Leaf hops and IPA

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summersolstice

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I took advantage of Northern Brewer's release of unlimited quantities of '07 leaf hops and bought a pound each of Centenniel, Cascade, Fuggles, and Saaz. I want to make an IPA this weekend and I'm wondering which combination, and at which stage, I could use these hops. Any suggestions?
 
Centennial and Cascade would make a beautiful American IPA.

Fuggles would be great in an English IPA.

Save the Saaz for your German and Belgian beers (think Bohemian pilsner).
 
Centennial and Cascade would make a beautiful American IPA.

Fuggles would be great in an English IPA.

Save the Saaz for your German and Belgian beers (think Bohemian pilsner).


I plan to use Marris Otter for the base grain so an English IPA would definitely be doable. Would using Fuggles only be too one dimensional? I do have some East Kent Goldings pellet hops, but only about 4 oz.
 
I plan to use Marris Otter for the base grain so an English IPA would definitely be doable. Would using Fuggles only be too one dimensional? I do have some East Kent Goldings pellet hops, but only about 4 oz.

Ever hear of SMaSH??????

One of the best SMaSH beers is Marris Otter and Fuggle
 
SMaSh = Single Malt and Single Hop. It is a movement of making great beer with simple grain and hop bills, and utilizing different hop timings, mash temps, etc., to achieve a multidimensional beer with simple ingredients.


Also, you dont need to keep to style. English IPAs, when compared to American, are slightly lower gravity, a little less bold in terms of hop flavor and aroma, and slightly dirtier/spicier hops used. And, of course, British Ale yeast is used, whcih will give some esters and flavors that an American Ale yeast would not. But you can mix up the hops in any way that seems exciting to you. Just remember what they are like, and decide what you want to go for. Cascade and Centennial are both American variety hops, and they have citrus and grapefruity aromas and flavors. Centennial is sometimes called "Super Cascade" because it has a very similar flavor profile to cascade, only bigger. Fuggles has an earthier, maybe spicier flavor, though it has some hints of fruit in there too, and it is a British hop. (I thought that it was a cultivar of East Kent Golding but grown in a different location, but I cannot find anything to support that so maybe I imagined it). And finally, Saaz is a Czech hop, spicy, earthy and mild, and traditionally used in German and Czech beers, as Beerrific pointed out, but also in US Wheat beers, Bitters and Belgian style beers. So if you wanted to you could experiment using this with the Fuggles, as they might compliment each other.

Also, remember that whatever you choose to use as your bittering hop, while it will contribute some flavor, will not contribute an excessive amount of flavor, and it could be another opportunity to include a hint of something different.

One idea might be to use Centennial as your bittering hop, as it has the highest AA and therefore you would need the least aount of it to get the IBUs and therefore less flavor imparted, use Cascade as your flavor and aroma hop, and then after fermentation is done split it to two different secondaries, dry hopping one of them with Centennial and the other with Fuggles...

Good luck, experiment and have fun!
 
I'd go with the Maris Otter and Fuggles. Maybe add some EKGs for the flavoring addition, but that is optional.

I'm planning a M.O./Fuggles IPA some day, SMaSH, toasting some of the Maris Otter to get close to Amber malt.
 
Thanks for all the help. I've received some good ideas for this weekend's brewing session.

I've made a couple of Dubbels, a couple of ginger braggots, a pale ale braggot, a stout braggot, and, most recently, a mild. I've liked them all so far and I'd happily make any of them again. I'll admit that I've had a lot of help adapting recipes from reading this forum. You guys are a credit to the hobby!
 
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