Thoughts on Sterling hops

[Chromebrew]

I recently bought a pound of whole leaf Sterling that was said to be this past years harvest. I made a 2 row Smash to really familiarize myself with this strain. Well i just bottled and i find the results to be kind of off putting. It tastes to me like a simple bittering hop with little to no bouquet. Also it made an usual mess of my brew by leaving a whole bunch of these hair like structures. It was bad, i havent seen that with the other whole leaf hops ive used. I dont get any floral notes or really anything to distinguish it from a general bittering hop. I am pretty bummed about it. Is it possible i was sent some bunk hops? How do you guys feel about Sterling?

 

[Chromebrew]

This didnt seem to catch anyone's eye i went ahead and bottled it. My smash tastes ok. Its a good beer, but i get nothing floral or herbal from this hop. I guess it is not my cup of tea, glad i did it though. I learned i dont care much for this variety. Since im just kinda chatting with myself here ill make a side note. I suggest you guys take a look at all the cheap bulk hops you can buy on Ebay. I found it suprising, the selection and prices you can find. Ive been smashing it up lately. Cheers guys!

 

[skibb]

Thanks for the update!

I'm sorry you had an unfortunate experience with Sterling - it is one of my favorite hops, especially for Belgians!!!
People compare it to saaz, and I get some of that from it, but I also get a nice herbal/slightly citrus note from the hop that really pairs well with 3787 - I use whole Sterling hops in my hop-back for my tripel and it really adds a nice touch. I have dry hopped with it once and that particular beer had a musty aroma to go along with herbal/perfume'y I get from it in the boil.

I think you may have gotten an old/mistreated lot of hops. I tend to only buy my hops from a couple different places online where I know the kind of quality I'm paying for - so I don't mind paying a bit extra for them.

I would give them another shot sometime!

 

[Chromebrew]

Maybe the cheap bulk hops i was excited about did me wrong. I do a lot of Belgians so i should have plenty of opportunity to give it another go. Ill just put the rest of this pound out for aging. Ive been needing some lambic hops anyway.

 

[pjj2ba]

I'm also a Sterling fan. Definitely similar to Saaz. Spicy, not floral, and neither Saaz or Sterling will give you the aroma wallop that many of the new American varieties do. Definitely a more subtle hop - but more than the traditional noble varieties. I find when I do a First wort hop addition with it I can get a faint citrus note as well