Great New Hop Varieties?

[Sea]

Just wondering, has anyone come across new hop varities that they really like? I know many of you buy in bulk, and may not have suffered from the shortage yet, but I'm nearing the end of the couple pounds I had horded up, and am looking at having to buy varieties that (mostly) I've never used before.

 

[newkarian]

Ive used Green Bullet in a couple batches. Nice clean bitterness. Only used it as a bittering hop so dont know about flavor/aroma additions.

 

[beerthirty]

+1 on green bullet. Ive heard of a new Japanese hop that a high AA dual purpose. Sorachi Ace, 13-16% with citrus(lemon) characteristics. I would like to give it a try if I can find it.

 

[Chriso]

I've got a couple oz of Sorachi Ace but have not yet used it. Other reading I've done indicates it's easy to go over-the-top and to use sparingly? Someone noted it made a good addition to a wit beer, where the lemon and spice can mingle.

I've not yet tried the Green Bullet or the Riwaka, but both look interesting! I know a lot of people are using Summit (tangeriney-citrus, high AA) in their IPAs to get around the C-shortages.

As for me, yeah, I've still got enough to get by for a while. And now that I have that extra lb of Centennial I should be fine.

 

[Brew-boy]

I been liking Summit a lot for my IPA's

 

[enderwig]

Summit is one of my new favorite hops. Especially blended with C hops

 

[ericd]

Belgian Saaz is the all-singing, all-dancing noble hop. Quite different than it's Czeck counterpart. About to try an all Southern Cross IPA, will let you all know how it turns out. Crystal is a terribly underrated aroma hop as well.

 

[DeathBrewer]

Sorachi Ace is overly lemony and citrusy. i used it only for bittering in a beer once and the flavor still came through boldly. it was drinkable, but i'll probably never use SA again.

 

[jds]

That's an interesting observation, DeathBrewer:

I did a Sorachi Ace wit, and didn't think it was overly lemony. Then again, there were only 15.5 IBU in the hop bill.

 

[DeathBrewer]

i have some left, so i'll have to use it eventually...i'm not a big fan of citrusy hops in general. maybe i'll make an american hefeweizen with it.

 

[jds]

I agree. I tend more toward the spicy/noble hops. I've become a big fan of americanized versions, like Sterling and Willamette. Don't get me wrong, the "Big C's" are nice hops, but I think there's a lot more variety out there to explore.

 

[pjj2ba]

I've got a light lager on tap now that used a little (6g?) of Sorachi Ace at the end of the boil. It is very refreshing. A buddy correctly picked out the slight lemony flavor with no prompting, not even asking about the taste. I was at a party this weekend and had a Bud light lime. If they had used lemon instead it would be very similar to the beer I brewed. I've used it in several lagers and wheats and I only notice the lemon if I add it late in the boil, never when it's been strickly for bittering.

 

[Big10Seaner]

Liberty for me

 

[balto charlie]

I been liking Summit a lot for my IPA's

+1, I just tried it this last year and really loved it. Then I could not find it anywhere.

 

[BrewDey]

I used Sterlings for a cream ale that ended up very nice. I also subbed Auroras for Cascades in Ed Wort's Pale. This was a better chance to really taste the hops. Hard to describe, but I really liked them...a little 'catty', not very citrusy. My non-hophead friends liked the fact that there was a nice sweetness...not sure if this was just residual sugars or from the hops themselves.

 

[Germey]

A member in my local club made a single hop batch using Pacific Jade. I liked it. It is described as citrusy, but it was much less so than Cascade. It was a nice blend of spiciness and citrus and pine. Kind of like a Tettnang/cascade mix.

I have been using a lot of Nelson Sauvin this year. It is an intensely grapefruity hop with some subtle wine characteristics (it's name comes from comparisons to Sauvignon Blanc). Fantastic if you swing that way.

 

[Calico Jack]

Summit is one of my new favorite hops. Especially blended with C hops

I totally agree. I've been using a lot of summit lately also.