I visited my LHBS yesterday to grab some Magnum hops for general ‘all purpose’ bittering hop use, as has been my habit for some years now, but they were out. Suddenly ‘Nugget’ hops popped into my mind, and they had Nugget in stock at 14.2 AA’s. I nabbed it.
Then I started reading about Nugget hops and I’m beginning to think that this hop may make a better generic “bittering addition” hop than Magnum, plus it has a bit more AA units, so less is required.
Your thoughts?
While you are mulling over the above I thought I would share my one and only experience with using Magnum for additions other than just bittering. After being inspired by Brulosophy (The Hop Chronicles | Magnum (2016) Pale Ale | Brülosophy) I whipped up a simple Brown Ale, using Magnum for my bittering, flavor, and aroma additions. I ranked the final beer as possibly the very worst of my creations, and vowed to never try that again.
But in reading about Nugget, it seems to have a more broad flavor profile that “may” present it to use for flavoring and aroma as well as bittering. However, after my Magnum experience I’m leary to even consider venturing beyond bittering for Nugget.
Any thoughts on this as well?
It’s one of those hops I have not used in a very long time but Magnum is very clean and cheap. However, the point is well made that it may work better as an aroma and flavor variety – have you ever had Nugget Nectar? They use a blend of hops but Nugget is one of them for sure.
One of my all time hop blends was Cluster Fugget by Yakima Chief. Cluster, Fuggles, and Nugget.
I can’t get the link you provided to open. Perhaps it contains a typo?
I think Magnum and Nugget would certainly be interchangeable for bittering purposes. Bravo as well, though I find Bravo less one-dimensional than the other two. I like a bit of Bravo as a late addition for some citrus/fruity/floral.
And Nugget Nectar is a great beer though I don’t have the skills to tease out exactly what Nugget itself is bringing to that beer.
Hmm…opens for me.
I am not very familiar with Nugget and should give it a try sometime.
I have dry hopped with Magnum before and thought it was great (and yes I have bittered with it of course as well). Almost noble but just a little something extra that I don’t recall, been a few years.
I find Nugget to have a bit more “bite” to its bitterness compared to a clean bittering hop like Magnum. It’s not quite Columbus or Chinook, but I don’t know if I’d use it in something like a lager, blond ale, etc. I do like it in styles like stout and porter where it can hold up to the roast malts quite well. It also can be nice in APA and IPA when you want bit more bite.
I’ve tried magnum as a bittering hop. I agree it’s a pleasant bitterness, but one thing I find with magnum is that it can impart a mint/menthol flavor, which of course gets stronger the later in the boil it’s added. I can’t stand mint flavor and so I find this objectionable.
For my next few hop-forward beers, I’ll be going back to using CTZ for bittering. This is perhaps an underappreciated bittering hop. I’ll be trying galena for the first time in my other beers. I’ve never used nugget but I’ve read that’s is a great bittering hop. Might give that a try as well.
It is by no means underappreciated. It’s just not trendy like it used to be.
I copied and pasted the link. There is a “Are You 21?” BS wall that might be throwing problems.
CTZ works well as a bittering hop. It seems to be a little harsher than Magnum though. Great for IPAs but can be noticeable in other styles. I’m not suggesting it is “bad”.
For bittering only Nugget does a great job, I’ve used it a lot. Magnum does an equally great job for bittering only. My favorite bittering only hop is Horizon, super smooth because of low cohumulone levels, so you can lay in more bitterness without it getting harsh. Nugget has the advantage because you can also use it for later additions contributing some nice floral fruitiness, in my experience.
agree. like 15-20% more bite. i’ve used nugget a few times in darker beers for no particular reason. i enjoy the beers.
the nugget i get is usually 12-13% AA, while nugget is usually 14-15% AA.
its a good bittering hop. use it if you want, but it wont change the beer much imho.
Warrior is worth a look. High alpha and clean.
good suggestion. i forgot that i meant to try warrior. ive been using magnum by default as my hi AA bittering addition for so long
Warrior is citrusy when used late. If using in a super picky style like a German lager, I’d hesitate to use it, even as a bittering addition. But for anything else, yes, absolutely, have at 'er. Should be a low cohumulone hop IIRC.
Warrior definitely has a unique taste…not bad, but unique. Boulevard Brewing used to make a pale ale with it, I don’t think they still do.
Do I recall correctly, that some brewers have used Magnum as a dry hop with good effect? I don’t recall Magnum otherwise being used successfully as anything but an early bittering hop.
Yeah Magnum is my go to for lagers and I use bravo and warrior mainly for ale though I will be trying warrior on my next lager. I have used Nugget with good success but want more bang for my buck that other provide.
Some may have, but I’ve never found a Magnum dry hopped beer that appeals to me.