So right before Christmas, I took a chance with NikoBrew’s grab bag of hops: 4# of hops for $36, the catch was they were 2012 crop, and you would not know what you were getting until you got them. Here’s what I got:
1# each of:
German Herkules 15.6AA
German Taurus 16.6AA
El Dorado 15.7AA
Saphir 3.9AA
I have found a little info on them on Hop Union’s Hop Wheel, but I am wondering who has used these, in what brews, and what are your thoughts on them? Any tips are appreciated.
I’ve used El Dorado. It’s a fruity hop and used in IPAs and such. It’s almost describable as candy or watermelon jolly ranchers. I like it, but not by itself.
El Dorado - I’ve used it in APA and AIPA. It’s a strong fruity hop - I get melon, pear, peach. It’s been described as having ‘watermelon Jolly Rancher’ type fruitiness and I definitely picked up on some of that. If you like the ‘fruit bomb’ beers, try a single hop beer to assess it. And it blends well with C hops if you’re after a little more balance.
Saphir (Sapphire) - It’s a low AA offshoot of Hallertau Mittelfrueh, but with a citrusy, orange/tangerine character to me. It’s a nice hop. I used it in a really nice cream ale, but it would work well in a kolsch or pale lager as well.
Haven’t used the others, but that’s a start !
EDIT - There are some pretty interesting new German hops out there like the others you mention and Mandarina Bavaria and Hull. Need to try them all.
Thanks Jon. Now I need to start some experimenting, probably with some smaller batches to figure out what I like. Sitting on these pounds plus partials on about 6 other varieties
I’ve only used it a couple times. I would mix it with any of the C hops, simcoe, Amarillo, Citra… Yeah why not. I thought about using it in a possible watermelon wheat thus summer but who knows.
Looked at my notes and the El Dorado beer I liked the best was a 1:1:1 El Dorado/Centennial/Chinook IPA. There was enough citrus and pine to balance the sweet fruit (for me).
EDIT - The other ones were : single hop El Dorado - too fruity for me.
1:1 El Dorado/Simcoe - didn’t like the combo.
1:1:1 El Dorado/Amarillo/Columbus - pretty good. I liked ED/Cent/Chinook
better.
I remember the 3 Floyds “Chico King” from the SN Beer Camp 12 pack being very tasty - they list finishing hops as El Dorado, Citra and Calypso. (El Dorado for bittering too)
I would not hesitate to use any of the other three hops in the same manner as classic Hallertau breeds. Lagers, saisons, even English ales would be a decent fit. I enjoy using some of the less popular continental European hops in my saisons and lagers. It doesn’t necessarily fit the conventional German or Czech lager profiles but they are great and unique lagers all the same.
If you wanted to be more unusual with those hops you could play around with an IPA. I’ve had an IPA or two with all noble-type hops. It’s certainly a different take than the fruit bombs or dank IPAs popular on the market right now.
FYI - El Dorado has a bit of a sweet taste. If it plays a dominant role in a beer you’re brewing, then make sure the beer finishes dry without residual sweetness. Otherwise the El Dorado can actually enhance the perception of sweetness and you could end up with a cloying beer.
Is that recipe floating around somewhere on here? I see NHC gold medal winners up through 2013, but not 2014 yet. I have not made an Alt yet, so it would be nice to work with a winning recipe
I haven’t used it yet, but I have an oz. of Herkules to use for bittering in a batch of Imperial pilsner I’ll be brewing before too long.
I like saphir (just bought two ozs. this afternoon). I brew a killer amber ale with summit, simcoe, and saphir.