Tell me about this hop. I am a (mostly) organic brewer and this is the first year I have seen organic simcoe available so I snapped 6 oz up.
I’ve got two brewdays coming up one is my holiday beer for this years gifts the other is my annual barleywine to celebrate my sons birth (this will be the third year).
I also grabbed some magnum and cascade and have some liberty, sterling, and one other that slips my mind at the moment although I know it’s an American variant of a noble hop.
I know this hop has a reputation for being catty and I don’t mind a little dankness I don’t want an overwhelming preponderance of it. Are there tricks and tips for best utilizing this hop in order to minimize that contribution?
I think it is clean as a bittering addition. I also love it for flavor and aroma. Many people find it catty, but I just don’t get that. I think I get more pine and citrus and it works well with Amarillo. It seems to be one of those hops that people either love or hate. I think it would be great with some of those other hops in a Barleywine.
If you use this hop for just bittering, you will have your brewers card taken away. This hop was born to be used in the aroma and flavor additions. It has a wonderful piney, resinous flavor that is synonymous with the West Coast DIPAs. I love to pair this hop with Amarillo. Probably my most favorite hop combo ever.
Agreed, Amarillo and Simcoe is a great combo - hard to beat. But it blends really well with most any American hop. One of my favorite blends is Amarillo/Centennial/Simcoe/Columbus, but I’ve used it as well with Cascade, Motueka, Galaxy, Chinook, and Ahtanum, to name a few. Great hop.
[quote]You have to use it and see for yourself. I like it, my wife does not.
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+1
I think it is about personal smell/flavor. And I really do believe the ability to detect cattiness and dankness is genetic to some degree. For me, simcoe is all cat-pee and I will avoid using it. In fact, I know of award-winning commercial beers that generously use Simcoe and I nearly gag when smelling/tasting, while the person next to me is in hop euphoria. I am not arguing with those that love the aroma and flavor. I’m sure that’s what they experience. So, long story short, use your own judgement. And there are a lot of commercial beers to help with Simcoe research
Its the backbone of my IPA, pairs well with any C. With mosaic I get fresh mango/grapefruit.
Heavy Simcoe can be dank young but develops a nice citrus over time
I think it is about personal smell/flavor. And I really do believe the ability to detect cattiness and dankness is genetic to some degree. For me, simcoe is all cat-pee and I will avoid using it. In fact, I know of award-winning commercial beers that generously use Simcoe and I nearly gag when smelling/tasting, while the person next to me is in hop euphoria. I am not arguing with those that love the aroma and flavor. I’m sure that’s what they experience. So, long story short, use your own judgement. And there are a lot of commercial beers to help with Simcoe research
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I agree with the cattiness comments. It smells like a dirty liter box to me…but it is popular nonetheless. I think if you are careful with it and pair it well with some other hops, specifically amarillo and citra as other have said, it can be drinkable. I think it a personal preference. Try it out and see what you think.
Since you only have 6 oz I would find some beers known to have heavy simcoe and try them to see if you like it. Unless your holiday beer is hoppy like Celebration Ale, I would go with them for the American barleywine. If you make an English barleywine I would skip it for both of those beers and make a big IPA or something. Simcoe screams American to me, so I would only use them for something where you want that character.
I think it is about personal smell/flavor. And I really do believe the ability to detect cattiness and dankness is genetic to some degree. For me, simcoe is all cat-pee and I will avoid using it. In fact, I know of award-winning commercial beers that generously use Simcoe and I nearly gag when smelling/tasting, while the person next to me is in hop euphoria. I am not arguing with those that love the aroma and flavor. I’m sure that’s what they experience. So, long story short, use your own judgement. And there are a lot of commercial beers to help with Simcoe research
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We all have different thresholds for 4MMP, which is the cat pee compound. Many women are sensitive to it. I generally get pine and citrus, but if it is really skanky, I see what the wife is objecting to. Full disclaimer, I clean the cat boxes in our house.
Simcoe spells IPA to me. I don’t find it “catty”… In fact I’m still trying to figure out what the hell that means lol. I find it straight piny. I like to describe it as chinook on steroids. I like it single hopped, but I think it pairs best with centennial from what I’ve paired it with. I have not tried it with citra but I have Amarillo. Unlike most people, I’m not huge on that combo. I find the flavors clash. Try it for yourself, I think you’ll like it!
We all have different thresholds for 4MMP, which is the cat pee compound. Many women are sensitive to it. I generally get pine and citrus, but if it is really skanky, I see what the wife is objecting to. Full disclaimer, I clean the cat boxes in our house.
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So where in the brewing process is the 4MMP most pronounced? Long boils? Whirlpooling?, Dry hop? Does hop terroir affect this? What is the flash point? I like this hop when the cat pee is VERY subdued, so there has to be a way around it.
So where in the brewing process is the 4MMP most pronounced? Long boils? Whirlpooling?, Dry hop? Does hop terroir affect this? What is the flash point? I like this hop when the cat pee is VERY subdued, so there has to be a way around it.
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I believe it is just a compound this hop has more of than others. The only thing I can think of that might eliminate it would be dry hopping since in won’t be in the boil but maybe not. What do you think Jeff?
I agree with the cattiness comments. It smells like a dirty liter box to me…but it is popular nonetheless. I think if you are careful with it and pair it well with some other hops, specifically amarillo and citra as other have said, it can be drinkable. I think it a personal preference. Try it out and see what you think.
Cheers!
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It smells like Ammonia? You have a f*cked up sense of smell!
I like Simcoe, I don’t get the whole cat pee thing people describe…are you sticking your nose in your cat’s litter box after he/she goes? Simcoe doesn’t burn the nostrils like cleaning my cat’s litter box does.
I get more of a pine/citrus thing. It’s definitely a unique hop and it is strange that so many people either love it or hate it. There doesn’t seem to be much of a gray area.
But Simcoe definitely goes well with either Chinook or Amarillo, or both. One of my favorite hop combos I use in my black IPA is Cascade, Chinook, Simcoe. It’s nice. Also the same combo as New Belgium’s Ranger, come to find out. That’s a solid IPA.
As posted earlier I wonder if there could be a genetic thing, like how some people perceive the smell and taste of cilantro. I love it (and Simcoe), but some people perceive cilantro as a disgusting plastic aroma and flavor. Simcoe is definitely polarizing like that.
Chalk me up as one who loves Simcoe and has never gotten “cattyness”
Seems like some of the discussion I have seen about Summit which can have any onion or garlic flavor/aroma. I enjoy most beers that I have tried which use Summit. I don’t know much about Summit but doesn’t the adverse characteristics have have something to do with how/when it is harvested? Could it be something similar for Simcoe?
Could it be a “terroir” kinda thing, like the onion/garlic perception of Summit? I have gotten batches of Summit where that was overwhelming and others where it was non existent. The explanation I have been given was that it depends on growth conditions. Could it be the same kind of thing with Simcoe?
