Imperial black with Nelson Sauvin

[jrowland74]

Hello all, I am pretty new to brewing and am wanting to formulate my own recipe. I recently got a variety of hops and am planning to incorporate some of them. I would like to make an Imperial Black Ale similar to Iniquity by Southern Tier, but with my own twist. One of the hops I got which intrigues me is Nelson Sauvin. I have no idea what this tastes like. I am hoping to find something soon which showcases this hop so I can taste it, but before I waste my time and money, I was hoping for some input from you whether you think this hop is suitable for an Imperial Black. I only have 1 oz so it would only be part of the addition. I also have US Northern Brewer (raw), Warrior, Centennial Type, CTZ, Centennial, Zythos, Summit, and Amarillo. Any suggestions what might go well with this? It will likely be 95% 2-row and 5% Carafa III or other dark malt. If there is a strong negative reaction I may just end up going with an IPA anyway. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Calder]

Nelson Sauvin has a flavor reminiscent of a fruity white wine. I don't think it would do well in this beer.

Centennial may do well.

 

[secondbase]

Stone used Nelson in their Anniversary black ipa and that was a very popular beer. There's a recipe for it if you want to check it out for reference.

 

[jrowland74]

Ok, so here is what I have so far. Any advice is really appreciated. Keep in mind, this is my first try at a recipe...

Imperial Black IPA (Imperial IPA)

Original Gravity (OG): 1.087 (°P): 20.9
Final Gravity (FG): 1.022 (°P): 5.6
Alcohol (ABV): 8.55 %
Colour (SRM): 43.6 (EBC): 85.9
Bitterness (IBU): 84.2 (Average)

92.54% American 2-Row
7.46% Carafa III malt

1 oz Warrior (16% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
1 oz Centennial (8.7% Alpha) @ 30 Minutes (Boil)
1 oz Nelson Sauvin (12.5% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil)


Single step Infusion at 151°F for 60 Minutes. Boil for 60 Minutes

Fermented at 68°F with Safale US-05


Recipe Generated with BrewMate

I haven't yet detailed the mash, but I will be batch sparging

Also, I have both Centennial (8.7%) and Centennial Type (9.7%) but I'm not really sure what the difference is. I was going to use Summit or Zythos somewhere in there because I have a lot of each, but they weren't an option on BrewMate

 

[jrowland74]

Can anyone help me with this? I am hoping to brew this weekend.

 

[zachattack]

You need a lot more late hops for an IPA (or black IPA). I'd ditch the 30 minute addition and go for 1-2 ounces each at 10 minutes, flameout, and dry hop.

 

[jrowland74]

Thanks. I'll put that into the program once I get home from work and see what it comes up with.

 

[brewskerdoo]

Nelson Sauvin has a very unique flavor. I once made a beer using it and to my palate, the white grape / white wine flavors of this hop variety were very off putting. I didn't like that beer at all and think i eventually dumped it.
Before you invest the time in making this batch, you may want to try and get an idea what Nelson Sauvin will bring to the party.
I've read before that some brewers will dry hop a bottle of bud light to test hop flavors. They will open the bottle, drop in a 3 -5 hop pellets and recap. Let that sit for a couple of days then chill and drink.
Good luck

 

[jrowland74]

Not a bad idea. I am kind of worried about making 5 gallons and hating it. I might try the bud light trick, if I can just bring myself to buy some bud light
😕

 

[jrowland74]

Could I not just put some in water for a few days? Or maybe boil water and add some dme and hops?

 

[jrowland74]

I have 5 different hop varieties dry hopping in Bud Light and will probably try them on Sunday. If I end up brewing tomorrow, I am not going to use the Nelson. Maybe I'll save it for a regular IPA or other future beer once I've tasted it. If I can't brew tomorrow, try the Nelson first, and love it, I might use it. As of now, here is my edited recipe. Please critique:
(Imperial IPA)

Original Gravity (OG): 1.090 (°P): 21.6
Final Gravity (FG): 1.023 (°P): 5.8
Alcohol (ABV): 8.84 %
Colour (SRM): 43.5 (EBC): 85.7
Bitterness (IBU): 84.5 (Average)

92.31% American 2-Row
7.69% Carafa III malt

1 oz Warrior (16% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
1 oz Summit (15.9% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil)
1 oz Zythos (10.9% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil)
1 oz Summit (15.9% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Aroma)
1 oz Zythos (10.9% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Aroma)

0.2 oz/Gal Whirlfloc Tablet @ 10 Minutes (Boil)

Batch sparge: 4.2g strike water @161.7°, 60 minutes @ 152°; vorlauf, drain, then add 4.2g sparge water @ 180°, vorlauf, drain.
Boil for 60 Minutes

Ferment at 64°F with Safale US-05


Recipe Generated with BrewMate

Should I pitch just one package of US-05, or do I need 2? I also have some yeast nutrient, but not sure if it is useful for dry yeast

 

[brewskerdoo]

Shooting from the hip here, the amount of carafa seems like it may be a bit high. Recommended amounts are 1 - 5%. Heavy on the carafa may give you roasty notes you don't want in your IPA. Also noticed there are no dry hop addition. You may want to rethink that. As far as the amount of yeast goes, one package would definitely be under pitching so go with two packs.

 

[Owly055]

Nelson Sauvin is a wonderful hop in the right combination. It's the only hop I buy by the pound. My favorite combination is with Motueka (so far). It doesn't pair well with really citrusy hops, but works best in my opinion with more subtle fruity flavors. My favorite commercial micro for a long time was Widmer Drifter, which used Nelson and Summit. I've used it in many brews, and can't imagine producing a "dumper" using Nelson Sauvin. I recently cracked a chocolate stout brewed with Nelson........ the flavor paired extremely well with the chocolate character of the stout. In a pale ale, it is best paired with something else rather than as a single hop (in my opinion)....... and I don't think a citrus hop works all that well with it.


H.W.

 

[Owly055]

Shooting from the hip here, the amount of carafa seems like it may be a bit high. Recommended amounts are 1 - 5%. Heavy on the carafa may give you roasty notes you don't want in your IPA. Also noticed there are no dry hop addition. You may want to rethink that. As far as the amount of yeast goes, one package would definitely be under pitching so go with two packs.

I agree with you ............. too much carafa III Briess Midnight Wheat might be a good choice for blackening without excessive bitterness or roasty flavor.

H.W.

 

[jrowland74]

Well, crap! I went to my lhbs yesterday and showed him my recipe before buying the grains and he told me it looked good, so I already bought them. I am shooting for something vaguely similar to iniquity, so roasty may not be too bad. Our should I add a little more 2 row?

 

[brewskerdoo]

I'd fire up the burner and just let 'er rip. The sooner this one is done, the sooner you'll get to work on the next. You should end up with a decent beer even if it isn't exactly what you were shooting for.

 

[jrowland74]

I will probably do just that. I may tweak the hops some still. I have never dry hopped before, that's why I didn't put any on there. If recipe were as listed, which hop would you dry hop and how much? Any change to earlier hop additions if adding dry hop?

 

[jrowland74]

I did the recipe as listed. Still considering the dry hop. I'll have to figure out how to time when to rack to secondary. According to Brewzor, I had 90% efficiency?!