Our Beer Notes

Combustion – Smoked Porter

• Turned out really nice.
• Ended up with a very high finishing Plato (don’t remember the exact number, need to look it up).
• The sweetness from the higher finish actually worked well.
• If remaking: aim for a finish higher than the original plan, but not as high as this batch.

Southern Tides / Nomocraft Pale

• Our version was quite nice.
• Possible candidate for a remake.

Momonokai – Passion Fruit Peach

• Very well-received by HopHopka people.
• Test batch: used the nicer peach → much better.
• Full batch: used cheaper peach → not as good.
• Conclusion: always use the nicer peach.
• Yeast: used thiol yeast in the test batch but not in the full batch. Want to use that again, as it added something extra.
• Style/method: think it might have been a kettle sour? Not sure. Would like to do a kettle sour in the future.

momono kai for big batch

• ・白桃ピューレ（国産）　18.5㎏×3缶
• ・ベトナム産パッションフルーツジュース　18㎏×３缶
• ・YOKOKAWA　ピーチフレーバーB4541　1kg
• ・ゴールデンケリー　オーチャードピーチ　1kg

momono kai for small batch

• ・キャップフリュイ　パッションフルーツピューレ　2㎏
• ・キャップフリュイ　ペーシュ（白桃）ピューレ　2㎏
• ・YOKOKAWA　ピーチフレーバーB4541
• ・ゴールデンケリー　オーチャードピーチ

Sake Yeast Beer Tests

• Helles + Sake Yeast: Started as a nice variation, but over time the sake character disappeared and it ended up tasting like a regular helles.
• Sake Yeast + Koji Rice in Fermenter: Produced nice flavors, but balance is tricky — need the right alcohol level without thinning out the body too much.
• Sancho Gose (World Beer Cup Winner): Attempted to ferment with sake yeast → didn’t fully work. After thinking it was finished, added koji rice in the fermenter. Didn’t ferment much further, but improved the sake character. → Idea: test adding sake rice/koji rice post-fermentation again.
• QA23 Wine Yeast + Sake Rice in Fermenter: Came out really nice. Flavor: phenolic, citrusy, farmhouse-style funk, but not unpleasant.

Berry Belly – Blueberry Beer

• Came out a little too thick.
• Would have preferred to kettle sour and lighten the body.
• Tonka beans were a highlight — nougat-like flavor. → Want to reuse tonka beans in a different context, maybe a dark beer (brown ale, porter, etc.).

Nonic – English Pale Ale

• Really nice.
• Very cheap to make.
• Customers (especially taproom) really liked it.
• Clear demand for this style at the taproom.

Big Dreams

• People really liked it.
• Personally, I thought it was just “meh.”
• Need to analyze what people responded to in it.

Fancy a Cuppa – Earl Grey Beer

• Used 5 kg of Earl Grey tea in a full batch.
• Tea added in the lauter tun; wort brought in from the bottom, mimicking traditional Japanese tea-making.
• Only ~10 minutes contact time with hot liquor.
• Result: very intensely tea-flavored, almost too much.
• Plan: try again with a different tea and/or a smaller amount.

Szechuan Lager

• Flavor was too strong at 1.3 g/L Szechuan peppercorn.
• Nice red-tinged flavor profile, though.
• Idea: use in a red rye beer at a lower dosage.

Voltage – English IPA with Sansho

• Sansho paired really well with the English IPA base.
• Balance and integration worked nicely.

Watermelon Gose

• Didn’t have enough watermelon flavor.
• Added watermelon before fermentation finished → some fermented, produced an off flavor.
• Result wasn’t great.
• Percentage was only ~10% watermelon; probably need 12–15%.
• Could also add another puree (e.g. strawberry, other melon) to boost flavor.

Sancho Lager

• Used too much sancho.
• Used non-premium “budo” sancho, which has a greener profile.
• Still a nice match overall, but needs refinement.

Momochan (Peach Beer)

• Good reception, people seem to like it.
• If remade: would add vanilla to give a “peaches and cream” vibe.
• Might also thicken the body slightly.