Ekuanot APA

About This Beer

A single-hop showcase on Ekuanot, an American variety not used here before. One hop, every addition, to get a clear read on what it does.

The result was a lesson in alpha acid intensity. Ekuanot is a high-alpha variety at 14 to 16%, and using it across every boil addition at the rates that suit lower-alpha hops produced a beer that was far too bitter.

A clean hop-forward base: American Ale, a trace of Toffee for caramel warmth and colour, and a small Sour Grapes addition to assist mash acidification alongside the water treatment.

All 300 g of Ekuanot split across the schedule, 135 g through boil and whirlpool including a hold at 80°C, plus a 165 g dry hop at day 6.

Brew day

Volumes kept deliberately conservative after a run of batches with too much wort in the fermenter. Good oxygenation on transfer.

Fermentation

A single packet of BRY-97 at 19°C, active within 24 hours and down 13 points by day 2. Krausen rose close to the top at days 4 to 5, managed with the spunding valve at around 10 psi.

Dry hop at day 6 on the gravity trigger with a rise to 20°C, then 21°C on day 7 for the rest with the valve closed to capture carbonation at around 29 to 30 psi. Cooled steadily back to 19°C over days 13 to 15, trub purged from the collection jar, then transferred on day 16 to an All Rounder acting as a keg at 15 psi. Fully carbonated on arrival.

The result

The tasting note is blunt: the bitterness was far too strong. The high alpha acid content combined with the rate used across every addition produced an intensity closer to raw pellets than a balanced APA.

Everything else showed potential. The tropical and citrus character of the variety was there and the base was clean.

Ekuanot needs to be treated differently to lower-alpha varieties, particularly on bittering additions.

Owen brewed this recipe twelve days later.