Your favourite hops

[MEB]

I've had a fair bash at a few different hop vars now. Mostly sticking to a recipe that changes a little but is basically the same. Some work well some not so.

My favourite aroma hop for Pale Ales has to be without doubt Nelson Sauvin, the floral kinda grapey flavour really rings my bell. Closely followed by NZ Styrians and NZ Cascade.
The best brew i've done as a standard bitter is my Green Bullet Best. Amazingly good. The GB added a lovely complex flavour profile with a fantastic aroma of an almost blackcurrant background.
For strong beers i like Sticklebract, it seems to go well with the sweetness in my strong ales. I think the pine and citrus cuts through the sweetness quite well.

The hops i've been less impressed with are Challenger. Unless used as a steep hop. Even then i prefer others. Plus they always seem to be less bitter than the calculations and AA% suggest.
Then there's EKG. I really don't get the EKG thing at all. They don't do a thing for me, are low in AA% so you've gotta use a sack load of them too.

For bittering i've been particularly impressed with Northdown. Although getting hard to get for me i really rate these as a bittering hop. They seem to be just right at about 40IBU's. If i substitute these for another hop the replacement hop never quite gets up there.

A lot of this depends on where i get my hops from too. I find Craftbrewer hops are just about as good as i've ever experienced. Actually BETTER than the hops i get supplied from NZHops. Even though they are from the same crop and producer? How is that?

I'm quite looking forward to trying my latest batch of beers to see how the hops have done. Especially my NZ Styrian Slapper. I have another batch of hops winging their way from Ross at Craftbrewer and am holding back on brewing untill i get these.

Do you think my bias towards nz hop vars is because they are inevitably fresher as i'm in NZ? I think that could have a lot to do with it. Except for my GB Best. I was amazed at how good it was really. The grist is based on ringwood best, i used ringwood yeast but a single hop-Green Bullet. I'm definately going to brew this again. Perhaps it'll end up as Middle Earth Brewery's 1420.

Everyone has their favourite hop-whats yours and why? :)

 

[BrewStew]

I've gotta give these Northdown hops a go. I love Northern Brewer in my stouts, and some people on here have raved about the taste of them with Northdown, so yep... that'll be my next.

I'm not a fan of massive hop character. i'm a complicated malt flavour fan.

my fave hops at the moment though are Hallertauer. they a nice mellow flavour and just enough on the nose to give a pleasant floral aroma.

i'm really beginning to dislike any form of Styrian/Golding hop and their brethren. they're just way too powerful and kill off the maltyness IMO.

 

[Aleman]

SAAZ!!!!!



Absolutely classic hop, I love the spicy pepperyness I get from them . . . . Of course talking the Czech variety (Zatec Red) which are really sticky with resin . . . even though they are still low in AA . . . . NZ Saaz come close, very close, but have a much higher Alpha. Neither variety looks good from retailers in the UK :?

Bitters I'm a Fuggles Fan, with Goldings as an aroma hop . . . There is a reason why its just a classic combo . . . Not sure about modern high alpha hops . . . . . certainly Target is not a favourite, Challenger is a High alpha Goldings and good with it.

Couple of things I want to brew this year . . . . A Nelson Sauvin Blonde ale, and a blackberry Stout . . . which will use Pacific Gem as the Flavouring addition

I absolutely completely and utterly hate any form of US C hop.

The majority of brewers have gone completely overboard with hops in the past few years and subtle balanced beers with an appropriate hop contribution have been overlooked for anything that is completely in your face. . . . . . Of course it is somewhat easier to brew a massively one sided beer than it is to craft a balanced beer

 

[Kingfisher]

Saaz for me as well it's what got me interested in AG. I've had a good beer Brewskie brewed with Motueka-Saaz B in NZ around 13% AA and have some on order, the Youngs I've used seem pretty under powered at 2.2.

I've messed on with Chinook of which I have a bagful and like their harder taste but would be cautious on quantity when using again. The Cascade I used at the weekend for the first time smelled wonderful, time will tell.

 

[Oggys Bar]

Then there's EKG. I really don't get the EKG thing at all. They don't do a thing for me, are low in AA% so you've gotta use a sack load of them too.

Everyone has their favourite hop-whats yours and why? :)

Oh dear....I'm afraid mine IS EKG, I just like the subtlety of flavour in pale ales and some not so pale. My second favourite is Cascade for nice pale ales (though it has a penchant to become astringent if too much is bunged in, which I often do as I have rather a lot of it ), Bobek I also like (never actually used Styrians) and Boadacea rivals Cascade for second place (used recently in an excellent Coniston Bluebird clone) ...Which I thought I had finished but I've just found another untouched Cornie full :lol:

Sometimes though I get tired even of my favourite hop and just fancy a change.

My least favourite hop is Perle...Grassy citrussy flavour..sounds great ...Tastes *****

I may have misjudged it in a lager I did about 9 months ago (and still haven't drunk)...So I am tempted to give it another try (Massive IBU by the way about a cupful to a bucket load of EKG )

Anybody used it with success?...Got a recipe?

 

[A T]

Nelson Sauvin is the god of hops :party:

 

[J_P]

god of hops :party:

Love it!

If I wasn't already registered as J_P I'd register as God_Of_Hops :lol:

 

[Oggys Bar]

Right then Nelson Sauvin Types

I've put me order in ont interweb...and I'll shortly be receiving a couple of hundred grams of NS....Now what do I do with it

 

[Wez]

Cascades Mmmmmmmm

I even have them on a Sunday now with my dinner, gotta eat your greens!

 

[Vossy1]

:lol:

 

[Bugno]

Cascades and Amarillo. Love APAs. Not the crazy IBU ones, but the Sierra Nevada type.

 

[MEB]

Right then Nelson Sauvin Types

I've put me order in ont interweb...and I'll shortly be receiving a couple of hundred grams of NS....Now what do I do with it

Use them for aroma hops. They are a bit 'lively' for bittering in my opinion. But plenty of people have. Work best in Pale Ales and have a lovely unique aroma. As A T pointed out, the god of hops. I love them.

 

[A T]

Right then Nelson Sauvin Types

I've put me order in ont interweb...and I'll shortly be receiving a couple of hundred grams of NS....Now what do I do with it

My house ale "Fools Gold" uses them if you're brave/stupid enough to try it :lol:

 

[mysterio]

I really don't like Nelson Sauvin, the strong blackcurrant really doesnt do anything for me. I used them in my Hogmanay beer last year and I got pretty sick of it pretty fast.

Favourite hops, probably a two way tie between Styrian Goldings and East Kent Goldings. Can't get enough of either of them, absolutely devine.

Saaz for lagers is great if you can afford it. Tend to use Hallertau mostly.

 

[MEB]

I really don't like Nelson Sauvin, the strong blackcurrant really doesnt do anything for me. I used them in my Hogmanay beer last year and I got pretty sick of it pretty fast.

You HEATHEN!!!!!!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Challenger for BarnsleyBrewer, gives me the John Smith's taste!!
Is that good or Bad??

John

 

[Oggys Bar]

This is what I brewed with my Nelson Savin.


4.20 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 93.33 %
0.30 kg Wheat, Torrified (1.7 SRM) Grain 6.67 %
17.00 gm Nelson Sauvin [13.30 %] (60 min) Hops 25.7 IBU
25.00 gm Nelson Sauvin [13.30 %] (15 min) Hops 18.7 IBU
10.00 gm Nelson Sauvin [13.30 %] (0 min) Hops -
1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs So4
OG 1040

Just 20 litres for now

Kegged it yesterday. FG 1010....So 3.9%....Nice quaffing ale

I'll wait about a week and let you know if its a match for EKG

 

[Oggys Bar]

Ohh Dear...Not good I'm afraid. Beer has turned out nice and clear and bitterness is about right for a light ale....But in my opinion Nelson Sauvign is not for single hop brews..that Blackberry taste ..is well just too Blackberry'y. If you close your eyes you swear you are drinking beer with Ribena in it :sick:

I think I'm gonna have to blend it with something else.....Rum maybe :shock:

 

[steve_flack]

English: Challenger and Golding
Lagers : Hallertau or Saaz
American : Magnum/Warrior then Centennial/Cascade
Belgian : I'm quite partial to bittering with Golding then finish with Saaz.

 

[A T]

Ohh Dear...Not good I'm afraid. Beer has turned out nice and clear and bitterness is about right for a light ale....But in my opinion Nelson Sauvign is not for single hop brews..that Blackberry taste ..is well just too Blackberry'y. If you close your eyes you swear you are drinking beer with Ribena in it :sick:

I think I'm gonna have to blend it with something else.....Rum maybe :shock:

Give it another week or 2, i think you'll be surprised how it mellows out. I find it's one hop that is not suitable to be drank young.