Difference in Hops Varieties.

I had a recipe for an IPA that called for 45mins boiling 2oz. centennial hops> 15min. with 1oz. golding hops > and 4mins 1oz. cascade hops.

When I got home and started to boil the wort I realized that the folks at the shop had forgotten the centennial hops and it was too late in the evening to go back. I decided to carry on with some alterations to the recipe. 45 mins with 1oz golding hops > 35mins 1oz cascade hops > 5 mins 1oz cascade hops.

Can anyone tell me how this thing might turn out? I'm worried that it might be too bitter to consume, as the cascade hops is primarily a finishing hops. Next time I need to check the goods before I start brewing.

gonzo_911 said:

Posted in the wrong section, sorry. I reposted in the beginners forum.

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Dude...no need to create a new thread--a moderator will see it and move it if it needs to go elsewhere....

If anything you will be low on bitterness. Cascade and Goldings are both low alpha acid flavor/aroma hops. Centennial is a high AA bittering hop. Going from 2 oz. of Centenial to 1 oz. of Golding means about 1/6 the IBU. All is not lost though. Make a hop tea. Get the centennial and boil 1 1/2 oz. in 2 quarts of water for 45 minutes. Cool and add to the ferment.

Yea, your IBUs will be rather low. Additionally, Cascade is not really just a finishing hop, many people use it for everything.

Thanks for the tip...I'll give the hop tea a try. As for IBUs, they mean nothing to me at this point. I've seen this concept mentioned in the books, but haven't encountered it on a practical level yet. Now is the time for me to re-examine the literature.

gonzo_911 said:

Thanks for the tip...I'll give the hop tea a try. As for IBUs, they mean nothing to me at this point. I've seen this concept mentioned in the books, but haven't encountered it on a practical level yet. Now is the time for me to re-examine the literature.

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The best way to learn is comparison. Buy a few beers with different known IBU levels, and drink side by side. It is thought that the human tongue cannot differentiate < 10 IBUS, so pick 2 or 3 that are not close to one another. I'd start with something like a Yeungling (20ish IBUs), a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (35-40ish), and a Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale (60). In those you have 3 very different IBU levels and it will give you idea of what it means.