Aroma Hops for Bittering?

Are there any detriments to using hops traditionally regarded as "aroma" for bittering purposes? For example, Cascade or Goldings?

I'm unfamiliar with the various acid concentrations in hops and how they impact the brew. My first thought was using these types of hops would not present a problem.

...but then I wondered if using, for example, four ounces of 6% Cascade in place of two ounces of 12% Centennial would present an issue in terms of a buildup in undesirable compounds and acids. Of course, the flavor would be somewhat different, but for the sake of argument...

Your logic is correct; you'll need to use more of a lower AA% hop to achieve the same level of bitterness as a smaller amount of higher AA% hop. Ostensibly, a large amount of hops could lend a raw vegetal, grassy character, but I find this to be more the case with dry-hopping when the hops are in contact with the beer for too long. Boiling eliminates this possibility.

But, the reasoning for using higher AA% when possible is both economic and practical; more hops yield more sediment and, if you are using whole leaf, you'll lose quite a bit of wort to absorption by the hops. This will ultimately mean less beer ready for packaging. Using higher AA% hops stretches your ingredient dollar.

I often use lower AA% hops for bittering when the style calls for a minimal hop presence; for example, my mild is bittered with Goldings only and my smoked porter with just over an ounce of Challenger.

To a further point, Daniels points out that even the bittering addition will contribute some flavor so you are best served by using the cleanest bittering hop available to you when substituting hops. Flavor contributions notwithstanding, I'd much rather save those delicate, wonderfully aromatic and flavorful hops for applications where their characteristics would really shine.

There is an ALL Cascade APA out there that many of us brew and it is phenominal. There is no problem using aroma or noble hops for bittering... My Hugh Heffe uses Hallertau for bitting, which is a noble hop variety. There are a lot of recipes that use them as bittering additions.

My Hugh Heffe uses Hallertau for bitting, which is a noble hop variety. There are a lot of recipes that use them as bittering additions.

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True, there's nothing inherently wrong with using noble or aroma hops as bittering; but, this is dictated largely by style with regards to hop presence. I use EKG for bittering in my March Brown Mild but I surely wouldn't use Cascade or Centennial there. Likewise, a C hop in my smoked porter would unduly clash with the smoke character.

Can you imagine how many ounces of mid-to-low AA% aroma hops you'd have to use for an IIPA to acheive the same level of bitterness as Warrior or Summit?

20 years ago 6% Cascades would have been considered a bittering hop. The High AA hops we use today are, for the most part, products of programs like OSU's High AA Hop breeding.

There are a few aroma hops I wouldn't try to use for bittering, only because of the massive amounts that would be required. And there are a few clean bittering hops, that would add very little flavor or aroma.

Cool. I ask because I'm going to start a little hop garden this summer, and know that between two plants (probably Cascade and Goldings), I'm eventually going to have enough hops so that the two can serve dual duty (bittering/aroma) without regard for the quantities used.

Indeed, if they yield anything like I'm told they might, I'd almost have to use them dual duty -- either that, or get into hop selling.

Read this... Late Hopping

I made a version of that brew, and it's awesome.

BarleyWater said:

Read this... Late Hopping

I made a version of that brew, and it's awesome.

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Good article, and I intend on making a version of that brew as well.

If you're going to do two plants for your garden, make one of them Magnum. They come in at about 12%-14% and they are super clean.

You can bitter with these without screwing with the hop flavor/aroma.

I'm figuring Cascade and Goldings -- Cascade for the Americans and Goldings for the English/Continental. I may end up using those two for flavor/aroma contributions alone, then selling off the difference and using the proceeds to buy pellet hops. Once you start using more than 2-3 ounces of leaf hops in the boil, they begin to get annoying to deal with.

I made a Honey Rye Blonde, in which I used 2oz spalter for 60min in the boil and columbus for 15 mins. The spalter left a nice spicy taste while the clean columbus added a wonderful aroma. I also added 1.5lbs of honey to the primary and after that fermented out I dryed hopped it with the columbus and added 1lb of sugar to kick up the ABV. I have fallen in love with beer, it has a complex flavor that hits at diffrent levels...I just had one, I should know The 9.1%abv hits you pretty quick. So after all that I would recomend (depending on the style of beer) to use High AA% hops for a late hop addtion!

david_42 said:

20 years ago 6% Cascades would have been considered a bittering hop. The High AA hops we use today are, for the most part, products of programs like OSU's High AA Hop breeding.

There are a few aroma hops I wouldn't try to use for bittering, only because of the massive amounts that would be required. And there are a few clean bittering hops, that would add very little flavor or aroma.

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Yep, I love advancement. I just got a pound of 7.8% cascades yesterday. I will get good bittering out of them.