Hop amount

[mbm]

so I know a hop like Citra can overpower other hops if used together . Is there some way to tell which hops are more potent and which ones are more milder ..
do the alpha or beta % have anything to do with it or is it just from experience / experimenting with different hop varieties in different ratios

 

[drewmarkwith]

From what I’ve read and in my experience, the alpha and beta acid amounts don’t correlate with a hops ability to overpower.
I find that the dry hop is really where some hops will take over, and since I tend to keg hop, I can make up for that by adding an extra ounce of something else. Citra, Simcoe, Columbus are potent, but Riwaka is the most overpowering dry hop I have ever experienced.

Another thing to pay close attention to is any off/offensive flavors you detect from specific hop varieties. I am very sensitive to green onion from some beers featuring Mosaic (some batches of Swish, Mosaic Cutting Tiles) and the distinct flavor of Nelson. So even though they might not overpower the other hops, my palate quickly focuses in on those off flavors, and I will avoid or use much less of them. Other people are sensitive to the catty flavor of Citra or Simcoe but I love that combo.

Bottom line is experiment, take good notes and try to learn what hops are used in your favorite commercial beers

 

[day_trippr]

I agree with that "bottom line", one really has to try a hop strain to understand the characters it conveys, written or spoken words won't do it.

I recently had a beer brewed at a local with four strains of hops I've used extensively, plus one I had never tasted - Azacca - which dominated the others (and not in a good way, imo). Without knowing anything about that hop I'd have followed the recipe used without concern, but now that I've tasted it, if I were to tweak the recipe used on that brew I'd definitely halve the Azacca so it would play nice with the rest and not stand out as the over-the-top soloist in a choir...

Cheers!

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Is there some way to tell which hops are more potent and which ones are more milder ..
do the alpha or beta % have anything to do with it or is it just from experience / experimenting with different hop varieties in different ratios

Alpha and beta don't tell you much - alpha just tells you the bittering potential, which isn't particularly helpful in this context. Unfortunately the kind of things that are measured for hop spec sheets are not particularly helpful in telling you about their actual flavour, as some important flavour compounds are present in tiny quantities. The total oil content can give you a little bit of an idea - so eg Polaris at 4-5ml oil per 100g is a "big" hop that will dominate Tettnang at <1ml per 100g, but even then it is not terribly reliable. Really experience is the only way, so get drinking and brewing lots of beer made with different hops!

 

[ESBrewer]

Yes, hop amounts can be somewhat tricky and you need some experience. Also there are so many ways you can treat the hops and this may affect the outcome. I mean the possible hop stand and boil times & efficiency of wort cooling. And some hops seem to work better in dry hopping than in late kettle additions. And finally, it all comes to taste. I agree that citra can be overpowering, but some people may find the beer is just better with tons of citra...