I brew mostly British and American styles. The American beers all have citrus flavor hops. Don’t get me wrong I still like Amarillo, Centennial , Citra and others in my APA, IPA and Reds. The Brit styles hops are earthy, woody etc. and I enjoy the change. I am considering hops from the southern hemisphere, New Zealand or others that I’m not familiar with. Any suggestions or comments on alternatives? And maybe descriptions of hops and how they turned out in your brews. Thanks and cheers ,Mike.
I make some ales with older varieties such as Bullion, Brewers Gold, and Cluster. Those are old school in flavor.
Last time in England I had a few ales hopped with traditional German hops. I really enjoyed those.
For me it’s turned into a seasonal thing. I like APA, Blonde, and Golden beers that tend to feature citrus hops in the hotter months but darker beers that tend to be more English, Scottish, or German featuring appropriate hops for those styles in the cooler months.
It’s funny: in the hotter months I look forward to those darker beers and in the cooler months I look forward to those lighter beers.
I use a lot of citrusy hops in my APAs and IPAs, but almost always include some floral/spicy hops to compliment them. Perle, Crystal and Liberty are among my favorites. Used as flavor additions and/or dry hops, they add a subtle, but nice complexity.
I’m burned out on the citrus thingy myself.
Just brewed a batch yesterday with Magnum (GR), next will be Nugget.
Won’t know taste of them for awhile.
My hop guide lists them as follows:
Magnum (GR) = Spicy flavor, bitter
Magnum (US) = Slightly citrussy aroma, spicy, bitter
Nugget (US) = Herbal aroma, spicy, very bitter
I’m burned out on all the tropical fruit hops and pivoting back to citrus
I brew lagers as much as ales. When I am sick of Pilsners ( hard to do ) I have some citrusy ales to drink.
If you hop aggressively with nugget you can get a peach tea taste out of them. Like exactly like a peach tea. I did that in an amber and while it wasn’t my favorite beer it worked out well. Everybody who tasted it immediately asked if I added peach tea to it.
At more traditional hopping rates I don’t find it spicy or bitter as much as a gentle version of the woody note in mosaic hops.
Thanks
Thanks for the replies. I might try some of those older Brit hops, not sure about the black currant flavor in Bullion. I’ve never tasted them. Also like the German hops in Ales idea.
I do use some Willamette in my APA, so could try others suggested. I like the spice it adds.
I have a three year old Nugget plant. I like it in browns and will try some in a American Porter. I have only used them for bittering and dry-hop so have not noticed the peach tea thing, interesting. I get herbal from them and go well in dark beers to me. Looking forward to using them this year along with the three year old Vojvodina plants that grew as well as the Nugget.
I too look to the seasons changing and thinking about the different beers to brew. Since I live in the middle of the country we most certainly have distinct seasons, love those Winter warmers!
hot thread.
my tastebuds had a weird ting where i was in korea for a long time and the C-hop decade was semi-off limits for me, so i lost my tastebuds for it.
now the first thing i taste in most high alpha hops is harsh harsh harsh.
had a gouden carolus hopsinjoor the other day, that is the kind of IPA i can drink a 6 pack of.
looking forward to a change in direction in hops. cough bramling cross cough.