BeerBorg

Okay, this has only been in the bottle for about 11 days.

I put two bottles in the fridge last night, so chilled for only 24 hours.

So I didn't have great expectations. I was only interested in seeing how the Pacific Jade hops works.

Well, when this matures a little more, it's gonna be great! The Pac Jade is smooth and citrusy. Maybe even a little pineapple. It works very well in a pale ale.

The ABV is kinda low, though, so I might goose the malt bill a bit next time, and even adding 1/4 ounce more hops to compensate wouldn't be a bad idea.

This is a nice beer! Even slightly green, it's very enjoyable. I'll just let the other 23 bottles sit in the basement for a few more weeks, and then I'll really enjoy it.

Dave,

How did you use them - was this a SMaSH? I'm just wondering if you pick up the crushed black pepper notes they claim as well so I'd be curious to know when you used them.

Always nice to try a beer that is really good a week or so in, cuz then you know you have a spectacular beer in your future.

Okay, Ron, since you axed, here's the dealio:

This is for a 2.5 gallon batch, BTW.

1# two-row
0.25# 40L
3# Maris Otter

0.25 oz Pacific Jade -- 60 minutes
0.25 oz Pacific Jade -- 22 minutes
0.25 oz Pacific Jade -- 7 minutes

Yeast = US-05

Dry hop 0.25 oz Pacific Jade three days before bottling.

Not a SMaSH, but a single hop beer, yeah, since I was curious about the Pac Jade's attributes.

I can't say I noticed the crushed black pepper notes, since I was concentrating on the citrus, as that's what stuck in my mind. I wish now that I'd reviewed the product description before tasting it, because then I would have been a little more discerning.

Tell ya what, I'll make the supreme sacrifice and put another bottle in the fridge next Wednesday and drink it on Saturday, and see what I pick up.

Stay tuned.

Gymrat wrote:Always nice to try a beer that is really good a week or so in, cuz then you know you have a spectacular beer in your future.

I regret nothing!

FedoraDave wrote: Tell ya what, I'll make the supreme sacrifice and put another bottle in the fridge next Wednesday and drink it on Saturday, and see what I pick up.

Thanks for taking one for the team.

Kealia wrote:

FedoraDave wrote: Tell ya what, I'll make the supreme sacrifice and put another bottle in the fridge next Wednesday and drink it on Saturday, and see what I pick up.

Thanks for taking one for the team.

I'll be sure to wear a hairshirt when I drink it.

UPDATE

I just brought two more bottles up and put them in the fridge. I'll give them a taste this weekend and report on the progress of the conditioning as well as any pepper notes in the hops. Originally I thought I'd sample them while I was brewing on Sunday, but I might go nuts and drink them on Saturday.

Am I a wild man er whut?

Well, I've been drinking this for a couple of days now, since my pipeline is all but depleted, and this is the only homebrew I've got.

I've been looking for the pepper notes from the hops, and I think I'm getting them, but I sometimes think it might just be the power of suggestion. If they're present, they're very faint. Mostly I get citrus and tropical fruit. Underlying it all is some kind of a bite that sort of tempers the fruitiness, and that may be the peppery influence. But I'm not sure.

Sometimes I wonder if my taster is skewed.

I find this interesting, as I've never used the Jade - knowing that there is more to them then "peppery" makes me more interested in trying them.

The thing I notice about the hops influence is that the citrus/tropical flavors aren't overwhelming or obnoxious. I got turned off of Citra because it's just too catty for me, and there was another one the guy at the LHBS recommended, but I turned it down after smelling the pellets; again, too catty.

The Pac Jade seems to bitter the beer quite well, and it's definitely got some kind of citrus aspect to it, as well as pineapple, but not cloying or over the top. Maybe if more was used, it could become intrusive, but that's not the case with this particular beer, so I'm happy. It's strong, but somehow mellow at the same time.

If it makes you feel any better, I love Citra but tried a new beer from a local brewery last night that was horrible. It was a Citra Pale Ale so I should have loved it but it got poured out.
Like anything else, the key is how they are used.

Absolutely, Ron.

I'm not anti-Citra, by any means. But I've had bad experiences with its overuse/misuse. I think it could be a great flavor addition, for instance, when used in conjunction with other hops that might temper the cattiness.