After brewing and tasting more IPAs than I care to count, I think I’ve found the combination that really does it for me. GUs around 65-70. IBU total ~ 70.
Chinook - 30 minute Hopburst ~ 40 -50% of total bittering units
Amarillo - 20 and 10 minute additions 30 - 40% of total bittering units
Cascade 15 minute and flamout 10 - 20% of total bittering units
Simcoe/Amarillo dryhop - to taste, for me , between .5 and 1 oz.
What is your favorite?
Northern Brewer (the store, not the hop) Hopshot @ 60 for bittering.
Centennial, Columbus and Simcoe whirlpool and dry.
I like to use Centennial for bittering, then Centennial for the flavor and aroma additions, and dry-hop with Centennial. 
I am into Citra. Just bottled a Citra IPA (1 oz 60 min, .5 oz 30 min, .5 oz 10 min, 1 oz in fermenter after 4 days) and early indications are it’s outstanding.
;D That’s how I’m doing it tomorrow…
If it’s good enough for Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, it’s good enough for you…
Well Jim there’s no absolute answer to that question because my hop schedules are constantly evolving.
My latest schedule, that I actually tried a few times before is Columbus, Centennial, Simcoe and Amarillo. My next recipe I want to use Columbus and Chinook for bittering and Centennial, Simcoe and Amarillo for flavor and aroma.
Gotta love them American Hops! 8)
My india black ale I brewed recently uses a blend of simcoe, chinook, and cascade. It’s pretty good. I need to try Amarillo but Simcoe is one of my favs. It’s so dank and tasty, as is chinook.
Equal amounts of Amarillo & Centennial…It gets straight to the point.
Chinook at 60 and 30, Centennial at 30 and 15, Cascade at 15 and 1, dry hop with all three.
Since i can’t find amarillo locally, would some combination of Centennial and Cascade work as a sub?
-Cheers
Nothing really subs for Amarillo, but Centennial and Cascade is a great combination.
I’ve written before that two of my favorite combinations are Amarillo/Simcoe and Centennial/Cascade. They totally work, but don’t let that keep you from trying new combinations. New hops come out all the time, and they’re worth checking out. Nathan Smith had some good input for me on the recent dry hopping article; check that out for some of his opinions. He’s big into finding hops with a high oil content.
Made a Belg./Am. IPA with those 4 and some Chinook. FWH with Falconer’s Flight, which is pretty much all of those and some Citra.
I think the Belgians really like Amarillo as an American hop. I saw La Rulles use it in their Tripel, which is one of my favorites. I’ve heard of other breweries using it too. I’d add it to Saaz and Styrian Goldings as go-to hops for Belgians.
Interesting info, Gordon. I’ll have to see if I can find the La Rulles Tripel.
It doesn’t always travel well. I’ve had some bottles that were off. If you find it on the shelf, hold it up to the light and see if you can see large flakes floating around in it. If it does, pass. That’s pretty much what I do with all imports. Whenever I see that, it’s a tell that it’s oxidized. They’re in 750ml bottles. The Christmas version of it is good too.
If you ever get to Brussels, the Delirium Cafe usually has La Rulles Tripel on tap. They told me it was their second biggest seller after Delirium Tremens (I prefer the Nocturnum, myself).
It’s not quite as aggressively hopped as Westmalle Tripel. It uses the Orval yeast (I was there when a brewer stopped by with what looked like a 5 gallon bucket of it), as do many breweries in the area. I have other notes on it at home, but it’s a nice beer.
When Crispy Frey did his tripel experiment in Baltimore (I think), I remember liking the Orval yeast (WLP510) second best after the Westmalle yeast (WY3787). I remembered this when I was at the brewery; nice to see it confirmed in practice.
[quote]It doesn’t always travel well. I’ve had some bottles that were off.
[/quote]
Had that happen to a bottle of Orval…yuk… $5 worth of yuk. :-[
Had that happen to a bottle of Orval…yuk… $5 worth of yuk. :-[
[/quote]
Probably smelled like you were traveling with farm animals. ;D