Does a bittering hop matter?

[rico567]

I'm not clear as to whether (for example) 2 ounces of 4.2 AA Fuggle hops would be the equivalent to an ounce of an 8.4 AA hop, if either would be thrown in at the beginning of a 60 minute boil. I keep reading that there's no aroma component left after a full boil, so why wouldn't any hop with the proper bittering potential do?

 

[FromZwolle]

how sharp is your sense of taste? i've been using magnum as a bittering for everything lately and haven't noticed any difference in flavor/aroma, but 'super tasters' claim to be able to pick out flavors from bittering additions.

 

[dcp27]

while theres no aroma, all hops have varying degrees of cohumulene which is usually attributed to a harsh bittering. bittering with a hop with a higher percentage of cohumulene could affect the taste in that aspect. also, while magnum is a very clean bittering hop, some like chinook aren't quite as clean. however, there difference are relatively minimal in the aspect of it all, so ya basically you can sub what you got

 

[azscoob]

Magnum has been my go to bittering hop, I have been subbing it into many of my beers lately, I have been pleased with my results thus far mostly because it takes less hops to get to the desired bittering level.

 

[rico567]

Thanks for the responses.....this has been "suspicions confirmed" for me, and I'll standardize on something like magnum (or other hop of correct AA) for my bittering hops.

 

[Golddiggie]

I've been liking the results from using Target and Northdown for my bittering hops... I think you would want a bittering hop that's clean, if you're going to try to standardize on just a couple. That way, the flavor and aroma hops will really come through for you.