Columbus Hops and harshness

[DownHillonWater]

Lately I've been using Columbus quite often as my bittering hops. I've also read some on this forum and others about it being "harsh". What does this mean? I need to resupply soon...what bittering hops is recommended instead?

 

[Smellyglove]

Horizon, German Magnum or Warrior for example.

Harshness if often said to come from the cohumulone-oil in a hop.

But if you like it.. then no reason to change, unless you haven't tried other hops like the ones I mentioned.

 

[thehaze]

I can also recommend Bravo as a bittering hop, which is relatively cheap, but it can also add some complexity to the hop profile when used for late additions and dry hopping.

I don't think I would call Columbus harsh, but I guess it can come off as such, especially for those that do not enjoy hops as much...

 

[corax]

I'm not convinced Columbus would be overly harsh when used as a bittering hop. Even if you buy into the cohumulone story (and not everyone does), it's not the highest cohumulone hop out there.

I think the "harsh" reputation comes more from its use as a finishing hop, because it's very resinous and earthy. I like that, but it's not for everyone.

 

[rhys333]

I used to favor magnum and warrior, but now that I have a few pounds in the freezer, I just use up whatever is getting old or I want to get rid of. I haven't noticed harshness when bittering to reasonable levels.