Columbus as Late Addition or Dry Hop

[hillhousesawdustco]

Does anyone regularly use Columbus hops outside of 60/90 minute additions for cheap IBUS?

Last weekend I did a dry-hop-some-cheap-bottled-beer tasting and the Cbus bottles definitely got the biggest reaction. It actually smelled amazing- just sort of dank and flat out "hoppy" especially compared to the others (Cascade, Centennial, Glacier, Chinook, and regular boring Black Star).

I've just never used much of it, but have a lb and am considering switching up some of the later additions in my IPA (from cascade/cent) to putting some columbus in there. Thoughts?

 

[meltroha]

I've heard this is gaining traction, commercially as well. Anxious to hear replies from people who have tried this, great post man!

 

[tonyc318]

I'm drinking an all Columbus pale ale that I brewed. I actually like it better as the flavor/aroma addition than the bittering addition. If I do this again, I will likely go the warrior/magnum route for bittering. I did not dry hop. I think the bittering was a little harsh of a quality. Not terrible, but I like a smoother bitterness

 

[Craigmn]

I have a summit based ipa that I dry hopped with summit and Columbus and the aroma is insanely fruity. Orange and maybe tropical

 

[inthesound]

Yeah, I think colombus is really fruity. Especially dank. It's good, but whatever you put it in, you should take care to not have it come across too powerful, or it starts move from dank into resiny.

I've used it as a bittering addition in a few brews, and only once as a dry-hop.

 

[Calichusetts]

Dank/Resiny is what I get. I did two IPAs over the past few months with Columbus. One with a 50/50 mix with summit and the other with cascade. I liked them both, the cascade even more! Columbus is great. I tend to mix up bittering and aroma hops all the time, I usually just base it off the aroma when I open the bag, and that batch of Columbus was so potent

 

[EyePeeA]

Yes!!

Columbus is probably the most versatile hop ever and my personal favorite. Use it wherever you want. It is one of few that off those dank resiny notes of marijuana combined with citrus and subtle pine complexity. I get no fruit from it unless I also toss something like Amarillo or Citra in there late.

Try Apollo if you get a chance. It's somewhat similar to Columbus.

 

[Gduck]

I'm a big fan of the dank, resiny character that Columbus brings to the table when using it as a late addition. Used it for years in my IPA's that way. I especially love that I can get it in pound quantities fairly cheaply compared to some other hops.

 

[924RACR]

We absolutely love Columbus, enough to consider planting it. Then I read the instructions, and got lazy.

I agree that it doesn't knock your socks off for bittering; though it's the primary hop in our IPA, we rely on an equal amount of Warrior at the 60 to give it the desired punch. I also think it's a bit weak on the nose, by itself - though I'll admit my nose is a bit weak, in its own right!

So I'm still experimenting, but leaning towards some Citra and/or others at the end, for the nose.

I also think some additional mid-ground (in the 5-30min range) hops, some other variety TBD, will be beneficial, to get even more complexity to the hop profile. Just haven't made enough batches to run through all the iterations yet...

 

[rhys333]

Anybody use Columbus in American wheat beer? Thinking of doing the following for a 5 gal batch:

AMERICAN WHEAT (28 IBU)
60% Wheat
30% 2 Row
10% Rolled Oats
0.1 oz Warrior @ 60
1 oz Columbus @ 10 & 0
US-05

 

[rhys333]

Well I went ahead and brewed the above and it turned out wonderful. I don't get dank at all, and not sure about resiny either... but maybe. Its really interesting and hard to describe... but I get a creamy vanilla type flavor and aroma. Or ice cream float / cream soda. Loving this columbus/wheat combo, and will be investing in a pound of them very soon.

 

[rhys333]

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View attachment 1467593119718.jpg

 

[JohnSand]

I love Columbus. And I have some wheat malt.....

 

[kh54s10]

I made a Columbus SMaSH. I don't recall the hop flavors, but I did like it.

 

[Ike]

I made a Columbus SMaSH. I don't recall the hop flavors, but I did like it.

I just bought the gear I need for a Maris Otter/ Columbus SMaSH.

BIG QUESTION FOR THE THREAD: I've seen a few responses about it not being ideal for bittering? I'm intrigued, since Brewer's Friend is listing it around 15% AA.

My goal for the brew is to maximize flavor without going overboard on IBUs. Again, using Brewer's Friend, I'm hitting 40 IBUs with only an ounce divided over 30, 15, and 5 minute additions, no 60 minute addition at all. Am I getting this wrong?

After that, I'm planning a Columbus dry hop for a week and a Columbus hop tea at bottling.

 

[kh54s10]

My SMaSH was:
3 gallon BIAB
4.5 lbs 2-row
1.5 lbs 2-row toasted. 350 degrees for 30 minutes, I think

.25 oz. Columbus 60 min.
.25 oz. Columbus 5 min.

Mashed at 153 degrees

Wy1056 yeast

The hop guide that I printed out, www.homebrewstuff.com/hop-profiles, lists Columbus at all purpose. Earthy, spicy, pungent with some citrus overtones. Not overwhelmingly citrus like Cascade. High on the bittering scale yet also valued for its oil content an interesting dichotomy of sharp and herbal, surprisingly pleasant aroma.

Your hopping schedule seems like a lot.

 

[Ike]

Your hopping schedule seems like a lot.

Due, in all honesty, to little more than my hatred of leftover hop pellets floating around in my freezer, so far mine's a 3.5 gallon batch with:

0.25oz @ 30
0.50oz @ 15
0.25oz @ 5

Getting me 41-ish IBUs. We'll see how it goes, though...

 

[kh54s10]

Due, in all honesty, to little more than my hatred of leftover hop pellets floating around in my freezer, so far mine's a 3.5 gallon batch with:

0.25oz @ 30
0.50oz @ 15
0.25oz @ 5

Getting me 41-ish IBUs. We'll see how it goes, though...

I was thinking of the dry hop and hop tea additions as maybe too much. ?? I don't know though.

 

[JohnSand]

I just tapped an IPA made with Warrior, Columbus, Zeus. It's very good.

 

[filthyastronaut]

Just bottled an IPA with an overwhelming amount of Columbus as solely whirlpool and dry hop. The aroma out of the bag was really dank garlic and onion, and it faded into the background when combined with Summit and HBC 438 in a bowl for a single addition, and pretty much smelled like dank tropical fruit and citrus. The bottling sample was delicious and the garlic and onion is completely gone, but it's dank, citrusy, tropical, a little spicy, and absolutely delicious. This is the first time I've used them and I'd totally use them again.

As a side note, the way the aroma changed drastically when combined with a smaller amount of hops before being added to the liquid just goes to show the effect of hop pairings.

 

[Ike]

I was thinking of the dry hop and hop tea additions as maybe too much. ?? I don't know though.

I'm taking a bit of a lead from the "alphabet smash" thread, planning using the same general recipe with several different hops, to learn about how they taste individually. SO, my decision to go with both was based on:

1.) I REALLY want the hop to rock the party. These may not be brews I'd put into competition or share with friends, but instead are meant to educate me about different hops;

2.) I've been disappointed in my past few brews WRT hop flavor and aroma. It's only an n=1, but my most recent brew included a 2oz hopstand, with no noticeable change. This time, along with my first shot at building my own water, I'm really leaning into it with both kinds of additions to see if I can get some positive change. If it actually ends up being too much, it'd be a victory of sorts.

 

[rhys333]

I love Columbus. And I have some wheat malt.....

It's a great combo! At least for my taste buds anyway.

 

[JohnSand]

Thanks!