Most over/under rated hop

[ForsythBrewery]

I was just wondering what hop get to much attention and which hop you think don't get enough credit

 

[dannypo]

Challenger is among my favorite hops. It has a great herbal and citrusy character. Not many people seem to use it for late hopping though. Very underrated.

 

[ForsythBrewery]

I guess i could add ti my own thread. Palisade is one i never hear about but becoming one of my favorite aroma hops

 

[bobbrews]

Citra and Magnum are the most overrated.

Horizon and Apollo don't get enough credit.

 

[Jayhem]

Overrated: Amarillo & Citra

Underrated: Centennial, Cascade, Nugget

I think a lot of homebrewers think that if a hop is expensive and sought after than it must be the best! Hops, like anything else go through "fads". One is hot one year and average the next.

I Love a good Cascade hopped APA/IPA....fortunately for me Cascade often goes on sale for $10/lb at certain times of the year so I can keep a good supply without fighting to pay $25/lb for Simcoe, Citra, Amarillo when the crops first come out each year.

 

[chiteface]

Overrated: Amarillo & Citra

Underrated: Centennial, Cascade, Nugget

I think a lot of homebrewers think that if a hop is expensive and sought after than it must be the best! Hops, like anything else go through "fads". One is hot one year and average the next.

I Love a good Cascade hopped APA/IPA....fortunately for me Cascade often goes on sale for $10/lb at certain times of the year so I can keep a good supply without fighting to pay $25/lb for Simcoe, Citra, Amarillo when the crops first come out each year.

This is probably sacrilege, but I think centennial is overrated. I never really hear anybody say anything bad about it, but I personally would rather use a number of other hops. I think Cascade has a better taste and aroma. And definitely agree on Nugget being underrated. Also I feel like Chinook for all its versatility gets forgotten about. I have never gotten anything but great results from that hop, no matter where I use it in the brewing process.

 

[Adaman05]

Zombie Dust tells me citra is not overrated

 

[geckholm]

+1 on the Chinook. I've started to really appreciate it.

 

[bellmtbbq]

Apollo, Palisades, and Southern Cross are underrated but fantastic. Summit is underrated also

I've avoided buying Amarillo, Simcoe, or Citra, but I'll probably give in soon. Not that they are hyped but I struggle with most German noble varieties. EKG is pretty mediocre alao

 

[nutty_gnome]

Simcoe is horribly over-rated. Anything out of NZ is over-rated.

Palisade and Sterling are both very under-rated versatile hops.

 

[badlee]

Saaz just ruins good beer. As over-rated as they get.

 

[aiptasia]

Over-Rated: Simcoe, Citra, Fuggles.

Under-Rated: Cascade, Bramling Cross, Williamette, Chinook.

Simcoe & Fuggles hopped beers taste like dirt to me. Citra is ok but it isn't everything (neither is Zombie Dust) and does best when paired with other hops.

Cascade is a great workhorse hop and plays well with others. Bramling cross is a great late hop addition/whirlpooling aroma/flavor hop with lots of black currant flavor. Williamette is the closest thing to something noble out of the Pacific Northwest region and Chinook is just plain awesome as a single hop variety (great bittering, pine and citrus flavoring, everything).

 

[dbsmith]

Gotta say that cascade is really underrated. The greatest thing about cascade too is that when you buy it, it is always really fresh and really deep green. I guess just because it is such an important hop in the craft beer industry. Imported hops I get are sometimes a bit pale and I have even had some that were almost yellow!

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

uk goldings and fuggles - UK. Nice hops.

 

[317BREW]

What do you think about warrior I don't hear about much use of it

 

[urbanmyth]

Overrated? My first thought is Simcoe. Then probably CTZ. Everybody seems to fawn over both of these, but Simcoe is love it or hate it, even with people who enjoy it. CTZ seems to get touted as the end all be all of high alpha, but I just get a tongue coating resinous quality from it. I know some enjoy that, but there you are.

Underrated? Quickly climbing to the top of my favorites is Styrian Goldings. They are about as versatile as low alpha hops come, in my opinion. I use them in everything from sours and abbeys to bitters and milds. Used as a 45 minute addition on a Southern English brown, they bitter without harshness, and add a little fruity, floral herbal undernote that is almost unplaceable. Another one for this category would have to be Horizon. My go-to bittering hop after Warrior. Very smooth, pleasant bittering.

 

[geckholm]

What do you think about warrior I don't hear about much use of it

I like warrior in my American pale ales.

 

[jammin]

+1 on the Chinook. I've started to really appreciate it.

^this

 

[dbsmith]

What do you think about warrior I don't hear about much use of it

I love warrior hops for bittering. I just can't find them in leaf form. My LHBS doesn't even carry them anymore which is annoying. I guess I'm just going to have to suck it up and buy pelletized ones online. Unless someone knows where to get the whole leaf ones?

 

[coosabrew]

Add me to simcoe overrated. Seems a couple of brewerys have the stronghold on production and makes for difficult aquirings sometimes. Have learned to get along without. Nugget, centenial are good all around hops, can be used at any point in beer.

 

[Evonnida]

I haven't used enough to rate them, however I really like Galaxy hops in the few I've had with those.

 

[thadius856]

I'd love to see if for myself if Apollo or Summit are underrated, but I can't them at a decent freaking price.

I'd say any of the Czech hops are underrated. Saaz in particular. Urquell is a pretty decent beer for a SMaSH, even if it is a bit BMC.

I think CTZ is terribly underrated as well because its a commodity hop and it's hard to differentiate very poor quality ones from very high quality ones just from the AA number online. It isn't an end-all, be-all, but it is awesome cheap for the AA it pushes.

 

[jonmohno]

Meh. This is boiling down to personal preference.

 

[thadius856]

Meh. This is boiling down to personal preference.

The OP asked for personal preference.

 

[Battles4Seattle]

I love Cascades but in no way would I consider it underrated. It is in like every beer (I know it's not but seems like it). Breweries wouldn't use it if it wasn't highly regarded.

Not saying it's overrated though.

 

[bellmtbbq]

I'd love to see if for myself if Apollo or Summit are underrated, but I can't them at a decent freaking price.

I'd say any of the Czech hops are underrated. Saaz in particular. Urquell is a pretty decent beer for a SMaSH, even if it is a bit BMC.

I think CTZ is terribly underrated as well because its a commodity hop and it's hard to differentiate very poor quality ones from very high quality ones just from the AA number online. It isn't an end-all, be-all, but it is awesome cheap for the AA it pushes.

Farmhouse had 4 oz packs of Apollo for $2 last week... Still might be on sale. Yakimavalleyhops and Nikobrew carries them for a nice price. Summit hops are one of the cheapest out there, and Apollo is pretty cheap.

 

[Gitmoe]

I'd love to see if for myself if Apollo or Summit are underrated, but I can't them at a decent freaking price.

I'd say any of the Czech hops are underrated. Saaz in particular. Urquell is a pretty decent beer for a SMaSH, even if it is a bit BMC.

I think CTZ is terribly underrated as well because its a commodity hop and it's hard to differentiate very poor quality ones from very high quality ones just from the AA number online. It isn't an end-all, be-all, but it is awesome cheap for the AA it pushes.

Apollo is definitely underrated. One of the other guys that works at the LHBS with me loves Apollo and was constantly saying how versatile it was and cheap. We recently brewed a single hop Apollo IPA at the store and it made me a believer. Amazing beer. We sell Apollo for $1.55/oz all year which makes it one of the cheapest hops we carry. Mosiac will also make a big splash this year I'm predicting. It's pretty amazing.

 

[thadius856]

Farmhouse had 4 oz packs of Apollo for $2 last week... Still might be on sale. Yakimavalleyhops and Nikobrew carries them for a nice price. Summit hops are one of the cheapest out there, and Apollo is pretty cheap.

Woah. Thanks!

I had been looking at Hops Direct, Hops Heaven (eBay), and Freshops mostly. Hop Shack looked promising, but they were out of most everything and don't have a huge inventory. Yakima Valley looks like they're getting a sizeable order from my today to stock up on IPA hops.

Nikobrew looks nice and has a good selection, but they're pricier (Simcoe $30 vs $18 at Yakima), even with the $5 flat rate shipping, for a multi-pound order.

Was going to just bite the bullet and order from Hops Direct, then ask for a couple pounds of that Belma they're testing ($5.25/lb!)

Might have went overboard...

Simcoe Hops (16oz / 1 pound) $17.99 (2x)
Magnum Hops (16oz / 1 pound) $10.99 (1x)
Apollo Hops (16oz / 1 pound) $12.99 (1x)
Summit Hops (16oz / 1 pound) $10.99 (1x)
Nugget Hops (16oz / 1 pound) $9.99 (1x)
Centennial Hops (16oz / 1 Pound) $15.49 (2x)
Columbus Hops (16oz / 1 Pound) $9.99 (1x)
Tettnanger Hops (16oz / 1 pound) $9.99 (1x)

Tax:
$0.00

Shipping & Handling:
$12.00

Total:
$143.90

My wife might just kill me when I cram another 10# in her freezer. $18/lb for Simcoe seemed like a steal though.

 

[MidTNJasonF]

Some of you just do not know how, when, or where to shop for hops apparently. If you are basing your over/under on availability or cost concerns you seem to be missing something. I just bought lbs of Citra for less than I can get Cascade or Centennial. I paid right at and in some cases less than $1.00 per oz. for several NZ hops.

I had some nice results experimenting with the NZ hops and frankly Citra is one of the best dry hop selections I have ever used. I do not think any of those is overrated. Pacific Jade was a stand out for me from the NZ hops.

Simcoe might be a bit overrated even though again I have purchased lbs of it cheap. I have made and had some great Simcoe based beers but for the hype it gets I do not think it is as versatile as some other options.

 

[thadius856]

Citra comes across way too grapefruit to me. Citra IPAs take like drinking Ocean Spray Ruby Red to me.

Wish I could see what others see in it.