Steve’s gift hops are all sorted and stored. Now im curious what I’m going to do with them. Especially a few that ive not used before. I know these have been around a while, its just that I haven’t got around to them yet. I’m guessing they’d be great in APA/IPAs. Whirlpool? Dry hopping? Fill me in on what to expect, what to avoid.
Chinook
CTZ
Summit
Sorachi Ace
Eldorado
The rest of the hops that I got from Steve I am familiar with. Whats been your experience with the above 5. Ive heard this and that, but you guy’s experience is usually better than what I’ve read.
Chinook - the only hop in Arrogant Bastard, for reference. Piney, a tad spicy to me. Aside from late/dry it’s great for bittering APA and IPA, too. I always have some around.
CTZ/Columbus - piney and dank cannabis (or so I’ve heard). Like Chinook it’s great to bitter APA and IPA, but it makes a good balance for fruity or citrusy hops. Good late/dry, too.
Summit - some brewers really like its tangerine character, but I’ve gotten onion/garlic from it every single time like a lot of people. Not my favorite.
Sorachi Ace - definite lemony character with an herbal (almost dill) background. I really like it in saison late - that tart saison character really goes well with the lemony flavor/aroma of Sorachi.
El Dorado - big, intense fruity hop. Fruity, citrusy, almost candy like. Some people say watermelon Jolly Rancher. You could bitter but it’s usually used late/dry. I’d back off on the crystal when you use it because it can make the beer come off a little ‘sweet’. I like it better blended with citrusy or piney hops to balance. It’s strong but can be good.
Didn’t know Chinook was Arrogant Bastard, good to know.
I think I’ll start experimenting with some of these in my house APA recipe, which is bittered with Magnum. Then I’ll try them out in the big whirlpool addition one at a time and see which ones I like.
I do the same with Sorachi Ace in my house Saison.
I might brew a simple dry pale beer to try out the Eldorado in. Like a 4% lawn mower, all whirlpool SmaSh, and carb it pretty spritzy.
I love Chinook. As a late hop, it’s absolutely one of my favorites. Vinny uses it in droves in Pliny, and as mentioned, its a big part of Arrogant Bastard.
I don’t like to use it as the sole bittering hop in my hop forward beers, though. It tends to get quite harsh on its own. What I like it to do is mix it with a cleaner bittering hop like Horizon or Magnum to add an interesting “edge” to the bitterness without becoming overwhelming. 1/4 oz in a 5 gallon batch at 60, with whatever cleaner bittering hop to get to your IBU target (after taking the late IBU contributions into account as well).
Snoqualmie Falls Wildcat is 100% CTZ.
Love the Lemony Soriachi. It complements the other citrusy hops in the Am. styles very well. I have been thinking about an Amarillo/Soriachi Blonde as a lawnmower beer for this summer.
I think I remember having an El Dorado beer down in San Diego in Ted’s BJCP seminar but it doesn’t stick out in my mind so I can’t comment on it. (None of them were bad)
Not a fan of Summit, though they could have been from a bad lot.
I have done several single hop IPAs and APAs with both Chinook and CTZ and loved them all. My favorites have been those with 90+% pale ale malt. These hops just scream, “taste and smell me”. If you don’t like bitterness with an edge you might not want much in the line of early kettle additions, especially with Chinook.
I have to agree with Jon regarding El Dorado. I personally did not like it the only time I used it but I think it could work well if balanced with other hops. The pale ale I did with it had the watermelon candy thing going on and a strange sweetness that I did not care for.
El Dorado definitely has a hard candy flavor to it. I think life savers, many say jolly ranchers. That aspect seems more pronounced in a single hopped beer while I’ve had a few beers with El Dorado in a blend of hops and the candy aspect is considerably subdued.
FWIW 2 Lemon Drop: 1 El Dorado balances out way better than equal quantities for those who like the Stone Delicious IPA. El Dorado is pretty dominant when used in equal amounts with most hops.
Personally, I wouldn’t think of using it in porter or stout. If you do, be ready for a dark beer with a fruity,candy-like aroma and flavor.
As for the IPA, I’d go 2 CTZ : 1 Citra : 1 El Dorado. Those latter hops are very fruity and dominant - the CTZ would be a nice balance for the two. My $0.02 .