I recently won a full pound of this new hop in a competition and have read some characteristic profiles online. Has anyone here used this one? If so, what did you think?
I will be using it for bittering (FWH) in my next IPA as well as for flavor/aroma (dry hop) additions.
No, I haven’t yet. I believe it’s the hop sold as ‘Nuggetzilla’ by yakimavalleyhops.com. Supposed to be pineapple/citrus/spicy. Very high oil content (4.0-6.0) so they’d be pretty resiny. I wouldn’t even blend it with anything - if that profile is accurate it could be pretty interesting alone. Plus that oil content would drown out most other hops. Be sure to post how it comes out !
If it is Nuggetzilla, I wasn’t that impressed. Did a single hop with it, using my usual tried and true IPA recipe, that turned out very ho hum. There was a lot less pineapple than I was expecting and whole lot more stale hop flavor that overpowered the brew. Hopefully I just got my hands on a bad batch from Yakima Valley and you’ll have much better results!
I definitely plan on smelling them before adding them to the kettle. I may make some last minute subs if they come across as not strong in the aroma department. Thanks for the feedback.
Quick update for everyone on this hop -
Used it in an AIPA as a FW hop and then at 10 min, 5 min, 0 min, and 2 oz for dryhopping. Decided to dry hop with other hops as well simply because I too was unimpressed with the aroma profile upon opening the bag and during the boil, and upon tasting my FG hydrometer sample.
This experimental hop IMO has a very dank, resinous quality to it. It came across as earthy, and spicey with low characteristics of subtle oranges/lemons and even some faint tropical fruit (mostly pineapple, but very minimal).
The heavy oils in this hop make it better suited for a bittering addition rather than in use for aroma or flavor contributions as it can quickly overpower the delicate nature of better aroma hops that are more typically enjoyed in a delicious IPA.
So, all in all, use this one as a bittering or FW hop and maybe in small amounts to boost spicey components or increase the dank resin factor in your finishing hops.
Cheers to all!
Brewinhard
Thanks for the feedback!