What to brew next?

[Faffy]

Hi all,

I am new to brewing having done 3 brews so far. The first one was not so exciting Wilko kit IPA that was OK. Now moved on to BIAB Smash Citra IPA and a BIAB Smash Simcoe IPA. The smash Citra was bottled yesterday and needs 2 weeks of bottle conditioning while the Smash Simcoe just started its fermentation yesterday. Both were made with the Maris Otter malt as the base and I have another 2.7kg of this malt left for another brew but not sure what to make next.

As I am new to brewing I am trying to keep it simple so I can learn. So what would be your next move? Would you play around with different hops like a Smash Mosaic IPA? or look at combining hops? Maybe Citra and Simcoe or Citra and Cascade etc? Or look at a slightly different style like pale ale with different hops?

Currently I am doing small batch brews of around 2-3 gallons so I can brew quite regularly, every 2 weeks especially given we are in lockdown.

Any help would be really appreciated!

 

[dnr]

I would say to play with the hop combinations. Combinations and timing are going to play with flavor, aroma and bitterness. You can build a lot of complexity with just a few hop additions.
Which of the hops is your favorite so far? What did you like and what were your additions?
Cascade and Simcoe could make a nice Pacific NW IPA. You could dry hop the hell out of it with Citra and make a little juicy boy.

 

[Faffy]

Thanks for reply dnr! Hop combinations sound like the way to go. I have tried Citra and Simcoe alone so far. I think Citra is my favourite of the 2. Never thought of Cascade and Simcoe together so might be the way to go especially as I will have an idea of what Simcoe is doing. When would you add them? Would you use Simcoe at 60 mins for bittering? and then Cascade for aroma/flavour? and if so what timings would you suggest for Cascade. I am also interested in playing around with Mosaic or Amarillo too.

 

[Jag75]

Heres a good hop list with good info .
http://www.hopslist.com/hops/

 

[dnr]

I look at my AA (alpha acids) and aroma/flavor descriptions when usings hops. AA vary more than you'd think. But just because a hop is a "bittering' hop doesn't mean you have to drop it at 60. If you don't want a bitter beer, drop it at 15-flameout. If you are only interested in the flavor, flameout/whirlpool-dryhop.
So the timing has more to do with what you're looking for.

 

[Faffy]

Thanks for all your help. I thought you always had to have a bittering addition. Definitely looking forward to playing around with all the hops. Thanks again!

 

[dnr]

You don't have to have bittering hops. Only if you want bitter beer.