Simcoe substitutes

My LHBS doesn’t carry Simcoe hops. When a recipe calls for Simcoe at 0 minutes what would be a decent substitute? I was thinking of using Columbus.

Certainly nothing wrong with columbus, one of my favorite hops. But there is not real sub for simcoe.

+1

http://www.hopunion.com/hopunion-variety-databook.pdf

+2

Maybe Galaxy if you can get it from Austrailia, but be prepared to pay on arm and a leg for it.  I did find some Simcoe from the craftbrewer.au website years ago during the first hop shortage, but as above, very expensive!

IMO, a good substitue for Simcoe would be cat pee. :wink:

If I’m subbing for Simcoe I use something like Cascade/Centennial and consider it an improvement (I just don’t like Simcoe).  Summit might be a decent sub but I haven’t used it yet.  I have ~10 oz whole leaf Simcoe I doubt I’ll ever use because I dislike it so.

Let me PM you my address . . .

I’m sure you can find someone locally to take them off your hands, Simcoe is a great flavor/aroma hop.

Ha!  The guy that brews at Shipyard Emporium (Ron Raike) said he would do a swap but I just haven’t made it over there…and I do need some English hops.  Lots of folks love them but I just can’t get past the cat.

So Citra might be a decent substitute? I’ve heard it resembles cat urine to some people.

no. they are nothing alike. simcoe is piney and citra is mango fruit tea. love simcoe. not crazy about citra.

its true, nothing is quite like the original simcoe.

I think Chinook, while not a true sub, would work well though - you don’t get the tropical fruitiness, but the pine is very similar.

I might be buying a lot of Chinook at next harvest, expecting that I won’t be able to buy Simcoe  :cry:

This kinda got me thinking … maybe … maybe you could sub in something like 70% chinook and %30 citra and get something kinda similar. Would be worth a shot, assuming you can get Citra. Kinda hard to find no as well.

wow.  after I posted that, i started thinking Chinook + Citra might do the trick since you get the pine from the former and tropical from the latter.

great minds drink alike…

Hey. It’s definitely worth a shot. Thanks!

Just glad I beat you to the post!  :stuck_out_tongue: I may have to try it sometime to see how close you can get.

Keith, did you ever try this combo to try and get at Simcoe?

I ordered some Simcoe and Amarillo pellets from Midwest Supplies last week and got them the other day.  $8.90 shipping but I stocked up.

Brew365 recommends northern brewer as a simcoe sub with a ?..I have never used northern brewer so cant testify to the accuracy of this statement

http://www.brew365.com/hop_substitution_chart.php

I think that question mark is there for good reason. I wouldn’t sub Northern Brewer for Simcoe. That won’t even get you close.

I have heard of a blend of 3 parts Columbus, 2 parts Centennial, and 1 part Chinook may get you reasonably close.  But, I have not tried it.

I have also heard Falconers Flight is a good sub as well.

Im a bit ignorant as to why Simcoe’s in particular always seem to be so hard to find. Can anyone shed some light? Is the variety weather temperamental or something?