Many chefs are finding the sweet spot for beer and smoked food, managing the level of smoke intake for a more pleasurable meal.
The post Smoke and a Beer appeared first on CraftBeer.com.
List
Danny and Andy are rounding the corner to 2023, but not before finishing out the year strong with a list of headlines and hot takes. Listen on as we discuss: […]
The post Podcast EP 241 – December Show With All the News appeared first on The Full Pint - Craft Beer News.
(DALLAS, TX) – Lakewood Brewing has announced its complete lineup of fall and winter beers ranging from its seasonal favorite, Punkel, to its Salted Caramel Temptress, a twist on the family-owned […]
The post Lakewood Brewing Unveils Big List of Latest Seasonal Offerings appeared first on The Full Pint - Craft Beer News.
Our batch analysis/QC at Sapwood Cellars is pretty basic. Mostly it's me finding time each weekend to taste a recent release (ideally side-by-side a comparable example from another brewery). I write up tasting notes, include feedback I've gotten from other people, and recipe/process tweaks for next batch.
Part of my routine is to scroll through Untappd to see if I can spot any common threads to the compliments or complaints... but I don't put a huge amount of stock in the average score (see this post). Blind rating by a skilled tasting panel is the gold standard... but having a large/diverse group of beer drinkers give you feedback has value as well! With four years of Untappd scores for our IPAs at my disposal, I thought it would be interesting to see which hops "the beer drinking public" preferred in Sapwood Cellars IPAs and DIPAs!
All IPAs and DIPAs
Pairing Hops
Part of my routine is to scroll through Untappd to see if I can spot any common threads to the compliments or complaints... but I don't put a huge amount of stock in the average score (see this post). Blind rating by a skilled tasting panel is the gold standard... but having a large/diverse group of beer drinkers give you feedback has value as well! With four years of Untappd scores for our IPAs at my disposal, I thought it would be interesting to see which hops "the beer drinking public" preferred in Sapwood Cellars IPAs and DIPAs!
Cheater Hops IPAs
We started this series of IPAs when we opened to showcase our favorite hop varieties. We recently released #22 (Citra-Motueka). All of the batches were 6.5-7.5% ABV, with similar malt bills (American pale barley, chit, wheat, and oats), fermented with an English-leaning yeast, and dry-hopped post-crash at 3-4 lbs/bbl. The table below is the average Untappd score of all batches dry hopped with the variety listed.
The table below include all 65 "big batch" IPAs and DIPAs we've released that don't contain adjuncts (although I did include Phantasm beers). These are diverse in terms of recipe construction, alcohol strength, and dry hopping rate. As a result, the scores are a bit more prone to bias compared to the Cheater Hops data set.
For some batches you'd expect to see a high rating due to pairing two great hops together (e.g., Nelson/Galaxy or Mosaic/Citra). Both varieties score well across all our beers, so no surprise combing them results in a well-rated IPA. More interesting is sorting by the average standard deviation for the hops included. This shows which combinations rated higher than expected given the average scores for those hops across all beers. Snip Snap (Citra/Galaxy), Cheater Hops #22 (Citra/Motueka), Shard Blade (Mosaic/Galaxy), Cheater Hops #13 (Mosaic/Simcoe), and The Dragon (Nelson Sauvin/Mosaic/Hallertau Blanc) were all in the top-10 "overachievers." These hop blends follow different approaches either "leaning into" a particular flavor (fruity, or winey) or balancing fruity with a danker variety.
Rounding out the top-10 are two all-Simcoe (Cheater Hops #12 and Drenched in Green), two all-Mosaic (Fundle Bundle and TDH Trial #1), and an all-Nelson beer (3S4MP). Certainly a sign that these hops can shine alone compared to Citra and Motueka which are highly rated in blends, but haven't exceled in single-hop beers (despite our best efforts). Of course you need a great lot of hops for this to work; the bottom-10 also includes single-hop beers featuring: Simcoe (Cheater Hops #9), Nelson Sauvin (Cheater Hops #11), and Mosaic (Fumble Bumble)!
Two beers with Galaxy and Nelson (Cheater X and X2) each had a standard deviation close to 0. They still rate well, but no better or worse than expected across all beers with Nelson or Galaxy.
Surprisingly three of the bottom four included three varieties Cheater Hops #7 (Simcoe, Citra, Mosaic) Cheater Hops #6 (Motueka, Mosaic, Simcoe) False Peak (Idaho 7, Sultana, Citra). Blending hops can create a generic "hoppiness." These beers may have been missing a distinct "wow" aroma for people to grab onto.
Take Aways
The high/low scores for different batches brewed with the same single hop variety really drives home how unreliable this data likely is. Without multiple batches hopped with the same hop combination, it is impossible to say with certainty if a beer scored well because of aromatic synergy or a delicious lot of hops. Luckily several of the top-rated combinations are beers we have brewed multiple times.
The data does suggest to me that using one or two varieties for the dry hop is the best bet for making the most appealing IPA unless you have something very specific in mind. Often when breweries use a large number of hop varieties in a beer it is to promote consistency (batch-to-batch and year-to-year). It would be interesting to expand the data set to include beers from other breweries. That would produce data that is less specific to our particular brewing approach, hop sourcing, and customers' palates.
Help Provide Data
Architect and author Neil Ginty talks about some of his favorite breweries that give you a front row seat to the brewing process.
The post Form & Function: Brewery Visits with an Architect appeared first on CraftBeer.com.
History and beauty. The Brandywine Valley is steeped in both. With the crisp fall weather, there’s no better time to go on a brewery road trip.
The post The Hills of Beer Are Alive in the Brandywine Valley appeared first on CraftBeer.com.
From brewery hotels to campgrounds, quirky Airbnbs to luxurious resorts, this is your guide to planning a craft beer weekend getaway.
The post AirbnBeers: Breweries with Hotels, Inns, Camping and More appeared first on CraftBeer.com.
(DENVER, CO) – The beer list for the lucky 13th edition of the Denver Rare Beer Tasting has been released. Sixty of America’s leading craft breweries have committed to pour […]
The post Pints For Prostates Unveils Denver Rare Beer Tasting 13 List appeared first on The Full Pint - Craft Beer News.
You know the saying: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” Well, beer’s always been there for fish, but only recently have chefs around the country sufficiently established the pairings between seafood and suds to make them part […]
The post Salinity & Suds: Pairing Beer with Seafood appeared first on CraftBeer.com.
The roots of American craft beer extend throughout the nation, but the bines of the movement are clearly embedded in the Pacific Northwest.
The post 5 Pacific Northwest Breweries to Please Any Palate appeared first on CraftBeer.com.
(Boulder, CO) – This is our absolute favorite time of the year where everyone loses their reading comprehension skills and gets mad that their favorite brewery isn’t in the top 10, 20 or 50. Behold, the top 50 craft breweries and non-craft breweries list by sales volume, reported to The Brewers Association for the 2021 […]
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This week I take a look at the shopping list and inventory features available on BeerSmith Web. These features were added in March of 2022 to the web based version which you can try for free on BeerSmithRecipes.com from any computer, tablet or phone. The web based version provides a common view of inventory and […] Fairbanks, Alaska, attracts visitors hoping to capture sight of the aurora borealis. If you're hunting aurora, these Fairbanks craft breweries should be part of your adventure.
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The 2021 BJCP Beer Style guidelines were released on 29 December, 2021 by the Beer Judge Certification Program, and are now available for BeerSmith web and desktop. The 2021 guidelines are considered a modest revision of the 2015 style guide, and an effort was made to maintain the majority of the categories and style names […] 
From Danny – Each year, we look forware to giving the “pen” to our dear friend Kyle Harrop aka HORUS from Horus Aged Ales to compile his list of favorite beers of the year. Even with the pandemic, there was no stopping new, cutting edge craft breweries from thriving and making beers of note to try. […]
The post Kyle Harrop’s (Horus) Top 10 Beers of 2021 + Five Favorite Meads appeared first on The Full Pint - Craft Beer News.
Register what you think were the five best Aussie craft beers by 5pm December 3.
The post Nominations closing soon for GABS Hottest 100 appeared first on Beer & Brewer.
From best brewer to best new brewing company, find out who won our industry awards.
The post Beer & Brewer’s 2021 Industry Award winners appeared first on Beer & Brewer.
While perennial award winners BentSpoke, Lion and Brick Lane all won medals for their beers.
The post Sidewood Estate wins international cider trophy appeared first on Beer & Brewer.
What makes a good-looking brewery and taproom? Contributor Will McGough shows us a handful of his favorite remarkable brewery taprooms.
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This week I take a look at how well hop oils survive the brewing process to make it into the finished beer. Some oils and hop varieties do much better depending upon when they are added when brewing. What is Aroma Oil Survivability? Aroma oil survivability is simply a measure of how well an aroma […] 
This week I highlight some of the great features in BeerSmith Web, which is our online version of BeerSmith you can use from any device. Simply create an account and log in at BeerSmithRecipes.com to give it a try. Also the editor is part of your license if you have a Gold, Platinum or Pro […] Gage Roads’ latest limited release in a 500ml can is the 4.2% Party Wave Stone Fruit Sour.
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Professor Dan Svantesson wins awards at Queensland Amateur Brewing Champs.
The post Academic lays down the law in home brew comp appeared first on Beer & Brewer.
My parents didn’t drink much when I was growing up. Any alcohol that was in the house was hidden—hard stuff like vodka and tequila lived in a rarely opened cabinet in an armoire in the dining room, and what beer we had was stashed away in a second refrigerator in the garage. For years, the […]
The post One Style for All: The Complexity of Mexican Lagers and Latinx People in the Brewing Industry appeared first on CraftBeer.com.
This week I take a look at the hop cone and how its composition affects flavors when brewing beer. Hop Cone Composition If we look at the hop cone image (upper right, Source: Stan Hieronymus) we can see the various parts of the hop cone. The bulk of the compounds we are interested in are […] In this video I will show you how to brew homebrew beer really easily. I will show you what basic equipment you need, how to sterilise everything properly, and how to brew the beer using a beer kit. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
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