Are there any hops you actually dislike?

I'm not the hugest fan of Northern Brewer, although I don't think I'd go so far as to say I hate it. I will still drink Anchor Steam from time to time.

All by its lonesome, I really don't like Centennial. It leaves me with this weird, soapy aftertaste. Used in conjunction with something else (say Amarillo for instance), it works nicely. But when it stands alone as a flavor/aroma hop like in Founder's Centennial Pale, or Stone Ruination... I'll pass, thanks.

And I don't get the Fuggle hate either. I just brewed up an oatmeal stout this weekend with Fuggles - my garage smelled amazing after the hop additions! To each his (or her!) own, I guess.

Experimented with Calypso when I first found out about it, won't do that again. While I normally love high AA smell, not these, it was just plain unsettling.

I choose to avoid noble hops varieties and have a strong aversion to ZYTHOS and DELTA.

I really don't like magnum. Every beer I've ever had that has a significant Magnum addition tends to give me heartburn. All I know is lot's of magnum = heartburn for me.

Sankedoc said:

I really don't like magnum. Every beer I've ever had that has a significant Magnum addition tends to give me heartburn. I suppose it's due to the relatively high levels of co-humulone. All I know is lot's of magnum = heartburn for me.

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First post ever on HBT and yet you joined in Feb 2009???? Something is awry there.

Magnum has some of the lowest cohumulone levels around btw. It's one of the reasons people choose it as a smooth bittering hop.

stratslinger said:

All by its lonesome, I really don't like Centennial. It leaves me with this weird, soapy aftertaste.

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I'm having this dilemma right now. All Centennial IPA and get this weird soapy aftertaste. I am hoping that it is my mash chemistry (pH, bicarbonates) because I have no qualms about aroma. Of course if its not that, my lot is nearly 4 years old so it's either 1) old hops or 2) bad year (2008-9) for Centennial. I assume this taste goes away with the Amarillo? Strange. I sometimes think we as homebrewers don't get the select choice of varieties and its not so much the hop, but other factors.

JuanMoore said:

I don't think anyone hates Amarillo. Give it time and you'll probably find haters for the rest though.

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Amarillo hater here...go ahead start the belittling, but to me, Amarillo hops just taste metallic, I use them as sparingly as possible.

bobbrews said:

First post ever on HBT and yet you joined in Feb 2009???? Something is awry there.

Magnum has some of the lowest cohumulone levels around btw. It's one of the reasons people choose it as a smooth bittering hop.

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Magnum is my all time favorite.

Sad to see Santiam hate. I liked it so much I planted a few. Tettnang is my love though.

Not a fan of northern brewer hops. To me, they have a metallic taste.

Others that I have to be careful with are Sorachi Ace. In small doses it's good. Larger doses undrinkable. Same with Nelson Sauvon. I just used Citra for the first time and while it is still in the fermenter, I do detect a mango flavor and aroma which I am concerned about.

I do like Fuggles and I can never get enough of Amarillo.

MrEButh said:

Amarillo hater here...go ahead start the belittling, but to me, Amarillo hops just taste metallic, I use them as sparingly as possible.



Magnum is my all time favorite.

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This guy is high

Not a fan of Chinook. I do, however, like Citra. Can't get enough of Simcoe - Amarillo. I use lots of 'em for late additions. They give an almost candy / bubblegummy flavor to an IPA which when balanced with the right amount of bittering is blissfull.

AndMan3030 said:

Not a fan of Chinook. I do, however, like Citra. Can't get enough of Simcoe - Amarillo. I use lots of 'em for late additions. They give an almost candy / bubblegummy flavor to an IPA which when balanced with the right amount of bittering is blissfull.

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Agree with every point made here. I would also add Centennial, Willamette, and Fuggles to my "meh" list.

14thstreet said:

I'm having this dilemma right now. All Centennial IPA and get this weird soapy aftertaste. I am hoping that it is my mash chemistry (pH, bicarbonates) because I have no qualms about aroma. Of course if its not that, my lot is nearly 4 years old so it's either 1) old hops or 2) bad year (2008-9) for Centennial. I assume this taste goes away with the Amarillo? Strange. I sometimes think we as homebrewers don't get the select choice of varieties and its not so much the hop, but other factors.

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Old hops. Toss 'em or use them in a lambic.

Not a fan of Chinook. I do, however, like Citra. Can't get enough of Simcoe - Amarillo. I use lots of 'em for late additions. They give an almost candy / bubblegummy flavor to an IPA which when balanced with the right amount of bittering is blissfull.

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I agree!! It just figured out that i jsut dont care for the Chinook flavor. There was a beer fest in Minneapolis this weekend and i got a chance to taste a ton of IPA's, and i could pick out the chinook instantly. I would ask the representatives if the beer had chinook and they all nodded.

Simcoe, Amarillo and Citra are the favorites. Falconers Flight and Citra make an excellent combo IMO.

Interesting thread, i realize its personal preference but im trying to figure out what 3 hop varieties i want to start growing next year lol...

Im liking Cascade(or Centenial?), and will probably do a Magnum for bittering...although i know most people wouldnt use home grown hops for bittering since you cant really get the AA...so im torn on that, although i'd think you would have decent success just aiming your recipes as being dead middle of the AA range...after a batch it would be pretty obvious if it was heavily skewed one way or the other and it wouldnt ruin the beer.

The 3rd is up in the air...looking towards Mt Hood possibly as its a Hallertau, or maybe Saaz to keep some around for Pilsners/Bocks...ugh this decision feels as difficult as naming a child...its going to take several years for the plants to get going so i want to make the right choice the first time!

Something about the combo of Bravo/Cluster. The only beer that I've ever wanted to dump.

AndMan3030 said:

This guy is high

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Not high at all. Whenever I use Amarillo i get an awful metallic taste to my beers. If it weren't for that I love the other flavors/aromatics that the hops provide my beers. Sorry, we disagree on this beloved hop variety.

Looks like the overall, sweetheart hops is....East Kent Goldings

Not a hater in 10 pages. That's gotta say something

Cider123 said:

Looks like the overall, sweetheart hops is....East Kent Goldings

Not a hater in 10 pages. That's gotta say something

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I don't hate EKG, but I do think it's the most godsawful boring hop I've ever encountered. No character at all.

Haven't run into any yet. I've heard that some people don't like Citra or Sorachi Ace, but I see nothing wrong with them.

I can't stand Simcoe, just for the fact that too many brewers out there try to use it, yet end up with a product that is way to catty and has a nasty bitterness (ahem Simtra by Knee Deep). Even in my own kitchen, I can't seem to find a good balance using it.

It would be interesting if we could run a hop palate test on some of you. I would not recommend abandoning possible future beers with one hop as a focus just because you disliked how it was used in something you had previously tasted. You would totally be missing out.

Two that come to mind for me are Citra and Simcoe... used in small quantities I think they can add some interesting notes to a beer but in larger quantities I just don't like them.

I like the Belma's. At least my wife does. Made a great APA.

I'm not a huge fan of super galena i find that it gives a taste similar to eating a grapefruit rind.
i now use Bravo in its place this is the most underated hop i know of.

I like Amarillo, but in large doses and single hopped, it can get pretty harsh and strange.

Most hops are good for me.

Stay away from Knee Deep Brewing's Simtra then!! lol

I was able to taste it at a Beer Event last Friday, and I was completely underwhelmed with it. Love Citra and the qualities it brings when used in moderation.... I can agree with the same note for Simcoe. But when they're used way too aggressively, it completely ruins the beer IMO.

I love all hops.

:fro:

Fuggles. The aroma from a beer brewed with Fuggles just turns my stomache. I'm wary of English beers unless I know there isn't any Fuggles in them.

I also dislike Chinook in some beers. The harshness in Chinook needs to be well balanced with a lot of malt for my palate.

Let's add the fuggles to the list, I really dislike it.

Apatride said:

Let's add the fuggles to the list, I really dislike it.

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Added way back at the beginning....welcome to the Fuggle Haters Club!

Interesting how everyone has different takes on hops. That's what makes the beer world go around, I guess.
Had a single hop IPA with nothing but Fuggles, 60 IBUs, at Hopworks last night and it was great.

Resurrecting...

I hate Calypso. I've tried to like it, but it tastes like bitter granny smith apple skins to me. Maybe good in a mix with others, but just not good by itself. I have almost two pounds of the crap - the only hops so far that I feel I have wasted money on. I can't bring myself to use it in another beer...

Also hate Summit - tastes like onions to me. I have an IPA bittered with it from over a year ago - it is "savory" ;-)

I have a love/hate relationship with Chinook. I love the taste in late additions, but it is WAY too harsh in early additions (especially with high sulfate water). Works well with other C hops late and dry hopping though.

In general, I not to keen on American varieties. Although this is likely because I'm currently into malty and balanced beers and don't enjoy anything over .5 on the BU:GU scale. The only hop I ever used that the flavor just really ruined the beer for me was some NZ Hallertau I had a while back. I even made a post about it that nobody replied to: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/nz-hallertau-bittering-strange-flavor-361234/ Funnily enough, I never had a problem with Fuggles and love Willamette.

cyclonite said:

Also hate Summit - tastes like onions to me.

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Everytime I have used Amarillo I get a faint onion smell mixed with citrus--I usually smell it in the opened pellets and in the beer up to about 10-12 days after bottling....it usually fades out, but next to Citra, Simcoe, etc. the Amarillo I have tried smells like onions...I will try and see if it was batch specific (bought a lb of pellets, and 2 oz foil bags from two different places) but I don't think I will be buying a pound of it again.

Just read through all the posts in this thread, very interesting to see all the differences in everyones palette, although, I should expect that based on the varieties of food liked/hated. Funny thing is, I've never met a food I've hated (and I've eaten some really 'bizarre' foods in foreign counties; thymus gland, brain, pancreas, and blood pudding to name a few), and also never met a hop I didn't like. I have never tasted or smelled the "cat piss" people get from some of the high alpha American varieties (if that's what cat piss smells and tastes like I think I need to get a cat). I have found that certain varieties can get grassy when over-utilized as a dry hop, but I have to agree with the post that every hop has a time and place to be used.

Hmm I've enjoyed employing a magnum/ fuggles combination in my porters and stouts and find it works in moderation with these styles.
I bought some Ahtanum awhile back and used it in a CDA but didn't find it all that appealing. I don't think I have yet had a beer that I really liked that used Ahtanum.

+1 fuggles H8. No one hated on crystal yet... I don't exactly hate it, but i NEVER use em. I find them boring and easily replaceable. Still think Mt. Hood hasn't been hate raped either, but I can't take the honor. Love em. Also, do not much care for nugget for anything but bittering and Magnum or Williamette for anything period.

Bought an elbow of Sterling and did a 2 row SMaSH. Yeah...anyone want the rest of my Sterling?