Bittering hops...

[TheRedDarren]

I'm looking for info on which hops to use for bittering additions.
I usually use Magnum for its clean bittering, but I'm starting to wonder what I might be missing from other varieties.
What hops do you use early in the boil to get a more characterful bittering flavour?

As far as I know so far, chinook used early gives a dank piney flavour,
Citra can be a bit harsh. That's about all I know I think...!

 

[Covrich]

I would a bittering hop for the style I am making, so you could say use challenger or preogress for example on a british ale.

Would you get as much piney dankess from using chinook as bittering? (never bittered with it tbh) I have tried beers bittered with chinnok and it was lovely.

 

[MickDundee]

I was wondering about this too.

I was planning on the DIY Dog Pilsner (as a pseudo lager) at the end of the year and page ring it until the spring, but I'd recently been thinking about trying an easy drinking American (pseudo) Lager instead. I don't want it to be too much of a Bud-type beer (although I do love a Corona on a warm day) so was wondering if I could use a different bittering hop (possibly citra) to give it a bit of a citrusy feel to it or whether I'd be better doing that as a flavour/aroma addition (dry hopping won't work if I'm going to lager it for 5 or 6 months will it?).

 

[Covrich]

I was wondering about this too.

I was planning on the DIY Dog Pilsner (as a pseudo lager) at the end of the year and page ring it until the spring, but I'd recently been thinking about trying an easy drinking American (pseudo) Lager instead. I don't want it to be too much of a Bud-type beer (although I do love a Corona on a warm day) so was wondering if I could use a different bittering hop (possibly citra) to give it a bit of a citrusy feel to it or whether I'd be better doing that as a flavour/aroma addition (dry hopping won't work if I'm going to lager it for 5 or 6 months will it?).

I made a psuedo pilsner with slovenian hops , bobek and svainski goldings these give a more delicate floralness and actually despite being european hops does taste a little bit like corona... I don't think you want to put in huge high alpha hops in but more towards the delicate end..

Might be wrong but thats how I always interpreted it.

 

[TheRedDarren]

I would a bittering hop for the style I am making, so you could say use challenger or preogress for example on a british ale.

Would you get as much piney dankess from using chinook as bittering? (never bittered with it tbh) I have tried beers bittered with chinnok and it was lovely.

Yes, you're quite right, I should have said for pale ales and IPA's.

I do like clean for a pale ale, in my mind pa's are all about clean flavours and fine balance.
Ipas on the other hand, I think there is more room for experimentation.
Some are heavy, dank and piney, others are light and herbal or floral, and some are full hop bomb types.
Quite a range of almost sub styles.

So, chinook... you don't get that dank pine from the 60 min addition then? Is it more like 20 or 10?

 

[Covrich]

I have never brewed with it but had beers bittered with it and they were fine.. nice.. I may be wrong but I thought the dank thing with chinook I thought I read was with the later additions..

When you say IPAs I am guessing you're looking at American hops?

 

[TheRedDarren]

I have never brewed with it but had beers bittered with it and they were fine.. nice.. I may be wrong but I thought the dank thing with chinook I thought I read was with the later additions..

When you say IPAs I am guessing you're looking at American hops?

Yes mate, I'm going through my American hops phase atm!

 

[HisDudeness]

Nugget is worth a look.

Good description here:
http://brooklynbrewshop.com/themash/hop-of-the-month-nugget/

 

[Covrich]

Nugget is worth a look.

Good description here:
http://brooklynbrewshop.com/themash/hop-of-the-month-nugget/

Good shout that!

the HBC IIPA kit I won here used them Zeus and dry hop with centenial

http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/hbc-american-double-ipa-maskit-23lt-62-p-2219.html

 

[jceg316]

I find that not all hops are equal in bittering. There is the theory that you can use less of a higher alpha acid hop to get the same bitterness as more lower AA hop. Whilst this true in theory, I find it doesn't take into account the harshness of the bitterness. I find higher alpha American hops leave quite a harsh bitterness, and lower alpha British and EU hops are usually smoother. I find pairing a high AA hop with a citrusy bittering hop will also come off quite harsh. Over time, this harshness gets cleared up in the bottle and the flavour hops come through (for IPAs).

It's also very system/water profile dependent. The water I was using in London did make the bitterness really come through, so I was a bit more careful with the amount/variety of bittering hops used. I now brew in Ireland and have no idea what the water profile is, other than any bitterness is a real punch in the face/rough sandpaper slowly going down my digestive system. So I change any recipes accordingly.