I hate the taste of cascade! Substitutions?

[dougf]

I made a Honey Wheat with Willamette as the bittering and Cascade for the finishing hops. I added the .5 oz Cascade at the last 15 minutes of the boil.

Well, I realize I HATE the taste of Cascade! Must have been the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale I got completely sh!tfaced off every weekend during high school that ruined it, either way, its the bitter grapefruit taste that I cant stand.

What are some good substitutes for Cascade that dont leave a bitter grapefruit? I have only tried Willamette, Cascade, and Hallertau in my short brewing career.

I have read the Centennial is a good sub, what do you guys think? Or does it depend greatly on the style, or is there an all encompassing Cascade replacement?

I just did a simple pale ale a week ago (pale lme, steeped maris otter, US-05) and used cascade for bittering and willamette for the last 20 minutes using what I had left over from the honey wheat. From the smell the earthy, grassy willamette is something I like. Sorry for the long post

 

[smitty2324]

Amarillo is great!!!!

 

[Yooper]

If you don't like cascades, I don't think you'll like amarillo or centennial. You may like the "earthy" UK hops like fuggles or East Kent Goldings (very similar to willamette), or the fine spicy flavor of saaz.

Many of the US hops varieties that are popular have that citrusy flavor that you are finding objectionable.

 

[BenS]

Grassy = Simcoe hops

 

[dougf]

If you don't like cascades, I don't think you'll like amarillo or centennial. You may like the "earthy" UK hops like fuggles or East Kent Goldings (very similar to willamette), or the fine spicy flavor of saaz.

Many of the US hops varieties that are popular have that citrusy flavor that you are finding objectionable.

Hmm, interesting, I love the hop's in Pilsner Urquell, but that wouldnt work in an american wheat or stout I wouldnt think

 

[dougf]

Grassy = Simcoe hops

I will keep this one in mind. I think its going to be a battle brewing classic brews while avoiding cascade, an IPA without cascade?

 

[philrose]

so thats saaz, a signature hop in pilsner urquell

 

[Yooper]

Well, in most stouts you only have bittering hops anyway, and if you have any flavor hops they tend to be English hops, so cascades aren't appropriate anyway.

An IPA without cascade CAN be easy! Why not make an English IPA? Those are less hoppy, but still have a strong hops presence and are usually fuggles or EKG hops.

 

[dougf]

so thats saaz, a signature hop in pilsner urquell

awesome, thanks.

 

[Yooper]

One thing you might really like is a hoppy steam beer. I make a California common that is loaded with northern brewer hops, and they are nothing like cascade.

 

[thataintchicken]

You could try Ahtanum.

 

[dougf]

One thing you might really like is a hoppy steam beer. I make a California common that is loaded with northern brewer hops, and they are nothing like cascade.

Awesome, thanks for all the help.

All thids tsalk about hops makes me want to buy a bunch of hops, and make tea out of them to see what everything tastes like. I guess that would be practical? Im not sure bvut thanks for sall the helkp

 

[ChshreCat]

Just get a bunch of different craft brews and see what you like. I know that most breweries (at least the ones I drink a lot of beer from) list the hops they use in each beer on their web site, if not on the bottle itself.

 

[dougf]

You could try Ahtanum.

Ahtanum, hmm, o dont see that on the hop chart, but a search revealed this from http://www.brew365.com : "Ahtanum is an aroma/flavoring hop variety that is similar to Cascade or Amarillo. It has a citrus and floral character much like cascade with the addition of some piney or earth notes. Grapefruit quality is more forward in than in cascade as well. Alpha acids are lower than cascade at 4 to 6.5% AAU making Ahtanum a good choice for a flavor addition when you do not want to impart quite the bitterness of cascade or amarillo.
Beer styles suited for Ahtanum include American APA, American IPA, Light lagers. I also think they would be nice in a brown ale, but have not tried this out myself. "

 

[dougf]

Just get a bunch of different craft brews and see what you like. I know that most breweries (at least the ones I drink a lot of beer from) list the hops they use in each beer on their web site, if not on the bottle itself.

That's an even better idea

 

[philrose]

One thing you might really like is a hoppy steam beer. I make a California common that is loaded with northern brewer hops, and they are nothing like cascade.

I gotta get around to that recipe yoop, I love northern brewer...

seeks out recipe in sig...

 

[david_42]

If you had combined one of the Goldings hops, EKG, Early Goldings, etc with the Willamette, you would have an English IPA. Bramling Cross is an interesting hop, but hard to find in the US. Northern Brewer, Galena, Bullion are other options.

All Nugget makes fantastic IPA, a bit herbal for many. Perle is spicy without citrus overtones.

 

[philrose]

I was listening to an old brewstrong podcast last night with glenn tinseth. He mentioned how much he loved a particular beer that was dry hopped with brewer's gold. Oldschool bittering hop related to nugget iirc.

The way he described it I think I'll have to try some in my next american pub beer.

 

[McGarnigle]

Hmm, interesting, I love the hop's in Pilsner Urquell, but that wouldnt work in an american wheat or stout I wouldnt think

Rogue's MoM Hefeweizen uses Saaz.

 

[smarek82]

You're from VA so you could possibly get Victory. It is a brew from Downingtown, PA. Their IPA (Hop Devil) is one of my favorites. Most clone recipes I came accross had Cascades and Centennial in it, but it is balanced so nicely you don't get any strong grapefruit from it. Try it some time. One recipe I came accross online had an addition of Tettnanger at 30 min. I'm sipping one now and can definitely say that there is something else besides citrus complecating this beer.

 

[arturo7]

Grassy = Simcoe hops

Recently, I had an all-Simcoe IPA from Stone.

It kicked arse.

I ran out and bought a pound of Simcoe.

 

[bwomp313]

I still think that amarillo is a great if you don't like cascade. It's very mellow and delicious; not as sharp. But then again, I like cascade too.

 

[dougf]

Thanks for all the advice guys. When I get to my LHBS monday I will get some of the hops suggested for my next pale ale, as well as try the brews mentioned. Thanks!

 

[niquejim]

An IPA without cascade CAN be easy! Why not make an English IPA? Those are less hoppy, but still have a strong hops presence and are usually fuggles or EKG hops.

Here's a old classic
http://www.realbeer.com/hops/sister.html
that is quite hoppy, and is wonderfully delicious

 

[b-tone]

Can't remember exactly where I heard this (probably BBR), but it's an easy experiment to really find the flavor of different hop varieties. Basically, get a six pack of Budweiser (or any other hop flavor-less macro you please that has a twist off cap), open them up, and drop a couple pellets of a different variety into each bottle. Give them a couple of days in the fridge and pour them through a fine mesh strainer into a glass and give it a taste. Should let the flavor shine through pretty well since it won't have much else to compete with.
Only real problem would be having to buy a sixer of Bud. Maybe just wait til a macro swilling friend leaves some in your fridge...

Just a thought, have fun!

 

[oldschool]

try sorachi

 

[beerjunky828]

FWIW, I find Cascade hops to be very twangy and harsh. I love some Centennial and Amarillo though. They are more subtle. But it could be the aging and storage of my Cascades that gives off a harshness. I would love to make a beer with some fresh cascades though. Well I am getting back to drinking.

 

[oldschool]

Correct me if I'm wrong, I think Bigfoot BW uses only cascade.