Hops

[zach21b]

Just curious of a good hop combo to make a Pacific NW IPA. Looking for that real piney finish.

 

[jtdrowns]

Simcoe, Chinook, and Northern Brewer are known to be piney. You could use a combo of those for flavor/aroma, bitter with Columbus or Magnum.

 

[bobbrews]

Three piney, resiny commercial IIPAs and my educated guesses on the hops used that contribute to their signature flavor/aroma:

Alchemist Heady Topper: Simcoe, Centennial, Columbus, Comet, Apollo, possibly a small amount of Amarillo
Russian River Pliny the Elder: Simcoe, Centennial, Columbus, possibly a small amount of Amarillo
Green Flash Imperial IPA: Summit, Nugget

Green Flash tastes like pure pine. The other two have a more complex hop flavor profile of pine, marijuana, and citrus.

Be careful with Chinook. That hop degrades fast in IPAs. One minute you have piney grapefruit, the next you have earthy-spicy smoke. Stone Brewing uses a lot of Chinook. Northern Brewer has earthy and minty notes as well as evergreen.

In order to brew a successfully piney IPA, you will need to know more than just the best hops to use. Total amount of hops used, timing of hop additions, appropriate level of dryness and bitterness, and total recipe design are all huge factors.

 

[kpr121]

Chinook, Simcoe is where its at if you want a pine bomb IMO.

Northern Brewer, Columbus, Summit, Nugget, others have some of that pine but to me they are more of an 'earthy' contribution.

 

[McGarnigle]

I don't detect piney from Northern Brewer. I do get the minty that bobrews mentioned.

Ahtanum can be somewhat piney, along with citrus/grapefruit.

 

[bobbrews]

I always get orange, mild spice, and earth from Ahtanum. It's more of a British IPA hop IMO... not really at all like most citrusy, piney, fruity Pacific NW hops.

 

[Broham1]

Well, one of the best PNW IPAs is Top Cutter by Bale Breaker and it uses Simcoe, Citra, and Motueka at flameout and dry hop with Citra and Ahtanum.

 

[Broham1]

Just curious of a good hop combo to make a Pacific NW IPA. Looking for that real piney finish.

What would you consider a "Pacific NW IPA?" Because I don't think piney, I think citrus. Piney makes me think of California IPAs.

To wit:
Deschutes Fresh Squeezed - Citra and Mosaic
Breakside IPA - Citra and Chinook
Hopworks Organic IPA - Amarillo Cascade and Centennial
Elysian Immortal IPA - Amarillo and Centennial
Barley Browns Pallet Jack IPA - Amarillo Citra Columbus and Simcoe

 

[bobbrews]

What would you consider a "Pacific NW IPA?" Because I don't think piney, I think citrus. Piney makes me think of California IPAs.

Pacific Northwest IPA = West Coast IPA = California IPA = Oregon IPA = Washington IPA...

It is a loose label we use for that very dry, pale, innately bitter, piney, citrusy, resiny, dank, floral, tropical, and/or fruity IPA where the malt and yeast do not get in the way of the bright uplifting hops. They typically utilize a heavy 2-row base and focus on the same dozen or so local, Pacific NW hop varieties, so the flavor/aroma tends to fall within one or more of the underlined descriptors. Very few if any are earthy, musky, woodsy, spicy, smoky, or grassy.

 

[Broham1]

California is not Pacific NW.

 

[bobbrews]

California is not Pacific NW.

I have been an IPA fan for 10+ years and I've never heard of someone label an IPA as a "California IPA". Rather, they use the terms "West Coast IPA" or "Pacific Northwest Hops" <-- mainly from Willamette Valley.

But yes, California is technically near the Pacific NW of the USA.

 

[Broham1]

But yes, California is technically near the Pacific NW of the USA.

No.

 

[slym2none]

Green Flash tastes like pure pine. The other two have a more complex hop flavor profile of pine, marijuana, and citrus.

I remember the first time I cut open a pack of Columbus hops. I thought I had bought some high-grade weed by mistake.

 

[kh54s10]

From SF Bay to the north could be considered in the Pacific NW.

As long as you don't include Alaska..

I too have not heard of a "California IPA"

 

[Broham1]

Well, much like reason, I'm leaving this conversation.

 

[bobbrews]

^ He's Canadian... He doesn't get it...

 

[slym2none]

California is technically near the Pacific NW of the USA.

Technically, France is near Great Britain. Doesn't make one the same as the other.

 

[bobbrews]

Technically, France is near Great Britain. Doesn't make one the same as the other.

Unless you're an extreme noob to American IPAs, you definitely know what people mean when they say West Coast IPA made with Pacific Northwest Hops.

I've never heard of the term California IPA (and I'm certain the majority hasn't), especially when it is used as a distinction to segregate it from a West Coast IPA made with Pacific NW hops.

I'll give him some credit for "San Diego IPA"... I have heard that before... But that's a term that breweries like Ballast Point and Stone coined when they had the best IPAs around and wanted to distinguish themselves from the rest of the nation. Vermont is doing it now with Hill Farmstead, Alchemist, and Lawson's all doing so well. However, the title is more about a level of "quality" and less about the signature taste or the typical ingredients used.

 

[Broham1]

^ He's Canadian... He doesn't get it...

Wrong again.

 

[Broham1]

Just curious of a good hop combo to make a Pacific NW IPA. Looking for that real piney finish.

I'll direct you back to the OP, where he asked how to make a "Pacific NW IPA." Not a West Coast IPA. So, I asked what he meant by that, as the IPAs we drink up here (I live in Washington. Reading's not your forte, is it?) aren't especially piney. I mentioned that I think California IPAs tend to lean more toward the piney end. That is, IPAs from breweries in California, not as a definable style.

And California, even NorCal, is not part of the NW. Nice map, but no.

 

[masskrug]

Broham1 isn't letting you in. GTFO!

 

[masskrug]

Let me preface this with I love Simcoe, but Simcoe is:

cat piss > piney

West coast? No.

 

[Komocabo]

California is not Pacific NW.

Exactly

 

[slym2none]

Technically, France is near Great Britain. Doesn't make one the same as the other.

Unless you're an extreme noob to American IPAs, you definitely know what people mean when they say West Coast IPA made with Pacific Northwest Hops

I'm just sayin', man.

 

[charliethebum]

Green Flash tastes like pure pine. The other two have a more complex hop flavor profile of pine, marijuana, and citrus.

not to be a j@ck@ss, but what exactly do you mean by "marijuana" flavor? there is just such a diversity there that it seems to me it's like saying it has a "hops" flavor

 

[slym2none]

East Kent Goldings don't smell like marijuana. Cascade doesn't smell like marijuana.

Columbus hops do. I am sure some others do as well, so I can say this - whenever you drink a beer described as "dank," it has some aroma kin to pot.

 

[charliethebum]

apologies all around but, depending on the strain, there is a huge variation as far as nose, taste, etc when it comes to "dank" maybe it's a "skunky" characteristic which makes it "marijuana" like?

 

[slym2none]

It's the characteristic that makes it smell like marijuana that makes it smell like marijuana.