Porter hop input

[Piratwolf]

Hey, HBT!

Gonna brew a robust porter this weekend & split into 2 fermenters. One will be straight robust porter for a comp. The other I'm going to add Vanilla & cold-pressed coffee, then maybe age on French oak chips.

I'm going with Glacier hops b/c I think the earthy, slightly floral notes will really complement the porter's dark malts. My question is this: do I stick with traditional bittering addition for the bulk of my IBUs, or do I tone down the initial addition and really elevate my 15 & 5 minute charges to get powerful flavor/aroma as well as bittering?

I'd appreciate any input!
--pirat

 

[Piratwolf]

Bueller?

 

[Cubslover]

All depends on what you're looking for. I don't have much experience with Glacier, but Willamette and Fuggles are always solid choices for Porters and Stouts.

I'd keep Hop Additions to no later in the boil than 10-15min.

 

[usfmikeb]

I use Willamette for porter, and target the low end of the IBU range for the style, to showcase the specialty malts in use. I'll check the recipe tonight and post back.

 

[TarheelBrew13]

I've used Glacier hops a lot. So far, I've been really disappointed. In one blonde ale I added 2oz at 8 min and dry hopped with 2oz and the resulting beer had only faint hop aroma. This hop has disappointedly too much but I still have hops of finding a beer that they will pair well with.

Also, I've never found an earthy aroma or flavor in glacier hops. To me the aroma has always been very light and somewhat reminiscent of canned pears.

I would not recommend Glacier for a porter. I just don't feel like you could get enough hops in the beer to be detectable.

 

[OddNotion]

I use Willamette for porter, and target the low end of the IBU range for the style, to showcase the specialty malts in use. I'll check the recipe tonight and post back.

I'll second this, Willamette is my go to for porters and I like to keep the ibus in the middle to lower end for the style.

 

[944play]

Last time I used Willamette in a Porter, it was way too floral for my taste. I prefer the crunchy, tongue-scraping bittering of Chinook.

 

[TimTrone]

I'll second this, Willamette is my go to for porters and I like to keep the ibus in the middle to lower end for the style.

+3. Willamette is what I use in most of my darker ales.

 

[Cubslover]

Southern Tier uses Chinook as a bittering hop and Willamette to finish in a couple of their brews. Excellent combination.

 

[Boy]

I really like Willamette as well. There's also Northern Brewer, Chinook, and Nugget that I like a lot.

 

[Piratwolf]

This is awesome input.. thank you! I have Chinook, NB & I think some Willamette, so I'll go with those.

Cheers!!!

 

[usfmikeb]

Checked my recipe, I'm using 1.25 oz for 60 mins and 1 oz for 15 mins. Last batch of Willamette I had was 4.7%, yielding IBUs of 27.3, on the low end of the target range of 25-50.

 

[usfmikeb]

BTW, I used to use Northern Brewer, so you could use it as well. I switched to Willamette a couple years back.

 

[Piratwolf]

BTW, I used to use Northern Brewer, so you could use it as well. I switched to Willamette a couple years back.

Thanks, usfmikeb! I'm vacillating btwn all-chinook and chinook-Willamette. I'll post my outcome in a few weeks.