[homoeccentricus]

I'm going to buy some hops, probably at Yakima Valley, to be shipped to Belgium. I found a whole list of them that I do not know at all:

Belma, Bravo, Bullion, Buzz Bullets, Caliente, Comet, Delta, Experimental Grapefruit, Experimental Lemon Zest, Fantasia, JARRYLLO, Lemon Drop, Millennium, Pekko,Santiam, T'N'T, Zythos.

Could you recommend a few to experiment with in IPA-style beers? Any winning combinations? Shipping is expensive so they need to be really good.

Thanks in advance!

[Iliff Ave]

I currently have an APA on tap that heavily features Jarrylo and Zythos. In my opinion, they are much more mild than I was expecting and I had to add extra Simcoe, Amarillo, & Cascade to the keg to the hop character closer to what I wanted. They do have a nice tropical fruit character but it ended up being quite subdued in the final beer.

I have used Bravo a lot and really don't like them. In my experience, they have strong dank character that is too pungent for me. If I used them again, it would only be for bittering...

[erockrph]

I'm going to buy some hops, probably at Yakima Valley, to be shipped to Belgium. I found a whole list of them that I do not know at all:

Belma, Bravo, Bullion, Buzz Bullets, Caliente, Comet, Delta, Experimental Grapefruit, Experimental Lemon Zest, Fantasia, JARRYLLO, Lemon Drop, Millennium, Pekko,Santiam, T'N'T, Zythos.

Could you recommend a few to experiment with in IPA-style beers? Any winning combinations? Shipping is expensive so they need to be really good.

Their notes on Caliente come from my tasting notes that I posted here a few years ago. That's a really nice hop - red plums is the main character, with a hint of UK-like earthiness. It's a really nice addition in an ESB or UK-style IPA.

Belma is boring, I wouldn't waste your time. Very little hop character. It's nice in something light like a blond ale - it has faint melon notes, but won't do anything in an IPA.

I have no personal experience with the others you've mentioned. So I will defer to others on them.

Also, if you haven't had a chance to play with Meridian yet, I highly recommend that in an IPA. It has a great apricot/nectarine thing going on.

[hopfenundmalz]

Bullion is an old school hop that was used by Ballantine in their IPA. I have over a pound of it. It has aroma and taste character best described as "hoppy". I have over a pound in the freezer.

A guy in the club had a beer made with Caliente, that was very nice.

Santium is a derivative of Tettnanger, Imuse it fairly often in Pilsners.

[HoosierBrew]

Lemon Drop is a really nice new hop - used it a couple times.  Stone uses it with El Dorado in their Delicious IPA.


EDIT -  Lemon Drop fittingly has a nice lemon aroma and flavor, but also orange, grapefruit and slight pine, slight berry character to my palate.

[reverseapachemaster]

Belma is boring, I wouldn't waste your time. Very little hop character. It's nice in something light like a blond ale - it has faint melon notes, but won't do anything in an IPA.

+1

It's definitely not a good IPA hop unless maybe you want to use it to round out some grassy notes in a blend. It's almost exclusively used for saison or kolsch. I use it a lot for bittering since I stocked up when they first came out at $5/lb. but otherwise it is not a hop I would normally reach for.

[homoeccentricus]

Hm, there's not a lot here that makes me super enthousiastic, to say the least. Maybe I have to stick to the better known hops, and finally find out whether the hops one buys in the US are better quality than the ones bought in Europe.

[oly]

Homoeccentricus, I sent you a PM.
I'll be heading through Brussels this summer. I'd be happy to bring you some hops.
(I have an empty suitcase for returning with beer, may as well fill it with hops on the way there 
Local shops here will carry pretty much anything you'd want to try, in 2oz packs so you can try a few.
Let me know if you're interested.