Continuing with my trend of easy drinking beers, this is another moderate alcohol pale ale using Southern Passion hops, which I got at the Anheuser Busch hop giveaway in St. Louis in November. I had never heard of these hops before. Since I have a lot, maybe 3/4 of a pound, I thought I would use them in this beer. Apparently they're a South African variety. AB purportedly bought a large amount and for a time maybe even all of them, per an article, which sort of prevented other breweries from obtaining them.
AB provided specs indicating the alpha acids are between 6% and 8%, at least for this crop. However, research indicates they can be as high as 12. I wonder if the AA is higher than 6-8%, because this is a fairly bitter beer. It's also a pretty dry beer, so there isn't much sweetness to balance out the bitterness. This beer may simply have too much hops, also. At four ounces for a five gallon batch of pale ale, that really may be pushing it. I recall when session IPAs were popular that they were pretty watery, even though they were sometimes around 5% ABV. It seems to me that a high quantity of hops in even a 5% beer can really alter the sweetness perception, making a beer taste very dry, bitter, and a little watery. If I made this beer again, I would use maybe only two ounces instead of four. Of course, it seems carbonation can alter a beer, as well. This beer was and may remain a bit over-carbonated. Hydrometer samples post-fermentation were sweeter and the hop flavor more pungent and fruitier.
The pungent fruitiness seems to have diminished. I have a hard time describing hops with words other than generic fruit. Maybe orange, particularly the bitter rind part. Aroma is somewhat modest in this beer, but is generally fruity.
I like rye beers, so this beer has some rye malt, which was pretty old actually. I got it three or four years ago and it's been sitting in a closet since. Incidentally, I think the rye "spice" flavor is a myth. It's a mishmash beer, too, with various types of malt, including 2 row, Munich, and German pale ale. No evident malt in the aroma. Some light malt flavors in the taste, maybe a hint of crackery malt. A touch of astringency as well, perhaps owing to the hop bitterness. It looks great, good golden/amber color, with good clarity from gelatin. Overall, it's a good but not great beer, and not really one I think of first when I consider which beer to have. It's also a reminder to be careful with recipe design. With a touch more sweetness, less bitterness, and maybe a maximum of two ounces of hops, this would be a better beer. Cheers!
OG 1.048-50
FG 1.008-10
~5.25 gallons
US-05
