Bittering hops, how much does variety matter?

[Jeltz]

As a total novice at AG my understanding is that the late hops i.e. those added within last 15 minutes of the boil are the ones which add aroma and flavour, while the start of boil hops give the bitterness.

So how much does the variety of bittering hop affect the overall flavour of the beer? I know that different ones have different alpha acid percentages but assuming the relevant quantity is used to provide the same number of IBUs will there be a marked difference using one hop rather than another?

 

[boozy_shoes]

I often ponder this one myself, but from my current understanding and a rule I use for myself it's best to use hops that are from the same country as the style of beer you are making. For smoked beers and hefeweizen i try to use saaz, halletau etc. english ales challenger, goldings and so on. I do however sometimes use odds and ends of packs up (last 5-10g) in the bittering purely for economical reasons.

 

[zgoda]

Saaz is from Czech rep., shouldn't fit hefe as Czechs don't consider hefe (and ales, to be precise) a beer at all (svrchni kvaseni ne je pivo).

But it's used by Germans anyway.

 

[BigYin]

As a total novice at AG my understanding is that the late hops i.e. those added within last 15 minutes of the boil are the ones which add aroma and flavour, while the start of boil hops give the bitterness.

So how much does the variety of bittering hop affect the overall flavour of the beer? I know that different ones have different alpha acid percentages but assuming the relevant quantity is used to provide the same number of IBUs will there be a marked difference using one hop rather than another?

This is actually a damned good question - one that I'd like to know about too - especially as if it didn't make hellish much difference, we could maybe use alternative, cheaper bittering hops to drive costs down :hmm:

 

[johnnyboy1965]

I dont think it really does matter which variety of hops you use for bittering (open for debate on this though). I know commercial breweries use high A/A hops for economical reasons.. I tend to use Target as they give me a nice bittering taste. I back this up with a dual purpose hop, mid boil and finish with a noble hop.

 

[graysalchemy]

Some of the higher AA bittering hops like target are obviously used by commercial breweries cor economic reasons. I Use target in my house bitter and it is fine but I used it once in a pale ale and it was a bit of a thug with regards to bitterness but mellowed nicely after 6 months. :thumb:

 

[RobWalker]

Couldn't disagree more johnnyboy...

Use Anything with a relatively low alpha and the taste will transfer over into the finished beer...even high alphas like simcoe and Chinook are gonna taste. Then on the other hand, if yous use a clean bitter hop like northern brewer, mt hood, you won't get the flavour you want for an English ale....

Clean is clean, fuggles taste like fuggles, saaz taste like saaz, nelson sauvin taste like...you get the idea. You may be tempted to buy some mega high alphas for cheap bittering, but don't forget that clean is a flavour too

 

[johnnyboy1965]

I find the "clean" taste I think you are refering to, comes from the yeast used not the hops. All yeasts have different characteristics, some let the hops come through, others the malts.
I think the question we need to ask is...Can you taste bitterness? there are different levels of bitterness, but do high A/A contribute to flavour

 

[johnnyboy1965]

My last post has come over all wrong.
Im sure you appreciate its hard to explain.

Bitterness
Flavour/Taste
Aroma

They are all different,

You can make a beer with using a high A/A hop that will give it the flavour/taste of that hop.
If you were to use different types of yeast....ie. SO-4 and SO-5 you will get a much "cleaner/bitter" taste with the SO-5.

I hope this makes sense, as Ive just confused myself

 

[graysalchemy]

Hi AA hops will have taste and aroma but if used at the start of a boil all the volatile aroma's will be driven off just as they would if a low AA hop had been used. However Highh AA hops tend not to have as pleasant aroma or taste as lower AA hops, however the exception is some of the american 'C' hops.

The Likes of Target are flavour thugs and shouldn't be used as aroma but I have come accross someone on here who does use them and likes them. :thumb:

 

[Good Ed]

Very good question. I do think that the bittering hops do give a flavour, even though all the aromatic oils are probably boiled away. I'm just drinking an APA bittered with Chinook and can definitely taste the citrus/grapefruit from them. There must be a reason to use different bittering hops, because if it didn't make any difference the breweries would all be using the same thing. I have read that we can only taste bitterness in 5 IBU intervals, so we couln't tell the difference between a 35IBU beer and a 38IBU beer.

Anyway I think we need some guidance on this subject from some of the experts out there.

 

[Duxuk]

I am no expert but have spent the year doing about a dozen brews with a good variety of different hops. I feel sure that the bittering hops add quite distinct flavours to the finished beer.
My last 2 brews were largely the same. The first used Northern brewer for bittering and half the flavour hop with goldings for aroma. The last used cascade for bittering, a little for flavour with some N brewer and again goldings for aroma. Result.............The first has a distincly "rounder" flavour, the second in more grapefruity. I will defo use Cascade again. The bitterness is preferable and if anything more distinct despite the lower AA level of Cascade (7% compared to 9%)....................I find that intresting, maybe I need to get out more.

So my conclusion is that the bittering hop is as important as the flavouring hop in that it will affect the taste of the final brew.......just in a different way.