Sorachi Session Ale

[akueck]

Split batch (though not a partigyle). Total grain bill:

1.5 lbs Marris Otter Pale
1 lb German Pils
1/2 lb acidulated malt
1/2 lb white wheat malt
1/2 oz Sorachi Ace (10.1%) in mash
Mash 1 hour at 149 F.

Pulled 3 gallons of 1.027 wort. Took 3 quarts for the herb beer, remaining 2.25 gallons left for session ale. Hour boil.

Session ale: 1/4 oz Sorachi 3 mins
Herb beer: 1/4 tsp each sage and thyme, pinch marjoram 5 mins

US-05 yeast for both.

Still boiling, looks like I'll lose a little over a quart on the large batch. So OG should be around 1.031-34. Herb beer will lose more, so probably closer to 1.035.

 

[YogiBearMead726]

I keep seeing Marris Otter Pale in recipes, but I don't have access to any locally. What is it comparable to, flavor-wise?

Also, this sounds like a really tasty session beer. I'll have to give it a try once I figure out what grain to use.

 

[akueck]

It's one of the British versions of pale malt. It is suppose to be more aromatic and bready than the US versions. Honestly I haven't tried a recipe with one and then the other to tell the difference. You could easily sub in a continental malt or north American malt and probably never know.

 

[akueck]

These both look done. Was a little worried about the mid-50s temperatures in the "brewing porch", so both are in the living room now where it is a balmy 62-64. Might put them back on the porch later this week and bottle next weekend.

 

[akueck]

Bottled both today. The session beer should be nice after it gets some carbonation. The herb beer is...different. Nothing particularly wrong with it but it definitely tastes strange compared to what you normally consider beer. Will have to see how it is carbonated.

 

[akueck]

Drinking one of the herb beers now. It's not bad at all. I don't think I would place the sage or thyme without being told, but you can tell it's not just hops in there. Overall it's pretty balanced and nice to drink. Worthy of further study.

 

[akueck]

After the herb beer warmed up a little, it became a lot more interesting. I'll upgrade it to "I'd give this to other people".

Tried one of the all-hops beers during the SuperBowl [YEAH PACKERS!] and it was really enjoyable. The hops were predominantly floral and light, with basically no overt bitterness. But it wasn't sweet either. My wife said it tasted like iced tea.

 

[YogiBearMead726]

<snip> [YEAH PACKERS!] <snip>

YEAH! Haha, sorry, I couldn't resist.

This sounds very interesting. Do you think the "iced tea" quality is from the aroma addition or the "in mash" addition? I've got some Sorachi Ace coming in the mail, and I'm wondering whether it's better for aroma or for bittering.

Glad to hear the herb beer is improving, too!

 

[akueck]

I think the iced tea came from the low bitterness, very floral hop presence, and overall lightness of the beer (also low end of carbonation). And of course it was also cold. I think the mild bitterness comes from the mash hopping. That much Sorachi boiled for an hour otherwise would have left a good amount of IBUs in there. I've seen folks use 20 mins as an estimate of the bittering from first wort hops, not sure what the story is for mash hops. Based on this I'd say you get very very little.

Sorachi is a high alpha hop, so you can definitely use it for bittering. I think it works great for late additions too. The hopburst pale ale and this session beer both used it in the last few minutes.

 

[YogiBearMead726]

I think the iced tea came from the low bitterness, very floral hop presence, and overall lightness of the beer (also low end of carbonation). And of course it was also cold. I think the mild bitterness comes from the mash hopping. That much Sorachi boiled for an hour otherwise would have left a good amount of IBUs in there. I've seen folks use 20 mins as an estimate of the bittering from first wort hops, not sure what the story is for mash hops. Based on this I'd say you get very very little.

Sorachi is a high alpha hop, so you can definitely use it for bittering. I think it works great for late additions too. The hopburst pale ale and this session beer both used it in the last few minutes.

Awesome, thanks for the insight. I guess a SMaSH might be a good way to taste the Sorachi to get a good feel for what it will contribute. I will say though, I love me some session beer...so I might go this route too.