44 replies to this topic

[3rd party JKor]

I've had beer served through a Randall, and a single pass seemed to add a lot of hop aroma. I believe that flowing the beer past the hops (as opposed to letting the beer sit unmoving on the hops) makes a huge difference in the hop compound extraction.

Up until my last batch I've never felt I got the benefit that I should have. This time I changed two things, I didn't use a hop bag and, since the beer was in a corny, every other day I gave the keg a vigorous shake. I think mixing everything up on a regular basis made a huge difference. The hop aroma this time around was awesome.

[Genesee Ted]

High Alpha Hops tend to not have as much aroma and flavor, FWIU.I like Centennial as a bittering hop, combined with a Cascade-Amarillo combo for flavor and aroma in my IPAs.

Are Centennial and Amarillo not considered high alpha? I guess not super high. I understand that alphas aren't the end all be all of hop character, but I see a lot of commercial stuff with hop varieties I have used, similar combos, amounts, etc. They still seem to get better character.

[MtnBrewer]

I wouldn't say that high alpha hops don't have as much aroma as low alpha hops (such as nobles). What I would say is that the aroma you get from low alpha hops tends to be smoother, more refined and more delicate. Certainly there are some high alpha varieties like Columbus, Amarillo and Chinook that have TONS of aroma. The question is whether you like that aroma or not and whether it's appropriate for the beer you have in mind. For an in-your-face American IPA those are the aromas that you're usually looking for. If your beer needs a more subtle aroma, maybe a bitter or some type of lager, then generally you're better off with a more mellow variety such as Goldings, some type of noble hops or a derivative thereof.

[MolBasser]

I wouldn't say that high alpha hops don't have as much aroma as low alpha hops (such as nobles). What I would say is that the aroma you get from low alpha hops tends to be smoother, more refined and more delicate. Certainly there are some high alpha varieties like Columbus, Amarillo and Chinook that have TONS of aroma. The question is whether you like that aroma or not and whether it's appropriate for the beer you have in mind. For an in-your-face American IPA those are the aromas that you're usually looking for. If your beer needs a more subtle aroma, maybe a bitter or some type of lager, then generally you're better off with a more mellow variety such as Goldings, some type of noble hops or a derivative thereof.

This.Citra are pretty high alpha (~9%) and have great aroma (well if you like grapefruit/catty).MolBasser

[ncbeerbrewer]

This.Citra are pretty high alpha (~9%) and have great aroma (well if you like grapefruit/catty).MolBasser

That is definitely so. Brewed a Pale Ale about 5 times now with 12% Citras and the aroma is amazing. Great Hop!!