Hop Combinations

Does anyone out there know of a good reference for hop combinations in designing recipes? I've done some searching through HBT and online and have found tons of info on personal preferences, etc. as well as detailed descriptions of hop characteristics. What I haven't found is a resource that says (for example only) "Perle/bittering goes well with Willamette/aroma," or "Nugget/bittering is horrible with Cascade/aroma."

I'm a relatively new brewer with about 6 months in. Over the last couple months, I've moved away from pre-packed ingredient kits to creating my own recipes. I've had good luck so far, just looking for more info.

Thanks to anyone who can help.

Hogsprings said:

and have found tons of info on personal preferences, etc.

Click to expand...

Well, in the end, that's all this comes down to, really. No one can really quantify what tastes good to people in general, hence, I don't think you're going to find what you're looking for.

What I would do is start with some of the classic combinations, and build from there depending upon what kinds of flavors you like. Hops from certain regions and styles usually go well together, but odd combinations work, too. You can even do your own "research" by buying a commercial beer that uses a combo you're curious about. Want to know what Simcoe, Cascade, and Fuggle hops taste like together? Buy a Commodore Perry IPA (hint, I think it's delicious, but you may disagree). No one knows better what tastes good to you than you do.

This is the best Hops chart that I've found...
http://www.onebeer.net/hopschart.html

I know of no reference of ones that work well together. Some of my personal preferences are:

Citra/Amarillo
Simcoe/Centennial/Amarillo
Chinook/Cascade
Riwaka/Motueka
EKG/Fuggles/NB
Nelson Sauvin/Simcoe/Willamette

I know it was just an example, but in case you are worrying about it, due to the relative lack of difference in flavor (aside from harshness) in bittering additions, I wouldnt really worry too much about pairing bittering additions with late additions. also, certainly dont think of any particular hop as specifically a bittering hop, im not sure there's any hop that can't be used late. in general, put like with like (ie. british w/ british, citrus w/ citrus), but certianly dont let that limit you.

All good advice here, but I'd also recommend taking a look at some of the recipes listed in the Recipe Database here on HBT.

You'll be able to see the entire recipe listed, and get an idea of what combinations are working well together in certain styles.