Amarillo vs. Centennial

I'm making a Two Hearted Ale clone-ish and have Amarillo AND Centennial hops available.

Any of you guys have a preference on which one to use. Both?

The hop sched for a 5 gallon batch calls for

1.5oz Amarillo 60min
1.0oz Amarillo 15min
0.5oz Amarillo 5min
0.5oz Amarillo Dry Hop

But I have a BUNCH of Centennial on hand (both actually).

If it calls for Amarillo, I'd say use Amarillo. Especially if you have a bunch of both available. Save the Centennial something else, like Beirmmuncher's blonde. Althought if your bent on using some Cent, I'd say use it for bittering, and keep the aroma and flavor to Amarillo.

Not bent - I just know that before the hop problem Centennial was the hop used. I have no knowledge of Amarello (or Centennial for that matter).

now both are in abundance.

If it calls for Amarillo, I'd say use Amarillo. Especially if you have a bunch of both available. Save the Centennial something else, like Beirmmuncher's blonde. Althought if your bent on using some Cent, I'd say use it for bittering, and keep the aroma and flavor to Amarillo.

Click to expand...

THIS.

While not in Two Hearted, Amarillo and Simcoe together are just fantastic.

Simcoe ? Heck - I've never even heard of that!! LOL I'm not trying to actually make a clone but it was a good starting point!!

I'll have to look into Simco!

Look at Yoop's DFH 60 clone. Warrior for bittering, then continously hopped with Amarillo & Simcoe, dry-hopped with Amarillo & Simcoe. Delicious.

I'm also making a Bell's clone today, and I've doing all bittering and aroma with Cent and then using Cascade for dry hopping. Probably won't turn out exact, but hey, it'll be damn good.

Grinder12000 said:

Not bent - I just know that before the hop problem Centennial was the hop used. I have no knowledge of Amarello (or Centennial for that matter).

now both are in abundance.

Click to expand...

4.99 and 3.99 an oz is abundance

Bells uses Centennial

Two Brothers Centennial IPA is my fav!

4.99 and 3.99 an oz is abundance

Click to expand...

$2-$2.25/oz for whole leaf at Freshops.

https://commerce.peak.org/vh/f/fres...all&template=Templates/hops_storebuilder.html

Well - abundance means I can actually BUY them. I have to see if my LHBS carry's Simcoe. Probably not. They are a good store and just branching into home brew. I try to get as much as I can there but . . . . . it's sparce for a lot of things.

How would you use Simcoe in the below

1.5oz Amarillo 60min
1.0oz Amarillo 15min
0.5oz Amarillo 5min
0.5oz Amarillo Dry Hop

Everything I have ever heard was that Bell's Two Hearted was all Centennial all the time. Here is an example:

Bells Two Hearted IPA Recipe ::: Brew365 - Homebrewing Recipes and Articles

Hops shortage there was a switch from Centennial to Amarillo - I'm not trying to make a copy - just trying to make a good IPA and using Two Hearted Ale as a starting point.

5.5lb Extra Pale LME
2.5lb 2-Row
1/2lb Carapils
1/2lb Crystal 20L
1/2 Munich


???????????????????????
1.5oz Amarillo 60 min
1oz Amarillo 15 min
0.5oz Amarillo 5 min
0.5oz Amarillo Dry Hopping

Wyeast American Ale 1056

As someone else mentioned, Amarillo and Simcoe make an extra good combination especially as regards aroma and dry hopping. Centennial makes a pretty good substitution for Amarillo if you like the citrusy leaning hop, so if you're just wanting to use some - you might give that a try. Basically I think Centennial and Amarillo are pretty close to the same, but Centential is a little more of the very bitter grapefruity variety of citrus character, while Amarillo is citrusy as well but softer and more like an orange or tangerine than like a grapefruit. Simcoe is closer to Centennial than Amarillo, and while Simcoe does have some citrus that you will notice, what is much more obvious about Simcoe is the evergreen/Christmas tree character.

You know how Cascades will have both citrus and pine qualitys right ? Start with a Cascade and ramp up the Citrus in the direction of Grapefruit and you've got an idea what Centennial is like. Start with Cascade and ramp up the Citrus in the direction of a tangerine and that will give you the idea of Amarillo. Start with Cascade and ramp up the evergreen instead of the citrus and you'll be close to Simcoe.

Well thats sort of my dumbed down internet version of how they smell and taste to me - your mileage my vary.

If you're wanting to use some Simcoe along with your Amarillo, I recommend using it for the dry hopping or very late additions. 1/2 oz Amarillo and 1/4 oz Simcoe for dry hopping is a great place to start.

I still think, even POST hop shortage, that Bell's is using Centennial! I have never, ever heard that they switched to Amarillo. And if they DID - It doesnt' even make SENSE!!! I have seen way too many people say that Amarillo is the same as Cascade and Centennial. This is wrong, wrong, wrong!

Centennial and Cascade are very similar. Centennial is a little... how do I describe it... muskier. It's a little grassier, and a little stronger. They are VERY similar hops. They can easily be substituted.

Amarillo is, at least what I call, a honey-pineapple flavor, with notes of tangerine. It is citrusy, but not nearly in the same way as Cascade, Centennial, Columbus, etc. Those are all grapefruit-y citrusy. Amarillo is smooooooth pineapple, little notes of honey, little floral notes... Very different.

Now don't get me wrong, an all-Amarillo IPA could be, and is, very tasty!!! But it ain't 2-Hearted. So - if you can't get Centennial, but you can get Amarillo, and you don't care whether it ends up like 2-Hearted, then I say brew it.

The hop schedule you have above isn't bad - but I would do it a little differently.
1.0oz Amarillo 60 min
1.5oz Amarillo 15 min
0.5oz Amarillo 5 min
1.0oz Amarillo Dry Hopping
is how I would do it, were it me.

Chriso said:

Amarillo is, at least what I call, a honey-pineapple flavor, with notes of tangerine.

Click to expand...

This, exactly. I got 4oz of Amarillo from Freshops last week and (against better judgment) snipped them open the other night to have a sniff. My first thought was, "whoa, grapefruit!" but SWMBO insisted it was way better than grapefruit. Now that you mention it, honey-pineapple is a really good description. I can't wait to use those hops.

I did an Amarillo SMaSH with 10# of Golden Promise and 2oz Amarillo - that was 0.66oz at 60, 15, and flameout. It was heavenly. We drank the entire keg in a week, it was so delicious.

I cannot recommend Amarillo highly enough.

But it's still not Centennial. That's why I have a full pound of each in my freezer.

Since I stopped home brewing and started back again I've noticed lots of new varieties have hit the market old favs are not available due to shortage.

here's a link to a substitution chart I found helped some:

Hop Substitution Chart ::: Brew365

Bell did not switch but AHS did when they could no longer get Centennial - I contacted them and they said they were switching back soon.

Chriso said:

I cannot recommend Amarillo highly enough.

But it's still not Centennial. That's why I have a full pound of each in my freezer.

Click to expand...

Word. These two hops are the tits. If you're after something Two Heartedy, go with Centennials, and you'll have a fantastic beer. If you go with Amarillo instead, you'll also have a fantastic beer. In fact, it's hard to see how this thread could turn out badly.

Every 2 hearted I have read is all Cenntennial. I also agree that Amarillo and Centennial are very little alike..Amarillo is very distinct and one of the best aroma hops. Cenntennial has much more bite and strong grapefruit like Cascade...I would make an all Amarillo ale and use the cenntennial for the 2 hearted.

J

I think Cascade is more like Centennial than Amarillo is. Simcoe and Amarillo is a great combo... Amarillo to me is more pineapple.

I've bittered with simcoe, then flavor/aroma amarillo then dryhop both simcoe/amarillo with great success.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned it yet, but why not combine them? Do a split of Centennial and Amarillo for the later additions. I have dry hopped with Cascade and Amarillo and it was a wonderful aroma. I have an APA that has Amarillo for the late additions (I should have dry-hopped it...). It's really good, but not grapefruity. It's got notes of mango/pineapple that are definitely due to the hop. Good stuff, but not citrusy like Cascade or Centennial.

Personally, I like the complexity when you mix a couple complementary hops for flavor and/or aroma.

In the end, either choice (or both) will make good beer.

Mutilated1 said:

Simcoe is closer to Centennial than Amarillo, and while Simcoe does have some citrus that you will notice, what is much more obvious about Simcoe is the evergreen/Christmas tree character.

You know how Cascades will have both citrus and pine qualitys right ? Start with a Cascade and ramp up the Citrus in the direction of Grapefruit and you've got an idea what Centennial is like. Start with Cascade and ramp up the Citrus in the direction of a tangerine and that will give you the idea of Amarillo. Start with Cascade and ramp up the evergreen instead of the citrus and you'll be close to Simcoe.

Click to expand...

Well said!!! :rockin:

Know your hops. It's the next new segment on Letterman.

Centennial is a cross between columbus/zeus/tomahawk (all basically the same breed) and cascade. So it has more alpha acids than cascade, and a bit of "hop buzz bomb" character, while still maintaining the strong grapefruit and somewhat "cat p@ss"/piney aroma you get from cascade.

If you want to know what Simcoe tastes and smells like go get a 6-pack of the Widmer Brrrr ale. Simcoe city. It's like drinking a Christmas tree. Cascades would be the Avery Ale to the Chief or Anchor Liberty ale. And Centennial is Bell's Two Hearted. The commercial examples are a great way to learn the different hops.

Oh, and I agree the Amarillo hops taste like a cross between cascades, pineapple, and tangerine. Srsly. I don't like the flavor much, but I love them for dry hop. Amarillo have an AMAZING aroma.

2 Hearted is made only with Centennial. So, if you are doing a "Clone"... use Centennial.

Hop Schedule should be like this:
1 oz Cent 60
1 oz Cent 20
2 oz Cent 5
1 oz Cent Dryhop

Grinder12000 said:

Hops shortage there was a switch from Centennial to Amarillo

Click to expand...

Serious... that is news to me. Still, we can afford the price for 5 oz.


Im still sick paying the price for 1 oz I once paid for 1/2 a pound. Hopefully hops does the same thing as oil.

BTW Oil is at under $50 a barrel right now.

Saccharomyces said:

Well said!!! :rockin:

...

Oh, and I agree the Amarillo hops taste like a cross between cascades, pineapple, and tangerine. Srsly. I don't like the flavor much, but I love them for dry hop. Amarillo have an AMAZING aroma.

Click to expand...

Thanks! Yes, I wish I had mentioned the pineapple though because now that I've read the other people's descriptions it seems to me that pineapple is closer to what you experience than tangerine - that never occured to me before, but its a very accurate description of what it smells like.

For a dry hop, Amarillo or a combination of Amarillo and Simcoe makes a damn fine beer.

While we're talking about super high alpha citrusy bittering hops, I'd like to plug one not many people have heard of that I tried and found really interesting. It's called Southern Cross and it had a woody lemon/lime flavor that's really neat, got a bunch floating in an IPA right now :rockin:

For those wondering.

I used

0.5oz of Centennial First Wort
1.0oz Amarillo 60
0.5oz Centennial 60min
0.25oz Amarillo 50
0.25oz Amarillo 30
0.25oz Amarillo 20
0.25oz Amarillo 05

and will add 0.5oz Amarillo DRY Hopping as soon as fermentation starts to calm down a little.

Mmmmmmm. Sounds great - Thanks for the update!

Sounds tasty. Let us know how it comes out!

Made 3 IPA's over the weekend. All basicly the same except for hops. One all Amarillo, one all Centenial and one mixed with some kent mixed in.

1) Amarillo gold IPA
8 lbs 2 row
.5 lbs crystal 40l
3 lbs LME
1.5 oz Amarillo (60 min)
1 oz Amarillo (15 min)
1 oz Amarillo (5 min)
.5 oz Amarillo (0 min)
Safale US 05

2) Repeat 1 but with centennial hops

3) Same as 1 except hops below

.5 oz Amarillo (60 min)
.5 oz Centennial (60min)
.5 oz Kent Golding (60min)

1 oz Kent Golding (15 min)
1 oz Kent Golding (5 min)
.5 oz kent Golding (0 min)

cthompson116 said:

Made 3 IPA's over the weekend

Click to expand...

Holy cow! You realize you just made every user of HBT insanely jealous don't you?? :cross:

I'm jealous for sure. I haven't brewed a (non-infected) batch since October. The pipeline is empty. And I have a hop addiction now.

At $9-12 per six pack for IIPAs, this addiction is costing me an arm and a left nut.

And here you just brewed 15 gallons of IPA. Mmmm.

Don't mind that sketchy dude back there in the corner, hiding behind the little potted fern plant. He's just in ur beer fridg steelin ur ipaz.

And for the record, i'm most excited to see how the one with EKGs in it works out. It sounds bad-ass!!!!!

I tend to brew in waves lately. I figure between prep time/clean up its worth doing at least two brews. Two brews on Saturday and one on Sunday. Crazy tired today, but enjoying all three airlocks bubbling

I wanted to get true comparson between Amarillo and Centennial and by brewing these at the same time will eliminate the aging question.

Great way to do it, if you have the resources and time. There is no sub for comparing side by side: hops, malt, fermentation temp, yeast, ...

Me feels for Chriso... fortunately I'm brewing the Maharaja soon, assuming my hops actually make it in from the snowy Pac NW... I will have to send a few bottles to Nebraska for careful "examination".

cthompson116 said:

Made 3 IPA's over the weekend. All basicly the same except for hops. One all Amarillo, one all Centenial and one mixed with some kent mixed in.

1) Amarillo gold IPA
8 lbs 2 row
.5 lbs crystal 40l
3 lbs LME
1.5 oz Amarillo (60 min)
1 oz Amarillo (15 min)
1 oz Amarillo (5 min)
.5 oz Amarillo (0 min)
Safale US 05

2) Repeat 1 but with centennial hops

3) Same as 1 except hops below

.5 oz Amarillo (60 min)
.5 oz Centennial (60min)
.5 oz Kent Golding (60min)

1 oz Kent Golding (15 min)
1 oz Kent Golding (5 min)
.5 oz kent Golding (0 min)

Click to expand...

Any update on how these beers turned out as compared to 2 Hearted? I'm going to be brewing the clone tomorrow or Saturday.