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Author Topic: What makes a good bittering hop?  (Read 9374 times)

Offline hopfenundmalz

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Re: What makes a good bittering hop?
« Reply #15 on: October 24, 2017, 08:07:05 pm »
The greatest bittering hop of all time is Cluster.  Hands down.

I like it too. Bullion is also a good old school bettering hop.
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Offline dmtaylor

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Re: What makes a good bittering hop?
« Reply #16 on: October 25, 2017, 03:57:38 am »
The greatest bittering hop of all time is Cluster.  Hands down.

What's so great about it?  Because it grows everywhere for free?  I don't understand.
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Online denny

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Re: What makes a good bittering hop?
« Reply #17 on: October 25, 2017, 08:21:54 am »
The greatest bittering hop of all time is Cluster.  Hands down.

What's so great about it?  Because it grows everywhere for free?  I don't understand.

Dave, I'm always hearing anecdotally that it grows everywhere, yet I've never seen it prmheard from anyone who's found any.  Not saying that it doesn't happen, but is t really that ubiquitous?
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Offline dmtaylor

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Re: What makes a good bittering hop?
« Reply #18 on: October 25, 2017, 10:49:17 am »
Probably not.

A little different story but in ye olde Englande, every hop was some subtype of Goldings for a while regardless of its true origin.  Goldings can refer to actually like a dozen different individuals.  I suppose Americans probably do the same with Cluster even if it ain't true.
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Offline chumley

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Re: What makes a good bittering hop?
« Reply #19 on: October 26, 2017, 02:59:58 pm »
The greatest bittering hop of all time is Cluster.  Hands down.

What's so great about it?  Because it grows everywhere for free?  I don't understand.

No, it gives a great flavor when only used as a bittering addition, that can only best describe as the flavor of beer as I knew from growing up.  A slight elderberry fruity taste. Great in all types of beers, lagers, porters, mild/brown ales, RIS, you name it.  Maybe the only place it might not be welcome are American IPA hop bombs, but I have used Cluster to bitter them, and had no adverse effects.

Offline dmtaylor

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Re: What makes a good bittering hop?
« Reply #20 on: October 26, 2017, 08:26:02 pm »
The greatest bittering hop of all time is Cluster.  Hands down.

What's so great about it?  Because it grows everywhere for free?  I don't understand.

No, it gives a great flavor when only used as a bittering addition, that can only best describe as the flavor of beer as I knew from growing up.  A slight elderberry fruity taste. Great in all types of beers, lagers, porters, mild/brown ales, RIS, you name it.  Maybe the only place it might not be welcome are American IPA hop bombs, but I have used Cluster to bitter them, and had no adverse effects.

I just used Cluster in my latest American lager, which I've only had 2 bottles of so far.  I'll look for the elderberry but I have to say, so far the beer does not seem terribly fruity to me.  Good solid firm bitterness for a lager, but berry... I dunno.
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Offline el_capitan

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Re: What makes a good bittering hop?
« Reply #21 on: October 30, 2017, 05:55:06 pm »
Good discussion here.  As for favorite bittering hops, I have had good success with Warrior and Nugget.  Magnum was too smooth for my tastes.  Now I'm working through 8 oz of Millenium as an all-purpose bittering hop, and I've been very pleased with the result.  I tend to go with low-cohumulone hops for bittering. 

Offline coolman26

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Re: What makes a good bittering hop?
« Reply #22 on: October 31, 2017, 11:27:37 am »
 I generally use Nugget for IPA. Magnum for lager and smooth bitterness.


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Offline Robert

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Re: What makes a good bittering hop?
« Reply #23 on: November 06, 2017, 07:01:50 pm »
Some have shown the high cohomulone thing to be BS.

Yep.  I'm thinking more and more in that direction.

I have seen several reports that the cohumulone is more soluble, adnmore gets isomorized. The original report that started the whole thing didn’t check IBUs. A couple have claimed if the IBUs are the same, you don’t notice.

One result of a search I did turned up this, which was interesting.
https://www.homebrewhedonist.com/cohumulone-alpha-acid/

Well, that would be validating since I've always thought that cohumulone did matter.  I've read enough to the contrary to start questioning it, but never done my own tests.  Maybe I don't need to and I can just go back to my old thinking.

It matters, as it is more soluble, so more iso-humulones. Several things I have read say that if you take that in into account, adjust to get the same IBU, then it doesn’t taste more harsh. More IBUs make for a harsher beer. I the things I have read.
Yeah, I had bought the whole CoH matters, then the no-it-doesn't, all on what I read.  Then lately I reconsidered again, because I started bittering  with Simcoe, SUPER low CoH.  But now I'm  willing to believe that maybe these beers seem so smooth just because they really are less bitter, while I was thinking of much-bandied-about phrases like "less aggressive perception of bitterness."  So I guess the test to do is brew the same beer with a high CoH hop--but how do you make the conversion? I mean, is there a rule-of-thumb relation between change in %CoH and change in BU?

Oops,sorry, I should have read the link Hopfenundmalz gave above! Just did. That seems to cover it.
« Last Edit: November 07, 2017, 01:13:21 pm by Robert »
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Offline ynotbrusum

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Re: What makes a good bittering hop?
« Reply #24 on: November 07, 2017, 03:49:51 pm »
I use Magnum mostly in my German beers for bittering.  I think it is basically a big Hallertauer hop, or so I was led to believe.  On American Lagers I use Cluster for bittering.
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Offline Kutaka

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Re: What makes a good bittering hop?
« Reply #25 on: November 08, 2017, 04:06:29 pm »
I don't buy hops specifically for bittering.  Anything above 9% AA is going to be fine for a 60 minute bittering addition.  Since you have a limited amount of hops you are willing to buy, it makes sense to pick a bittering hop that is useful beyond bittering.  In this case, I suggest Apollo as your versatile bittering hop.  Very high AA.  Good orange and ginger flavor from 20-0.  Strong aroma as a dry hop. 

Offline dmtaylor

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Re: What makes a good bittering hop?
« Reply #26 on: November 08, 2017, 04:46:21 pm »
I don't buy hops specifically for bittering.  Anything above 9% AA is going to be fine for a 60 minute bittering addition.  Since you have a limited amount of hops you are willing to buy, it makes sense to pick a bittering hop that is useful beyond bittering.  In this case, I suggest Apollo as your versatile bittering hop.  Very high AA.  Good orange and ginger flavor from 20-0.  Strong aroma as a dry hop.

Dave

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