One of my favorite types of hops out there right now are Mosaic. They have a wonderful intriguing aroma that is hard to put a finger on. Some people say they smell fruit juice, some say they smell garlic, dill, onions, others say that they get a lot of floral characteristics. I get a bit of everything with the tropical fruit juice dominating my palate.
This is one of my most popular beers that I’ve personally brewed. Born as more of a dare then anything else, it turned out to be a stellar beer. Notice, there is a little of everything in the grain bill. Barley, rye, wheat, corn, honey, rice (well rice hulls, but still rice derived right?).
My buddy and I were talking about different grains and how we wanted to create a franken-beer of sorts. A beer with a little of everything. I started grabbing every different adjunct that I thought could make a great beer. You’ll notice that flaked oats are missing, sadly, my local homebrew shop was out of oats. I was able to incorporate most of the adjuncts.
Grain
The grain that really makes this beer great has to be the cara-rye. Such a unique grain as it provides all the benefits of a middle of the road SRM crystal malt and the great benefits of rye. The added spicy complexity work out wonderful as a compliment to the honey and Mosaic hops.
One thing that I might change is the Crisp Pale Chocolate malt. It added a slight roast note that seemed to be out of place. Next time I may use a little Special B to bring the color in to where I wanted it.
Hops
Mosaic hops are the only hops in this recipe. I use the first wort technique that I use for all my IPAs. I think it imparts a smoother bitterness then the traditional start of the boil battering addition. While at the National Homebrew Conference in Grand Rapids, MI this past spring, I attended a lecture on the differences in traditional hopping and first wort hopping. The results vindicated my premonitions.
A blind panel thought that the first wort hops had a more appealing bitterness. It creates a more “smooth” bitterness rather then a harsh bittnerness. After the first wort hops, I do not add anything until the last 5 minutes. 1 ounce of Mosaic at five minutes, then 2 ounces with just one minute left.
This is called hop bursting. Leaving all your flavor and aroma hops until the end of the boil. This ensures that all the oils in the hops are not boiled off.
Yeast
I used Wyeast American Wheat Ale 1010. I’ve never used it before and it is really hard to say what type of contributions it left in this beer. The beer was dominated by the Mosaic hops and the floral notes of the honey, it left little room for yeast character. I’m sure that this recipe could be produced without using a wheat yeast and using the standard American Ale 1056 yeast.
The next time I make this beer I will try exploring a different style of yeast to try and get some more yeast character. I’m thinking english. I’m curious if the fruitiness of a London ale yeast, or ESB yeast will play in harmony of just clash. If anyone decides to brew it with this, let me know, I’d love to hear your tasting notes.
How to Brew Mosaic IPA
| Recipe Specs | |
| Batch Size: | 5.25 gallons |
| Volume Boiled: | 6.72 gallons |
| Original Gravity: | 1.062 |
| Final Gravity: | 1.011 |
| SRM: | 15.4 |
| IBUs: | 62.8 |
| ABV: | 6.7% |
Ingredients:
- 6 lbs. Briess Pale Ale Malt 2-row
- 3 lbs. Briess Red Wheat
- 1 lbs. Crystal Rye (Cararye) (80 SRM)
- 1 lbs. Good Honey (add last 5 minutes)
- 8 oz. Carapils
- 8 oz. Rice Hulls
- 4 oz. Crisp Pale Chocolate Malt
- 4 oz. Flaked Maize
- 1 oz. Mosaic – First Wort
- 1 oz. Mosaic – 5 mins
- 2 oz. Mosaic – 1 min
- 3 oz. Mosaic – Dry Hop
- Irish moss (15 mins)
- Wyeast Yeast Nutrient (15 mins)
- 1 pack Wyeast 1010 American Wheat Ale
- 1.5 tbs of PH 5.2 into the mash
- 5 oz. corn sugar (if bottling)
Procedure:
Mash at 152° for 60 minutes. Fly sparge very slowly until you have 6.72 gallons of wort in your boil pot. During the sparging process, add the 1 oz of Mosaic hops (first wort hops) to your boil kettle. Add irish moss and yeast nutrient with 15 minutes remaining.
Add Mosaic hops and honey with 5 minutes remaining. Add 2 oz Mosaic hops with 1 minute remaining. Chill wort down to 68° and aerate well. Pitch yeast and ferment 7 days at 68°.
Once fermentation is done, transfer to your secondary vessel. Add dry hops (3 oz Mosaic) to your secondary. Dry hop for 5-7 days. Cold crash at 38° for 3 days. Bottle or keg.
The tasting notes on this beer are incredible. This beer was enjoyed by so many of my friends and family. With the mouth filing fruitiness created by the Mosaic to the floral notes the honey added, there wasn’t much to not like.
