[richardt]

i did a single hopped IPA with summit hops a while back and used Summit for all additions (FWH, 40, 30, 20,10, and aroma steeping).  Your descriptions of onion/garlic + tangerine/citrus are pretty much spot on.  I did find that the onion/garlic flavor dissipated with time (2-3 months) which is would entail an aging or mellowing process that is not typically employed with IPA's, especially if dry-hopped.  I guess my point would be that if one did use summit hops and found the beer to be too onion/garlic in taste for their liking, just cellar it for a few months and come back to it--it should be more fruity/citrusy by then.

[erockrph]

Next beer up was brewed with Calypso. These were 12.8% AA from AHS. The pellets had some tropical fruit aroma, along with a pungent herbal/earthy scent and a hint of tobacco. I also picked up a very distinct aroma that smells like fresh-picked tomatoes, or more specifically, like the smell of a tomato plant after you just snapped off a ripe tomato.

On the nose of the beer itself I get some aromas of tropical fruit (similar to coconut), some earthiness, and faint notes of onion/sulfur as well as cocoa butter.

On the palate there is a fleeting grapefruit/citrus flavor, but the main character is herbal/grassy with a resinous bitterness that really seems to cling on. Some earthy and spicy flavors are tucked away in the background as well. I did start to pick up an interesting cocoa flavor after a few sips that seemed to intensify as the beer warmed up a bit.

I have to admit, with a name like Calypso i was expecting something totally different from this hop. I was hoping for something that reminded me of sipping a Mai Tai, but this seems pretty meh overall. This had a really tongue-coating resinous bite, so maybe this could work as a bittering hop for an IPA. The cocoa flavor was kind of interesting. I could see this doing well as a late addition in a Robust Porter.

[erockrph]

Last but not least is the beer I brewed with Nelson Sauvin. These are 12.1% AA from AHS. The hops themselves reminded me of a typical west coast Cascade/Centennial/Amarillo/etc type hop, but there is a distinct fragrant white wine note on top of the citrus.

The nose of the beer is much like the hops themselves. I pick up white grapefruit along with a distinct, perfumey Fume Blanc/Gewurz-type white wine note.

The flavor follows closely to what I get in the aroma. It's mainly ruby-red grapefruit along with a floral/fruity white wine note. There is a bit of a savory/herbal flavor component behind the wine, but I don't find it to be very strong or off-putting to my palate. I also get a slight resinous pine/juniper flavor as well.

I'm a big fan of Nelson. This will definitely be in heavy rotation in my fruit-hop beers. I also think this would be fantastic as a dry hop in a sour beer. I'm planning on dry-hopping a batch or two of cider this year, and I'm leaning heavily towards Nelson as the hop for that.

[erockrph]

Well, that's all I have for now. Hopefully this will be a decent resource since there isn't a heck of a lot of info on some of these hops yet. If anyone tries any of these out, please share your results. I think there's still some work to do on how to best accentuate certain flavors from some of these hops (I'm looking at you, Summit).

For me, the big winners are Nelson, Motueka and Caliente. These will be making it into my regular rotation.

All of these beers were tasted pretty much as soon as they were carbonated and ready to go. I'll check back in on them from time to time and if I notice any significant changes over time I'll keep this thread updated. Hopefully I'll get a chance to crank out another batch of these with different hops this spring. We'll have to see how this fall's crop impacts my freezer. 

[thebigbaker]

Wow, great info.  I'm definitely going to try Nelson w/ my American Wheat and will try Motueka in a Hefe (sounds like hops my wife would enjoy). 

[davidgzach]

Excellent info!  Will definitely try some Nelson.

Dave

[hoser]

Nelsons are one of my faves!!!  Just wish it wasn't so hard to find.

I was disappointed to see the tasting notes on the Calypso, but I have heard that using it as a bittering hop does give off some "weird" flavors.  Maybe the same thing happened using them as a FWH?

I was planning to brew a low gravity XPA/hoppy blonde ale with Calypso this weekend using the new Northern Brewer extract.  Shooting for 1.040ish OG with 30 min boil and the following hop schedule:
7g Calypso at 20min
14g Calypso at 10min
28g Calypso at WP when temp reaches 180F and hold for 10min

With possibly a dry hop addition in the keg.

Fingers crossed.  Planning on doing the same with Riwaka (mainly because I have them)

Thanks for all the tasting notes!!!

[erockrph]

Nelsons are one of my faves!!!  Just wish it wasn't so hard to find.

I was disappointed to see the tasting notes on the Calypso, but I have heard that using it as a bittering hop does give off some "weird" flavors.  Maybe the same thing happened using them as a FWH?

I was planning to brew a low gravity XPA/hoppy blonde ale with Calypso this weekend using the new Northern Brewer extract.  Shooting for 1.040ish OG with 30 min boil and the following hop schedule:
7g Calypso at 20min
14g Calypso at 10min
28g Calypso at WP when temp reaches 180F and hold for 10min

With possibly a dry hop addition in the keg.

Fingers crossed.  Planning on doing the same with Riwaka (mainly because I have them)

Thanks for all the tasting notes!!!

AHS still has Nelson Sauvin for $1.99 an ounce, so stock up while you can.

Yeah, I was kinda bummed by the Calypso. I was hoping for something more fruity. Still, the flavors I did get would be nice in a Porter or black IPA.
I wonder if the FWH had any effect on the flavor profile of some of these beers. It will be interesting to play around with the timing of hop additions on some of these to see if you can find isolate certain flavor or aroma components.

[dimik]

Really cool! Good job, man.