Cleaner modern hops

[Bullhog]

Do all the “modern hops” have that dank/onion/cattyness? Are there any super fruity modern hops that don’t have these characteristics?

 

[lump42]

Simcoe is the main hop I think of that has the catty/ onion character. I've never experienced it with cascade, centennial, amarilo, eukanot, loral, azacca, citra, galaxy, etc.

I'd check hoplist.com or yakima chief hops descriptions.

 

[Dgallo]

Simcoe is the main hop I think of that has the catty/ onion character. I've never experienced it with cascade, centennial, amarilo, eukanot, loral, azacca, citra, galaxy, etc.

I'd check hoplist.com or yakima chief hops descriptions.

@Bullhog what exactly do you mean clean hop? Like clean bittering? Not so intense flavor?

Any hop that has 4mmp has the potential for onion, cattyness/Body Oder or rotten fruit characters. Idk if the science is out on why yet but it’s theorized when the compound isn’t fully developed or mature at time of harvesting it comes off this way. If fully developed it’s a beautiful tropical fruit. That’s why you see well known breweries who get to hand select their hops have beautiful expressions from these hops and smaller breweries/home brewers run into undesired flavors from it. here’s a list of hops that have it;

 

[Bullhog]

@Bullhog what exactly do you mean clean hop? Like clean bittering? Not so intense flavor?

Any hop that has 4mmp has the potential for onion, cattyness/Body Oder or rotten fruit characters. Idk if the science is out on why yet but it’s theorized when the compound isn’t fully developed or mature at time of harvesting it comes off this way. If fully developed it’s a beautiful tropical fruit. That’s why you see well known breweries who get to hand select their hops have beautiful expressions from these hops and smaller breweries/home brewers run into undesired flavors from it. here’s a list of hops that have it;View attachment 639912

Awesome! Thank you!

 

[filthyastronaut]

I would add that some of those hops are more known for having onion/garlic and cattiness than others. Of those on the list, I have never experienced it with Cascade, Centennial, or Chinook, and I think their reputation matches my experience.

 

[couchsending]

The onion/garlic character has a lot to do with when the hops were harvested during their picking window. You can have a specific hop display a ton or almost none of that character harvested on the same farm but harvested a week apart. Some breweries actually look for that character where others try to avoid it completely.

I’ve heard Vinnie from RR talk about how Simcoe can almost be three different hops depending on when it’s harvested during its 1-2 week window.

 

[bucketnative]

The onion/garlic character has a lot to do with when the hops were harvested during their picking window. You can have a specific hop display a ton or almost none of that character harvested on the same farm but harvested a week apart. Some breweries actually look for that character where others try to avoid it completely.

I’ve heard Vinnie from RR talk about how Simcoe can almost be three different hops depending on when it’s harvested during its 1-2 week window.

You and @Dgallo touched on the hierarchy of hop buying where the bigger you are, the more say you have in what hops you get. I have spoken with several small-scale brewers who state that they struggle for consistency in their brews because of the batch-to-batch variations in hops. They can use the same recipe and end up with two very different beers because of it.

One of the brewers described being out in Oregon and smelling Simcoe crops that varied from dank to pure strawberry. All depending on the field and harvesting.

On the homebrew scale, add in the variation of how your local shop (or national warehouse) stores and ships hops into the mix...

Big Guys-> Micro Breweries -> Nano Breweries -> Home Brewers

 

[Dgallo]

I would add that some of those hops are more known for having onion/garlic and cattiness than others. Of those on the list, I have never experienced it with Cascade, Centennial, or Chinook, and I think their reputation matches my experience.

I’m sure some of the newer hops on the list have an increased amount of it over other and that’s why cascade chinook and centennial don’t really ever display it. At least not from what I’ve experienced

 

[Dgallo]

You and @Dgallo touched on the hierarchy of hop buying where the bigger you are, the more say you have in what hops you get. I have spoken with several small-scale brewers who state that they struggle for consistency in their brews because of the batch-to-batch variations in hops. They can use the same recipe and end up with two very different beers because of it. On the homebrew scale, add in the variation of how your local shop (or national warehouse) stores and ships hops into the mix...

Big Guys-> Micro Breweries -> Nano Breweries -> Home Brewers

Grimm actually just did two side by side beers of the same hops and same hop schedule in an ipa (don’t quote me but I think it was a citra/Columbus combo) where the two beers used hops from different farms. They were truly two different beers

 

[couchsending]

Yup as homebrewers it’s hard to find the good stuff. We often end up with the schwag. I wish I could have had people smell the Columbus and Amarillo I got from YVH this year. Straight tire fire. Burning rubber. Didn’t even bother using them. Chucked a lb of each.

 

[bucketnative]

Yup as homebrewers it’s hard to find the good stuff. We often end up with the schwag. I wish I could have had people smell the Columbus and Amarillo I got from YVH this year. Straight tire fire. Burning rubber. Didn’t even bother using them. Chucked a lb of each.

Yeah, I used to just assume that the hops I was putting in my brew would be at least decent... until I got a 1 oz pack of really cheesy hops. Now, I definitely do a QC nose check on the pellets prior to dosing the kettle. I try to keep a stash of at least couple of different types of 1 oz packs in the freezer, just in case I have to sub out for a bad one.

I tend to to brew 4 gal batches with less than 3 oz hops in them total... so the 1 oz packs still make the most sense for me.

 

[beersk]

I've been unhappy with chinook hops the last year or 2, which is weird. It used to be one of my favorites. I don't know if I was getting bad hops or what, but I'm done using them (for now). @bucketnative the 4oz hop packs from Farmhouse Brewing Supply are my go-to. Love them.