Pacific Gem New Zealand Ale – Goldy Looking Gem
The majority of my brews have used fairly standard English hops such as East Kent Goldings, Challenger and Fuggles with a few ventures into the use of Cascade. With this in mind I thought it was time to venture to the other side of the world and try some New Zealand hops.
I decided on Pacific Jade as it was a dual purpose hop that I could use for both bittering and aroma (Plus it was on sale at the Malt Miller) and had read some good reports. On the malt front I’d also not been very adventurous previously and so decided to get a few malts in I’d not used before; Munich and Amber, to give the beer more a malty profile. Finally I’d been given a pot of yeast from Palmers Brewery in Dorset so it was the perfect brew to experiment with using a different yeast to my usual dried packet jobs.
Pacific Jade Ale Recipe
Recipe Specs
—————-
Batch Size (L): 18.0
Total Grain (kg): 4.068
Total Hops (g): 44.00
Original Gravity (OG): 1.050 (°P): 12.4
Final Gravity (FG): 1.013 (°P): 3.3
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 4.91 %
Colour (SRM): 7.8 (EBC): 15.4
Bitterness (IBU): 54.5 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 60
Grain Bill
—————-
2.720 kg Maris Otter Malt (66.86%)
0.979 kg Munich I (24.07%)
0.246 kg Biscuit (6.05%)
0.123 kg Wheat Malt (3.02%)
Hop Bill
—————-
20.0 g Pacific Jade Leaf (15.1% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (1.1 g/L)
14.0 g Pacific Jade Leaf (15.1% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil) (0.8 g/L)
10.0 g Pacific Jade Leaf (15.1% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Boil) (0.6 g/L)
The Brew Day
With the recipe all sorted I started the brew off, mashing went fine and hit all my targets. I then got to the boil and added the first hop addition, only to find I’d been sent Pacific Gem, a bittering hop, rather than Pacific Jade which is an all rounder. A quick search on the web and reviews didn’t seem to be that great of Pacific Gem saying it could be a very overpowering hop. A quick bit of rejigging the recipe was needed.
Goldy Looking Gem Recipe
Recipe Specs
—————-
Batch Size (L): 18.0
Total Grain (kg): 4.068
Total Hops (g): 55.00
Original Gravity (OG): 1.050 (°P): 12.4
Final Gravity (FG): 1.013 (°P): 3.3
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 4.91 %
Colour (SRM): 7.8 (EBC): 15.4
Bitterness (IBU): 54.5 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 60
Grain Bill
—————-
2.720 kg Maris Otter Malt (66.86%)
0.979 kg Munich I (24.07%)
0.246 kg Biscuit (6.05%)
0.123 kg Wheat Malt (3.02%)
Hop Bill
—————-
20.0 g Pacific Gem Leaf (17.7% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (1.1 g/L)
15.0 g East Kent Golding Leaf (4.7% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil) (0.8 g/L)
10.0 g East Kent Golding Leaf (4.7% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Boil) (0.6 g/L)
10.0 g Styrian Golding Pellet (4.4% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Boil) (0.6 g/L)
So I ended up using old reliable EKG after all.
Once done it was into the brew fridge for with yeast from Palmers Brewery in Dorset for 2 weeks.
The Final Beer
This was an interesting one. There is quite a bit of chill haze and I’ve decided for future brews to start using a fining agent before bottling. Aroma was quite pleasant but the initial taste was strange to say the least. The blackberry taste of the Pacific Gem came through heavily and I really couldn’t decide if I liked it or not. Now a few weeks later it seems to have a mellowed a little in conditioning giving a more rounded, fruity taste.
Though nice probably not one I’d do again and wont be rushing to use up the rest of the Pacific Gem.
