New hop--Sorachi Ace, Anyone??? Options

[Typhoon Brewer]

Mine should be here by the end of the week. What did the alpha come in at? I'm doing a Summit IPA followed by a Soraichi IPA -- it'll be very interesting to taste them side-by-side.

And, for anyone interested, my daughter and I guess that the name means either "Number One Sky" or "Sky City."

How does this sound:
Sora = Sky
Chi = Ground

That's my best guess.

TB sends

[just-cj]

How does this sound:
Sora = Sky
Chi = Ground

That's my best guess.

Yeah, I screwed up -- I thought it was "Sora-ichi". Duh. TB -- you're probably right. So much for my Japanese ability. (IMG:style_emoticons/brewboard/blush.gif)

[ers811]

Shoot...I'll play.

I suppose it could be, in some crazy way, taken to mean "Bloody Sky". Which would be my personal favorite...its just so darn mean sounding! (IMG:style_emoticons/brewboard/smile.gif)

Or maybe it was shortened from Sorauchi for "home in the sky"... a heavenly hop maybe??


Eric

[just-cj]

Okay, further research as revealed that Sorachi is a district in Hokkaido (the northern island in Japan). The name most likely comes from the Ainu language that was later given Japanese/Chinese characters. The characters that are used in modern Japanese mean "sky knowledge".

Further investigation turned up these gems, from the USDA Hop Variety database:
-- PEDIGREE: (Brewer's Gold x Saazer -OP) x Beikei No. 2 male Note: The female parent is the Japanese seedling 70K-SH6 (USDA 21233) which was develioped by Dr. Mori sor Sapporo Breweries Co. Ltd.
-- ALPHA ACIDS: very high, reportedly up to 16% in Japan, but significantly lower in USDA test plots.
-- COHUMULONE: 23%
-- MAJOR TRAITS: high yield potential; pleasant European aroma characteristics; high alpha acids potential
-- OTHER INFORMATION: Reportedly grown for several years at a Sapporo Breweries Hop Farm in China and exported to Japan and other countries. According to recent reports this hop is no longer grown commercially.

I'm looking forward to getting these hops that are no longer grown commercially! (IMG:style_emoticons/brewboard/cool.gif)

[al_bob]

Hmmmm. that'd be a shame if they turn out to be a hit, and aren't grown commercially anymore. Anyone ask Freshops if they're a one year deal or here to stay?

[just-cj]

The AA 13.7%, but I've heard it is low cohumolone, so I'm guessing they'll be that soft bitterness like Glacier and Amarillo.
Wish I could try your Summit and Sorachi IPAs....they sound great. I dunno if I've ever had a beer with summit.

My hops came today, and I found out that I have a day off next Tuesday. The Sorachi IPA is being bumped up! I'll do the Summit after that.

This year I "only" got eight pounds of hops -- 12 different varieties. Once the two pale ales are done, I think I'll make a "handful-of-this-handful-of-that" triple IPA or something to get rid of some of last year's stock.

I LOVE HOP SEASON!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/brewboard/biggrin.gif)

[Alpha Male]

sounds like it's time to either get a different bartender or take a moment to edumicate them that you aren't drinking cactus or horse pi$$! LOL (IMG:style_emoticons/brewboard/tongue.gif)

Yea, it really ticks me off when I order a hefe or wit and tell the waitress no fruit. Then they bring it back with fruit. I sent it back one time, the waitress just kinda looked at me like, take the piece of fruit off of it.

[LA Brewer]

At long last I finally was able to put in my order in to fresh hops. I'm making the switch from pellet hops to whole hops (whoohoo!!) but due to this fact i'm storage limited and was only able to order 8lbs and ain't really sure where they are going to go. (IMG:style_emoticons/brewboard/tongue.gif) I sure the jig will be up when SWMBO finds me "cleaning up" old items out of the freezer.

I couldn't resist so I ordered a half pound of Sorachi. I saw all the brews folks have planned with this hop..So how did they turn out? Did the flavor profile & aroma live up to it's description?

[al_bob]

At long last I finally was able to put in my order in to fresh hops. I'm making the switch from pellet hops to whole hops (whoohoo!!) but due to this fact i'm storage limited and was only able to order 8lbs and ain't really sure where they are going to go. (IMG:style_emoticons/brewboard/tongue.gif) I sure the jig will be up when SWMBO finds me "cleaning up" old items out of the freezer.

I couldn't resist so I ordered a half pound of Sorachi. I saw all the brews folks have planned with this hop..So how did they turn out? Did the flavor profile & aroma live up to it's description?

Yeah, I'm curious, too.

[just-cj]

I still haven't had a chance to brew with mine -- life got in the way, sort of. It'll be later this month.

[moonzombie704]

Home Beer, Wine and Cheese Making Shop (my LHBS ) just got Sorachi Ace...... I saw them, but I didn't bite......Drewbage picked up 2oz's so I'll be enterested to see what happens....... They also got the Mt. Rainier hop in as well... I guess this is a Hallertau replacement, nice & spicy... I may go for that, at a later time......

BTW..... HWBC does carry Glacier, so if someone is looking you may want to check it out b4 they're gone.....

[just-cj]

Well, half of my side-by-side plan is almost done -- I got my Summit IPA out of primary today, but instead of brewing the Sorachi Ace version next, I have to do a JPA -- I'm almost out! So, it looks like the Sorachi will be next week, just about the time that the Summit will be transferred out of dry hopping.

My comments/feelings on the Summit -- WOW! It has a great bitterness all the way through, not overpowering, but definitely not subtle either. I can't place the aroma -- citrus? fruity? spicy? all of the above? But the flavor definitely has a citrus fruity thing going on that I like. Of course I transferred at 7:00 am and my taste buds were somewhat tainted with cereal and peanut butter toast, but I think this one's a winner. Can't wait to try the Sorachi in a few weeks (assuming it doesn't get bumped again).

[passlaku]

Brewed a generic base malt beer
3# Munich
5# Pils Malt
1# Wheat Malt

I bittered with
.5 oz of Magnum (60)
.5 oz Sorachi Ace (FWH)
.5 oz "" (10)
"" (2)
sg ~1.052
us 56

I tasted the hydro sample (fg 1.010) and I found that the Sorachi Ace is really mild. It does have that lemon but if I brew this again I am going to step up the flavoring hops and the aroma hops as well. I am glad I took the advice in this thread (most likely CJ's) about not using this as the bittering hop.

I tasted the hydro
""

[DaBearSox]

Well its not new anymore but I would like to hear about people's brews with this one. The owner of my LHBS was talking them up and gave me a free pouch to try them out.

Same night he accidentally milled 2 of my separate grain bills into one batch so I have a large mystery brew that I may use them with. The mystery mix is largely Pils/Wheat with a bunch of different speciality in it so I was thinking it will probably be along the lines of an American wheat and was wondering if anyone had any experience with Sorachi in an American Wheat?

[sparks]

I'm getting ready to brew a batch of IPA with a blend of Sorachi, Simcoe and Amarillo. Won't really be able to tell much about the hop per se, but I'm thinking it will make good beer.

I did an IPA with Sorachi and Amarillo. I thought it turned out OK.