what hop to use?

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StoutFan

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I found this recipe on the net and would like to alter it a little to bring the bitterness down and add a little hop spice more than bitter tone. I was thinking 4 oz. Kent Goldings for bittering and 2 oz. Czech Saaz for flavor and aroma. Has anyone had any experience with these two hops. My dad recommended the Saaz, so I trust that one, but I've personally never touched the Kent.

* 6# Stone Mountain Brewery amber malt syrup
* 3# Geordie light DME
* 1# 10L crystal malt
* 8 oz. chocolate malt
* 2 oz. roasted barley
* 8 oz. Italian espresso beans
* 6 oz. Cascade hops (5.2% AA), bittering
* 1 oz. Cascade hops, flvaoring and aroma
* 15 g. Windsor dried ale yeast
 
I love EKG and just made a stout with them yesterday. I think that 6oz of hops in a stout is a little much, unless it is an imperial, but ha is just my opinion, and it might be different wit hthe coffee in there
 
I'm certainly not one to advise against hopping the heck out of something, but you may be better served using a high aa% hop for bittering like Warrior, Galena, Centennial, Simcoe, Columbus, etc. This will allow you to use much less than 6 oz of Cascade or even 4 oz of EKG.

Using Saaz in the last 15 minutes or so will help get you the spicy hop notes that you're going for. I've never brewed with coffee, so hopefully someone who has done so will be able to offer better insight on this than me, but it's possible that the coffee may detract from the spicy hop notes that you want in the palate and aroma and could even knock the edge off of the bitterness as well.

Just some things to consider.
 
I've done a couple of coffee stouts before and always used Mt. Hood hops in them, well balanced and not too bitter. Usually the hops don't get wiped out by the coffee, but the coffee can take some of the aroma away. That was why I was going with quite a bit, the Kent in the boil and dry hopping with the Czech. Would the Czech be better in the boil then? My choice on the Kent was to try something different, I was told they are sweet and really floral, and the guy also told me that its quite hard to over-bitter with them.
 
So I'll take that as a forget the Kent, boil the Saaz, and use Simcoe to bitter.
 
No doubt, I guess it does lean toward porter on the stout end doesn't it? The recipe isn't final yet, still some tweaking to do. I'm hoping this one can end up being the base for the chocolate-coffee stout I hope to perfect.mmmmmmmm........ creamy goodness:cool: Its extract, but as my carboys and such were utterly destroyed(thanks matt), all i have is the Mr. Beer fermenter and a beat up ale pail, all grain will have to wait till after the Better Bottles and other misc. supplies are procured first.
 
just half the cascade for bittering, or maybe just 2 ounces for bittering
 
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