Exchanging bittering hops

Hello,

Thanks in advance for the assistance.

Lately I have been changing out the bittering hops that I use, and adjusting to maintain the proper IBU. I have been doing this to use up some excess that I have in certain varieties. I have not maintained considerations for hops to style.

How much of an effect does the bittering hop have on flavor? From I can tell, not much. My boils have been mostly 90m, but some 60m. In the future I am thinking of using the cheapest hops (get some bulk high AAU and adjust) I can for bittering, and then using the appropriate style for aroma and flavor. Any reason why this would be a mistake?

Thanks!!

Yeah, not much. Most of the flavor compounds boil off after 60 minutes. I have bittered with large amounts of low alpha hops in beers that did not have any later additions and have noticed some hop flavor, but nothing upfront.

Buying a generic high alpha hop for bittering is a good idea IMO. This is especially true if you go with something that does not have a powerful flavor/aroma to begin with, Magnum and Horizon spring to mind.

That's the whole idea behind the OSU High-alpha hop breeding program. I use Columbus pellets most of the time. Widmer makes a bittering blend called Amalgam and uses it in most of their brews.

I wouldn't try using Columbus in a recipe calling for Noble hops, but otherwise...

Great, I value the input. I like the flexability of using other hops, and, besides I am pretty cheap and like to cut back on cost when I can.

They say, sometimes you can pick up the taste of bittering hops in some beers, especially in those made from light malts.