What Hops would you not brew with again?

If you have a hop related question about International Bittering Units or alpha acid, post it here!
User avatar
seymour
It's definitely Lock In Time
Posts: 6390
Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2012 6:51 pm
Location: Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA
Contact:

Re: What Hops would you not brew with again?

Post by seymour » Thu Mar 13, 2014 3:55 am

Great commentary andybiochem, thanks for sharing! Of course, this is a highly subjective matter of taste, so I disagree with you on some of those, but even so it's clear you based your impressions on actual brew tests.

Cheers!

JKaranka

Re: What Hops would you not brew with again?

Post by JKaranka » Tue Mar 18, 2014 12:10 am

I've drunk two beers with topaz and I didn't like either one of them. I find first gold a bit hit and miss too, never as fruity as I'd wish it to be and a bit 'tired' tasting. I never managed to make a good beer with archer.

I find most hops many dislike to fit somewhere: fuggles (has a weed flavour that goes well in Adnams), simcoe is great in limited amounts, etc. I'm starting to believe that those herbal / weed / skunk / resine / pine flavours are becoming quite rare with the balance tipping towards fruit / grape / floral.

User avatar
DeGarre
Lost in an Alcoholic Haze
Posts: 512
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2011 7:04 pm
Location: County Durham

Re: What Hops would you not brew with again?

Post by DeGarre » Tue Mar 25, 2014 8:14 pm

Progress. Brewed a beer last summer with it and again used it recently, both beers have a very metallic bitterness.

subfaction
Hollow Legs
Posts: 496
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2011 1:46 pm
Location: Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England

Re: What Hops would you not brew with again?

Post by subfaction » Tue Mar 25, 2014 8:43 pm

Bobek for me, kind of tainted my first 2 all grain wheat beer brews, I kept getting this subtle soapy flavour. Tracked it to the hops when I used the remainder up further down the line.

banjokat

Re: What Hops would you not brew with again?

Post by banjokat » Tue Apr 01, 2014 1:42 pm

Yep, I've never had great results with bobek. I do like cascade and I'm a fan of goldings and fuggles together, bit predictable though I suppose. My latest beer was made with willamette and goldings so I hope that works as well.

User avatar
Beer O'Clock
It's definitely Lock In Time
Posts: 6641
Joined: Sun Mar 28, 2010 5:30 am
Location: An Aussie in Oxfordshire.

Re: What Hops would you not brew with again?

Post by Beer O'Clock » Sat Apr 05, 2014 8:55 am

Agree with Bobek. Another I wouldn't use again is Willamette. I was massively underwhelmed.
I buy from The Malt Miller


There's Howard Hughes in blue suede shoes, smiling at the majorettes smoking Winston cigarettes. .

User avatar
mozza
Under the Table
Posts: 1031
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2013 7:58 pm
Location: Essex

Re: What Hops would you not brew with again?

Post by mozza » Sun Apr 06, 2014 11:51 am

I really like willamette with other hops. Gives a nice fruit flavour. But I think it needs to be used in moderation :) most of St Austell's beers have it chucked in
Cheers and gone,

Mozza

kebabman
Piss Artist
Posts: 284
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 8:36 am

Re: What Hops would you not brew with again?

Post by kebabman » Sun Apr 06, 2014 12:11 pm

Bobek,just gave a sharp lemon taste. I had to force down dozens of bottles of the vile brew. :(

Skittlebrau

Re: What Hops would you not brew with again?

Post by Skittlebrau » Tue Apr 08, 2014 2:42 pm

andybiochem wrote: Centennial - I've convinced myself this is the dominant Jaipur hop (could well be wrong)
I think that too!

Mr. Dripping

Re: What Hops would you not brew with again?

Post by Mr. Dripping » Tue Apr 08, 2014 2:50 pm

Centennial is certainly a Jaipur hop; ahtanum and chinook are the other two in there.

User avatar
Horatio
Under the Table
Posts: 1214
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2009 3:07 pm
Location: Stanford le Hope, Essex. UK

Re: What Hops would you not brew with again?

Post by Horatio » Tue Apr 08, 2014 9:09 pm

So many factors to consider on this one for me! I make an all Amarillo beer that everyone else who drinks it raves about it! I don't really like it unless it is bottled and well aged; at least three months. Same with Citra too. One pub I supply with an all Citra beer says it sells out in a single session most times; record being 4 hours, yet I don't really like it that much!

My faves are Fuggles, Saaz, First Gold, Brewer's Gold & EKG.

Really interesting thread! We all have such varied tastes.
If I had all the money I'd spent on brewing... I'd spend it on brewing!

donny70

What Hops would you not brew with again?

Post by donny70 » Tue Apr 08, 2014 9:28 pm

Sorachi Ace. Tried it a few times now and it just hasn't done anything for me.

User avatar
seymour
It's definitely Lock In Time
Posts: 6390
Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2012 6:51 pm
Location: Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA
Contact:

Re: What Hops would you not brew with again?

Post by seymour » Wed Apr 09, 2014 3:10 am

Horatio wrote:Really interesting thread! We all have such varied tastes.
I wholeheartedly agree, and as robbarwell said...
robbarwell wrote:Not really used a bad one yet if used properly..I'm struggling with my Brewers gold at the moment though
I agree with that, too, though I'm sure there might be some truly bad ones. Even so, some of the villianous hops listed here are my favourites for very specific things. For instance, I love Progress when combined with Challenger in the middle flavour addition. I love Mosaic for dry hopping, but when used in the boil those same insane resins produce what some people consider unpleasant bitterness and flavour (same goes for Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus), I really really enjoy Sorachi Ace when it gets to run the show like in a simple grainbill IPA or saison, but if it has to compete with any caramelized malt complexity at all, it doesn't blend well...etc, etc, etc...I could go on, as I'm sure you can too.
Horatio wrote:My faves are Fuggles, Saaz, First Gold, Brewer's Gold & EKG...
On that note: I can relate to all those suggestions except Brewer's Gold. Not that it's a bad hop, per se, but I often find it kinda harsh compared to cleaner UK hops. How exactly do you use it Horatio?


A UK hop I'm not personally in a rush to use: Phoenix. I keep tasting it in lots of stuff lately. Again, it's not horrible...it ticks most of the boxes for a dual-purpose English-style hop...smoke 'em if you got 'em...but I find Phoenix somewhat harsh and coarse, not nearly as harmonious as say: Challenger, First Gold, Northern Brewer, etc...

User avatar
Horatio
Under the Table
Posts: 1214
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2009 3:07 pm
Location: Stanford le Hope, Essex. UK

Re: What Hops would you not brew with again?

Post by Horatio » Wed Apr 09, 2014 8:02 am

seymour wrote:
Horatio wrote:My faves are Fuggles, Saaz, First Gold, Brewer's Gold & EKG...
On that note: I can relate to all those suggestions except Brewer's Gold. Not that it's a bad hop, per se, but I often find it kinda harsh compared to cleaner UK hops. How exactly do you use it Horatio?


A UK hop I'm not personally in a rush to use: Phoenix. I keep tasting it in lots of stuff lately. Again, it's not horrible...it ticks most of the boxes for a dual-purpose English-style hop...smoke 'em if you got 'em...but I find Phoenix somewhat harsh and coarse, not nearly as harmonious as say: Challenger, First Gold, Northern Brewer, etc...
I like to mix Brewers Gold with Saaz. One of my beers has an equal mix of them at the start and end of the boil with no middle additions. It's very light beer at 4.2%. I did try an all Brewers Gold beer with everything added at the end (similar to crouch vale) but wasn't too keen on that as it was a little overpowering on flavour and aroma!
If I had all the money I'd spent on brewing... I'd spend it on brewing!

robbarwell
Hollow Legs
Posts: 325
Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2010 5:50 pm

Re: What Hops would you not brew with again?

Post by robbarwell » Tue Apr 15, 2014 8:15 am

I have just brewed a single hopped brewers gold..Its lovely..However the trick is to forget the first additions..bung em in late in the boil and use a lot of them.
Ive previously blended them with cascade..it smelled of cat piss...tried to blend with Goldings..not good at all, I have some Saaz so that could be interesting, however, I will stick to Brewers Gold on its own.

I am not a fan of Mosaic really, I think better hops are available

Post Reply