Columbus Hops - opinions?

[permo]

I ordered up a pound of fresh columbus hops, 2010 harvest pellets. I usually use magnum for bittering, and I am hoping columbus also proves to be a decent high alpha bittering hop.

the real reason I bought the hops...... is that I am still searching for that hop variety that I seldom encounter in IPA's.....the kind of dank, stanky, thick, pungent hop aroma that comes from a certain variety dry hopping. I have encountered this in a dog fish head brew and a few others before.

I hope I am not barking up the wrong tree with these hops....but I already have a recipe formulated in my head for an IPA using columbus for bittering and dry hopping, with centenial and cascade late in the boil.

14 pound two row
1/2 pound victory
1/2 pound munich
1 pound C40
1.5 oz columbus at 60
1 oz cascade at 10
1 oz centennial at FO
1 oz cenennial dry hop
1 oz columbus dry hop
1 oz cascade dry hop
pacman or WLP001....maybe WLP007

 

[Mischief_Brewing]

I've never used columbus for aroma (dry hop) but swear by them in all of my IPAs for bittering. They are by far the easiest bittering hop for me to identify, very unique.

 

[jmo88]

I really like Columbus but you can easily over do it if you're not careful. As a bittering hop, it isn't clean at all. But that can be a good thing since it's character withstands a full boil. Dank and pungent is how I would describe them. They work really well in an American stout. I have a recipe here for an all Columbus stout. I'm brewing that again next weekend.

 

[Dog House Brew]

I like columbus in all forms. I like them for their strong aroma when used in dry hopping, but then again I like Nugget in the same way. I haven't found a hop I don't like. I planted some Zeus last year and hope this spring they will produce something similar.

 

[permo]

Is columbus an OK choice to use in general for bittering ales? I usually use magnum, but I am switching it up. For example, do you think american wheat bittered with 13 IBU of columbus would be appropriate? I am wondering if maybe I should get some magnums or a different variety to bitter some more delicate styles with.

 

[Dog House Brew]

The bittering hops I try to fit to the style. I really like Nugget as a bittering hop. I'm not a real fan of Columbus for bittering. I like Chinook also and put it in the easy does it group with hops like Columbus. They can get harsh if you over do it.
For my softer beers I like Pearle a lot. You just have to try different ones to find your favorite. What some like, some hate.

 

[humann_brewing]

Is columbus an OK choice to use in general for bittering ales? I usually use magnum, but I am switching it up. For example, do you think american wheat bittered with 13 IBU of columbus would be appropriate? I am wondering if maybe I should get some magnums or a different variety to bitter some more delicate styles with.

at 13 IBUs I don't think it will matter much. That will be hard to detect bitterness especially in a wheat beer.

 

[devilishprune]

I made columbus and nugget IPA a few weeks ago that I dry hopped yesterday. It was my aim to get a dank hop in my IPA as well, so I'll post up some results in a few weeks when I'm drinking them.

 

[Malticulous]

My all Columbus APA is very good. It's Cascade-like but more pungent and a little more rough on the edges. Good for bittering, flavor and aroma in any American style ale (and not much else.)
http://hopville.com/recipe/359812/american-pale-ale-recipes/thankshopping

 

[BendBrewer]

IPA using columbus for bittering and dry hopping, with centenial and cascade late in the boil.

I brewed an APA/IPA this weekend doing exactly that. 10 gallon batch. (I think you need a Flavor addition at 30 or 20 minutes.)

60 minute - 1.5 oz Columbus 15.8%
30 minutes - 1.5 oz Centennial 10.5%
10 minutes - 1.5 oz cascade 8.6%
5 minutes - .75 oz Centennial + .75 oz Cascade
FO - .75 oz Centennial + .75 oz Cascade

 

[permo]

like a stanky cascade eh?! That sounds awesome. I am going to throw down an IPA first and then see what else.

I just listened to can you brew it podcast for magic hat #9. That brewery uses columbus as it's "workhorse" for bittering and some aroma too.

 

[thomasjacobcook]

I made columbus and nugget IPA a few weeks ago that I dry hopped yesterday. It was my aim to get a dank hop in my IPA as well, so I'll post up some results in a few weeks when I'm drinking them.

How did your columbus/nugget IPA of last November come out? I will be brewing an IPA this weekend, trying to get that dank, punch in the face hop flavor that I find in Troeg's Nugget Nectar and Stone IPA. I was planning on using nugget to bitter and columbus for flavor, aroma and dry hopping.

Any tips/info is appreciated!

 

[devilishprune]

It came out nice and stanky: piney, spicy, dank, and a little grapefruit. If you want more citrus then I would lean towards more columbus, and I would use more nugget if you want more spiciness.