Am I the only one that dislikes Amarillo Hops?

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What do you think about Amarillo Hops?

  • Love them!

  • Dislike them!

  • They're no better or worse than other common hops

Results are only viewable after voting.
A

arnobg

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Not trying to start a civil war, but does anyone else have strong negative opinions about Amarillo like I do? I really can't pinpoint what exactly it is but I have been noticing a commonality in a few recent pale ale's and IPA's I've tried lately. After checking out their websites I have found the only thing they all had in common was Amarillo.

Seems most people go crazy over this hop and there is a shortage/price spike, but I'm not enjoying it's taste. Hopefully I'm not alone and missing out on something great?
 
It's one of my favorite hops. I like it alone (like in a maris otter amarillo SMaSH) or with simcoe, or with cascade and/or centennial, or with just about anything else. I love the huge grapefruit flavor and aroma it brings to pale ales and IPA. I'd wear it as perfume if I could.
 
Maybe I need to make a Amarillo SMASH. Who knows, maybe the beers I've had were bad hop combos, or hop/malt combos I didn't care for. The one I first had that I didn't care for was Yazoo's Pale Ale.

Or maybe someone can suggest a very popular commercial beer that mainly uses Amarillo.
 
We all have different tastes. Some taste garlic/onion in hops like Summit and don't like it because of that. I can't taste it, so no worries.

This is why we home-brew. Don't like something? Make something you like instead!

:)

*EDIT* - oh yeah, I love Amarillo hops.
 
I love Amarillo. I've recently made APA's with Amarillo/Crystal and just Amarillo. Both turned out amazing. Ordered two pounds of the stuff. Did I mention I love it?
 
Haven't yet brewed with Amarillo but I see that I will need to and soon!
 
Also on the love it side! I have used it in combo with the likes of the many "trendy" hops: Citra, Simocoe and Mosaic and I enjoy it a great deal.

But as stated, make what YOU like...that's what I do (well, not you...I make what I like)!:mug:
 
Some things to remember:

1. Hops are an agricultural product. The quality can vary greatly from year to year, farm to farm depending upon a great number of variables. On the one occasion that I tried a new hop and it turned out to be somewhat different from the descriptor, I waited for another crop year and tried it again to make sure it was not a bad lot.

2. As homebrewers, we tend to get the 'rest of the lots' once the commercial and contract buyers have selected. This could result in a variable quality of materials from lot to lot/year to year.
 
Yooper said:
It's one of my favorite hops. I like it alone (like in a maris otter amarillo SMaSH) or with simcoe, or with cascade and/or centennial, or with just about anything else. I love the huge grapefruit flavor and aroma it brings to pale ales and IPA. I'd wear it as perfume if I could.
Click to expand...

I've done two SMaSHs with Amarillo (4 oz. in each). I was underwhelmed with both. The first beer had leaf hops while the second had pellets.

Lawson's Super Session #2 is an all-Amarillo beer, which I think is enjoyable (good, not great). So, there's still hope. But I will likely never use it again from the experiences I've had with it.
 
arnobg said:
Not trying to start a civil war, but does anyone else have strong negative opinions about Amarillo like I do? I really can't pinpoint what exactly it is but I have been noticing a commonality in a few recent pale ale's and IPA's I've tried lately. After checking out their websites I have found the only thing they all had in common was Amarillo.

Seems most people go crazy over this hop and there is a shortage/price spike, but I'm not enjoying it's taste. Hopefully I'm not alone and missing out on something great?
Click to expand...

I think that I'm in pretty much the same camp. They're alright I guess but I actually voted that I dislike them on this poll. I guess I'm the only one!

Recently I did an El Dorado/Amarillo IPA and it's just not that good. I did a double IPA with mostly Amarillo and it wasn't that good. I did one with Simcoe and Amarillo and it was alright. All of those that I mentioned will not be brewed again.

I do like the Founders Rye IPA and I guess that has Amarillo but the rest that I've tried I didn't care for either.

Let me put it this way; I don't see myself buying another pound of those hops. I'd rather use hops like citra, simcoe, and a myriad of other hops than amarillo.
 
I forgot to mention that I do like them, but I think they work better when blended with other hops than as a single-hop addition.
 
Love 'em. I've made a few batches of IPA using a Centennial/Amarillo/Citra hop combo and it turns out fantastic.
 
I used it in a strawberry wheat since they are a bit fruity. I liked them there, but I have had amarillo IPAs that I didn't care for. I don't know if those brews just sucked or if I don't like a heavy amarillo presence in my IPA. Either way, I have found them to have a purpose in my own brewing.
 
Made a pale ale with Amarillo and Cascade. I split the batch between Conan and an American Ale Blend yeast. The american version was great. Conan did something funky to the flavor profile that just doesn't work.
(2:1, Amarillo:Cascade)
 
arnobg said:
Or maybe someone can suggest a very popular commercial beer that mainly uses Amarillo.
Click to expand...

Gumball-head by Three Floyds
Also, their YumYum Pale ale is very heavy handed with it
Tallgrass - 16bit also has a lot im certain

I like it, but it has a distinctive flavor if used heavily. Very "metallic" I would call it. I made a topic about it here and someone dug up some info on the oil content and sure enough "metallic" was one fo the main descriptors

im guessing thats the OPs issue with it. I just dont go super heavy with it in hopstands. Bit for flavor and a bunch for dry hopping for me
 
arnobg said:
Not trying to start a civil war, but does anyone else have strong negative opinions about Amarillo like I do? I really can't pinpoint what exactly it is but I have been noticing a commonality in a few recent pale ale's and IPA's I've tried lately. After checking out their websites I have found the only thing they all had in common was Amarillo.

Seems most people go crazy over this hop and there is a shortage/price spike, but I'm not enjoying it's taste. Hopefully I'm not alone and missing out on something great?
Click to expand...

Nope. Everyone else loves them. You are a weirdo.

Anyone else that says they don't like them are just trying to make you feel better about yourself. You need some tough love.
 
I've dry hopped with Amarillo on two different beers for five days, and my beers were grassy.
 
Love Amarillo! First time I had a beer with it was so delicious had to find out what it was, turned out to be Amarillo.

Pipeworks Amarillo is a great example

Also Pliny and Blind Pig have Amarillo additions

Oh, and I didn't like Yazoo very much. one of the least favorable Ive had
 
I'm with ya....I hate Amarillo...Granted it was road kill and over cooked but whatever.
 
I like Amarillo, but I do completely understand where you're coming from. I brewed an ipa with simcoe, and there was something majorly off with it. It eventually mellowed enough to finish a bottle, but when it was still fresh it was rancid. It was what I'd imagined was the garlic/onion flavor.
Then I tasted a beer at a competition that had the same flavor in it. It was brewed with mosaic, which is a daughter of simcoe.
Everyone has different preferences. No need to feel bad about it.
 
Will reply in a few weeks. DIPA fermenting now:
1oz Colombus 60
1oz each Amarillo & Cascade 10, 5
1oz each Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial FO
1oz each Amarillo & Cascade hopstand at 165
4oz DH Cascade last nite
2oz DH Amarillo Saturday
Bottle next Wednesday.
 
I love Amarillo. If you ever come to Chicago proper, try to find a 6 pack of Spiteful IPA. It's packed with Amarillo, and freaking awesome.

On the other hand.. There's an interesting mention in this link about the decline in quality of Amarillo hops that apparently came from Nick Floyd's mouth. He said that they were going to start phasing them out, but I have never heard or read anything about 3 Floyds changing the hops for Gumballhead. This is from 2013: http://crafthomebrewclub.org/forums/index.php?threads/the-brewers-apprentice.1410/
 

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