Full Nelson

With all the waiting on HMRC, things had been slow to move out of the Shed. My four wee casks were full, waiting to go to the pub and the tanks were also full so I could only brew small, 25 litre batches. But there was a recipe I was interested in trying – a single hop IPA made with Simcoe.

There’s been two packets of Nelson Sauvin hanging around since God knows when, bought on a whim when talk of hop prices going through the roof first started circulating. To be honest, I blow hot and cold about the big brash, hoppy beers. So the Nelson has sat around waiting to be used. Now was its chance. Andy’s barbecue is at the end of July so that should be just enough time to get this ready.

Let’s substitute the Nelson Sauvin for the Simcoe and see what happens. And substitute the pale malt for the pilsner malt I had. Oh, and substitute the biscuit malt in the recipe for the flaked barley that I had. Toast the flaked barley in the oven for a bit to maybe give it some biscuity character. And we’ll see what happens. This is how I imagine beers are developed. Recipes are tweaked and we see what happens.

It’s bubbled away happily for a couple of weeks and been sitting clearing for a couple more. The 50g of Nelson left over went in for dry hopping a few days ago. It’s strong – just under 7% and hoppy. In small doses and ice old, it should be a nice summer drink, though definitely not a session beer.

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