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Author Topic: Looking for piney, earthy character in hops  (Read 12442 times)

Offline kraftwerk

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Looking for piney, earthy character in hops
« on: March 19, 2013, 11:22:03 am »
Hey friends! So I'm feeling like brewing an American Amber. Let me paint a mental picture for you. You just got off the mountain bike trail somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. Everything is wet and smells like earth and pine. The sun is just peeking out from behind the clouds and warms you up as you sit on the tailgate of your truck and crack open a delicious homebrew.

I want to brew something with a slightly malty, bready backbone and a nice piney, earthy hop character. My new go-to bittering hop is Magnum simply for its versatility and clean bittering quality. Will probably use pale malt, dark crystal and a touch of carapils/dextrine. 

So what are your favorites in the pine department? I'm not opposed to using spruce tips, as it is spring time here in Colorado! Late hop additions and dry hops are a must!
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Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: Looking for piney, earthy character in hops
« Reply #1 on: March 19, 2013, 11:32:37 am »
I think Chinook and Simcoe are a good place to start. Both have a pungent pine character. 
Jon H.

Offline jeffy

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Re: Looking for piney, earthy character in hops
« Reply #2 on: March 19, 2013, 11:41:44 am »
I was thinking Northern Brewer.
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Offline snowtiger87

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Re: Looking for piney, earthy character in hops
« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2013, 01:42:06 pm »
Sometimes I get a more minty character out of Northern Brewer. My favorite for piney character is Columbus.
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Offline fmader

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Re: Looking for piney, earthy character in hops
« Reply #4 on: March 19, 2013, 04:26:35 pm »
I say bitter with Nugget and go 40/40/20 with Mosaic, Simcoe, and Nugget for flavor and aroma.....I might actually do this myself. I like the idea!  8)
« Last Edit: March 19, 2013, 04:44:14 pm by fmader »
Frank

Offline a10t2

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Re: Looking for piney, earthy character in hops
« Reply #5 on: March 19, 2013, 04:40:57 pm »
Chinook was my first thought. Maybe a little CTZ if you want extra pungency. Willamette has a pretty subtle combination of earthy and citrusy flavors IME.
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Offline erockrph

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Re: Looking for piney, earthy character in hops
« Reply #6 on: March 19, 2013, 09:37:18 pm »
Chinook & Simcoe for pine. UK Fuggles and/or Willamette for earth. A touch of Columbus to kick up the dank.
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Offline kraftwerk

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Re: Looking for piney, earthy character in hops
« Reply #7 on: March 20, 2013, 11:20:11 am »
Great ideas! Anyone have experience with Aurora or the eastern European hops? Wondering if I could get some earthy hop complexity with those. Although, my philosophy is that simpler is usually better so I might just stick with Simcoe and Chinook, as this could turn into an IPA quickly if I'm not careful. Thanks for the suggestions!
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Offline kmccaf

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Re: Looking for piney, earthy character in hops
« Reply #8 on: March 20, 2013, 01:52:12 pm »
Great ideas! Anyone have experience with Aurora or the eastern European hops? Wondering if I could get some earthy hop complexity with those. Although, my philosophy is that simpler is usually better so I might just stick with Simcoe and Chinook, as this could turn into an IPA quickly if I'm not careful. Thanks for the suggestions!

I use Styrian Celia quite a bit, and get earthy with a touch of lemon. Otherwise, I was drinking Great Lakes' Alchemy Hour the other day, and it was very earthy with some pine and tropical fruit. The hop combo is apparently Mosaic, Nugget, and Cascade.
Kyle M.

Offline gsandel

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Re: Looking for piney, earthy character in hops
« Reply #9 on: March 20, 2013, 02:12:15 pm »
I am surprised that no one mentioned some of the english varieties for earthy.....I always think earthy with EKG or Fuggles...but then it wouldn't necessarily be an American Amber...but combine with the piney hops, and you might just have the PNW in a bottle.

EKG reminds me of tobacco.....or some sweetness and musty.
You wouldn't believe the things I've seen...

Offline rjharper

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Re: Looking for piney, earthy character in hops
« Reply #10 on: March 20, 2013, 02:32:48 pm »
I use Chinook / Simcoe in my amber. It's like being smacked in the face with a pine tree...

Offline fmader

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Re: Looking for piney, earthy character in hops
« Reply #11 on: March 20, 2013, 03:15:49 pm »
I use Styrian Celia quite a bit, and get earthy with a touch of lemon. Otherwise, I was drinking Great Lakes' Alchemy Hour the other day, and it was very earthy with some pine and tropical fruit. The hop combo is apparently Mosaic, Nugget, and Cascade.

This is where I was kinda going with my suggestion. Alchemy Hour is certainly an earthy tasting IPA that is very amber in color. I wasn't aware of the Cascades in it. I thought it was an even blend of Nugget and Mosaic....Then I threw in Simcoe for the piney flavor.
Frank

Offline kmccaf

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Re: Looking for piney, earthy character in hops
« Reply #12 on: March 20, 2013, 03:29:48 pm »
I use Styrian Celia quite a bit, and get earthy with a touch of lemon. Otherwise, I was drinking Great Lakes' Alchemy Hour the other day, and it was very earthy with some pine and tropical fruit. The hop combo is apparently Mosaic, Nugget, and Cascade.

This is where I was kinda going with my suggestion. Alchemy Hour is certainly an earthy tasting IPA that is very amber in color. I wasn't aware of the Cascades in it. I thought it was an even blend of Nugget and Mosaic....Then I threw in Simcoe for the piney flavor.

I was surprised their was Cascade in there myself, but I got the info from their website.

http://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/uploads/Beer/2013%20Beer%20Profile%20-%20Alchemy%20Hour.pdf
Kyle M.

Offline fmader

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Re: Looking for piney, earthy character in hops
« Reply #13 on: March 20, 2013, 03:39:57 pm »
I use Styrian Celia quite a bit, and get earthy with a touch of lemon. Otherwise, I was drinking Great Lakes' Alchemy Hour the other day, and it was very earthy with some pine and tropical fruit. The hop combo is apparently Mosaic, Nugget, and Cascade.

This is where I was kinda going with my suggestion. Alchemy Hour is certainly an earthy tasting IPA that is very amber in color. I wasn't aware of the Cascades in it. I thought it was an even blend of Nugget and Mosaic....Then I threw in Simcoe for the piney flavor.

I was surprised their was Cascade in there myself, but I got the info from their website.

http://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/uploads/Beer/2013%20Beer%20Profile%20-%20Alchemy%20Hour.pdf

Well there it is! lol I don't know where I read that it was an "even blend of mosaic and nugget". Nevertheless, it is a very different "earthy" tasting IPA. I like it for it's nice change of pace in taste.
Frank

Offline kraftwerk

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Re: Looking for piney, earthy character in hops
« Reply #14 on: March 23, 2013, 04:01:17 pm »
So I decided to keep it simple and go with Chinook and Simcoe. I bought some extra whole leaf hops to dry hop with ~1/2 oz of each. Like I said above, I don't want this to turn into an IPA, so I'm going to restrain myself from adding all 2oz! Will post with updates once I actually taste it. Brewing got shot down this weekend, as there is over 6" of snow on the ground and I don't really want to deal with it.
Beer is like music. I don't have a favorite. I'll take a well-made example of any style!