Anybody used Styrian Wolf hops??

[gaunt_paul]

Hi all. I'm planning a pale ale of some kind and I have a pack of styrian wolf which i'm thinking of using for late additions and a dry hop. I've never used these before but the profile sounds right. Do any of you have any experience with these?

[FermentedCulture]

I'll just copy this from a review I did on HBUK:

I tried some of the slovenian hops in 1 gallon test batches but the brews weren't great, I let too much trub in and left them for too long. They produced a slight star anise flavour from the yeast with some and hazelnut with the others.

My earlier notes were smooth, pungent, orange pith, red berries, floral, jam, cream, sweet. Now this brew is also quite old but with that said I can taste: slight mango, slight pith (probably due to hopping rate), citrus (not like cardamom), orange (not like coriander), slight anise, slight violet, slight drying menthol, maybe a background of berries (not raspberry), background of thyme, toffee. I don't really pick up bananas, melon, ginger, pineapple, passionfruit like in their product description. In summary - fruity citrus upfront, mango, berries and flowers behind, finishing with slightly herby notes, menthol + thyme.

Looking forward to comparing notes!

edit, due to the headspace this brew was probably a bit oxidised also, hence the toffee flavour. I think there is a subtle backbone of thyme in this hop and a slight edge of grapefruit also.

Here's a description from a supplier/grower: http://www.alpinehops.com/ahops/Wolf.aspx

[gaunt_paul]

That's just the kind of feedback I wsa looking for, thanks very much. Very detailed as well! It sounds like these hops should fit the bill then. I'm always a little sceptical of suppliers' hop profile accounts, as they often seem to overestimate the flavours

[FermentedCulture]

No problem. My notes also say pith, but I'm not sure if that came from the hopping rates.

I have the original packs and I plan on repeating the small batches but with only dry hop additions. I've just rubbed a few pellets and then made a hop tea. The raw stuff is hoppy, orange, sweet/cream and the tea is orange (jaffa orange), slight floral with earthy undertones. It did remind me of the beer. In terms of intensity - the fruitiness is obvious but it's not in your face or enamel melting.

I look forward if you can update once you've brewed, I bought some 50g packets and they've been stored in the freezer but your crop might have different flavours and mine might be oxidised!

[gaunt_paul]

Orange and floral sounds perfect for what I have in mind. I think I'm going to bitter with magnum, then use the wolf as a whirlpool and dry hop. Hopefully I'll end up with something pale, bitter and fruity. I'll try to remember to post my results once it's in a keg, I'll be brewing this week at some point.

[Hanglow]

I used some last year and liked them but can't remember much more than that I'm a fan of slovenian hops in general