Willamette/Cascade Combo

I've put together a tweener IPA/DIPA using the following hop schedule, and wondered if anyone had any experience with the Cascade/Willamette hop combo. I got the idea when I read somewhere that the almighty Jamil said that they went together nicely, but I haven't been able to find my source since then. The recipe is admittedly also part of my desire to burn through my freezer full of the two varieties.

6-gallon extract batch

OG: 1.075
FG: 1.019 (with 75 % AA)
SRM: 11
IBUs: 69
ABV: 7.2%

-1.00 Magnum 60
-1.00 Cascade 20
-1.00 Willamette 20
-1.00 Cascade 10
-1.00 Willamette 10
-1.00 Cascade 1
-1.00 Willamette 1
-2.00 Cascade (DH)

Both Willamette and Cascade are have Fuggle as a parent, but Willamette is much closer to Fuggle in aroma. They should work well together. Might be interesting to split the batch and dry hop part with Willamette and part with Cascade.

I heard a major brewer is "no longer interested in Willamette", so there will probably be a lot of it available.

They work well together.

Also, there is a surplus of Willamette, it's one of the cheapest hops around to buy in bulk, the other is Cluster. Both are $6.75/lb in pellets from hops direct.

Cascade/Fuggles is a classic combo, used a in commercial beers all of the time. Willamette is pretty similar to Fuggles, so I would think it would work the same.

What sort of grain bill were you considering for this? I've been considering a very similar hop schedule for an IPA sometime around the end of next month.

I'm an extract brewer right now, so this may not help very much, but here's the grain bill:

-7.5 lbs Briess Golden Light DME (made from 2-row)

-1.00 lb Munich Malt (mini-mash)
-1.00 lb Pale (two-row) (mini-mash)
-0.50 lb Honey Malt
-0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L
-0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L
-1.00 lb honey

The honey is mostly to dry the beer out a bit, but I don't mind a little extra alcohol either. I'll probably use two packets of US-05 for the yeast.

Honey Malt is fierce stuff, have you used it before? If not, you might want to cut back to 4 oz.

Scimmia said:

Cascade/Fuggles is a classic combo, used a in commercial beers all of the time. Willamette is pretty similar to Fuggles, so I would think it would work the same.

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That's what I heard too and that's why I just got a pound of Willamette together with a # of Cascade from Hops Direct. My thinking was I can use Willamette in some English-style ales like ESB's, Brown Ales, Porters, as well as American Ales and IPA's, blended with Cascade and other American hops.

I used half a pound in a an amber, and frankly, I haven't really noticed the honey flavor. With the combination of the actual honey, I think I may get some nice honey tones, that I don't think I could get with a quarter ounce.

david_42 said:

Honey Malt is fierce stuff, have you used it before? If not, you might want to cut back to 4 oz.

Click to expand...

I used half a pound in a an amber, and frankly, I haven't really noticed the honey flavor. With the combination of the actual honey, I think I may get some nice honey tones, that I don't think I could get with a quarter ounce.

I love the combo of Willamette/Centennial, I made it recently and plan on trying to keep it around. I would think that Willamette/Cascade would be pretty good too. Here is how I use the hops in my APA:


.25 oz Centennial @ 10 min
.25 oz Williamette @ 10 min
.25 oz Centennial @ 10 min
.25 oz Williamette @ 10 min

If I were doing an IPA I would at least double the amounts probably and dry hop in the same manner.

Before I knew much about brewing, encountered this forum, or had many batches under my belt, I encountered the Cascade Willamette combo. Basically just because thats all the LHBS had at a reasonable price. It was pretty tastey to me! Although the beer wasn't crafted as well as it could have been.

I like Williamette for very late/dry hopping for the most part. Cascade in my mind can be used for anything well.

I'm thinking of brewing a kveik pale ale tomorrow with willamette and cascade. I've never dry-hopped with willamette, so might give that a try.