If you could only use one type of hops for all of your brews...

Which one would it be?

I'm doing a survey on hop usage. Please list the following:

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.



(2) Why did you choose this hop?



(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?



(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)


Thank you for your participation!

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.

Cascades

(2) Why did you chose this hop?

Verstatile for my favorite styles IPA, APA, would work well in some wheats.


(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?

Brown ales, porters and stouts would be difficult

(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)

Warrior, Amarillo, Chinook, Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe, Goldings,

To a lesser extent Northern Brewer, Hallertau, Tettnang, and Perle.

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.

Challenger

(2) Why did you chose this hop?

It's a moderately high alpha acid hop that works well both as a bittering hop and a flavor/aroma hop. It's clean and spicy and is appropriate for both ales and lagers.

(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?

It would not work especially well in American Pale Ales or IPAs. Bohemian and German Pilsners wouldn't be quite right, either, though they'd be pretty tasty, I bet.

(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)

Challenger, East Kent Goldings, Tettnang, Willamette.


Chad

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.

Home Grown (Okay, Okay, Okay Simcoe)



(2) Why did you choose this hop?

Cause' I grow them. (I just really like this hop)


(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?

Not many. (Could never compete but, I don't anyway so none)



(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)

I have waay too many hops on hand right now. But the trend seems to be a majority of American and German variants.


Thank you for your participation. (You're welcome)

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.

fuggle

(2) Why did you choose this hop?

it's one of my favorite hops and it is very versatile. it is great in a bavarian hefeweizen, every english beer out there and many belgian beers. i've also used it blended in many other styles, including american pale ales.

it works great for bittering, flavor and aroma.

i love it's spiciness.

(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?

american ales would be different than most people are used to. it's not quite as soft as some of the other hops i use in my lighter beers, but would still work nicely. it would be expensive to use in more bitter beers or strong ales because of it's low AA% (which would be the case for me anyhow. i rarely use high AA% hops)

(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)

hallertau, saaz and tettnanger for most of my hefeweizens, cream ales and lighter beers. i often use a saaz/fuggle blend with some of these beers as well. fuggle is good when used alone, as well.

fuggle and east kent golding for english pales, stouts, porters, etc.

styrian golding is another personal favorite but this, of course, is a fuggle variety. i use another fuggle variety, willamette, on occasion as well.

EDIT: forgot to mention, northern brewer is my personal hop choice for most american ales

Thank you for your participation!

no problem!

bsay said:

Which one would it be?

I'm doing a survey on hop usage. Please list the following:

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.

Fuggle

(2) Why did you choose this hop?

I like the taste of wood. (Do I need to rephrase that?)

(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?

Not many limitations while I am brewing only bitter and English style IPA until I get my method down to near perfection

(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)

I've tried others, but am now sticking to Fuggle and EK Golding while I play around with different grains at this stage (Still learning)


Thank you for your participation!

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PS thanks for making the original post in an easy to fill form style!

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.
Willamette Hops


(2) Why did you choose this hop?
Can be used as either a bittering or aroma hop. It's also a fuggle cultivar so can go well in both english and american styles.


(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?
For american pale ales and IPA's I prefer the Cascade for dry hopping due to the citrusy flavor and aroma. However, Cascades just don't work well in a brown ale or other mildly hopped beers IMHO.


(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)
Cascade, Willamette, Centennial, Chinook.

McKBrew said:

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.

Cascades

(2) Why did you chose this hop?

Verstatile for my favorite styles IPA, APA, would work well in some wheats.


(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?

Brown ales, porters and stouts would be difficult

(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)

Warrior, Amarillo, Chinook, Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe, Goldings,

To a lesser extent Northern Brewer, Hallertau, Tettnang, and Perle.

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Yeah I brewed a Brown Ale with Cascades a month and a half ago. I'm drinking the beer now. The flavor is way off for a brown. Ended up more like a dark pale ale with nutty flavors. Not terrible, but I don't think I'll do that again.

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.

Willamette

(2) Why did you choose this hop?

I have a pound or so left! Seriously, it is a good neutral variety appropriate in a wide variety of styles. I like its flavor. I brew ales only, with English styles slightly predominating over American. Willamette, a cultivar of Fuggles, tastes appropriate to me in either idiom.

(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?

Were I to brew a lot of true-to-style lagers, it wouldn't be at all appropriate.

(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)

Willamette, US Hallertauer (again, I've a bunch of pellets on hand), East Kent Goldings (yum!)

Cheers,

Bob

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.
Another vote for Cascade

(2) Why did you choose this hop?
Very versatile, at least within the context of "American" versisons of styles. High enough AA% to use for bittering, and a nice, clean, classic flavor and aroma for IPAs, APAs, etc. If I had to limit myself to one beer "grouping," it would be American beers; there's enough diversification among APAs, IPAs, Texas Browns, Americanized Stouts, etc. to keep things interesting, and Cascade can work in all of those.

(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?
Obviously, traditional English or German ales/lagers would be very difficult, although I would probably give some malt-driven German styles a try and hope that ALL of the flavor/aroma was out with a 90 minute boil. Wouldn't be ideal, but might work OK. Tough to make classic English ales, but I haven't been terribly successful at brewing these regardless, and this would just force me to develop my own American interpretations of something like a mild ale (which I think should be done, regardless).

Belgian beers can, in some contexts, be viewed as a little more forgiving of ingredients (not as strict with the "rules"), and since many of the Belgian styles I like are hop-light and require a 90 minute boil (Pilsner malt), I could probably get by with Cascade in there as well.

Really, the beers out there that are most hop-sensitive are American and English styles (IMHO), and I'd take American beers over English if I could only pick one. German and Belgian styles tend to not emphasize hop flavor and aroma, so I suspect I could cheat with a non-traditional hop more easily than if I were to try and brew an American IPA with something like Tettnag.

(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)
I've got Cascade, Tettnag, and Fuggles in bulk, so I've been using those wherever I can in most recipes. I've got a few other things like Amarillo and Centenial that I've used a fair amount of, but those first three hops have been my default choices for American, German, and English-style beers (if I had my druthers, I'd have Hallertau instread of Tettnag for the Germen and EKG for the Fuggles, but I bought what was available at the time).

Laughing_Gnome said:

PS thanks for making the original post in an easy to fill form style!

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You are welcome, and thanks to everyone who responded so far!

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.
Amarillo. Or US Goldings.


(2) Why did you choose this hop?
Amarillo: Because it's delicious.
US Goldings: Because I need them for Hobgoblin.


(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?
Amarillo: I couldn't brew Hobgoblin with them. I could brew about anything else, just by using tiny amounts. I bet a Belgian with a tiny bit of Amarillo for bittering could be good. Same with a wheat. Same with a Pilsner (although not very Noble, I'll admit it). My Amarillo Stout is pretty good. Amarillo is just a great hop, as LONG as you don't want to brew Hobgoblin, a English Bitter, or a English Pale Ale.
US Goldings: I could only make a English pale ale, not a nice APA. Also, I'd go through a TON of hops. Try making a 88 IBU stout with only 4.0%AA hops.


(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)
Amarillo, US Goldings, Challenger, Magnum, Pacific Gem, Hersbrucker.

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.
Summit


(2) Why did you choose this hop?
High AA, great aroma and flavor


(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?
Hefe's would be a little oddly hoped, but would fit fine in an American Wheat


(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)
Cascade, Centennial, EKG, Hallertauer

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.
Columbus

(2) Why did you choose this hop?
High alpha variety with great oil profile. Gives you plenty of bittering potential, and is still a great hop for flavor and aroma, mild cascade like. I use it to dry hop quite frequently.

(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?
A bit overpowering for some styles requiring a noble or earthy hop profile.


(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes?
Columbus, Amarillo, Cascade, Simcoe, Hallertau varieties, Goldings

landis said:

Yeah I brewed a Brown Ale with Cascades a month and a half ago. I'm drinking the beer now. The flavor is way off for a brown. Ended up more like a dark pale ale with nutty flavors. Not terrible, but I don't think I'll do that again.

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I have one of those right now, except with Columbus. I am letting it age to help the hops mellow out. I like it quite a bit, but it is a little over the top and out of style, even for an American Brown.

Looks like I never actually answered the question, here's another one for Cascades.

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.
Cascades

(2) Why did you choose this hop?
I love a good citrusy hop, especially in combination with Amarillo. I can make some nice clean easy to drink beers with Cascades, plus they are readily available at the LHBS.

(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?
I mentioned before, but I tried it with an Nut Brown and it really didn't turn out the way I hoped. Still a delicious beer, but definitely not a traditional nut brown.

(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)
Cascade, Amarillo, Centennial - I just bought a pound of each from hopsdirect.com

landis said:

Yeah I brewed a Brown Ale with Cascades a month and a half ago. I'm drinking the beer now. The flavor is way off for a brown. Ended up more like a dark pale ale with nutty flavors. Not terrible, but I don't think I'll do that again.

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Did you have any late additions, or just bittering? For a nut brown, I wouldn't really think you'd want very much hop character regardless of type.

the_bird said:

Did you have any late additions, or just bittering? For a nut brown, I wouldn't really think you'd want very much hop character regardless of type.

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Yeah - I think I needed a punch in the face after that brew - 3oz of hops.

1 oz cascades - 60 min
.5oz cascades - 15 min
.5 oz amarillo - 5 min

dry hop .5oz cascades .5oz amarillo for a week

I was starting to get more adventurous, plus the recipe was roughly based off of one from the recipe list on this site (although I forget which one now).

I only brewed about 8 batches of beer to the point of brewing the nut brown and it was my 3rd non-kit brew - I was excited about trying new things.

Lesson Learned.

bsay said:

Which one would it be?

I'm doing a survey on hop usage. Please list the following:

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.

Centennial



(2) Why did you choose this hop?

Versatility. It can bitter well, and I like the flavor - it's a little spice, a little citrus and even a touch of pine.


(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?

It isn't ideal for British style ales, but in small doses it would work without any other options.



(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)

Mostly Centennial as a base hops with others as supplements for stronger bittering (Chinook) or complimentary flavoring/aroma (Cascade, Amarillo, etc.)

My only style I'm working to perfect that doesn't use Centennial is my stout. I'm also working on a pale ale, IPA and American Amber, all of which use Centennial as the major hops addition. In fact, my pale ale uses only Centennial.


Thank you for your participation!

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10 characters for f$%^s sake!

a lot of votes for cascade, you crazy hop heads, you

BrewBrain said:

10 characters for f$%^s sake!

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10 Char limit doesn't apply if you remove the (QUOTE) (/QUOTE) tags from it.

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.

Amarillo

(2) Why did you choose this hop?

I love the aroma.

(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?

I can't imagine using it for anything but IPAs/APAs.

(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)

Target, Kent Goldings, Centennial, Northern Brewer, Amarillo, Saaz (not much repetition in recipes).

Chriso said:

10 Char limit doesn't apply if you remove the (QUOTE) (/QUOTE) tags from it.

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doh! I be havin' teh dumb.

DeathBrewer said:

a lot of votes for cascade, you crazy hop heads, you

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Ya know, I figured that would be the case. There are a lot of Cascade fans out there. However, I find them just plain nasty. Can't stand that pungent cat pee & grapefruit flavor/aroma.

Death, seems like we've got similar brewing styles. You should give Challenger a look. Really nice hop.

Chad

Chad said:

Death, seems like we've got similar brewing styles. You should give Challenger a look. Really nice hop.

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It's true. Challenger is teh tits. It's quickly going to replace US Golding as one of my faves. Really, Goldings, Fuggles, Challenger, even Cluster... they're all just to die for in English ales. I've never had a chance to try Northdown, though, I've heard it's spectacular.

And +1 to Cascade being a little overrated, in my opinion. If it's a choice, I'll take Centennial if I really want Grapefruit, or I'll just take Amarillo and revel in my honey pineapple goodness.

i just don't like the taste of grass and i always get that with cascade. when i do use it (i have some homegrown) i blend with the softer hops and it mellows that out a bit.

Challenger was bred in the UK from the Northern Brewer variety and released in the late 1960's. At an average 8% alpha acid, challenger is a good dual-purpose hop for both bittering and flavor/aroma.
The aroma is strong with refined spicy notes and can even have a fruity character.
Challenger blends well with other English hops and is a good substitute for Northern Brewer or Perle hops.

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sounds really good and i don't think i've ever tried it. i think i'll give it a try in my next APA or steam beer. thanks for the recommendation.

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.
Saaz

(2) Why did you choose this hop?
Because it tastes good and is low AA, just how I like em.

(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?
Can't do (some of) the German styles I like (imo) as well (edit )

(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)
Saaz, Hallertau

what german style beers can't you make with saaz?

I wouldn't call Cascade my FAVORITE hop of all time, but I'd consider it more versatile than something like Amarillo or any of the English or German varieties.

I always use Hallertau for the German stuff. Seems to go better IMO. Some Saaz I find around here are 2.5% AA, which I wouldn't use in say a rauchbier or dopplebock.

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.
EKG


(2) Why did you choose this hop?
Because I like English Bitters/Pale Ales


(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?
None for the beers that I brew (except for depletion of the bank balance)


(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)
Willamette because I've run out of EKG

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.
Cascade


(2) Why did you choose this hop?

I love the traditional american ales and love the taste of cascades with an IPA.

(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?

Pretty much anything dark and not american.



(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)

EK goldings, centinneal, cascade, wilamette

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.

Williamette

(2) Why did you choose this hop?

Works for American and English beers, milds, browns, pale ales and English IPAs and English Barleywines

(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?

It doesn't taste like Cascade for the American pale ale/IPA and that's a good thing to me.

(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)

Willamette, Tett, and Vanguard because I have a mess of it. galena is going to get a bittering workout as soon as I break that pound open.

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.

Centennial

(2) Why did you choose this hop?

Because it's offensively fruity and nicely bitter, and if I could only have one type of beer, I'd want it to be just like that.

(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?

It's got a pretty distinct aroma, so it'd be hard to come up with a more malty, less fruity kind of beer. Stouts, brown ales and Belgians would be off limits, or weird.

(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)

Cascades, Centennial, Amarillo

bsay said:

Which one would it be?

I'm doing a survey on hop usage. Please list the following:

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.

I would be hard pressed to pick between Fuggles and EKG... flip a coin.

(2) Why did you choose this hop?

They are just about all I ever use (if available...) either alone or in combination.

(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?

Almost none, except my house ESB has both in equal amounts, so it would suffer with just one.

(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)

Well I must confess that I brewed an English IPA with Amarillo for bittering hops to save money (and boiled the shucks out of 'em). I had to resort to Glacier and New Zeeland Goldings on my last batch.

Thank you for your participation!

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your welcome!

DeathBrewer said:

i just don't like the taste of grass (i have some homegrown)

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I wonder if this should go in the "killer quotes" thread...

lol, WHY AM I ALWAYS BEING TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT!!!!

DeathBrewer said:

lol, WHY AM I ALWAYS BEING TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT!!!!

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Because out of context, death seems less finite and becomes laughable.

(1) The type of hops you would use if you could only use one type for all of your brews.

East Kent Goldings



(2) Why did you choose this hop?

my favorite hop and a jack of all trades, with a historical tradition.



(3) What limitations would this one hop type put on some of your brews?

just have to use more for bittering big beers.



(4) What types of hops do you currently use for your most-brewed recipes? (or if you don't really repeat recipes, which type of hops have you been using again and again?)

ekg, williamette, mt hood.