We’re finishing up a bag of grain and hops and have put together a grain bill that will split the left over grain in half and produce an APA recipe to support a medium hop bill. One half is already planned but need help for the last batch. Maybe an IBU in the low 40’s.
After reading so much about hop pairings we’re frustrated and looking for help from you with experience in combining what hops we have.
Some of us like the idea of a Simcoe, Mosaic, Citra blend. I like the idea of a Amarillo, Simcoe blend bittering with the Warrior. We’ve read of cattyness from bittering with Simcoe. Would like a smooth bittering with loaded finishing and dry hop aromas so most of the “glamour hops” for late additions.
Thanks Denny.
I’ve found quite a bit of a garlic or onion off flavor from Simcoe bittering comments to pay attention.
Just some interesting reading…
Fat Head’s Brewmaster Matt Cole
"Early and late harvest Simcoe differ greatly. Early harvest Simcoe (late August) has an abundance of tropical fruits and less pine. Later harvest Simcoe has more pine and catty/dank like character. Later harvest Simcoe also picks up garlic and onion notes. At Fat Heads Brewery we prefer a blend of late and early harvest Simcoe.”
What are your suggestions based on your experience with combos with our hop supplies?
MarvinS - Lots of options there. Being an APA, I agree with Steve’s advice to bitter with the Warrior. I like its smoother bitterness in APA (where I bitter AIPA with Columbus or Chinook for more assertive bitterness). The two blends you mentioned are both great. Can’t go wrong with either. Cascade or Centennial could be blended seamlessly into either of those blends. I’ve made several pale ales with Cascade, Centennial, and Amarillo late - old school but really good. And Mosaic/Simcoe alone works really well, too. I don’t think you’ll go wrong whatever you do, but I’d personally leave the Apollo out here - it’s assertive in bitterness and when used late (it can be good in IPA). Let us know how it comes out!
No Kidding!
We’ve finished about three batches using Apollo as FWH and every one has a specific bite to them directly pointing back to the Apollo. We used it with : uh… budget in mind because it was 18% and we used 1/4oz in the batches. Lesson learned.
Thanks for your advise.
Simcoe-Amarillo-Citra at flameout. Open your Apollo and take a deep whiff. If it smells like tangerine and/or cannabis, add it at flameout with the others and bitter with Warrior. If it doesn’t smell like much, or just like grass, then bitter with that.
Apollo has been a bit of an enigma for me as far as hops go. I’ve had some amazing hops that have a great tangerine character with a touch of dank, but more typically they seem to be very mild in flavor. Either way, I like it a lot for bittering.
uh… budget in mind because it was 18% and we used 1/4oz in the batches. Lesson learned.