Simcoe Hop replacement for double IPA

I have never done an all grain batch, though my friend is coming over in a few weeks to basically show me the ropes. I want to do an IIPA but my lhbs doesn't have Simcoe hops. Should I be looking for another hop of the same alpha acid or flavour profile? There is a brew 365 chart that recommends Northern Brewer hops (which I can get) as a substitute but the AA's are 4% lower than Simcoe hops. Any suggestions?

If you want something high in AA's and with a piney flavor, I'd recommend Chinook. I think it's a great hop for bittering, flavor and aroma and the best part is there's no protections on them so they always seem to be available.

My LHBS has them available, but not sure if they ship international. You could use the Northern Brewer and adjust for the difference in AA if that is easier for you. The Chinook sounds good too. Either way, it will be beer and probably damn fine at that.

I think Summit is the closest to Simcoe...it isn't quite as piney but it has a powerful aroma like Simcoe. Personally I do not like Chinook as a Bittering hop for a big hop beer, it gets a little too harsh IMPO.
The best IIPA bittering hops in my opinion are Columbus and Magnum, with Summit almost there...

KoedBrew said:

I think Summit is the closest to Simcoe...it isn't quite as piney but it has a powerful aroma like Simcoe. Personally I do not like Chinook as a Bittering hop for a big hop beer, it gets a little too harsh IMPO.
The best IIPA bittering hops in my opinion are Columbus and Magnum, with Summit almost there...

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This is pretty funny. I guess our tastes are opposite. I can spot an IPA bittered with Columbus a mile away and I've even sent a few of them back. I don't know what it is about that hop, Chinook and Columbus have about the same Cohumulone percentage, but beers made with them always seems harsh and astringent to me.

TarheelBrew13 said:

This is pretty funny. I guess our tastes are opposite. I can spot an IPA bittered with Columbus a mile away and I've even sent a few of them back. I don't know what it is about that hop, Chinook and Columbus have about the same Cohumulone percentage, but beers made with them always seems harsh and astringent to me.

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I'm trying to learn more and more about hops. IPAs bittered with Warrior seem to have the same astringency that, to my palate, is very off-putting.

Headley_Lamarr said:

I'm trying to learn more and more about hops. IPAs bittered with Warrior seem to have the same astringency that, to my palate, is very off-putting.

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Usually people say cohumulone is the reason for astringency in bittering hops but there's got to be more to it. Of course it may not be the hop at all and just the brewing procedure causing the problems. One of these days, I'll have to do a few SMaSH brews with high and low cohumulone hops and plot their perceived astringency against their alpha acid compositions to see if I can find a correlation but I have a lot of beers on my list before I do that.

I love the smoothness of Magnum for bittering, and I've heard a combination of Magnum and Summit can approximate Simcoe.

I have tried to find a sub for simcoe. I have tried many combinations of different hop varieties and non have come close to tasting like simcoe. I'm beginning to believe there is just no good replacement for simcoe. But I am really picky so if I did find something close I'm sure it would not be good enough for me. Simcoes distinct flavor is so addicting I guess I need the real thing.

Hopshack.com had some about a month ago. I took it up the you know what to get a lb. Quick shipping and good shipping rates though.

I used Citra as a sub for Simcoe in an IIPA I made awhile back...still in fermenter so I don't know how it will turn out.

Simcoe is a very unique hop so theres no true sub. Northern Brewer would be a good substitute however

Well it turns out that all Simcoe (wherever lhbs gets it from) is sold out to contracts until 2014!! He is only a small business so he is s.o.l until then. He does however have a blended hop pellet called "Zythos" which is meant for big IPA's so I think I just might go with those.

I ordered some Zythos too. I've used the Falconers Flight blend and it was tasty, I figure this one will be something like that with a nice complex character with plenty of Pacific Northwest hop character.

I do have a little Simcoe in the freezer, I should really dig that out and make my own blend for the summer pale ale season.

zythos is nothing like simcoe, not even close. there is no substitute for simcoe that's why it sells out so fast. morebeer had it in stock a few days ago and i snapped up 2 pounds right away.

broadbill said:

I used Citra as a sub for Simcoe in an IIPA I made awhile back...still in fermenter so I don't know how it will turn out.

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citra is my favorite hop and you are in for a treat, it's not a sub for simcoe but it's fantastic in it's own right.

Simcoe is one of dozens of hops is all I'm saying. Who gives a crap about Simcoe, its the latest fad and as soon as the next fad comes along nobody will care about Simcoe.

My coworker is in love with Simcoe in his IPA, and yesterday when he was at Midwest, apparently they had some. I was at Northern Brewer today, and didn't see it there, but, I don't care for Simcoe too much, so I didn't really look that hard.