The Yakima Brewers HB Club just had its first meeting of the year, finally back at Hop Union. Zach, the quality control manager for Hop Union was there to give some samples of hops that they want feedback on. I came away with 6 oz. of HBC 291 (total oil 2.3, AA 11.7). Aromas are supposed to be majoring on floral, spicy, citrus.
I find myself wishing I had another 3-6 onces in order to brew a proper IPA, but I should be able to brew a Pale Ale that would showcase the single hop. Anyway, very excited to experiment with a new hop variety!
I remember the “old club” used to have a meeting at Hop Union a couple times a year. Ralph used to get a kick out of turning us loose in the packaged hops cooler. Then we’d go upstairs and smoke cigars, drink some brew, and BS for hours. Last summer at brew school brought back a lot of memories at we toured that area and the “rec room”.
Ha! Yeah I’ve never smoked a cigar in the game room… But I’m game to. I have been continually impressed with what a friendly, open company Hop Union is. Every person I have met there has been terrific at community relations - and it seems genuine - not like a job they are doing.
One of the most enticing aspects of brewing for me is experimentation. I hope to be increasingly involved. Not just with new hop varieties or even club oriented experiments, but my own little ones as well.
I guess if it were me I would brew 5 gallons of a 1.058ish pale and bitter with 1 oz, 2 oz at flame out and the rest dry hops. Feel free to send me the 6 oz and I’d be happy to do that for you.
Nice score! I have 4 ounces from the 2012 crop of the 291 that I haven’t brewed yet. I actually have 7 or 8 different experimental varieties that I will be running through my 1-gallon Pale Ale process sometime this spring. I’ll be interested to hear your results.
I bet if you asked the guy for six more ounces he would be glad to share. Those guys at Hop Union are pretty cool. Offer him a six pack of the finished product.
erockrph - ever use any Azacca hops? My great LHBS is getting some new varieties and the guys there are pretty fond of it. They describe it as citrusy, stone-fruity, with some pine. ~ 13 -16% AA. I’m gonna work it into an APA or AIPA soon.
Just got mine in from Yakima Valley a couple of days ago. I’ll be including these with my other experimental single-hopped beers.
It’s really incredible how many new and experimental hop varieties are around right now. What is even more surprising is that most of them have distinct flavor profiles, and aren’t too similar to existing varieties. I’d say that at least half of these new hops go into my toolkit immediately, another quarter are reserved for niche purposes, and maybe only a quarter I have no use for. That’s a pretty good record given how many varieties we already have to choose from. It will be interesting to see how many survive the test of time in 10 years or so.
Ditto. I’m hopeless when it comes to hops. Never met one I didn’t want to experiment with. Every new variety that comes out, I want to jump on. I have a freezer full right now, and have to keep telling myself to use 2012s before I buy more.
