I heard this talk of Drew and his Michigan Chinook. I have some South Dakota Chinook, should I expect anything as magical? [emoji28]
I do not recall the source, but I recall hearing that Chinook is highly variable depending on terroir, so you very well might be in for a treat! Please keep me posted as to your results.
I brewed with some central california chinook hops from golden state hops. They were herbal and pleasant with very little of the resinous quality that I’ve gotten from PNW chinooks. Bear in mind these were first year hops, so I imagine that played a large part in it.
All hops are highly variable depending on location. Cascade grown in NZ is so different they had to change the name so they wouldn’t confuse people. And Cascade grown in Argentina is completely different than it is here.
Same with New Zealand saaz as well, right?
I would assume so, although I don’t have experience with it.
I worked at an all organic homebrew shop way back in the day and we were among the first to get some of the new zealand varieties that are so popular now. They began growing hops in NZ, among other reasons, because the typical pests didnt exist there. I remember the new zealand saaz being pretty pungent and having a strong lime character. They eventually changed the name to Motueka.
Motueka is a triploid cross between Saaz and two NZ varieties. It was originally sold as Saaz B, but it wasn’t simply a Saaz grown in NZ. That awesome lime zest character is probably coming from the two NZ parents as much as from the terroir.
Just kegged my take on Four Wives. I used Dr Rudi, Kazbek, and Motueka. I’m hoping that lime zest flavor comes thru.
My Vermont Chinooks do have a pineapple aroma and are terrific. Perhaps someone with more resources than I have should do the experiment- purchase Chinooks from as many growing locations as possible and do the sensory analysis.
It’s been a while since I’ve done a round of single-hop brews. I’m still easing back in to brewing after taking a few years off, but a “terroir test” is definitely on my radar after this discussion.
I have always felt tha Motueka was a fairlyt good substiutute for Citra, when I couldn’t get it.
The big difference to be aware of is that Citra has about 4x the oil content of Motueka. As much as I love the flavor I get out of Motueka, it can get overpowered in a blend and it’s not quite potent enough to carry an IPA on it’s own (at least the kind of IPA’s I brew ;D ). It works great in something like a dry-hopped pale lager, blond ale, APA, etc.
That’s what I’m counting on. I did the 2 oz 90 hop stand and now the beer is cold clearing so I can dry hop with 2 oz.
The Chinook I homegrow in Australia is significantly different to the commercial US Chinook we buy here.