The hops I got were a higher alpha acid than I was expecting. At 7.4% I had to scale down the amount I used in my somewhat subdued ESB. I was both happy and sad since I really wanted to get a good feel for this hop, but the 'juicy fruit gum' descriptor had me pretty worried. The hops smelled pretty different in each of the two test batches, which is perfect. Without a difference the experiment would be worthless.
In the marris otter batch, the hops had a very subdued aroma at 60min. You got that initial hit in the face of hoppy steam and then it dissipated. Around 40min I got a strong, resiny, cat-pee aroma that lasted about 10-15 minutes. After that it was more of the molasses-y sweet biscuit smell from the wort. The 20min and knockout additions gave a spicy, british-earthiness to the aroma.
In the fawcett optic batch the floral/black currant sents came through a lot more. The wort for this batch was much cleaner smelling. Caramel and burnt suger coming though a grainy background. Each hop addition lent a stronger, and more lingering aroma. This time I didn't get that harsh burst of resin-y fumes at 40min.
My over all impression of the hop so far-- Great. I love that strong spicy UK hop smell. I got much less black currant during the boil than expected, because it was up front in the bag. In a more hop-forward beer it might be more intense. I also need to see how it holds up after fermentation.
Can't wait!