Substitute for Columbus hops

I'm considering a recipe that calls for Columbus hops. Well, I don't have any Columbus hops, and a trip to the LHBS is out of the question this week. I have never worked with this hop, so I have no clue what to expect. Can anyone advise a good substitute for this hop.

Lifesaver site worthy of bookmarking: http://byo.com/referenceguide/hops/index.html

I guess it depends on what you do have available? Also, is it being used strictly as a bittering hop, or also for flavor and/or aroma? If it's for bittering, I would go with another super-high AA hop, though you may not get the same character. I've used Warrior before and liked the effect.

For future reference--get some Columbus. It's an amazingly versatile hop.

As a bittering hop, I would compare the flavor to Northern Brewer (clean, slightly piney flavor evident esp. if added at like 30 minutes).

As a flavor/aroma hop, it is just incredibly intense (in a good way). Its a really nice change of pace from the citrusy hops (cascade, centennial, amarillo) that dominate American craft brewing at the moment. Not that those aren't good, but...

desert-thanks, done book marked.

Baron von BeeGee said:

I guess it depends on what you do have available? Also, is it being used strictly as a bittering hop, or also for flavor and/or aroma? If it's for bittering, I would go with another super-high AA hop, though you may not get the same character. I've used Warrior before and liked the effect.

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According to the list provided in the above link NB is the only one I have on hand that would serve as a sub.
I'm looking to use it as a kettle addition, as well as for flavor and aroma actually.

Here is what I have in the freezer Perle, Fuggles, NB, Cascade, Centennial.

With that said it sounds like I may need to switch gears here, and wait until I can get to the LBHS for the right match.

glibbidy said:

I'm considering a recipe that calls for Columbus hops. Well, I don't have any Columbus hops, and a trip to the LHBS is out of the question this week. I have never worked with this hop, so I have no clue what to expect. Can anyone advise a good substitute for this hop.

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According to this page, Nugget, Chinook, U.K. Target, and Northern Brewer are subs for Columbus.

keep in mind that if you boil for 60+ minutes any high alpha hop will do, since there will be no flavor difference as the betas have all boiled off.

The flavoring/aroma aspect of columbus though is another matter. Hard to match. very pungent aroma. I use it to dry hop my ipa that uses williamette for flavoring.

One thing to watch about columbus as a flav/aroma hop. A little bit goes a long way.

Actualy, the closest you can get to Columbus is Tomahawk, and the next closest is Zeus. Sight differences are present, but through gas chromatography it was proven that they were indeed the same. Zeus is basically the same hop as well, but the plant structuring and yeild sets it apart from the other two. All three are great high alpha bittering hops, and all three hops are derivatives of Brewers Gold.

But, since all three of these can be scarce...my pick for an available substitute would definately be Warrior.