Which hops do you dislike the most and why?

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brewstergalVT

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Yes, I'm copying this from alexnova...same idea but just about hops.

Which hop variety do you dislike that everyone else seems to love and WHY do you dislike it? When everyone else gets citrus, pine, spice and everything nice, what evil, nasty and putrid smell or taste do you get from that same hop?

You can argue but the only rule is to keep the discussion or argument about hops and really what you taste/smell with a particular variety.

Yes, I'll start. Centennial never smells like grapefruit/citrus to me, it always smells like dirt or earth.
 
Saaz


Maybe I used too much once? Now, I am due to brew a Czech Pilsner (Pilsener?) and don't know what to use.
 
Citra

It smells somewhere between a warm, rainy summer night when the nightcrawlers surface or an icebox used to hold fish. Mr friends know not to bother sharing Zombie Dust or Pseudo Sue with me. A touch of it works well to punch up a blend, but I dislike it when clearly evident.
 
I brewed the "Dead Ringer IPA" from Northern Brewer last June which is hopped with only Centennial. I was not a fan. Like the OP, I just thought it was earthy tasting like potting soil. It's always possible my process didn't bring out the best in the hops but I'm not willing to use Centennial again any time soon.

I'm not sure what hop variety to blame but I also didn't care for the earthy notes in BridgePort's Hop Czar.

One interesting thing to take into consideration with this thread is how you use hops (bittering, aroma, dry hop, or hybrid).
 
I have had beers that I didn't like as much, but I could not say it was the hops. And most of the ones mentioned so far are my favorites!

I guess my least favorite was Nugget, but that was a SMaSH. I can't describe the flavor, it was interesting!! I did like the beer but know I would not do all Nugget again.
 
Equinox: Tastes/smells like fresh cut green pepper. I don't like beer that tastes like bell pepper. :(

Sorachi Ace: Tastes/smells like earthy tea. I don't like tea or beer that tastes like tea. :(
 
Funny about Centennial: I did a Maris Otter/Centennial SMaSH a few months ago, and while it was OK, it had a weird taste I couldn't describe very well. Kind of minerally/earthy, that I wasn't expecting. It got better as it mellowed down, and I think I overhopped a little, but I now hesitate to use Centennial.
 
Had some of Stone's new "Megawheat" last weekend and according to them it uses "Motueka, Mosaic, and Mandarina Bavaria" hops.
Not exactly sure which of these 3 it was but one of 'em tasted like burnt tires smell.
 
Of the ones listed so far..

Centennial
Amarillo
Chinook
Saaz
Citra
Mosaic
Simcoe

I like all of these. Listed in order of how much I like them. I have had a couple of them only in commercial beers.
 
Mosaic is the worst. Everyone around me loves it. "It's so tropical. Mango! Passionfruit! Pineapple!" I despise it. Let's be honest here, it smells and tastes like yard onions. Nothing remotely tropical/juicy/fruity or pleasant about it. I wish people would get over this hop and move onto the next new "it" hop.

Nugget is another one. It's so abrasive. I feel like I need to scrape that flavor off my tongue after I take a sip. I'd be totally cool if every nugget vine burned to the ground, never to return.

Chinook is another one I hate. No redeeming qualities. I mean even the name makes it sound gross.

Summit is dreadful too. Garlic and onion again. I like to call this one O.G. mosaic.
 
I don't know what type of hops it is to be fair, but I've been served an IPA that I swear taste like dirty dish water.
 
Sorachi Ace is my least favorite as of now. I used it in a brew with Warrior as the bittering hop and even though the beer turned out fine, I did not like it myself. I can't recall what it was that I didn't like but I just remember being very disappointed about it.

Now, I'm trying to figure out what to do with the last 10 oz I have of it. I picked up Brooklyn's Sorachi Ace Sasion, so I'll see if I like that and maybe try to clone it just to use up these hops.
 
I have hops i like more then others, but dont really dislike any. It is funny how most of the hops listed are kind of staple american ale hops. I really like most of those. Granted they all have there place and over doing the amounts can make some taste pretty bad
 
I like just about all the ones mentioned, except maybe Sorachi Ace which seems to come through a little weird in my hands (coconut maybe? but not in a good way). The one I dislike consistently is Fuggles, they remind me of dirty socks.
 
Galaxy. I don't get it, I have tried, but I can't seem to dig it.
 
Reading some people's descriptions of hops they dislike which seem far from what others taste/perceive makes me wonder if it is a genetic difference as with cilantro. Some people find the herb absolutely aweful because of their genes.
 
What is it about Saaz that you don't like? Brutal honesty is OK.

Oh, I'm not worried one bit about hurting Saaz's feelings. We're still talking about hops here, aren't we? If so, I think my limited taste vocabulary will fail me. But just for you, I've checked my records. On Dec 27, 2014 I brewed a Czech Pilsner bittered with Hallertau and flavored with Saaz at 30 min, 10 min, and flameout. I calculated 43 IBU. I used 8 0z of Saaz in a 6 gal batch. Probably too much.

My tasting notes said: Not delicious! Too bitter and weird hop flavor. Maybe I don't like Saaz.

I think I have used Saaz since then, but not sure when/what.

Sorry, that's as brutal as I can get. Suggestions?
 
Reading some people's descriptions of hops they dislike which seem far from what others taste/perceive makes me wonder if it is a genetic difference as with cilantro. Some people find the herb absolutely aweful because of their genes.

I have kind of thought that too going through this thread. That would be an interesting study for sure.
 
I have kind of thought that too going through this thread. That would be an interesting study for sure.
Yes, it would be a fascinating study. Like anything having to do with smell, we all have different strengths and weaknesses. I do think we can train ourselves with practice to expand our sense of smell. Much has been written about this and part of it is being able to identify and mentally tag smells.

In some commercial beers (and some by respected breweries) I've smelled what I've only been able to describe as dirty baby diapers. What is it really? Is it from the yeast, hops or what? Then the other day I was cutting up cabbage and scallions and poof! Right in front of me the same smell wafted through my nose. Obviously a combination of sulfur compounds. Really, it was the fresh vegetables. I've concluded that in beer it's from hops. Now if only I can figure out which hops are causing those aromas I'd be really happy!
 
Oh, I'm not worried one bit about hurting Saaz's feelings. We're still talking about hops here, aren't we? If so, I think my limited taste vocabulary will fail me. But just for you, I've checked my records. On Dec 27, 2014 I brewed a Czech Pilsner bittered with Hallertau and flavored with Saaz at 30 min, 10 min, and flameout. I calculated 43 IBU. I used 8 0z of Saaz in a 6 gal batch. Probably too much.

My tasting notes said: Not delicious! Too bitter and weird hop flavor. Maybe I don't like Saaz.

I think I have used Saaz since then, but not sure when/what.

Sorry, that's as brutal as I can get. Suggestions?
Hmm, you're right, not very brutal.

My suggestion is to not give up on Saaz yet as 8oz for 6gal is more like a punched in the face IPA hopping rate. Maybe trying it again but using just 2-3 ounces at the end might give you a better feel for Saaz AND if you still don't like it you might be better able to identify what it is that you don't like with the hop. Just my opinion but I think it's a lovely, elegant hop (and not easily offended).

A little off topic but I made a spruce tip ale last year and wow, I used way too much but I'm not giving up, just cutting the amount by quite a bit when I make it this spring. I think the same goes for most hops, it's when they're punching you in the face that the nastiness is obvious to some. I tend to be in the 'less is more' camp but I stray sometimes.
 
Besides not liking Centennial because it smells dirty to me, galaxy is also on the list of dislikes. I had used galaxy in my IPA's but there was something about the IPA I didn't like, I kept changing things, trying to pinpoint what was giving the beer a taste/smell similar to black jelly beans. Then I was out and ordered a beer, could barely drink the beer and when I looked up what hops they used: only galaxy. Done.

I find most NE IPA's have an odor similar to the odorant in propane (a mercaptan I believe) which is nasty but I can usually get past it after the initial taste. It's been a mystery to me as to which hop varieties cause this odor. Anyone know? Only Apollo has given me a little in my beers.
 
Mosaic. Tastes like straight up dirt to me. Talked to the brewer because they switched to Mosaic in their house IPA and asked if he picked up earthiness or dirt. His response "I've heard Mosaic can be earthy/dirty but all I get is a citrus explosion". I get absolutely no citrus whatsoever.

That being said, I just did a Simcoe, Amarillo, Centennial IPA and it smells incredible. Will have to wait until finished before judgement on flavour can be made. Maybe it's the blending that helps? I'm not sure. As someone said earlier, maybe it's a genetics thing.
 
Chinook for me. Dry hopped a pale ale with it and I was very disappointed that it resulted in a very sharp/harsh taste compared to most other hops I've tried. I only dryhopped half the batch, so I was able to see the contribution of the Chinook.
 
For whatever reason, Cascade hops tend to taste grassy to me, and not in a good way. It's not bad if it's in with other hops, but with some beers/recipes, oh boy, it's like sucking on a lawn mower blade.
 
Oh, I'm not worried one bit about hurting Saaz's feelings. We're still talking about hops here, aren't we? If so, I think my limited taste vocabulary will fail me. But just for you, I've checked my records. On Dec 27, 2014 I brewed a Czech Pilsner bittered with Hallertau and flavored with Saaz at 30 min, 10 min, and flameout. I calculated 43 IBU. I used 8 0z of Saaz in a 6 gal batch. Probably too much.

My tasting notes said: Not delicious! Too bitter and weird hop flavor. Maybe I don't like Saaz.

I think I have used Saaz since then, but not sure when/what.

Sorry, that's as brutal as I can get. Suggestions?

I picked up a bunch of sterling on sale and have been using it in place of saaz and really like it. If you don't want to try saaz again, give that a go.

As for everything else, I haven't really found one I can't stand either. I have been nervous from using simcoe & mosaic getting a lot of cat piss and dirty sock flavors during fermentation samples, but it has always smoothed out for me by the end of fermentation and carbonation and I really like them. Not enough evidence to back this up, but I think they might get really bad when boiled too long. Lots of mosaic at flame out is delicious and matches the descriptions to me. The ones that made me nervous had earlier additions.
 
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