Favorite "Two Hop" IPA combinations.

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Revvy

Revvy

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
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I know we talk a lot on here about SMASH recipes, with our favorite single hop varieties, I'm really interested in folk's favorite pairs now.

I usually have an IPA constantly on tap, they're either one single hop, (usually Centennial) or Cascade or lately Citra, or they're an uber complicated with 5 or more different hops in multiple combos.

As I was about to pick up the stuff to brew another IPA I got thinking how for these beers my hop palate has been very very narrow lately. I tend to stick with West Coast Big "C," and little else. I use a broad variety of hops in every other beer I brew... But with my precious IPA, I tend to play it safe.

I've totally ignored an entire range of new (or at least within the last few years) hops that upon reading about them sound amazing.

I was just reading about Nelson Sauvin hops and how they pair nicely with just about any hop out there, and bring out certain qualities in whatever the companion hop is. Michael Tonsmeire raves about the combination of Amarillo and Nelson... I'm actually considering doing that next.

I've also read that Nelson Sauvin and Sorachi Ace is supposed to be a great combination as well, two hops I've never used before.


I'd say 99% of my IPAs use this grainbill...It's eschatz's pretty dead on Two Hearted Ale Clone.


10 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 76.92 %
2 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 15.38 %
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 3.85 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 3.85 %

Original Gravity: 1.055
IBU: 52.6 (Many of my iterations of this base recipe fall between 48 and 58 depending on the hops used, and hopping schedule- but on average most of them hit around 54-56IBUS)

I do first wort hop these beers as well as dryhop (and sometimes now I use whole leaf hops in my Randall that I built last summer.)

So my question/challenge for you is to tell me your favorite 2 hop combos (and what about them do you like) and how would you hop the above gainbill. The hops can be new varieties or old favorite or a combination of both.

Thanks! :mug:
 
I have an IPA carbing up in the keg right now that has a Cirta and Cascade combo. It smells and tastes amazing!

The grain bill is very similar to yours - Marris Otter, Munich, Crystal, and Carapils. I also used 04 instead of 05 to get some more complexity.
 
I still love the amarillo/simcoe combo that I stumbled on about 10 years ago, when both hops where new. I use that combo in my house IPA.

I also like mosaic with citra (as mentioned it's part of the 'fresh squeezed IPA' and I make a sorta clone). I don't like citra alone, but with mosaic it's awesome.

An oldie but goodie is cascade and willamette. Both varieties are cheap, which makes it even better, and it's a good solid hops combo like that found in Bell's Amber. That combination is classic, in my opinion.

I guess it's short of cheating, since 7Cs is a blend of more than one variety, but I have a 7Cs/Columbus IPA that is really awesome. Big citrus, but not all grapefruit, with a bit of the dank herb quality that is really nice in an IPA.
 
Yooper said:
I still love the amarillo/simcoe combo that I stumbled on about 10 years ago, when both hops where new. I use that combo in my house IPA.

I also like mosaic with citra (as mentioned it's part of the 'fresh squeezed IPA' and I make a sorta clone). I don't like citra alone, but with mosaic it's awesome.

An oldie but goodie is cascade and willamette. Both varieties are cheap, which makes it even better, and it's a good solid hops combo like that found in Bell's Amber. That combination is classic, in my opinion.

I guess it's short of cheating, since 7Cs is a blend of more than one variety, but I have a 7Cs/Columbus IPA that is really awesome. Big citrus, but not all grapefruit, with a bit of the dank herb quality that is really nice in an IPA.
Click to expand...

your clone recipe anything like the AHA/Zymurgy/Denny's recipe? I'd be interested to hear yours
 
My local brewery has a collaboration on tap right now that is Simcoe/Citra and it blows me away. The pine and bite of the Simcoe really helps offset what can be an overpowering sweetness in Citra. Plus they are both nicely aromatic which gives you a great nose to start the beer off with.

I agree with Yooper that Citra alone can be overpowering, I had been blending Citra with Cascade like SixWinds, but I am dumping that in favor of Simcoe.
 
Lately I've been using a Belma Azacca combo to different degrees in a APA, IIPA, and a white IPA and loved it each time.
 
I brewed a Citra/Nelson last year. I thought it was really nice combo. I also added a touch of Habanero for a bit of late heat, but up front, the hops worked well together.
 
Nelson Sauvin is really unique, in my opinion. Some people don't like it. I do. I just did an IPA with Nelson that had Mosaic and Simcoe with it in the whirlpool and dry hop. I thought that combo was pretty nice and I think specifically Mosaic complemented it well. So, Nelson/Mosaic would be a nice 2-hop combo in my opinion.
 
Yooper said:
An oldie but goodie is cascade and willamette. Both varieties are cheap, which makes it even better, and it's a good solid hops combo like that found in Bell's Amber. That combination is classic, in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Love that combo..
I also make an IPA with just Citra and Galaxy, they seem to play nice together.
 
Yooper said:
I still love the amarillo/simcoe combo that I stumbled on about 10 years ago, when both hops where new. I use that combo in my house IPA.

I also like mosaic with citra (as mentioned it's part of the 'fresh squeezed IPA' and I make a sorta clone). I don't like citra alone, but with mosaic it's awesome.

An oldie but goodie is cascade and willamette. Both varieties are cheap, which makes it even better, and it's a good solid hops combo like that found in Bell's Amber. That combination is classic, in my opinion.

I guess it's short of cheating, since 7Cs is a blend of more than one variety, but I have a 7Cs/Columbus IPA that is really awesome. Big citrus, but not all grapefruit, with a bit of the dank herb quality that is really nice in an IPA.
Click to expand...

I was just searching to see if Cascade and Willamette play well together or if they'd clash. Thanks. I've been using Nugget and Willamette a lot lately (I've got a lot of them) but thought using Cascade instead of Nugget would make an IPA or APA more Americanish. :)
 
My best IPA was Nelson and Kohatu. The latter underwhelmed me in another beer but it played so very, very well with Nelson.

Roughly 60-40 Cascade-Simcoe makes a killer combo. Simcoe's a bit more in your face so using more Cascade than Simcoe gives a nice balance between the two.

And as has been mentioned, Citra-Simcoe is another pretty fantastic combo. I like them in a big juicy DIPA with a bit more malt backbone than the typical West Coast dry-as-a-bone hop vehicle.
 
FatDragon said:
My best IPA was Nelson and Kohatu. The latter underwhelmed me in another beer but it played so very, very well with Nelson.

.
Click to expand...


I'll second the Nelson-Kohatu combo. I've used it twice now, although both times in a wheat heavy grain bill. It's my favorite. Many of my repeat beers (not just IPAs) are 2-hop pairings: Pac Jade and Pacifica in my saisons, Bramling Cross and Pac Gem in my RIS for example. My IPAs and pale ales do tend to be threesomes other than the Nelson-Kohatu pairing in my hoppy wheat beer.
 
Here's some of the combos people posted on FB, with whatever comments they made.

"Warrior for bittering and flavor and centennial for aroma. Brings something different to the c hop IPA"

"Cascade/Amarillo. Perfect for a Rye PA IMO"

"Nelson/Galaxy Dry Hop is about as good as it gets. Stone Enjoy By uses that dry hop combo twice in that beer. Roughly 6 oz per 5 gallons.

This one sounds interesting, because I've never heard of Delta.
"My favorite hop combo (recently discovered) is delta and Citra. Citra is my favorite SMaSH or DMaSH. I added Citra to a mainly delta APA and it combined beautifully.
For your grain bill:
FWH 1oz Citra
60 min 1oz cascade
15,10,5 Citra (.75-1oz separated)
FO 1oz cascade
Dry hop .5oz cascade and Citra (each)"

"Cascade/Chinook is a really good combo. 60% cascade/40% Chinook by volume."

"Citra/Amarillo too"

"Just brewed an azzaca and el dorado ipa today"

"Citra / Nelson is a good one. I have a Amarillo / Mosaic cold crashing now and Citra / Equinox is up next."

"Amarillo chinook is tasty40/60"
 
I'm a fan of Centennial/Cascade in pale ales. I usually throw in Chinook and/or Columbus if I'm doing an IPA with them though.

A local brewery just released a very hoppy pale ale that's all Citra/Chinook in the late additions, and it was really nice.
 
I agree with the Simcoe/Amarillo pairing. It's my favorite. Last IPA I did Simcoe/Amarillo at 5 and flameout with Centennial dry hop and it's fantastic.

Also, Citra in small quantities with Mosaic is excellent.

Chinook and Centennial also play nice together
 
I don't know when I'm going to do this, and it's not the same grainbill as above, but all the talk about Nelson Sauvin Hops got me thinking about doing an Admiral/Nelson Sauvin English Style IPA. Of course keeping with my pinup tap handle theme and calling it,

12814766_10153456333764067_9083062198283220616_n.jpg


9 lbs Maris Otter (Crisp) (4.0 SRM) Grain 1 76.6 %
2 lbs Victory Malt (biscuit) (Briess) (28.0 SRM) Grain 2 17.0 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 3 4.3 %
4.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4 2.1 %

0.50 oz Admiral [14.75 %] - First Wort 60.0 min
0.25 oz Admiral [14.75 %] - Boil 60.0 min
0.50 oz Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Boil 20.0 min
0.50 oz Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min

London Ale (White Labs #WLP013)

Not sure what I'm going to dry hop it with, maybe a combo of both?
 
I'm a long-time fan of cascade/willamette, and recently i've taken a liking to magnum for bittering and amarillo for the rest
 
GrogNerd said:
my last brew was a Deschutes' Fresh Squeezed clone which used Nugget for bittering, then Citra/Mosaic combo for late editions & dry hop

YUM
Click to expand...

Just did the same thing it was fantastic just floated the keg last night. Here is a link if you want to see the recipe I tried and put your 2 cents in about what you tried and how it turned out.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=570867
 
I'm still a sucker for Cs. I roll with Centennial in just about ever pale I brew. Throw some Chinook, more centennial, anything pungent and it's good. Centennial for lyf.
 
TexasDroughtBrewery said:
Just did the same thing it was fantastic just floated the keg last night. Here is a link if you want to see the recipe I tried and put your 2 cents in about what you tried and how it turned out.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=570867
Click to expand...

yep, that's the exact recipe, except mine was the extract version
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/deschutes-fresh-squeezed-ipa-clone/

did a side-by-side at my LHBS and the 3 owners liked mine better, but I think it had a lot to do with mine being fresh vs the commercial having sat on the shelf for a while.

they were surprised when I told them it was extract + steeping.

it was first batch I brewed with fermentation temperature control (BrewPi) and that worked great. used a bag for dry hops, which I won't be doing again. took it out before cold crash, then left it at 38° for 2 weeks, another thing not to do again. think it hurt the hops flavor/aroma
 
I've had good luck with:

Galaxy / Rakau / Wakatu
Amarillo / Citra
Nelson / Galaxy
+1 for Citra / Mosaic


Lately I've been working with Belma. My latest was Belma / Citra in 2:1 fashion and it tasted like an underripe spicy strawberry
 
I'v had a lot of success with a 1:1 Citra/Mosaic combo in a double IPA. I think the character leaned a little bit more Mosaic. Overall the combo is amazing. I've seen people mention Fresh Swueezed without mentioning Surly Todd the Axe Man which also uses the Citra/Mosaic combo.
 
would love to try any of Surly's beers, but we don't get them here, outside DC.

looks like the brewery is about 3 miles from where I lived in S Minneapolis (30 years ago)
 
GrogNerd said:
would love to try any of Surly's beers, but we don't get them here, outside DC.

looks like the brewery is about 3 miles from where I lived in S Minneapolis (30 years ago)
Click to expand...

Surly is actually the brewery that does the Citra/Chinook PA I referenced earlier in this thread... they certainly turn out some great brews. Todd the Axe Man is world class.
 
People may think I'm crazy...maybe I am. But, I tend to like the Bravo/Amarillo pairing. Bravo has this fruitiness that comes out in the latter additions and dry hop that I think is intoxicating (pun intended). Also, this combo tends to be very earthy which I tend to gravitate toward in an IPA.

Also, I like Summit and Cascade together.
 
I have no experience with this and it's a combo of three hops not two, but its working with what I have. I am going to follow the grain bill for NB's Dead Ringer BIAB (3 gallon kit). I'm going to use Bravo for the 60 (0.4 oz) & 20 (0.6 oz) minute additions. Warrior for the 5 min addition (1 oz). Then I will do an ounce of Citra as the dry hop. We shall see how that turns out.

Grain Bill for 3 gallons:
- 7 lbs Rahr 2-row
- 0.625 lbs Caramel 40

I have no idea how this will turn out but that's part of the fun of home brewing, right? :)
 
My favorite is Citra and Mosiac(as others have mentioned). I also just put a Cascade and Citra on tap, they appear to be play really nice, a little more "dank" flavor than the Citra and Mosiac pairing.

Amarillo and Simcoe are a classic pairing that go great together.

My next beer will be a Nelson and Summit Pale Ale. Drifter Pale Ale from Widmer uses this combo and it used to be one of my favorite beers until they stopped making it.
 
Perle for bittering + generous Cascade from 15 minutes onward = :eek:nestar::eek:nestar::eek:nestar::eek:nestar::hs:
 
I believe it was a recipe from the Mad Fermentationalist (I think he called it Juicy IPA) that I used that had Simcoe & Galaxy paired in the whirlpool and dry hopping (in a stocking in the keg!), with Magnum for bittering. What a great IPA! I've brewed it twice now and can't keep a keg for long enough! The citrus hoppy aroma is just heady and the flavor refreshing and "I'll just have another". My house IPA at this point.
 

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