Hoppy stout hop choices

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Jocky

Supporting Member
HBT Supporter
Joined
Nov 16, 2018
Messages
88
Reaction score
49
Location
London, UK
One of my house beers is an American Stout. It’s very roasty and very hoppy.

My normal recipe for it is 100% Sabro as the coconut notes just work really well with the roasty, chocolatey notes in the beer. The recipe is below, and it’s won multiple medals, including 3rd best in show at a 100 entry competition that was just for dark beers.

I’m going to brew it again soon, but I’d quite like a break from Sabro, so I was wondering if anyone had ideas about which of the following hops that I have in stock might be good/interesting for the late/dry hops In this beer:

Chinook
Strata
El dorado
Amarillo
Galaxy
Ekuanot
Mosaic
Citra

My feeling was maybe to use the Amarillo and/or Mosaic?

Here’s the recipe:

21 litres/5.5 US Gallons into fermenter.
IBU 57
ABV 5.9%
OG 1.059
FG 1.014

Malt​

  • Crisp Maris Otter, 6 EBC, 4750g, 75.5%
  • Crisp Chocolate, 950 EBC, 400g, 6.4%
  • Crisp Roasted Barley, 1300 EBC, 400g, 6.4%
  • Simpsons Dark Crystal, 265 EBC, 400g, 6.4%
  • Rolled Oats, 3 EBC, 340g, 5.4%

Hops​

  • 30g Sabro at 60 minutes
  • 40g Sabro at 5 minutes
  • 60g Sabro dry hop

Yeast​

Wyeast 1056 American Ale

Full recipe: Hard Top - London Amateur Brewers Wiki
 
I do an 11-12% chocolate stout and use Chinook for bittering (@60) then Cascade (@20 and @5), and that's it.
With your inventory I'd use Chinook, and your Amarillo for the Cascade...

Cheers!

(ps: I don't like Sabro)
 
I love Strata but am not sure it works in a darker beer. I might go ahead and try the Citra. My thinking is you want something that can muscle in alongside the dark malt.

In terms of hops you don't have, I've used Lotus and Talus in dark beers (mostly black IPAs, but the occasional stout) with good results.
 
I do an 11-12% chocolate stout and use Chinook for bittering (@60) then Cascade (@20 and @5), and that's it.
With your inventory I'd use Chinook, and your Amarillo for the Cascade...

Cheers!
Chinook/Amarillo was a combination I was strongly considering.

I’ve used Chinook on its own before and it just didn’t quite have the flavour/aroma punch I wanted, but Amarillo could add that, with nice orangey notes that would complement the stout flavours.
 
fwiw I am of the opinion that hops in a big stout should be a small voice in the chorus and not a soloist.
It's all about the malts...

Cheers!
I would generally agree as I dislike most Black IPAs in that they’re either IPAs with sinamar or the roast clashes with the hops… which is what drove me to make my original recipe - to find a balance where both can shine.
 
fwiw, imo, your hop collection is a hazy IPA brewer's wish list :D
I use Strata, El Dorado, Amarillo, Galaxy, Mosaic and Citra - and Chinook for bittering - by the pounds annually for NEIPAs.
The only one on your list I've never used is Ekuanot...

Cheers!
 
I started out with all-EKG, and the results are fantastic, of course. Then I decided to bitter with EKG and use Crystal for aroma. Still fantastic, but I think all-EKG is probably the way to go.

But Sabro...that sounds like a must-try.
 
fwiw, imo, your hop collection is a hazy IPA brewer's wish list :D
I use Strata, El Dorado, Amarillo, Galaxy, Mosaic and Citra - and Chinook for bittering - by the pounds annually for NEIPAs.
The only one on your list I've never used is Ekuanot...

Cheers!

That might be because the next beer I had planned is a hazy IPA.

I did a great one not too long ago:

70% Pale malt
15% golden naked oats
15% wheat malt
To hit 1.060

1.5 oz each of Amarillo, ekuanot, el dorado, mosaic at 80C/176F for 20 minutes.

Ferment with Yeast Bay Hazy Daze II.

Same hops and amounts again as a dry hop.
 
I started out with all-EKG, and the results are fantastic, of course. Then I decided to bitter with EKG and use Crystal for aroma. Still fantastic, but I think all-EKG is probably the way to go.

But Sabro...that sounds like a must-try.
If someone hasn't tried using a crap ton of EKG in a stout and then letting it age for up to 12 months (or longer) you are really missing out. Something about how the character changes over time makes a for a great drinking experience.
 
fwiw I am of the opinion that hops in a big stout should be a small voice in the chorus and not a soloist.
It's all about the malts...

Cheers!

Specifically an American Stout should be pretty damned hoppy. It's all good not to like hoppy stouts, and there are plenty of sub categories to choose from that aren't hoppy.
 
Specifically an American Stout should be pretty damned hoppy.
Ah...a 20B acolyte. OK, I can dig that, but I don't buy into it :)
And note in the description: "Low to high hop flavor" with IBUs between 35 and 70.
Plenty of room for interpretation...

Cheers!
 
I've tried various porter/IPA hybrids and hops with dark beers including stouts. Zeus/Simcoe was very nice in a second rubbings beer from an imperial stout. I used Zeus at 15/FO and Simcoe dry. Ekuanot was too strong for a dark beer, especially when young. It's getting there after three or four months. I feel like Ekuanot is hit or miss anyway for most people, but I'm not convinced in stout yet. Maybe if blended with something fruity and less woody. Sabro/Mosaic can work nice as well, but if you'd like to drop Sabro perhaps something like Simcoe? Galaxy could be interesting if used sparingly imo, but I'd rather save it for something else.

I'll definitely add you recipe to my pipeline though, sounds very interesting.
 
I would generally agree as I dislike most Black IPAs in that they’re either IPAs with sinamar or the roast clashes with the hops… which is what drove me to make my original recipe - to find a balance where both can shine.
I have a black IPA in my rotation, but I cheat and use briess midnight wheat for the color but no roastiness. Seems to disappear rapidly with the crowd.
 
I agree.. In my brewing world, hoppy stout seems a bit of an oxymoron...
American Stout lives somewhere between a Foreign Extra Stout (but with more hop flavor, leaning citrus/pine instead of Noble) and a Black IPA (which is like a drier and hoppier American Stout).. I really didn't get it or have any desire to brew it until I just did it for the hell of it. Now it's one of my favorite beers.

There's no benefit to being too reductive with beer styles or you end up brewing for McSorley's.
 
After a chat at my home brew club I decided to go for Chinook for 60m and 5m additions, with Galaxy in the whirlpool and dry hop.

I brewed it a week and a bit ago, dry hop going in tomorrow. I’ll let you know how it comes out.
 
The Chinook/Galaxy combo worked out well, but still lacks some punch and distinctiveness of Sabro. It's possible though that I didn't get a great extract from the dry hops I added to my keg.

Tempted to stick in 50g of Citra just to see how that goes.
 
Back
Top