I recently made a hoppy lager which had CTZ for bittering (@ 60 min, 32 IBU) and Cascade for flavor and aroma (0.5 oz hop stand in 3G batch). The beer is good but has a dankness that I would like to avoid on future versions. I like the dankness in an IPA, but, in a hoppy lager I think the dankness masks the clean crisp flavor I would like.
Question: did the CTZ cause the dankness or was it more likely the Cascade? I can bitter with Chinook or Magnum next time. I am out of Cascade so for the next version I am thinking Centennial or Galaxy. I also have Simcoe, Amarillo, and Ekuanot (HBC366). I think Simcoe and Amarillo may have similar dankness issues. I’ve never used Ekuanot. Thoughts?
Cascade is just citrusy and floral to me. Even though you only used the CTZ to bitter, it may have carried some of that dankness through to the end. I usually bitter IPLs with Magnum to get a clean bitterness, then add whatever sounds good late. Ekuanot (HBC 366) is the hop formerly known as Equinox - awesome, complex hop.
+1 to magnum. I would assume CTZ would be the dankness of the IPA flavor. It is my go to bittering hop, but magnum is by far the “classic” bitterness, IMO. Motueka is a great versatile hop too. It is a very refreshing hop flavor. For my tastebuds anyway.
Tommy, for our Hops Fell Hop Lager I use Magnum for bittering and a blend of cascade, Tettnanger and Madarina for WP hops. I also use a 10 min addition of Manadarina. Malt is a blend of Pils, Vienna, Flaked Maize and cara foam. Not sure if you have had HFHL but it has no dankness to it, rather it has bright citrus notes and a medium light body.
I have used perle in lots of lagers and have always been happy with the clean bittering I get from it. In some recent pale ales I have done, I have been doing CTZ and cascade with some other hop and the CTZ dankness is very apparent even in small amounts (1oz CTZ against 4oz of cascade/other stuff).
I have not used herkules, so I can’t comment on that compared to perle.
That hoppy lager style definitely needs a clean bittering hop even if you’re throwing DIPA level flavor/aroma additions on top of it. Anything with a strong dank or pine/forest flavor should be avoided. Almost any clean mid to high alpha hop should work fine. I’ve had good success using Belma–not because it’s anything special for that purpose but because it’s just what I’ve had on hand.