Thoughts on which Bittering Hop to Grow

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Meatymc
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Thoughts on which Bittering Hop to Grow

Post by Meatymc » Wed Apr 25, 2018 11:40 am

I now have 6 varieties growing away - Cascade, First Gold (Prima Donna), Fuggles, Northdown, Santiam and Styrian Goldings. Northdown and First Gold were my first purchases based on advice from the supplier for where I live - the others have been pressies.

Looking at their general profiles - and appreciating it's not strictly accurate to lump any particular hop into one specific category, it seems I have 3 dual types and 3 aroma types but no out-and-out bittering hop.

Logically I should be looking for more than one additional variety but I'm frankly running out of places to grow them so need to restrict it to just the one.

I prefer hoppy brews and mainly brew IPA's but also bitters and the occassional stout and porters.

Done a fair bit of research and Magnum seems to be a popular choice. Any thoughts?

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scuppeteer
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Re: Thoughts on which Bittering Hop to Grow

Post by scuppeteer » Wed Apr 25, 2018 9:11 pm

To be honest First Gold and Northdown are great bittering hops. Respectively I use them in my IPA, Wheat Beer and Session Bitter. But I don't go for higher alpha hops for bittering as they can impart harsh flavours, particularly as I only use English hops.
Magnum is a very neutral flavour hop so a good choice. Target or Admiral work well, particularly Admiral as it can be as high as 16%AA some years.
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Can't be arsed to keep changing this bit, so, drinking some beer and wanting to brew many more!

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scuppeteer
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Re: Thoughts on which Bittering Hop to Grow

Post by scuppeteer » Wed Apr 25, 2018 9:13 pm

To be honest First Gold and Northdown are great bittering hops. Respectively I use them in my IPA, Wheat Beer and Session Bitter. But I don't go for higher alpha hops for bittering as they can impart harsh flavours, particularly as I only use English hops.
Magnum is a very neutral flavour hop so a good choice. Target or Admiral work well, particularly Admiral as it can be as high as 16%AA some years.
Dave Berry


Can't be arsed to keep changing this bit, so, drinking some beer and wanting to brew many more!

Sir, you are drunk! Yes madam, and you are ugly, but in the morning I shall be sober! - WSC

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scuppeteer
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Re: Thoughts on which Bittering Hop to Grow

Post by scuppeteer » Wed Apr 25, 2018 9:16 pm

Sorry, stupid computer!
Dave Berry


Can't be arsed to keep changing this bit, so, drinking some beer and wanting to brew many more!

Sir, you are drunk! Yes madam, and you are ugly, but in the morning I shall be sober! - WSC

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Bad 'Ed
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Re: Thoughts on which Bittering Hop to Grow

Post by Bad 'Ed » Thu Apr 26, 2018 7:31 am

Do all hops change their AA% at a similar rate? I assume more sun one year than the last would result in different AA%. The volatility of this would worry me for a hop I was using for bittering, so I'd go for something that is consistent bitterness year on year.
Never enough time...

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Meatymc
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Re: Thoughts on which Bittering Hop to Grow

Post by Meatymc » Thu Apr 26, 2018 10:56 am

The AA % does vary year-on-year depending on a number of factors (waether, location, soil etc) hence all the technical data you'll find show a potential range for each variety. As mine are home grown I've no idea what the AA % is so I originally erred on the side of caution and assumed I was at the bottom of each range - subsequently simply tweaked based on the end result.

I've done enough brews since last September to know how much to use depending on style etc but it looks as though I'm going to run out before the harvest this year. Duplicating a 2017/8 season brew with the new harvest will no doubt have a slightly different end result but I should be able to adjust quantities almost immediately based on past experience.

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