Questions about “Beer in Hand” Pale ale

[Hiphop]

Hey all, I had a few quick questions about this recipe I’m trying this weekend. The recipe I found looks like a super simple low hop flavor pale ale. I am trying to fill my kegerator and the amount of hoppy beers that I don’t give much selection to my kegerator so I decide to brew a good crowd pleaser with low hoppy flavor. The recipe I found called for around 1.5 oz of centennial pellet hops. I am trying to use up the literal pounds of cascade hops that I have in my freezer from my garden this year. I see I can substitute cascade for centennial hops but do you think I will notice a difference if I do go with cascade? Also, will the amount of hops that I add change because they are whole hops vs pellet hops that the recipe calls for. I harvested, air dried over a fan and sealed in a vacuum sealed freezer bag. I have noticed a good amount of lupulin in the corner of the bag.


https://learn.kegerator.com/beer-in-hand-pale-ale-recipe/

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Cascade and Centennial are similar enough that most people wouldn't notice the difference. I find centennial slightly more floral than cascade (others may disagree). However, homegrown hops are a different kettle of fish. Soil, climate, fertiliser, age etc. could all affect the flavour of hops. Hops grown in one region can have a profile quite different to the same hops grown in another region. Also, with homegrown hops you don't know the AA%, so you won't know how much to use for bittering. The only homegrown (cascade) hops I've used tasted like lemongrass - quite pleasant, but completely different to any other cascade I've tried before. I'm no expert on homegrown hops (never grown them myself and only used the once), so someone with more experience may have more insight, but I'd leave homegrown hops for late kettle aroma and/or dryhop additions. Be prepared for something quite different to the same variety grown commercially.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

The recipe I found called for around 1.5 oz of centennial pellet hops. I am trying to use up the literal pounds of cascade hops that I have in my freezer from my garden this year. I see I can substitute cascade for centennial hops but do you think I will notice a difference if I do go with cascade?

Yes, there will be a difference, but it will still work - just think of all the Cascade pales that go back decades like Sierra Nevada. I'd mebbe add a bit more Cascade than the equivalent Centennial though.

Also, will the amount of hops that I add change because they are whole hops vs pellet hops that the recipe calls for.

Not really - it's a complicated equation of hoppiness versus the way it's released, but as a first approximation just go 1:1. A bigger concern is water content - I'd allow a bit more to allow for your hops being less well dried than commercial ones. In fact the best use of garden hops is as wet/green hops - but then you have to allow 7x the weight to allow for all the extra water in hops off the bine. But you need to get them in beer within hours of picking - ideally start the boil and then start picking.

Avoiding drying means you get all the delicate oils that are normally lost, even air drying will retain more of them than the normal drying with heat. As such the best use for homegrown hops is on the cold side (whirlpool onwards), to make the most of all those delicate aromas. But if you've got lots then you might as well use them in the copper. As has been mentioned, the problem with using them for bittering is that you don't know the alpha content, so bittering is best done with commercial hops for predictability. But if you really have got lots of them then make a hop tea with your own hops and see how bitter it is, to get an idea of how much to add to the beer.