Dank Hops

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rodwha

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Many, many moons ago I asked for advice on the most dank hop to use, and Columbus/Tomahawk was hands down the most suggested. So what of good danky hops to pair with it, even a few that play well together?

This is for a Black IPA.
 
Sometimes when I open a bag of Columbus, it smells just like weed, but I have not really gotten that much of that character in a finished beer. Maybe I am just not using it correctly. Should I use it in the late boil? Whirlpool/Steep? Dry Hop? All of the above?

Strata is one that I hear has a noticeable dank character, but I have not used it myself.

The most dank character that I have gotten from a beer was one batch of my house IPA that used Centennial and Chinook in late boil and dry hop (with some Columbus in the boil too). I have not been able to replicate that character, even when using the same recipe. I guess it must have just been something in that bag of hops (the Chinook?), or how the stars were aligned that day.
 
CTZ (Columbus) is the obligatory answer here. Chinook is usually paired with it because it has a lot of the spicy/resiny/pine character but you don't usually want it to be the star because it can also show a fair amount of grapefruit. Simcoe is the other typical pairing.

If you're looking for other hops to add into the mix that have resin and pine flavors, apollo and comet have those flavors but also lend grapefruit and orange to the mix. Mosaic comes across to me with some of that dankness, especially when they are more blueberry-y. Centennial does its usual job in these IPAs of tying everything together. Nugget gets mentioned a lot for dank IPAs but IMO nugget is more tea-like with peach notes. It's pretty mellow, too.

I have a fresh hop black IPA that I need to keg together that is all chinook and mount hood and dank as hell. It has an enormous amount of mount hood which is herbal and spicy like noble hops but adding a real dank quality. That might be the amount plus the freshness. Might be something to explore.
 
I did a CTZ SMaSH and it was super-weedy. More bitter than I had planned, although it was in my standard IPA IBU range of about 70 based upon the recipe. I attribute that to a higher perceived bitterness from this particular hop.
 
I am not sure I took out a lot that I could apply at the homebrew level, but there is a recent Master Brewers Podcast talking about Wicked Weed's approach to getting more dank/weed character in beers. The focus was more about using and creating terpene extracts that used a variety of sources.

Podcast:
https://www.masterbrewerspodcast.com/246
Company making the extracts...they do seem to list various extract for sale and prices that range from pricey to crazy expensive! I have no idea what size batch one of the $20 2g bottles would treat.
https://abstraxtech.com/
 
I am not sure I took out a lot that I could apply at the homebrew level, but there is a recent Master Brewers Podcast talking about Wicked Weed's approach to getting more dank/weed character in beers. The focus was more about using and creating terpene extracts that used a variety of sources.

Podcast:
https://www.masterbrewerspodcast.com/246
Company making the extracts...they do seem to list various extract for sale and prices that range from pricey to crazy expensive! I have no idea what size batch one of the $20 2g bottles would treat.
https://abstraxtech.com/
Very interesting! Thanks for the link!
 
I made a Pale Ale a couple months ago with all Columbus and Apollo late addition and dry hop. I was aiming for a wicked weed-Dr. Dank like beer. I didn't get to their level of cannibus aroma/flavor but its there. Loving the beer.
-3oz each.
 
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Are there any tricks to coaxing out the "dank" character? Columbus and, even more so, Simcoe have delightful tropical and citrusy aromas as well. In my limited experience with those hops, the fruitiness was always the dominant impression, just supported by some weed-like flavours.
 
Recent batches of Simcoe I've had have definitely had a dank undertone but much more sweet orange/tangerine.
Chinook is widely known to be super dank.
Stuff like Apollo can also be really dank.
I used Strata previously to give dankness in a West Coast but haven't played with it much recently so can't speak for how recent batches have gone.
 
I purchased some Simcoe and Chinook (an ounce each) to displace 2 oz of the 4 of Columbus.

This is what my black IPA recipe looks like with Columbus, how would you use the Simcoe and Chinook?

3.75 lbs pale ale
0.75 lb white wheat
0.5 lb caramel 90
0.25 lb Midnight Wheat
0.125 lb light DME
0.2 oz Columbus (12.2%) @ FWH
0.6 oz @ 15 mins/5 mins/whirlpool
2 oz dry hop
US-05

1.060/1.011
6.4%
80 IBUs
30 SRM
75% eff
2.5 gals
 
I have done several single-hop beers with C-Hops. I like CTZ as my primary bitter and 15 minute addition, maybe a small part of the WP or DH. I haven't used Simcoe yet, but Chinook I love at all stages. My Red IPA is a Chinook single-hop beer. It is the beer everyone asks if I have any on tap or when I am brewing it again. Chinook at 60, 15, WP 170, and DH, ~70IBU's.
 
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