Which Hops would you never use again

[Brew_DD2]

I really liked Sabro and Mosaic when they first came out. I don't know what happened when they expanded the growing stock, but Mosaic started tasting like diesel, and Sabro less coconutty and more cedar/eucalyptus.

Sabro in particular had a lovely tropical note, and the coconut was quite understated. Even with a light touch it stands out far too much for my taste.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I suppose it’s the same with coriander leaves. I hate it when restaurants garnish curries with it, to me it tastes like soap, my wife’s taste perception is completely different.

I have a friend who's the same with coriander leaves. She can taste it through anything, despises the flavour and also says it tastes like soap.

Coriander tasting soapy to some people is a well known thing, about 1 in 8 people of Northern European origins taste it that way.

https://blog.23andme.com/articles/cilantro-love-hate-genetic-trait

Summit had a bad rap with onion/garlic but again I have only whirlpooled and never had it with mine

Onion/garlic is a sign of harvesting too late. Summit in the past seemed to be particularly prone to it but they seem to be getting on top of it. What usually happens is that you get a few years of garlic as they scale up production of popular new hops, as new farmers start growing it and take a while to get the hang of it. Happened to Citra about 10 years ago, happened to Galaxy in the early 2020s.

I looked up the least-liked beers of my youth and all of them used Target for bittering.

On the raspy bitterness of Target - some people love it, some people hate it, I think Fullers have the right idea using it in a blend for bittering to get a bit of the raspiness. People get obsessed with "smooth" bittering but for English styles at least, it can just be a bit dull.

Well Sabro is getting a drubbing by the look of it
It does say that Sabro is a for late hop use to get the best flavours so I wonder if it is being used in the boil early on and this may be giving off other flavours not desired?

I think it's more that Sabro is a bit of a thug and tends to overpower other things, which is why the usual advice is that it should be no more than ~20-30% of a blend.

Just in general I would suggest people learn to distinguish what faults are connected to the variety and what is just a bad batch - whether through natural vintage variation (a big factor for UK varieties, less so for Yakima), farming issues like picking at the wrong time (which can hopefully be fixed as the farmer gets more experience with a variety), or in the processing/logistics chain somewhere (like buying from a "cheap" retailer who is "cheap" because they skimp on how they look after their stock).

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I won't be making an NEIPA with Pride of Ringwood again.

If Foster's made NEIPA...

 

[Clint]

None so far. I have use loads of Willamette in my Tribute clone. I've also started using target. I've done a few stouts but more recently a bitter,with I think, EKG and it was great!

 

[JockyBrewer]

I accidentally put it in a mild once- I would never have thought of using it there ordinarily. It now goes in all my mild and gives it a cannabis sort of flavour. Far out, man!

Interesting. How much and at what times in the brew did you use it?

I think part of my issue was that I used 30g as a dry hop.

 

[JockyBrewer]

I put it in a straight, no-frills pilsner once and it came out OK.

I like NS in a Pilsner too.

 

[Bzee]

I will never use any badly stored, yellow or cheesy old hops again. They get too bitter and nasty. All my hops go straight in the freezer on purchase these days

 

[An Ankoù]

If Foster's made NEIPA...

Now you're talking.
An NSWIPA (even if Foster's did originate in Melbourne).

 

[An Ankoù]

I will never use any badly stored, yellow or cheesy old hops again. They get too bitter and nasty. All my hops go straight in the freezer on purchase these days

Any open packs go in the freezer, but I haven't the space for the unopened ones. They seem to keep pretty well in the fridge.

 

[An Ankoù]

Interesting. How much and at what times in the brew did you use it?

I think part of my issue was that I used 30g as a dry hop.

I'll look up and post the recipe. I think it's the interaction between the hops and the dark malts that give that flavour. I don't get it in other beers.

 

[dad_of_jon]

None so far. I have use loads of Willamette in my Tribute clone. I've also started using target. I've done a few stouts but more recently a bitter,with I think, EKG and it was great!

Yup I use EKG when I want a shepard neame-ish beer.

 

[hop-a-long]

Any open packs go in the freezer, but I haven't the space for the unopened ones. They seem to keep pretty well in the fridge.

I reseal the open packets, in plastic foodgrade bags, with a vacuum machine before refreezing.

 

[Moe]

This made me laugh, and seems appropriate for this topic

 

[Nicks90]

Nelson sauvin
Blurgh...


It has no redeeming features at all, used as either a smash or mixed with the usual hop pairings. I can tell it's there straight away and blurghhhhhhh

Same if it's used in commercial beers, blurgh

 

[Clint]

Even the original Hob Goblin Gold?

 

[Brew_DD2]

Nelson sauvin
Blurgh...


It has no redeeming features at all, used as either a smash or mixed with the usual hop pairings. I can tell it's there straight away and blurghhhhhhh

Same if it's used in commercial beers, blurgh

I absolutely love the stuff. Probably my favourite hop. Amazing how different people's tastes are.

 

[samale]

I absolutely love the stuff. Probably my favourite hop. Amazing how different people's tastes are.

I actually prefer to use H- blanc, very similar flavour profile. I normally use it a single hop Saison

 

[Brew_DD2]

I actually prefer to use H- blanc, very similar flavour profile. I normally use it a single hop Saison

Hallertau Blanc is my secret weapon. Beautiful hop.

 

[micklupulo]

Any open packs go in the freezer, but I haven't the space for the unopened ones. They seem to keep pretty well in the fridge.

May I ask how long the hops remain usable in the freezer? I am interested because my LBHS has recently changed its policy and the minimum quantity of pellets of any hop sold is 50 gms so the remainder after small additions will have to be stored potentially for a few months.

 

[micklupulo]

In answer to the main question last year I used Motueka to dry hop an MJ Brewer's Series Pale Ale in order to liven it up. The result was pretty awful yet I am sure there was no infection or any other factor involved. I would be interested to know what others' experience is.