Centennial hops "aroma"

So I got a shipment in from Freshops.com and have been breaking it out into smaller bags for long term storage.... This is my first time to have multiple hops around at one time to compare with one another.

I've enjoyed up until I got to Centennial. It has a very strong odor... Typical "hop-like" at first, but almost cheese-like as you breath deeper. My wife said "it smells like stinky feet" when she walked into the room, and I didn't think that was too far off either. I've read this morning that it's similar to Cascade, so I popped that bag open and I do detect a similar smell, though much more subtle in the Cascade. So I'm a little less worried about them now, but just wanted to see if this is in line with those of you who are more experienced in this area.

-jason

 

Centennial is a great hop. I can't say that I smell "stinky feet" when using it but if you have ever had Stone Ruination Ale you will sing praises to Centennial.

 

Yeah, Centennial is sometimes referred to as "super Cascade." Regarding the "stinky feet" aroma, maybe you got old hops? I dunno about that one...

 

I think you might have got some old hops... As the others have mentioned, they smell like cascades. Pretty intense grapefruit, actually.

 

Maybe the stinky feet smell in the room was stinky feet.

 

LOL... I won't make any claims of smelling like a rose today, but this was definitely coming from the hops bag.

 

There is no other hop as fabulous as Centennial!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stinky feet? Do a Google search for "Olfactory Surgeons". Sounds like a faulty nose to me!







J/K

 

Sounds like oxidized hops. The Fresh Hops guys seem to sell a great product though.

On a side note...the hops are disappearing from the internet!! Time to buy some Rhizomes!

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not doubting the magnifigance of any particular hop strain... This bag was just considerably more pungent than the rest. The Hallertauer on the other hand, was heavenly...

Since this was my first venture into bulk hops, I just wanted to try and determine if this was normal. I had emailed them the day before I ordered to see if everything they were selling was 2007 crop, and I was assured that it was. So, I hope the bad nose theory is closer to the truth than the old hops theory.

 

Sounds like they are stale to me. They should never smell "cheesy".

 

Founders Centennial IPA MMMMMMMMMM one of my favorites. Gotta love that aroma, I think I'm gonna look into making an air freshener out of hops : )

 

I second the Founders as wells as Bells two hearted ale that uses a lot of Centennial. I am glad I planted Centennial last year.

 

That is kind of odd to have a stinky feet smell. I just vacuum packed a couple pounds of centennial I got from hopsdirect and didn't detect any "stinky feet" aromas. Hopefully you didn't get some bad hops.

 

All Centennial hops smell that way to me. The stinky feet odor mostly goes away in the brewing process, but I do associate Centennial with a certain soapy bittering property that I do not taste in other hops, including Cascade.

 

A glimmer of hope!

 

Hmm, well bringing this thread back from the dead I too just dug into my 4oz of Cascade and 4oz of Centennial from hopsdirect and encountered the same thing. The Cascades smell amazing and the Centennial smell like mild cheesy or perhaps sweaty feet. Not exactly encouraging for brew day tomorrow.

Jas0420, did you brew with the cheesy Centennials yet? Did the beer come out okay? I've already ripped through my 4oz of Fuggles and they were delicious from start to finish and smelled just as good as the Cascades and WAY better than the Centennials do.

 

I recently bought a couple vacuum packs of Columbus (14%). Pretty strong blue cheese smell. I still used it in my recent imperial stout. Stout's not done, so I can't comment on the effect of the cheese on the beer. However, I drank a hydrometer-full when I moved this stout to secondary... didn't detect any cheese there. In fact I have high hopes for this one!

Since then, I can now detect some of this cheese in all my hops. I buy from a largish brew supplier, so I don't think they were stale. Sure wish they dated the pkgs, though.

 

hhmmm blue cheese stout? kinda sounds good in a weird goofy way.

wonder what a chunk of that in the secondary would do? belgian stout?

 

I like cheese with beer. However, I doubt cheese in the beer would be good. Don't get me wrong, though, I am willing to try just about anything.

I sometimes mix odd stuff (i.e., tea, liquid extracts) into a glass of beer to get an idea of what effect it has on the flavor, and maybe how much is necessary. This is a great way to avoid ruining a 5gal batch.

 

5 gallons is my pilot batch.

I suspect a mildew or even a mold that set in as they were drying-shouldn't be a problem as they are boiled. Doubt a problem in DHing, either.

 

I bought a pound of centennials last year from freshops, and I too noticed a similar cheesy/footy smell. The smell didn't stick around through long boils, but I did notice a hint of its presence when dry hopping. I know this hop variety is a central ingredient in may well-regarded beers, but it seems that it can develop some funk... freshops classifies it's storage stability as "fair to poor," for what that's worth.

 

I've had hops smell like cheese/feet. I think they were old/stale. They were whole hops and were brown on the tips.

 

It's sort of funny: the day after posting about cheesy centennials I listened to an episode of the Jamil Show (the BDSA episode) and they briefly talked about how aging hops go from "fresh" to "cheesy" to "neutral" over time. I'm a little surprised that I received cheesy hops from a reputable supplier like freshops... yet another reason why I prefer pellets.

 

Speaking of Jamil, I just bought a copy of Brewing Classic Styles.

The nacho oeuvre stays in the beer even from just bittering additions in my experience.

 

I'm drinking an an all-grain IPA right now where I used Centennial and there's no doubt there's definitely a blue-cheese smell/ taste. NOT GOOD. Odd thing is I didn't smell it a week ago. I wonder if it will age out? I sure hope so. To the OP - you are not alone in experiencing this smell and flavor. It does happen and it's definitely not desirable.

 

I use centennial a lot in IPA's for both aroma and bittering. It's the only hop in Bell's Two Hearted, if you've had that. It sounds to me like you have some old oxidized hops. I would call them and see if they will exchange.

 

Never had that smell. Think big grapefruit.

 

I also have some ambivalence to Centennial, perhaps my 1 lb was old but I am no longer interested in it for aroma and flavor. I now use it for bittering only and once this lb is done no more for moi.