I winged it today: Galaxy Pale Ale

[epistrummer]

Just threw the following ingredients together and hoping it turns out-

5 Gallon batch

6.6 lb light pilsener extract
1/3 lb amber DME

1 oz Galaxy @ 60 min
1 oz Galaxy @ 30 min
1 oz Galaxy @ 10 min
1 0z Galaxy @ flameout

pitched Safale US-05 yeast at 75 degrees, will ferment at 68 degrees for two weeks before racking to new carboy for add'l week, then bottle.

***Looking for anyone's input on this. From my recipe to the hop schedule. I mean, the beer is already brewed so I can't change what's done but I could take suggestions on dry hopping, I have lots of different kinds but wanted to dedicate this brew to just Galaxy to see what it would do. Not sure I want to dry hop though. We'll see what feedback I get on this.

 

[nukebrewer]

I haven't ever used Galaxy, but I've currently got a pale ale going that was hop bursted with Motueka and is dry hopping with Nelson. It smells amazing right now. I would say dry hop with either of those two hops and you'll be good to go.

 

[inhousebrew]

Personally I think Galaxy at anything before 15 is a bit of a waste because it's expensive and a wonderful flavor and aroma addition. Not saying it won't be a great beer but I would have gone with a cheap neutral bittering hop addition at 60 and pumped in the Galaxy 15-flameout. You're in for a treat, I love these hops.

 

[gladius270]

I'm kicking around a Galaxy version of the Centennial Blonde recipe that is here on HBT. Can't get enough of this hop. I bet your brew will be tasty!

 

[Atonk]

Smell it and taste it when it's ready to go to secondary. If you're not getting what you want as far as aroma consider adding .5-1 oz. dry hop then smell and taste it again after a few days. I love Galaxy for late/dry hop additions.

 

[JKaranka]

I just brewed with Galaxy during the weekend and I would have used a bit less at the beginning and a bit more at the end but that's me. I had just spent time reading through Thornbridge Kipling and Jaipur recipes and they pretty much add 4 times more hops in the last 10 minutes than during the entire boil...

 

[epistrummer]

Personally I think Galaxy at anything before 15 is a bit of a waste because it's expensive and a wonderful flavor and aroma addition. Not saying it won't be a great beer but I would have gone with a cheap neutral bittering hop addition at 60 and pumped in the Galaxy 15-flameout. You're in for a treat, I love these hops.

I thought about using a different hop for bittering actually. Maybe if I decide I like the Galaxy flavor I will use Magnum at 60 min and start the Galaxy hop schedule at 15 min- flameout as you suggested, on a future batch. I was going for a layered flavor profile with the hops and just guessed at the schedule, really. Which is partly why I'm thinking about dry hopping to add an extra layer of flavor/aroma to the brew.

 

[epistrummer]

I just brewed with Galaxy during the weekend and I would have used a bit less at the beginning and a bit more at the end but that's me. I had just spent time reading through Thornbridge Kipling and Jaipur recipes and they pretty much add 4 times more hops in the last 10 minutes than during the entire boil...

Wow, thats an intense brew. Galaxy seems like a pretty strong hop to me and that's why I stopped at using 4 oz in this batch. Maybe the final product won't be as strong as I thought, and my future batches will weight the hop schedule toward the end and include even more hops, we'll just have to find out.

 

[JKaranka]

For Kipling it's Nelson, and something like this that I saw in another forum:

"85% Maris Otter (Low Colour)
7.5% Munich
7.5% Torrified Wheat

60 minute boil

Start of boil: Nelson Sauvin, about 27 IBUs
After 30 mins: Nelson Sauvin, about 15 IBUs, same size as first addition
Flameout/Hopback: Nelson Sauvin, three times as much as the first addition"

They apparently take a while before starting to cool the brew so the flameout hops get to leave some flavour in.

 

[inhousebrew]

"85% Maris Otter (Low Colour)
7.5% Munich
7.5% Torrified Wheat

Start of boil: Nelson Sauvin, about 27 IBUs
After 30 mins: Nelson Sauvin, about 15 IBUs, same size as first addition
Flameout/Hopback: Nelson Sauvin, three times as much as the first addition"

This looks good but again with the fancy expensive hops as a bittering addition. It will work fine, just seems like a waste to me if you're paying more than two dollars an ounce (I think I saw them for $3.5 at NB) for a ounce.

I thought about using a different hop for bittering actually. Maybe if I decide I like the Galaxy flavor I will use Magnum at 60 min and start the Galaxy hop schedule at 15 min- flameout as you suggested, on a future batch. I was going for a layered flavor profile with the hops and just guessed at the schedule, really. Which is partly why I'm thinking about dry hopping to add an extra layer of flavor/aroma to the brew.

That's what I would do, actually I think that is exactly what I did except I combined Galaxy and Cascade with a magnum bittering addition which is great BTW. If you want a lot of flavor I think the general rule is 15-10 minutes. If you want aroma 10-0 minutes. Obviously if you want both combine.

 

[globe]

I just brewed austin home brews galaxy pale ale kit and it only contained 1 oz of galaxay hops lol. .5 oz at 60 and .5 oz at 15min i believe, sorry dont have my notes by me. Yours is gonna be rather hoppy but sounds pretty good to me though.

 

[JKaranka]

@inhousebrew

yeah, it might sound excessive to bitter with nelson, but Kipling's feedback is massively positive:
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/thornbridge-kipling/63578/

 

[inhousebrew]

@inhousebrew

yeah, it might sound excessive to bitter with nelson, but Kipling's feedback is massively positive:
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/thornbridge-kipling/63578/

yeah, like I said, I'm sure the end product is good but to me it seems a bit like a waste. I guess I should have prefaced these comments with a little about myself so here goes: I'm a bit on the cheap end of the spectrum so when if I can bitter with a cheap domestic hop and then load up more on the flavorful, fancy hops at the end I'm going to go that route. Not trying to argue whether or not it would produce good beer, just a personal exercise in frugality (if that's a real word?).

 

[JKaranka]

Well, here high alpha bittering hops just aren't cheap, cheapest I can think is Target, and that works out at 2/3 of the price of the Nelsons.

 

[epistrummer]

Thread update:

I couldn't resist so I popped open the lid on my fermenter and took a quick whiff and I must say I am very excited to try this beer. The hops aroma is absolutely delicious. It is much different than it smelled last night as I was brewing, and in a very good way.

 

[epistrummer]

took a couple samples today from the carboy, this stuff is going to be out of this world! Smells like some exotic fruit I've never tried before and has a mellow malt background with a decent level of bitterness.

 

[epistrummer]

Yet another update-

I've bottled the batch and of course, sampled the goods. This stuff smells amazing! The aroma has certainly changed over time and the flavor reminds me of oranges. Very pleasant and possibly my best concoction yet. It will be about Christmas before I start drinking these beers but I am already thinking about my next tweak on this rather simple but very hoppy brew. I will share more information on this brew then.

 

[inhousebrew]

Glad it turned out well!

 

[epistrummer]

Ok, final update-

Excellent beer. Only thing I want to do differently next time is tweak the malt flavor. It was a great showcase for the Galaxy hops but there was a little something missing and I think it needed more malt body.

 

[BrewingPrepper]

I used Galaxy in my first brew...but not as much!

My kit ingredients list for 7.3% 100 IBU IPA
2 3.3 lb cans Briess golden light LME
1 3.3 lb Cans Muntons light LME
1.25 lb of specialty grains
1 oz of warrior
1 oz Columbus
1 oz of Cascade
1 oz of Galaxy
2 packs of Safale yeast

 

[epistrummer]

So I went ahead and brewed a second batch of this Galaxy pale ale. I knocked the IBU's down from over 90 to 68 and used two cans of Briess Golden LME. I must say that this brew is more balanced. Still very fragrant and hoppy but not over the top and I can still appreciate the malt flavor. I think I used 3/4 ounce of magnum to bitter. Almost a SMaSH ale so it's very simple but really one of my best. And the best part is I was able to keg this batch.