Columbus hops for flavor/aroma

Hi,

I'm planning to do an APA with only columbus hops. I've heard that columbus' aroma is piney, it is also described as pungent (what does that mean?).

How much should I add for dry hopping 9.5 gallons of beer? I plan on using 0.7 oz at 60' and 0.7 at 15'. Then dry hop it for about 2 weeks.

A friend of mine warned me to not use columbus because it's too bitter, maybe he used too much. According to beersmith these additions will result in less than 30 IBUS, which sound very reasonable for me.

So is that 1.4 oz. for a 9.5 gallon brew? Seems a bit light on the hops but maybe that's just me.

I like Columbus hops. They've got a strong but pleasant flavor/aroma. I'd do at least 1 oz. for dry hopping, but it really depends on how much aroma your looking for.

Columbus Hops

HOOTER said:

So is that 1.4 oz. for a 9.5 gallon brew? Seems a bit light on the hops but maybe that's just me.

I like Columbus hops. They've got a strong but pleasant flavor/aroma. I'd do at least 1 oz. for dry hopping, but it really depends on how much aroma your looking for.

Columbus Hops

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Yeah, It is a bit light, but I'm a bit afraid of overdoing. They say columbus can make your beer bitter fast. I don't want to end up with a beer that makes my face twitch lol

Your concerns are well founded but in the amounts you are proposing to use, I doubt you will have a problem. You could go a bit higher even.

I used four ounces of 12.2% alpha acid Columbus last summer (during the dark days of the hops shortage - I was determined to rage against the shortage) for a five gallon batch of an APA. To say that this beer had a powerful hops presence was an understatement - they hit you before your first sip (and I like a HOPPY APA). It was delicious but hardly a mellow beer (and it mellowed over time).

So less than two ounces in almost ten gallons should be fine.

The hopping rates used to create a balanced APA is pretty dependant on your BU/GU ratio. Have a look at this chart that BierMuncher utilizes often to get a better understanding of this relationship.

For your dry hopping, a 1/2 oz to 1 oz per 5 gallons will probably get you what you are looking for.