Kyoto Brewing Co. - Wholesale
玄選 フレッシュホップ編 (Gensen - Fresh Hop)
A refreshing wet hop IPA, with aromas of freshly picked orange flowers
As to the variety, we were offered Chinook. Chinook is an interesting hop, offering a variety of flavours and aromas depending greatly on where it was grown, and the weather conditions of that season. Knowing this, we wanted to give this beer a clean but simple malt base to really let the terroir of the Shiga grown hops come through. We used a blend of Maris Otter and wheat for the base, giving the beer a soft and light body with a bit of mouthfeel so as not to get in the way of the hop aromas. Fresh hops tend to give a bright floral character, with a slightly “greener” brightness. While this character is very pleasant in small amounts, in large amounts it can result in a vegetal-like character, and so to prevent this we limited the fresh hops to a large whirlpool addition, while pairing it with classic hop pellets throughout the rest of the brewing process. Some Centennial and Citra were used to boost the citrus peel and piney floral character of the fresh Chinook. We finished this beer out on the drier side using a neutral clean fermenting California ale strain of yeast. Fresh hop beers are a fun treat as you get a unique hop brightness that can only be achieved once a season.