Target hops

[Tobor_8thMan]

Been brewing a number of British ales recently. Of course the recipes call for Target hops. I was ready to purchase at least 1 pound of Target hops until I read comments from others, via various sources, about the Target hops being overwhelming.

I see, at the AHA site, recommends substitutes for Target are Fuggle and Willamette. I know and like both the hops really well. For the British ales, I've been using Fuggle.

However, I have found some substitute Challenger for Target.

Others? I welcome input.

Thanks.

 

[ba-brewer]

I use target as my bittering hops for my british ales. I don't think it is really overwhelming but the bittering is sort of sharp or course maybe more of a upfront thing vs an aftertaste.

I enter beers into contests and have gotten comments that the beers were not bitter enough when I used other hops even though the IBU were in the same range.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

I use target as my bittering hops for my british ales. I don't think it is really overwhelming but the bittering is sort of sharp or course maybe more of a upfront thing vs an aftertaste.

I enter beers into contests and have gotten comments that the beers were not bitter enough when I used other hops even though the IBU were in the same range.

Thanks for the input.

 

[bierhaus15]

As mentioned, the bittering is a bit coarser than something like Northdown or Challenger, but it appropriate and very commonly used for UK styles. I'm not crazy about it as a late or WP hop, but a small amount in a DH adds a nice spice-fruit component to bitters/IPA.

 

[BigEd]

Challenger is my favorite UK bittering hop. To my taste it is much smoother than Target. Challenger blends extremely well with UK noble varieties and is good enough to use as the sole hop in a beer. Bluebird Bitter, a very nice British ale, uses Challenger hops exclusively.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

I ordered some Target hops to try them in my next British brew.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

The main reason that Target was so widely adopted in the 1970s-80s in both the UK and Belgium was purely agronomic - it was one of the first wilt-resistant varieties at a time when farmers faced being wiped out by wilt. So a lot of 70s-80s beers use it purely because that was what was available from growers, more modern recipes tend not to.

That rough bitterness is divisive - some people like it, some people don't, it's just a question of personal taste. Some people - notably Fuller's - like a bit of it but blend it with other hops for bittering.

I wouldn't regard Fuggles, let alone Willamette, as a substitute unless you had truly limited access to British hops. Its cousin Challenger is closer but not quite the same.