Author: Malcolm Frazer

The four primary ingredients in beer are water, barley, yeast, and hops, all of which come in numerous varieties that impact the ultimate character of the beer we make. We’ve performed numerous xBmts on water chemistry, compared different malts to each other, and continue to explore the impact of various yeast strains. It’s been a long time coming, over 3 years and 120 xBmts to be exact, but we’re only just getting to our first hop comparison exBEERiment!

Over the last 20 years or so, the hop characteristics preferred by craft beer drinkers seems to have shifted from the earthy, floral, and quaint citrus traits of hops like Cluster and Cascade to the punch-you-in-the-face ripe fruit pungency found in many of today’s most popular varieties including the likes of Galaxy and Mosaic. The Hop Chronicles data for each of these hops aligned rather well with descriptors provided by industry experts, showing Galaxy to have more citrus to Mosaic’s stronger resinous character, though both possessing strong tropical fruit aroma and flavor. Given their current popularity and similar descriptions, I began to wonder just how different these varieties really are and decided to put it to the test!

| PURPOSE |

To evaluate the differences between a beer hopped solely with Galaxy and the same beer hopped only with Mosaic hops.

| METHODS |

Given the nature of the variable being investigated, I was able to avoid a dual-mash brew day and instead made a 10 gallon batch that would be split pre-boil. The recipe I designed was simple enough to allow the hop character to shine.

The Mosaic Galaxy Pale Ale

Recipe Details Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV 5.5 gal 60 min 54.6 IBUs 6.0 SRM 1.054 1.012 5.6 % Actuals 1.054 1.012 5.5 % Fermentables Name Amount % ESB Pale Ale Malt, Gambrinus 10.875 lbs 95.08 Vienna Malt, Avangard 7 oz 3.83 William Crisp Crystal Light 45L 2 oz 1.09 Hops Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha % Galaxy or Mosaic 15 g 60 min Boil Pellet 13.5 Galaxy or Mosaic 30 g 10 min Boil Pellet 13.5 Galaxy or Mosaic 28 g 20 min Aroma Pellet 13.5 Galaxy or Mosaic 56 g 3 days Dry Hop Pellet 13.5 Yeast Name Lab Attenuation Temperature California Ale (WLP001) White Labs 77% 68°F - 73°F Notes Water Profile: Ca 69 | Mg 11 | Na 33 | SO4 130 | Cl 45 | HCO3 67

I made a starter with a fresh pack of WLP001 California Ale yeast a couple days prior to brewing.

On brew day, I measured out and milled the grain as the strike water was heating,

When the water had reached the temperature indicated by BeerSmith, I transferred it to my cooler MLT and gently stirred the grains in to hit my target mash temperature.

I stole a small sample of sweet wort about 15 minutes into the mash to ensure I’d hit my target mash pH.

I let the mash rest for 60 minutes before performing a batch sparge to collect the full volume of sweet wort. After gently stirring to homogenize, I transferred half of the wort to a new identical boil kettle so that each could be hopped differently. Separated by about 20 minutes, I boiled each batch for 60 minutes, adding hops at the same points listed in the recipe for each.

Once the boils were complete, I hastily chilled each wort to just below 150˚F/66˚C, added the whirlpool additions, the proceeded to finish chilling after a 20 minute stand.

I took hydrometer measurements that confirmed both worts were at my target 1.054 OG, after which I racked equal amounts to separate fermentors.

With the wort sitting at 66°F/19°C, I pitched the yeast and set the temperature controller to 68°F/20°C. Visible airlock activity was observed the following day and I let the beers continue fermenting at this temperature for 5 days before adding the dry hop charge and raising the temperature to 71°F/22°C to encourage complete attenuation. Signs of activity were all but absent another week later so I took hydrometer measurements to confirm FG had been reached.

The beers were cold crashed overnight then pressure-transferred into their own kegs.

I fined with gelatin in the kegs then burst carbonated overnight before reducing the CO2 to serving pressure and letting the beers condition for a few more days. Equally carbonated when it came time to collect data, I found it odd that the Galaxy beer was visibly more clear than its Mosaic hopped counterpart.

| RESULTS |

A total of 38 people of varying levels of experience participated in this xBmt, each served 1 sample of the Galaxy hopped beer and 2 samples of the Mosaic hopped beer then asked to identify the one that was unique. With this many participants, 19 would have had to correctly identify the Galaxy hopped beer as being different in order to reach statistical significance, though only 17 correct selections were made (p<0.05; p=0.095), indicating tasters in this xBmt were not able to reliably distinguish a Galaxy single-hop beer from a similar beer hopped only with Mosaic.

To satisfy curious minds, we’ll share the arguably meaningless preference data collected from the 17 participants who were correct on the triangle test. The Mosaic hopped beer was preferred by 8 of the tasters while the Galaxy hopped beer was preferred by 4, the same number who said they had no preference despite perceiving a difference; only 1 participant reported perceiving no difference between the beers.

My Impressions: Despite how different they looked, I was unable to tell these beers apart on my first triangle test attempt, they both were very aromatic with bold fruit character. However, fully aware of what to look for and paying ultra close attention, I was able identify the odd-beer-out in subsequent trials attempted a few days later. While I didn’t initially detect the strong resinous character in the Mosaic beer the participants of The Hop Chronicles noted, I did perceive more of it along with a moderate floral component as the beer conditioned. On the other hand, I experienced the beer hopped exclusively with Galaxy as having notes of tangerine with a strong stone fruit character giving it an impression of sweetness that was a bit much for my liking. Both beers were good, but the complexity of the one hopped with Mosaic won my preference over the bold intensity of the Galaxy hopped beer.

| DISCUSSION |

With the demand for high oil content hops possessing super pungent fruit character that will carry through to the finished beer, I suppose it’s not terribly shocking that beers made solely with either Galaxy or Mosaic, varieties developed precisely for this purpose, weren’t different enough to make them reliably distinguishable by a panel of blind tasters. Indeed, the hops are different, for example, Mosaic has a lower total oil content than Galaxy, which can have upwards of 40% more Myrcene than Mosaic. Not to mention, one is grown strictly in Australia while the other is only grown on American soil.

It’s plausible my general ability to tell these beers apart when participants were unable to reliably do so was due, at least in part, to my intimate knowledge about the variable. Regardless, while I preferred Mosaic hopped batch over the Galaxy beer, the real winner emerged when I blended equal amounts of either beer together. It was so good, in fact, I ended up transferring a gallon of each to its own 3 gallon keg– 2 brews, 3 beers! Combining the bold intensity and sweet fruitiness of Galaxy with the more complex character I got from the Mosaic beer produced a delicious and easy-to-drink Pale Ale.

I remain curious as to the cause of the haziness in the Mosaic beer and hypothesize it has something to do with the difference in overall oil content, only because both batches were treated identically and neither presented with signs of contamination. Regardless, and despite my preference for the Mosaic beer, both of these varieties are great in their own right and are certainly deserving of the praise they receive.

If you have any experience using either of these hops or have thoughts on this xBmt, please share them in the comments section below!

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