Favorite Hop Combinations

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Beerthoven

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According to the National Hop Association of England: "If you mix hops remember that sometimes hop aromas from different hops just 'average out' the taste and dilute the effect. Single hopped beers usually (not always) have more aroma definition about them than multi-hopped beers."

What are your favorite hop combinations? Are there any to be avoided? Which hops would make for good single-hop beers?
 
Brewiz said:
Simcoe, Cascade and Amarillo...................Awesome and throw some Warrior in there.
I have started using this combo, too, and really like it. But I have often wondered what the best order of addition is.

Clearly Warrior is the bittering hop.

I have been using simcoe and cascade as flavour hops, and simcoe and amarillo for aroma.

What other combinations work well for people?
 
I have switched to doing lagers via AG. So I have been holding to one type of hop for the lagers so that I can get to know them.
All my previous beers were ales in which case I would use any stronger bittering hop and cascades for late addtions / aroma.
 
Cascade by itself is pretty good. Kent Goldings are pretty sweet too.....but I do love my IIPA'S with like 7 different hop varieties......
 
Honestly, I'm getting kind of burned out on Cascade. My brewing friends love Cascade and pile it on. I do appreciate Cascade, but want to try something else.

I'm looking for a piney aroma, not citrus, so I was thinking of using Chinook or Simcoe exclusively in my next few APA's. Any others?
 
Columbus , Centennial, Horizon. Magnum, Simcoe, Cascade. Speaking of Magnum, did you guy's notice that this years Mag harvest had a huge amount of Lupulin. I bought a bunch of whole cones and when brewing with them noticed all the lupulin collected on the cones. Out of sight! A great bittering hop, very clean.
 
Nugget is another bittering hop that pairs well with the "C" hops - I've also used it with Amarillo and Mt. Hood.
 
Magnum and cascade for sure. Also, all Amarillo is a great way to go in the IPA's. It's the only way I do 'em right now. Just bought a pound of Amarillo from hopsdirect.com for $19.50. What a bargain!
 
Are there certain hops combinations that are more appropriate/characteristic of certain styles. Would the above suggestions apply equally to a porter, an imperial stout, a pilsner, etc.?
 
Are there certain hops combinations that are more appropriate/characteristic of certain styles. Would the above suggestions apply equally to a porter, an imperial stout, a pilsner, etc.?

I'd say any decent hop combo would work in a basic pale ale. Beyond that, style becomes an issue for me. I personally am not a big fan of Cascades in porters or stouts, though others diagree.
 
Nugget, Simcoe, Tomahawk, Chinook, Willamette... Together, if used at the right times, they give a great Citrus/Piney/Apricot flavor!
 
I really like Simcoe/Amarillo, Simcoe/Cascade, Simcoe/Centennial/Amarillo, and just did one using Simcoe/Amarillo/Cascade/Centennial/Sorachi Ace/Citra smells good in the primary.
 
Are there certain hops combinations that are more appropriate/characteristic of certain styles. Would the above suggestions apply equally to a porter, an imperial stout, a pilsner, etc.?

Definitely! I mean, an ordinary stout or a porter shouldn't have hops flavor or aroma, so typically only bittering hops are used. In an English beer, a typical combo might be EKG/fuggles. In an American IPA, you may see any combination of American C-hops, or amarillo/simcoe, or other citrusy hops. To me, the word "pilsner" connotes saaz hops.

Of course, we're not required to do that, it's just what is in known styles. Some newer American styles are pushing the boundaries- like American brown ale. It's like an English brown, but with big American hops and aroma. So, really no rules.

The thing is, as a beer drinker I usually want a "style" to start with. So, if I'm drinking an APA for example, and it has German malt and German hops, that just seems kinda weird tasting. Still good, of course, but weird. That happened to me. I was making an American amber, but had to sub something I was out of. It came out tasting like a German ale. Which made sense in retrospect, since I subbed German malt and German hops! But it was a weird beer to me.
 
Definitely! I mean, an ordinary stout or a porter shouldn't have hops flavor or aroma, so typically only bittering hops are used. In an English beer, a typical combo might be EKG/fuggles. In an American IPA, you may see any combination of American C-hops, or amarillo/simcoe, or other citrusy hops. To me, the word "pilsner" connotes saaz hops.

Thanks for this. For a noob, this is good to know. Is there a more comprehensive source which explains hops combinations and styles? To me, half the fun is experimenting with new things, but it's nice to have some kind of baseline to start with.
 
I just did a Wheat and Rye beer that was dry hopped in the keg with citra and amarillo. Came out awesome. I used .75 Amarillo and .5 Citra
 
For combinations, Challenger and EKG - luvverly.

Agreed. Been using this. And Challenger with Northdown.

I also like Cascade with EKGS, but I like the Cascade to be lower or it takes over too much. I did a couple of iterations of a Christmas Ale, something along the lines of Deschutes Jubelale, that used 15 grams of Cascade at 15 minutes and 30 grams of EKGS at KO and they were really tasty together.
 
Calypso goes great as a bittering hop when used with noble hops as flavor, but it does not go well with the "C" hops.
 
Bringing this thread back!!

Im thinking: Nugget @ 60, and Simcoe/Citra in the late additions. Anyone done this combo?
 
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