Favorite 3 hops in a batch

[Willy]

Hops experimentation and learning how they taste, nuances - like spices is a key factor to making better beers. Not just AA but more flavor profiles.

I began with single use - then 2 hop varieties and experimented. Moving on to triple combos. My favorite 2 hop combos are too many to name really. (Traditional classics like EKG and Fuggles)

My favorite triple hop combo was used for a pre-prohibition lager.
5% ABV, 32 IBU, SRM 6.
1 oz of each -
40 minutes in boil - Mitelfrau
20 minutes in boil - Centennial
20 min in Boil - Mosaic

Really nice combo and tease on the taste buds.

What are you favorite 3 hops batches - and addition to the boil times? Curious to see what others have been pleased with. Thanks.

 

[fluketamer]

if i had to choose only 3 :
magnum 1/2 oz at 60 mins
mosaic at 10 mins
citra at flameout

i find citra at flameout to really add a ton of juiciness to my beers.

( i dry hop these beers a lot tho)

 

[Willy]

if i had to choose only 3 :
magnum 1/2 oz at 60 mins
mosaic at 10 mins
citra at flameout

i find citra at flameout to really add a ton of juiciness to my beers.

( i dry hop these beers a lot tho)

Love Magnum too.

 

[jdauria]

The lager lover in me wants to say German Magnum, Mittelfrueh and Saaz!

 

[Willy]

The lager lover in me wants to say German Magnum, Mittelfrueh and Saaz!

Oooooo. I like that combo, never tried it with all three, but have done pairs with all three variables

 

[kevin58]

I rarely use more than two varieties in any given beer. American Cluster sometimes for bittering with Fuggle or EKG for aroma and flavor. (No, I don't make hazy's so I don't use a ton of hops and yes, I still use the old school bittering/aroma/flavor schedules). Other times I use the Fuggle or EKG for bittering and aroma with a noble hop for flavor... mostly Hallertau or Saaz. I make mostly historically derived English beers and that dictates my hop preference.

 

[Shenanigans]

I like the 3 hop combination of Columbus, Saaz and Amarillo in Houblon Chouffe.

​

 

[sibelman]

Cascade Centennial Mosaic for the plurality of my brews: IPA and DIPA.

 

[Broothru]

Three favorite hops?

Let's see. A few of those, some more of that kind, and a whole bunch more of the other kind.

Oh, O.K. SIMCOE, CITRA AND MOSAIC: aka, the "Holy Trinity" of hops.

 

[mac_1103]

Warrior...
Warrior and Cascade...
Warrior, Cascade and Centennial...
Warrior, Cascade, Centennial and Simcoe...

I'll come in again.

 

[Willy]

Warrior...
Warrior and Cascade...
Warrior, Cascade and Centennial...
Warrior, Cascade, Centennial and Simcoe...

I'll come in again.

Never tried warrior. Gonna look it up now.

 

[AlexKay]

IPA: Elani, Cashmere, Nelson
Lager: Magnum, Lubelski, Sybilla

 

[BeerNsteadofH2O]

For
IPA,s -Simcoe for bittering, Ekuanot at flame out, and Citra for dry hopping.

 

[Brian66]

Not my favorite (not a huge fan of coconut) but I made a hazy IPA for a friend that loves Sabro hops that came out excellent with really good coconut notes using
Sabro
Bru-1
Cashmere

Maybe someone can help - I'm making a hopped pilsner with 1/2 german pilsner, 1/2 floor-malted bohemian pilsner and starting with Hallertau Mittelfruh hops. I want to add a second hop in the whirlpool and/or dry hop. I've done this before with Citra but want to try something else. Thinking of one of these hops (I have these on hand)
Mosaic
Nelson
Saaz
El Dorado
Amarillo

Any thoughts?

 

[Willy]

Not my favorite (not a huge fan of coconut) but I made a hazy IPA for a friend that loves Sabro hops that came out excellent with really good coconut notes using
Sabro
Bru-1
Cashmere

Maybe someone can help - I'm making a hopped pilsner with 1/2 german pilsner, 1/2 floor-malted bohemian pilsner and starting with Hallertau Mittelfruh hops. I want to add a second hop in the whirlpool and/or dry hop. I've done this before with Citra but want to try something else. Thinking of one of these hops (I have these on hand)
Mosaic
Nelson
Saaz
El Dorado
Amarillo

Any thoughts?

Saaz is awesome. Use generously. I use it exclusively for a Czech Pilsner, at a 44-46 IBU.

Saaz and mosaic together might work very well too.

 

[Broothru]

IPA: Elani, Cashmere, Nelson
Lager: Magnum, Lubelski, Sybilla

Any luck yet sourcing Sybilla?

 

[AlexKay]

Any luck yet sourcing Sybilla?

Nope — Phil from NW just posted and said his supplier wanted to sell him a 1100-pound pallet.

This store says they have it in stock. I’ve never ordered from them before, but that hasn’t stopped me in the past.

 

[Bramling Cross]

I seldom use more than two hops in anything that I brew. I do enjoy Cascades, Amarillo and Citra in the rare N. American pale ales/IPAs that I brew. SIMCOE, Centennial, and CTZ is another favorite.

Mostly I stick to two hops because I'm a very boring brewer.

 

[Broothru]

Nope — Phil from NW just posted and said his supplier wanted to sell him a 1100-pound pallet.

This store says they have it in stock. I’ve never ordered from them before, but that hasn’t stopped me in the past.

I couldn't find anywhere showing they would ship outside of Canada, just to the Provinces. Not sure if that's their norm, or whether it's in response to geopolitical complications.

 

[worlddivides]

I typically use 1 hop in a beer is if it's a SMaSH, a malt-forward beer, or if it's a beer where I'm only using bittering hops. Otherwise, I tend to use more. Often a LOT more. If it's not a hop-forward beer, I might only use one or two types of hops. But with the really hoppy IPAs, APAs, pale ales, and so on, I might use 5 hops, 6 hops, 7 hops, 8 hops, 9 hops. My most recent IPA had 5 types both in the boil and in dry hopping, while the saison I just did had 3 types of hops, all in the boil.

I can't pick 3 favorites, but Centennial, Citra, and Mosaic are up there. Since this isn't a "favorite hops" thread but a favorite "three-hop-combo" thread... Another I like is Columbus, Citra, and Simcoe. It could go on forever, though. There are so many.

 

[An Ankoù]

I rarely use more than two varieties in any given beer. American Cluster sometimes for bittering with Fuggle or EKG for aroma and flavor. (No, I don't make hazy's so I don't use a ton of hops and yes, I still use the old school bittering/aroma/flavor schedules). Other times I use the Fuggle or EKG for bittering and aroma with a noble hop for flavor... mostly Hallertau or Saaz. I make mostly historically derived English beers and that dictates my hop preference.

I think we sing from pretty much the same hymn sheet. I can't think of the last time I used more than two hops in a brew. One of my favourite combos is either brewers gold or magnum for bittering, with either Mittelfrüh or tettnang or saaz for late additions for lagers. Or all saaz, or all wa-iti, riwaka or another N Z low alpha for single hop pilsners.
Bitters: challenger and EKG or all harlequin or all phoenix.
I really dont like a hop "muddle". If I make an AIPA-style, it'll be Centennial and Mozaic or Atahnam, but not a complex mix. If I want something that tastes like breakfast juice, I'll pour it out of a carton.
Im getting some very good results with hops grown in the Alsace region of France, triskel and aramis are particularly good. Triskel makes a great pilsner and aramis is like an old-school English hop. Barbe Rouge is next on my list to try.

Have any European members here used Rottenburger Spät? I had a couple of packets from Braumarkt last year and it made an interesting lager.

 

[AlexKay]

I couldn't find anywhere showing they would ship outside of Canada, just to the Provinces. Not sure if that's their norm, or whether it's in response to geopolitical complications.

I loaded up a cart and tried to check out, and it said it wouldn’t ship to my address.

 

[Broothru]

I loaded up a cart and tried to check out, and it said it wouldn’t ship to my address.

I was later looking at their “About” page, and it said they did not ship outside of Canada. They’re located in St. John, NB, province, about an 8 hr drive each way for me. Not a deal breaker necessarily, since we’ve been wanting to pay a visit to some old friends in Maine, but it’s not on our short ‘To Do’ list right now. Plus, our neighbors to the north may not be as hospitable as they were last summer when we visited Manitoba.

 

[Ninoid]

In my country, American hops are almost three times more expensive than German and Slovenian ones. I'm afraid it will be even worse because of these tariff wars.

 

[Willy]

In my country, American hops are almost three times more expensive than German and Slovenian ones. I'm afraid it will be even worse because of these tariff wars.

Already stocked up on Fuggle, EKG, Saaz, and Mitelfrau. (Got a pound of each over the last few weeks). Buy em before the tariffs hit - the stuff on the shelves shouldn't be more expensive yet.

 

[Ninoid]

Already stocked up on Fuggle, EKG, Saaz, and Mitelfrau. (Got a pound of each over the last few weeks). Buy em before the tariffs hit - the stuff on the shelves shouldn't be more expensive yet.

Im not sure how long hop pellets can be stored vacuum-packed in the freezer without losing their properties? If I buy a larger quantity, it could last a few years. I've never stored them for more than half a year. The hops are from the 2024 harvest.

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, I'm still using some pellets from 2022 and they are plenty potent, having spent the three years in my freezer...

Cheers!

 

[Indian_villager]

IPA - Citra Mosaic Simcoe
NZ Lager - Magnum, Motueka, Riwaka

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, a check of my BS3 recipes shows - aside from single hop recipes - most of my pales/IPAs/DIPAs use a bittering hop (typically Magnum, Chinook or CTZ, but occasionally Apollo, Cluster, Galena or Nugget) plus three character strains. The rest - wheat beers, saisons, Belgians, ESBs, kolsches, porters and stouts - mostly use just two strains...

Cheers!

 

[Broothru]

fwiw, a check of my BS3 recipes shows - aside from single hop recipes - most of my pales/IPAs/DIPAs use a bittering hop (typically Magnum, Chinook or CTZ, but occasionally Apollo, Cluster, Galena or Nugget) plus three character strains. The rest - wheat beers, saisons, Belgians, ESBs, kolsches, porters and stouts - mostly use just two strains...

Cheers!

Hey! Wachu' got against lagers, buddy?