Smoked peach pale ale what hops to use?

[jackhetherington]

Hi guys I am planning on brewing a pale ale with smoked malt and peaches (in secondary) this could be really good or taste like a fruity ashtray!! I have an idea for the grain bill (5gal batch, any comments welcome) but struggling to decide on what hops to use and when, i'm not really after a hoppy beer but want something to complement or enhance the peach flavour yet go with the smoke. Not sure whether to use a fruity hop, i've had great results getting peach/nectorine flavour out of mosaic before, should i just go for a fairly neutral bittering addition? or maybe something floral EKG?? any help greatly appreciated... Grain bill below
4.5 kg United Kingdom - Golden Promise 37 3 84.1%
250 g American - Caramel / Crystal 20L 35 20 4.7%
500 g German - Smoked Malt 37 3 9.3%
100 g Brown Sugar 45 15 1.9%
5.35 kg Total

 

[J A]

I get nice results with Magnum for bittering. There's a bit of fruitiness along with the noble hop flavor. You might look into some of the newer German hops like Mandarina, Saphir and Opal those can lend a smooth, traditional hoppiness along with some light fruit characteristics in late additions. I like your idea of Mosaic, but I'd keep the addition very low because peach is a fairly subtle flavor that's easily overpowered.

 

[jeffpn]

If you can smoke the grains yourself, peach is readily available (at least it is where I live.) I think I have a bag of peach wood chips, but I haven’t used any yet.

 

[jackhetherington]

Great idea to smoke with peach wood I live in the north of England so might be tricky to get hold of if i can get some I will definitely give it a try!! posted on another forum and mandarina was also suggested so seems like a good way to go, re magnum i've only used as a bittering in stouts so never picked up on much of the flavour before but will give it a go, cheers!

 

[chub1]

Great idea to smoke with peach wood I live in the north of England so might be tricky to get hold of if i can get some I will definitely give it a try!! posted on another forum and mandarina was also suggested so seems like a good way to go, re magnum i've only used as a bittering in stouts so never picked up on much of the flavour before but will give it a go, cheers!

Jack. Take a look at Geterbrewed's web site.They are an Irish supplier and have used them many times.Have done a brew with the 'experimental hops' that they are selling.Really fruity,i did a mango beer and added them to that!