When I sent our brewers Steve and young Andrew along to the Charles Faram Hop Academy I wasn’t quite expecting that we would get a new beer out of it and also that another young one – Sam who brews down the road with Adnams – would be dropping by and joining in the fun.
However, that’s how our new look Wild One has turned out, and I’m so glad that it did.
The Hop Academy was set up by our hop supplier, Charles Faram, and in their words is aimed at trainee, new, apprentice and progressing brewers to give a deeper understanding of the industry as a whole, with a main focus on hops – or put another way “We exist to help brewers create great beer”.
Well it sounded like a plan to me and it also meant that I got to get back brewing while the boys were away!
Andrew and Steve seemed to click with Sam from Adnams and also shared a passion for the work Farams are doing in developing UK hop varieties and creating bold new ones.
There was plenty of pester power on their return; can we do this? can we do that? – can we use their great new experimental UK hop code named CF247? Can Sam come and brew with us?
It all sounded very James Bond if you ask me, but the enthusiasm was infectious and to be fair what’s the point of learning stuff if you can’t test it in action?
So, I left them to it and the result is a straw golden session IPA – which the guys kept simple on the malts – Maris Otter of course, oats for mouthfeel and some Vienna and crystal for added complexity.
The hop cocktail was big on UK CF247 which is tropical and fruity, while Azacca and Cascade add some citrus and mango notes.
The beer is low on bitterness, with most hop additions made very late into a shorter than normal boil, with over 50% in whirlpool to add subtleties of flavour and aroma but creating something which is easy drinking and easy on the palate – something to share with friends.
Cheers to Charles Faram for stimulating though and creating friendships. Cheers to Adnams Sam for joining in.
For me brewing is all the better when we share knowledge and experiences and have a bit of fun along the way.
Enjoy