I’ve used Columbus hops a lot. However the last couple brews when I bitter with them, they give me a fruity-ish flavor that I really don’t like at all. I purchased two pounds last year and just recently opened the second pound. It seems every beer that I use them in, I find a disagreeable taste in it. I only use us-05 or nottingham in these beers and they ferment at app. 60 degrees.
Could there be something in the hops themselves that are causing this?
I hear and feel your pain. Please feel free to send these disgusting offensive hops to me. I will make sure they are disposed of in a proper manner.
Hops are an Ag product, they can vary. The terroir (ground) and the weather can make a big difference. It seems you got a batch that isn’t to your liking.
There is definitely batch to batch variation with hops. I find some Columbus has more citrus and some is more pungent/dank. The pound of Columbus pellets I got from Hops Direct earlier this year is possibly the best batch of hops I’ve ever used - amazingly dank and resinous.
The same hop can vary from farm to farm and between fields in the same farm.
Being a commodity hop, I find that it varies widely from supplier to supplier. And Columbus is especially prone to powdery mildew. I have heard a couple of pro brewerers state that they believe (their words, not mine) that we may see CTZ go away in the next decade because of it’s susceptibility.
The Stats for Washington state say CTZ has gone down ~1500 acres 2011 to 2012. Still a lot of it left.
I wonder if the fact that CTZ is primarily used as a bittering hop and its disease susceptability make it less attractive to growers than hops like Magnum? Magnum is such a amazingly clean bittering hop from the few times I’ve sampled it. It would be a shame to lose a hop like CTZ and its flavor and aroma character.