At the September Meeting we are having a contest to clone Sierra Nevada’s newest IPA Hop Hunter. Jason Rosenfeld will be judging the entries, and is coming to our May meeting to answer questions and discuss the contest.
From Sierra Nevada’s Website:
Hop Hunter Overview
- Alcohol Content 6.2% by volume
- Beginning gravity 14.7° plato
- Ending Gravity 2.8° plato
- Bitterness Units 60
Ingredients
- Yeast Ale yeast
- Bittering Hops Bravo
- Finishing Hops Cascade, Crystal, Simcoe
- Malts Two-row Pale, Caramel, Flaked Oats
- Other Farm Distilled Hop Oil: Cascade, Centennial, CTZ
From Jason on the hop oil:
The distilled hop oil is used only for aroma. Sierra Nevada adds it to the bright tank before packaging. The oil is extremely potent. Approximately 8 drops per barrel is used to achieve the finish. The oil provides aroma and a hint of mouth feel to the finished beer.
The oil is made from fresh, whole cone Cascade hops. The oil is not available for anyone outside of the brewery. Steam distilling the fresh hops allows us to pull the floral and citrus notes from fresh hops, stabilizing them so the aroma does not break down over time.
The Torpedo hop are the hops that we use in our Torpedo dry hopping process. Sierra Nevada pumps the bright beer through multiple vessels like a Randall. Each one holds 80 lbs. of dry whole cone hops. We circulate the beer through these vessels from 24-72 hours depending on the tank size.