA

Appearance – Medium-amber body, but the wide glass makes it appear darker than it does usually. The head pours dense and thick, beautiful once it settles, but it is time to turn the pressure down. Chill haze and two substantial dry hoppings have created a somewhat murky beer.

Smell – This beer hadn’t been wowing me, but served in a deep/curved glass the hop nose is much more pronounced. The Galaxy and Rakau provide a very deep fruit flavor. There is certainly a tropical aspect to it, but also a cooked pear and cherry. The pine and citrus most people expect in a DIPA are hardly detectable. There isn’t anything to dislike about this one, but it just doesn’t leap out of the glass and demand to be tasted like my favorite hoppy beers!

Taste – The flavor is reasonably well balanced between malt and hop. There are hints of toastiness poking through the fruity hops. The finish is firmly bitter, lasting for a few seconds before fading (the combination of HopShots and Columbus for bittering worked really well). Similar to the nose, the combination of hop oils doesn’t grab me, I enjoy the fruitiness, but it doesn't scratch my hop itch. The fermentation, from what I can tell, was very clean. There is a slight alcohol presence, about what I expect in a beer this strong.

Mouthfeel – Considering that this beer is 8.4% ABV, the body is relatively thin. This is what I want in a double IPA, much thicker and it would taste like an American barleywine. Solid carbonation enough to keep it light.

Drinkability & Notes – Very drinkable for a strong beer. Similar to the first DIPA I brewed with Galaxy, it is a solid, but doesn’t captivate me. I don’t feel like the Rakau is adding much to the aroma, as I enjoyed Galaxy by itself more.The strange thing is I was blown away by Hill Farmstead's Galaxy DIPA, not sure it is how I am using them, or the specific hops I'm getting.