OK…so a little while back there was a discussion over at Beer Advocate where the original poster uses only Magnum for his bittering hop, regardless of style. I read this knowing I preferred Magnum or Nugget for a very smooth bittering, and though why not? Well since I have brewed four beers with only one of these two hops (since I had them on hand), APA, IPA, Brown Ale and a Kolsch. Now I have used other hops for later additions, but was wondering how many here employ a similar process.
Or…we could have a conversation about this as I have not done anything really out of the ordinary since I started. What might I learn if I brew an ESB with Magnum for bittering and my typical EKG for the late additions?
I like to use Northern Brewer with EKG’s in my ESB but you’ll find that you’ll get a good clean bittering effect from the Magnum and excellent flavor and aroma from the EKG’s.
Magnum hops were originally bred in 1980 at The Germany Hop Institute. You’ll find them used quite often for bittering additions in German style Lagers and Ales as well as alot of American Ale recipes.
Typically, I use a high alpha for bittering to avoid too much “vegetation” in the kettle. This is both the greedy miser in me not wanting to lose more beer and the culinary “artiste” in me wanting to avoid all the lovely green phytochemicals that plants carry.
Having said all of that, there’s times when that greeness is part of the character profile, so…
A brewer couldn’t go wrong with Magnum for bittering everything, but that’s kind of like just using salt & pepper as your only seasoning when cooking. I like lots of spices when I cook, so I use lots of different varieties. Of course, that why I have way too many hops in my freezer as well. I’m quickly becoming a fan of Bravo that’s for sure. Just my 2-cents!
