Triumph hops for orange and peach in a hoppy lager
A hoppy lager asks a lot of a brewery. The fermentation must be clean so that fruit hops such as Triumph can shine. Here is a practical hop schedule for 1,000 litres and the timing that keeps diacetyl and hop creep under control.
What we mean by a hoppy lager
A hoppy lager is a pale beer fermented with lager yeast at cool temperatures and hopped like a pale ale. It sits between a helles and an IPA: 4.8 to 5.8% ABV, 30 to 45 IBU, with a clear hop aroma over a crisp, clean body. It is a good beer for the Indian market because it drinks like a lager and smells like a craft beer.
Triumph is sold as an aroma hop with orange and peach notes. Lots vary by crop, so we do not quote an alpha figure here. Take the number from the certificate of analysis on the lot you buy and run the sums with it. Compare it with Callista, which pushes the same kind of beer towards apricot and berry.
Why a lager shows hops more clearly
Ale yeast makes esters. Those fruity compounds mix with hop fruit and blur it. Lager yeast at 10 to 12 °C makes far fewer. With less yeast fruit in the way, a stone fruit hop reads as peach rather than as a general fruity haze.
That also means a fault is easier to taste. A trace of sulphur or diacetyl sits right on top of the hop aroma and spoils it. Our guide to sulphur in lager fermentation covers the common causes.
A hop schedule for 1,000 litres
For a hoppy lager at OG 1.050 and 38 IBU, here is a plan we would try first:
- A clean high alpha bittering hop at 60 minutes for about 28 IBU.
- A whirlpool charge of Triumph at 1 g per litre (1 kg), 20 minutes at 78 °C. Count its IBU from the lot's alpha figure, because they add to the 28.
- A dry hop of Triumph at 2 to 3 g per litre (2 to 3 kg).
Keep the whirlpool below 80 °C. Orange and peach aromas come from volatile oils that boil off or change at high temperature. The whirlpool is where you capture oil and a little bitterness at once. Taste the beer after lagering and adjust the dry hop by a few hundred grams next time.
Always keep a control. Brew one tank with Triumph and, on the same day, a smaller one with a hop you know well. Tasting them side by side shows what the variety adds. It also stops you crediting the hop for something the yeast or the water did.
The floor detail: when to dry hop a lager
Dry hopping a lager is a timing game. Hops carry enzymes that can break down dextrins the yeast could not use, a problem called hop creep. The yeast restarts, gas builds and diacetyl can rise again. In a lager that shows as butterscotch weeks later.
Most brewers dry hop towards the end of primary, when the beer is still around 12 to 14 °C and the yeast is active. They hold a diacetyl rest and then crash to lagering temperature. Check gravity a few days after the dry hop. If it falls by more than a point or two, give the beer more time before you crash it. Read our guide to dry hopping for the basics.
Warm-country problems
Keeping lager yeast at 10 to 12 °C needs glycol cooling that works at the hottest part of an Indian afternoon. If the chiller is undersized, fermentation drifts warm and you are brewing a fruity ale with a lager label. Check the cooling loop on a hot day before you plan a hoppy lager. It is much cheaper to find out before the first batch than after.
Storage matters too. Triumph, like any aroma hop, loses oil in warm storage. Keep pellets frozen and buy to your brew calendar. A carton opened in a warm store room is not the carton the supplier shipped.
Serving the finished beer
Serve it at 3 to 5 °C in a taproom. Colder hides the aroma and warmer lets the peach come forward. Keep kegs cold from bright tank to tap. A hoppy lager stored warm in a van loses its top notes within weeks.
Write the packaged date on the keg. A hoppy lager is a freshness product. A drinker who tries it at four months will not taste what you intended.
Common questions
What does Triumph hop taste like?
Orange and peach on the aroma, according to how it is sold. Treat that as a starting point and taste your own lot against a control.
Can I dry hop a lager?
Yes, but time it for the end of primary while the yeast is still active, so it can clean up any hop creep and diacetyl before lagering.
What temperature should a hoppy lager ferment at?
Usually 10 to 12 °C. Warmer fermentation adds esters that cover the hop aroma and take it away from a lager profile.
