Has anyone ever tried to make a northwest hop Pilsner? I’m getting ready to make one soon, but figured I’d solicit any pitfalls/issues that might be involved. I typically put about 8 oz of hops in my 5-gallon batches.
I made a Pilsner last year that used Northwest Hops. Those were Vangaurd, and we really liked it. Crystal, Mt. Hood, Sterling, and Liberty could work well too.
Just saying that all NW hops are not “C” hops.
yeah - I make a Hood Pils every now and then. I’ve submitted it twice to comps and have gotten comments of “Great Noble hop nose!” - kinda funny. I find its a little (just a touch) harsher than nobles in bitterness.
I’ve also read (and this is only hearsay) that one very well known US pils maker will sometimes use some of these (Liberty, Crystal, Hood, etc) when they can’t get fresh german noble since they are more concerned about having the absolute freshest hops.
Mt. Hood and Vanguard are okay, but really aren’t the real deal. I do use them for bittering, but like to stick to Saaz, Tetts, Hallertauh, Lublin for flavor/aroma.
The one NW I did not care for in a pils was Santiam. Personal taste, of course.
I have made NW hop pilsners with Cascades before, and NW 2row, and the resulting beer tasted just like Henry Weinhardts (the cream colored label) or Leinie’s Northwoods lager. A nice hot summer beer.
I like Sterling in my lagers. They seem to be very clean tasting.
+1
Kinda like SA Noble Pils…in the sense that it’s got a real fresh hop flavor/aroma profile as opposed to alot of the German examples that are more subdued. Don’t get me wrong…I love a fresh Bitburger or a Warsteiner but there is something to be said about a Classic American Pilsner. 8)