JohnnySardonic
Well-Known Member
Since SWMBO puts up with my hobby, yet isn't as excited about it as I am, I figured I would express my delight here rather than annoy her with homebrew ramblings.
I am coming up on my one year anniversary of home brewing, and while I have experimented with different types of hops over the course of my 20 brews, they always just smelled like hops to me. Recently, I've been using my pale ale grain bill to experiment with single hops, but haven't really made it past more than a few varietals. Today, however, I dry hopped an IPA with Simcoe, Columbus, and Amarillo. What do you know, they all smelled distinctly different to me!
The Simcoe was straight pine. The Amarillo (which previously would have probably just smelled like Cascade or Centennial to me) was distinctly peachy. And the Columbus had a nice onion-y dankness to it.
I know this may not seem amazing to those of you with years of experience, but to someone like me who always thought hops just smelled like hops (especially in their pre-brewed pellet form) this was a break through. This tiny victory gives me hope that my palate will actually develop into something. What that something is may not be amazing, but it's better than when I started. (Althought the skeptic in me still thinks I may have just imagined those aromas based on descriptions I've read of those hops. I'll try to be optimistic though)
What a great hobby/obsession this has turned out to be, thanks largely to the community on HBT. Every brew I learn something new. Now I'm rhyming so I think I will end the post.
Cheers!
I am coming up on my one year anniversary of home brewing, and while I have experimented with different types of hops over the course of my 20 brews, they always just smelled like hops to me. Recently, I've been using my pale ale grain bill to experiment with single hops, but haven't really made it past more than a few varietals. Today, however, I dry hopped an IPA with Simcoe, Columbus, and Amarillo. What do you know, they all smelled distinctly different to me!
The Simcoe was straight pine. The Amarillo (which previously would have probably just smelled like Cascade or Centennial to me) was distinctly peachy. And the Columbus had a nice onion-y dankness to it.
I know this may not seem amazing to those of you with years of experience, but to someone like me who always thought hops just smelled like hops (especially in their pre-brewed pellet form) this was a break through. This tiny victory gives me hope that my palate will actually develop into something. What that something is may not be amazing, but it's better than when I started. (Althought the skeptic in me still thinks I may have just imagined those aromas based on descriptions I've read of those hops. I'll try to be optimistic though)
What a great hobby/obsession this has turned out to be, thanks largely to the community on HBT. Every brew I learn something new. Now I'm rhyming so I think I will end the post.
Cheers!