So I ordered whole leaf hops to use in a  Randall for Zapp’s beerfest.  I forgot to pick up the hops and my buddy forgot to bring the Randall!   Talk about not meant to be!  So while I’m waiting for the sack of Simpson’s pale malt and Simpson’s caramel malt that LA Homebrew is ordering for me, I’m going to make a beer out of the 3 ounces of hops I have.

Minor edit to the recipe.  I’m mashing at 154F.

Brew Day 4/9/2017

Brew day went very well.   Efficiency was quite high as the beer was around 1.062.   Efficiency has always been an issue of mine that I’ve not quite figured out.   Lately I’ve been attempting to use a continuous sparge in an effort to reduce labor and raise efficiency.   For me it seems like I can set it and forget it and get better results.  But those results may cause me to re calibrate how I calculate.

The first wort hopping was quite lovely on the mash.  The beer smelled extremely good.   A nice low, rich, citrus character from the cascade hops.    It was great and I was thinking man I’m going to use whole leaf hops more often.   HOWEVER, the boil was another story.  When I added whole leaf hops at flame out and started the whirlpool they clogged up everything.   The hops swell back to their original mass and just cause all sorts of issues.   Depending on how well this beer comes out I may or may not use them in the boil again.  Total pain.

The aroma though of the mash.   It was extremely complex with the hops being added.  Reminded me very much of that background aroma you get in beers like Dale’s pale ale.   I very much look forward to tasting and smelling the results of this brew.

Update 5/27/2017

Just a very smooth and great beer to drink.   The first wort hopping certainly adds to the hop flavor complexity for me.   It’s just a deeper, more savory sensation this way.   Great daily drinking beer.