Hop addition needed?

[michaelg3]

My wife and I are new brewers and one of our favorite batches so far has been "Milk O' Stout" from the BeerSmith recipe cloud site. We tend to lean towards dark complex beers on the malty side but have decided to give this a little more kick in the hops . We are after minor changes in aroma/flavor not major at this point. Right now it calls for Fuggles at 60 minutes (1.5oz) and 30 minutes (.5 oz) for a 5.5 gal batch. I have started reading Designing Great Beers but thought that I would ask the question here to see what sort of responses I get and I'm sure we will learn much in the process. We are now at 7 batches of beer that we have brewed and are enjoying the process and the results very much. I have read many posts but this is our first. Thanks for all the help you have been along the way so far!

 

[billl]

I'm not sure what the question is here. More hops? If that is what you want, sure. Its your beer, so make it how you want. An extra oz in the 0-15 range isn't out of style and Goldings would be pretty traditional. I personally don't like fuggles as flavor hops in the 0-15 range , but your tastes may vary.

 

[michaelg3]

Sorry for the poorly stated question. Yes, we want to add additional flavor to the stout and I'm asking for recommendations in the later hop addition specifically. When looking at other stout recipes I see a wide variety of different hops (Magnum, Goldings, Pearle, Cascade, Williamette, Hallertauer, Cluster, etc.) used in the last 20 to 0 minutes of boil and was hoping for ideas from those who have much more experience that I do. I understand that it's a matter of taste but I would like to hear what worked or didn't work for others taste preferences. I did find Goldings listed in quite a few of the milk stout recipes as the late addition hop so that does sound like an alternative to the Fuggles I'm using. At this point we are early in the stage of developing/recognizing our tastes and appreciate your comments. Thanks.

 

[chickypad]

I agree with billl I'm not a fan of fuggles as an aroma/flavor hop but some people love it. Goldings or willamette is what I like to use in stouts, unless I'm doing a big hoppy american stout in which case I often use centennial. Willamette is supposed to be a fuggles derivative but I find it much easier on my palate.

 

[billl]

Everyone's taste is different. If you tend to like english versions, stick with something like fuggles, goldings, or willamette. If you like american versions, the range is pretty huge. Is there a particular stout you really enjoy?

 

[michaelg3]

Here are a couple we really enjoy. Split Shot Espresso Milk Stout - Elysian Brewing Company and Squashed Stout - Fort George Brewery. Fort George mentions that they use Challenger hops in the Squashed Stout.

 

[billl]

The Elysian website says they just use magnum for bittering. Challenger is an english hop that is a bit earthy and floral. If you like that, you'll probably like both Goldings and Fuggles as well.

If you want to go a more american route in a different batch, centennial has some nice floral properties but it still distinctively american.

 

[michaelg3]

Thanks Bill, I appreciate the information. Any ideas on a stout(s) readily available in the NW that uses centennial? It does really point out to my wife and I of the need to educate ourselves to a different level. We just started brewing smaller batches so we can experiment with different types and variations.

 

[chickypad]

Bear Republic's Big Bear stout uses centennial and cascade.