48 replies to this topic

[Big Nake]

I am curious, you do not like Mosaic but do you like Citra or Simcoe.  I am glad I am not one of the ones that gets the cat pee!

I really like Citra (tropical fruit, peach, etc), Simcoe (Pine) and Amarillo (Citrus/Grapefruit) and I use those a lot. I use Mosaic in a couple of beers and got something very weird and I couldn't put my finger on it. I saw someone mentioned "cat-pee" and I was all YES! OMG I'M DRINKING CAT PEE!

Late last year I made a beer with some bittering hop (Magnum, Nugget, Horizon, not sure) and then something like 3-4 ounces of Citra in the boil and another 3 ounces as a dry hop. That beer is on tap right now and it's really nice in the flavor and aroma department. I usually mix in some Amarillo but I noticed I had a boatload of Citra so I went all-Citra-all-the-time. Yum.

[HVB]

I really like Citra (tropical fruit, peach, etc), Simcoe (Pine) and Amarillo (Citrus/Grapefruit) and I use those a lot. I use Mosaic in a couple of beers and got something very weird and I couldn't put my finger on it. I saw someone mentioned "cat-pee" and I was all YES! OMG I'M DRINKING CAT PEE!

Late last year I made a beer with some bittering hop (Magnum, Nugget, Horizon, not sure) and then something like 3-4 ounces of Citra in the boil and another 3 ounces as a dry hop. That beer is on tap right now and it's really nice in the flavor and aroma department. I usually mix in some Amarillo but I noticed I had a boatload of Citra so I went all-Citra-all-the-time. Yum.

Amarillo - don't get me going

[Big Nake]

Amarillo - don't get me going

What? Really?

When I was a new brewer I wanted to stay away from these overly fruity hops. I remember some other brewers using them in beers and I told them that their beers tasted like Fruity Pebbles... mainly because I liked clean-hop beers. I still like clean-hop beers but I gradually got into these hops and I enjoy them in a beer. Also, my wife is ALL ABOUT beers with Amarillo & Citra and I need to keep her happy so one tap ALWAYS has a beer on it that is at the very least dry hopped with something even if it's clean but ordinarily it's a Citra and/or Amarillo beer. I have an Amber Ale on tap now that has a bunch of Mt. Hood, Santiam, etc. and it was dry hopped with Santiam too (I think) so it's not fruity... it's clean but she still likes it.

[HVB]

What? Really?

When I was a new brewer I wanted to stay away from these overly fruity hops. I remember some other brewers using them in beers and I told them that their beers tasted like Fruity Pebbles... mainly because I liked clean-hop beers. I still like clean-hop beers but I gradually got into these hops and I enjoy them in a beer. Also, my wife is ALL ABOUT beers with Amarillo & Citra and I need to keep her happy so one tap ALWAYS has a beer on it that is at the very least dry hopped with something even if it's clean but ordinarily it's a Citra and/or Amarillo beer. I have an Amber Ale on tap now that has a bunch of Mt. Hood, Santiam, etc. and it was dry hopped with Santiam too (I think) so it's not fruity... it's clean but she still likes it.

In reality I love Amarillo but I think I have a bad batch.  I have made 2 beer recently that both had a large portion of Amarillo and there is an odd flavor.  It is earthy, grassy, bitter and just well funky.  Neither of these beers had odd fermentations or any other hops in common.  I have to try and make a hop tea and see if I can recreate the flavor.  Amarillo and Simcoe was a go to for me before this. 

[Big Nake]

Hmm. I had that issue in the past with some Tettnanger and/or Hallertau that had some sort of dirty-gym-sock or "my dog's paws" kind of character. You don't always know what's going to happen just by sniffing the pellets when you open the bag. There are times when I open a bag of pellets and they look just fine and the beer comes out just fine but the smell is along that "dirty feet" aroma. I remember brewing with a bud of mine (he was not a brewer) and I opened a bag of something (Hallertau maybe) and let him smell them before I put it into the boil. He was like, "OH MY GOD, WHAT!?" and covered his nose. Then he smelled that "low-tide" smell of dropping a whirfloc tablet into the boil and I thought he was going to puke. 6 weeks later he was at my house drinking the beer and couldn't believe it was the same brew.

[djinkc]

DJ... are they "clean bittering"?

 

It's been too long since I've used them but I don't think you'll get clean bittering from them.

[Big Nake]

It's been too long since I've used them but I don't think you'll get clean bittering from them.

Honestly, that "hippie armpit" comment may have scared me away from these hops. I just can't seem to shake that image and every sip of that beer is going to sting like a mad hornet. I have Nugget, Magnum, Horizon, Columbus, German Merkur and more Magnum on the way. I'm not risking it.

[Steve Urquell]

Honestly, that "hippie armpit" comment may have scared me away from these hops. I just can't seem to shake that image and every sip of that beer is going to sting like a mad hornet. I have Nugget, Magnum, Horizon, Columbus, German Merkur and more Magnum on the way. I'm not risking it.

The beer I bittered with it was a FWH'ed with Summit only American light lager. It didn't come thru in the finished beer and there was nothing to hide behind.(I may be disremembering this one. Not certain if I bittered this one with CTZ or Summit) 1.031-1.001. It's why I don't believe FWHing adds flavor.

Edited by chils, 16 January 2016 - 09:51 AM.

[Steve Urquell]

Went thru my recipes and I'm pretty sure that one was FWH bittered with Summit. I get lazy and leave the recipe as is and change the AA of the hops to match whatever hops I have on hand. I had CTZ in the recipe but the AA was higher than the CTZ I was using.

[denny]

We have a large scale experiment on this coming up on the podcast.  Hopefully more conclusive results than when I did it by myself.,

It's why I don't believe FWHing adds flavor.

[Brauer]

In reality I love Amarillo but I think I have a bad batch.  I have made 2 beer recently that both had a large portion of Amarillo and there is an odd flavor.  It is earthy, grassy, bitter and just well funky.  Neither of these beers had odd fermentations or any other hops in common.  I have to try and make a hop tea and see if I can recreate the flavor.  Amarillo and Simcoe was a go to for me before this. 

There have been some bad crops of Amarillo that tasted of petroleum. Perhaps you got one of those. 

 

I suspect that the reputation that Summit has is the same sort of problem. That's part of the problem with Simcoe; some crops are particularly bad.

[Big Nake]

Chils... I remember that pic and wondered what the grain bill was. That may be one of THE most pale beers I have ever seen. Pilsner malt with corn or rice? I see that it was only 1.031 so it looks like you used less grain too.

Tell you what... I'll open these hops on brewday and take a big whiff. I only need about .3 ounces and there will be 6 more ounces of relatively assertive hops in the beer so it's very possible that it will be just fine. But... this is the type of beer I would make for my wife and she comes up with some weird perceptions... This tastes like soap to me. This one is really banana-y. This one tastes like meat! Really? I can see it now... This one tastes like a hippie's armpit!     If I don't like what I get on that initial whiff, I'll switch it up and use the same AAU amount of something else.

[Steve Urquell]

Chils... I remember that pic and wondered what the grain bill was. That may be one of THE most pale beers I have ever seen. Pilsner malt with corn or rice? I see that it was only 1.031 so it looks like you used less grain too.

78% Rahr pils
13% Argo corn starch
6.5% instant rice
2.5% acid malt

12 IBUs Hippy Armpit FWH

W34/70 yeast

Don't remember the mash schedule

Edited by chils, 16 January 2016 - 11:44 AM.

[Brauer]

C... this is the type of beer I would make for my wife and she comes up with some weird perceptions... This tastes like soap to me. This one is really banana-y. This one tastes like meat! Really? 

She is using some pretty good descriptors of common brewing off-flavors. 

[3rd party JKor]

The beer I bittered with it was a FWH'ed with Summit only American light lager. It didn't come thru in the finished beer and there was nothing to hide behind.(I may be disremembering this one. Not certain if I bittered this one with CTZ or Summit) 1.031-1.001. It's why I don't believe FWHing adds flavor.

 

 

You brewed Bud Light!  WHY???!!!!!

 

She is using some pretty good descriptors of common brewing off-flavors. 

 

 

+1

 

IME women have better palates.  Whenever I give my beers to women for evaluation I get interesting and useful feedback.

[Steve Urquell]

You brewed Bud Light!  WHY???!!!!!
 

For my Miller Lite swilling dad and also just to see if I could. It was actually quite a bit lighter colored than ML. Next time I'll use all rice for adjunct. Forgot to add, I added 1/2tsp AE to the primary to dry it out---1.001FG.

[matt6150]

Chils... I remember that pic and wondered what the grain bill was. That may be one of THE most pale beers I have ever seen. Pilsner malt with corn or rice? I see that it was only 1.031 so it looks like you used less grain too.

Tell you what... I'll open these hops on brewday and take a big whiff. I only need about .3 ounces and there will be 6 more ounces of relatively assertive hops in the beer so it's very possible that it will be just fine. But... this is the type of beer I would make for my wife and she comes up with some weird perceptions... This tastes like soap to me. This one is really banana-y. This one tastes like meat! Really? I can see it now... This one tastes like a hippie's armpit! If I don't like what I get on that initial whiff, I'll switch it up and use the same AAU amount of something else.

I had a buddy tell me that one of my beers tasted like Vienna sausage once.

[djinkc]

There have been some bad crops of Amarillo that tasted of petroleum. Perhaps you got one of those. 

 

 

 When was that?  I've had some disappointing beers with Amarillo and I used to love it.  I still have several unopened sealed bags of pellets from a few years back that have been kept way below zero.  A couple days ago I was considering just dumping them.

[HVB]

When was that? I've had some disappointing beers with Amarillo and I used to love it. I still have several unopened sealed bags of pellets from a few years back that have been kept way below zero. A couple days ago I was considering just dumping them.

2013 was one. I just opened and smelled 3 different years worth and the ones I have been using are different. I have them listed as 2014 but I wonder if they are really 2013. I plan to do simple blonde with one of the good smelling packages and hop they are good.

[Brauer]

 When was that?  I've had some disappointing beers with Amarillo and I used to love it.  I still have several unopened sealed bags of pellets from a few years back that have been kept way below zero.  A couple days ago I was considering just dumping them.

 

 

2013 was one. I just opened and smelled 3 different years worth and the ones I have been using are different. I have them listed as 2014 but I wonder if they are really 2013. I plan to do simple blonde with one of the good smelling packages and hop they are good.

2013 sounds about right, but it seems to have been an ongoing problem, perhaps with particular growers, as they tried to scale up to meet demand.