Chosing The Right Hops

When I'm not brewing from a kit I currently use the guess and hope method when chosing which hop pellets to put in my next batch of brew. Is there a guideline for hop choice? Do some hops blend better with certain types of beers? And if so where might I find such a guide?

to answer your question, yes, certain hops are trademark for certain beer styles. but there is certainly much room for experimentation.

there are many sources for this info, but here is a basic guide on midwest's website:

Hop Characteristics

beersmith (if you use it), has a pretty good description of most hops built into the program.

android said:

to answer your question, yes, ... here is a basic guide on midwest's website:

Hop Characteristics

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Thankx, I'll give it a look. And I really love midwestsupplies. They seem to have the best prices on most things. Just ordered my kegging kit from them.

I too have struggled with that question since I started doing my own recipes. In addition to Midwest, if you read the BJCP guidelines they sometimes say what type of hop is preferred. The Beersmith blog also posts style info and guidelines and gives hints too.

Or you can just do the fun method and just pick something that sounds good. I brewed an excellent pale ale based on what I wanted and just picking hops that sounded good. Unless u are trying to brew exactly to style, who cares, as long as it tastes good!

chode720 said:

... who cares, as long as it tastes good!

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There is the key my friend. My last brew didn't turn out well and having ruled out the fermentation vessel in a separate thread I'm looking to ingredients. I'll have to check out BJCP and Brewsmith to see whats up there.

What hop(s) did you use in your beer? What style was it?

Experience. I buy in bulk and play around with them. Google recipes, the hops and their substitutes then brew. Even when you get one wrong you still learn something. I've got some wrong and then thought of better uses for that hop.

Often times it helps to consider the country of origin when choosing which hop(s) to use when formulating a recipe. For example, when formulating a Bavarian hefeweizen recipe, go with a German Noble hop variety like Hallertau Mittelfruh, or if your making an American style IPA, choose citrusy, American grown hops like Centennial and Amarillo. If your making an ESB, you could go with an English hop like Fuggle or East Kent Golding. Sometimes the hops for a certain beer style should come from the same country or region from which the style originated from, although this isn't carved in stone. There are versions of hop varieties that aren't necessarily grown in the same country as the hop they were developed from. For example, Willamette is an American grown variety of Fuggle, but has different characteristics that Fuggle. This is why familiarizing yourself with the characteristics of a hop, not just the origin, is very important. There are endless options when it comes to choosing which hops (and hop combinations) to use. The best thing to do is experiment with different hop varieties and find out what you like (and don't like) about each one.

Cheers

BYO: Comparing and Selecting Hops Splits it out by style.

david_42 said:

BYO: Comparing and Selecting Hops Splits it out by style.

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I use that one and the hop guide in Papazian's book.

Is there maybe a guide like,
if you want saaz hop flavor try commercial beer X, or beer Y?

chode720 said:

What hop(s) did you use in your beer? What style was it?

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I brewed a chocolate beer. My first chocolate was GREAT. This was a variation that did not fare as well as the first. Different chocolate malt and different hops. Can't put my hands on the recipe right now but I used Amaretto hops at 60, Cascade at 30, and Amaretto at 0. And I used corn sugar w/ the cocoa addtion at 0 (rather than common table cane sugar).

david_42 said:

BYO: Comparing and Selecting Hops Splits it out by style.

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I think you guys have nailed it. Thanks to all of you. Reviewing this chart tells me that the hops I used are citrusy and flowery and that explains the sort of sweet/sour smell/taste that is "off". I figured there had to be some difference between hops but wasn't aware of the styles. But this beer didn't turn out like those great orange chocolates I get at Christmas time. These flavors did not meld.

If I may ask you all one more question. This beer is suppose to be closer to a porter than anything else that I can think of so what hop would you put in a porter. Midwest Hop Characteristic chart has recommendation and I will look at some recipes. I'm interested in your opinions based on your experience.

kontreren said:

If I may ask you all one more question. This beer is suppose to be closer to a porter than anything else that I can think of so what hop would you put in a porter. Midwest Hop Characteristic chart has recommendation and I will look at some recipes. I'm interested in your opinions based on your experience.

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BJCP-Porter

It depends on what type of porter your looking for but I personally like porters and stouts that have little to no hop flavor and aroma (I save the hop bombs for IPA's). This would involve a bittering addition, which is mostly about reaching a certain IBU range because bittering hops lend very little in the way of flavor and aroma. For hop flavor/aroma I'd go with a small amount of an English style hop like Willamette or Fuggle, but go easy on the late additions to allow the robust, dark malt flavors to dominate. This is based solely of personal preference so the best thing to do is experiment, take notes and decide what works for you.

I use all of the methods described already, but in addition, I use "Designing Great Beers" by Ray Daniels. He breaks the beers down by style and lists the ingredients that were used in beers that made it to the second round of the National Homebrew Competition. You can see what went into beers that were successful. Most of the time, you can pick out trends (for example, a large percentage of the American Pale Ales were dry hopped or most Wheats used Hallerteau).