goodbye Fuggle it was nice knowing you

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Clibit
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Re: goodbye Fuggle it was nice knowing you

Post by Clibit » Wed May 27, 2015 11:10 pm

Thanks for the detailed response. Really interesting and helpful. I tried the Progress Challenger combo in an English bitter and really liked it. I seem to prefer Progress to Fuggles myself, based on insufficient tastings of Progress. And a lot of it seems to be down to hop combos, and the beer style, and just finding things that work together well, yeast and grain too, obviously.

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jmc
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Re: goodbye Fuggle it was nice knowing you

Post by jmc » Mon Jun 22, 2015 12:54 pm

seymour wrote:
Clibit wrote:Pretty unique? What does that mean? ;-)

So Keyworth are very similar to Fuggles? Quite similar? A close replacement?
Well, taste is very subjective. Other members will disagree with my following analysis, and their impressions will be as valid as mine, so take it or leave it. But to me, Fuggles hops exhibit those timeless English traits: earthy, a little flowery, a little woodsy, with some herbal tea notes, light honey, just a hint of black pepper spice and healthy leaf compost essence. This overly poetic summary will strike some as ridiculous, but stay with me: perfume of our planet. The distilled essence of The Garden of England. Right? Rolling your eyes yet? Compared to other hops, Fuggles is smooth, well-balanced, almost "noble". Compared to Goldings or newer hops, Fuggles is not especially fruity, not especially citrusy, not especially resiny.

Progress hops strike me as still recognizably English, possessing much of that Fuggly perfume I just described, definitely spicier, fruitier, with stronger whiffs of cedar wood or pine resin. Not to the woodsy/weedy extent of Bramling Cross or Marynka, but heading in that direction. Not as mustardy as Flyer, but sometimes a whiff. Northern Brewer is cleaner and cool mintier, but reminds me a little of Progress in other ways. Not as resiny as Phoenix or Pilgrim, but getting there. Progress is not as smooth as Fuggles but vastly smoother than Target, Bullion, or even Northdown, for instance. I'm struggling to find a perfect comparison for Progress hops, because like I said, I find them very unique. Still English, but uniquely English.

I've said it before: I think a Challenger/Progress combo produces a sorta Super-Goldings/Super-Fuggles effect.

Yes, I think Keyworth hops are a much closer replacement for Fuggles. I know, I know…I'm just an arrogant American, but I guzzle every English beer I can get my hands on, and my favourite local brewery The Civil Life uses copious amounts of fresh, climate-controlled, English-grown Fuggles, whose beers I critique at every stage in the process, so I'm pretty sure my taste buds are attuned. There are actually two distinct varieties: Keyworth Early-Season and a Keyworth Mid-Season. I've brewed several beers with Keyworth Mid, which seem very Fuggly to me. I made the beer and knew what went in, but I can honestly say if handed the beer blind, I would've said Fuggles. In my recent Festival Mild, I used Keyworth Mid and East Kent Goldings to ≈30 IBU and I swear it smells and tastes exactly like a classic Fuggles and Goldings brew. I'm as sad as you about Fuggles' agronomic problems, REALLY, but Keyworth Mid is at least something to try cheating into recipes, if need be.

A quick aside: Flyer/Keyworth Mid is a killer combo for Foreign Extra Stout…knocks the socks off the ol' Target/Northern Brewer combo.

Sorry for the thread hijack.
Just seen your excellent post Seymour. Really helpful =D> =D>
Especially to those of us with a poor sense of smell :oops:

I've got some Progress doing OK this year (see pic below from 2 weeks ago), but sounds like I need to find space for a Fuggle somewhere.
Maybe the homebrew community can keep the variety going. [-o<
Image

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