Serendipity hops

[Brooothru]

I was routing around in the beer fridge yesterday looking for some citra that I need for an upcoming brew session when I came across some "serendipity hops". You know the ones you bought for some recipe and forgot about them before they got used.

Backstory: summer 2017 we were part of a five family beach rental on the Outer Banks. Had a blast. Of course I had to brew a few kegs. One was a SMaSH pale ale using the (then) experimental HBC 366, now Ekuanot. It turned out 'OK' and everybody 'liked' it, but I never thought it was a "re-brew".

So yesterday I found 3 oz of Ekuanot and 3 oz of Cryo Ekuanot. They're in their original foil barrier flushed packaging and have been continuously stored in a freezer. I've got no problem using 3 year old hops but I'm not sure how to use them.

I only brewed with them once but was a little put off with a strong vegetal (green pepper) taste which is characteristic of the hop profile but found it out of balance with with the purported tropical fruity notes. Maybe it was because of it being a SMaSH, but I'm not sure what hops "play nice" with Ekuanot. I also wonder if maybe using it only as a flavor/aroma hop might diminish the strong green pepper notes.

Any suggestions?

Brooo Brother

 

[VirginiaHops1]

I have only used it once but it was a hazy IPA recently with Citra, Amarillo, Sabro, and Ekuanot cryo in the dry hop. It was only 1 oz of Ekuanot cryo in a 7 oz dry hop but the green pepper flavor absolutely dominates the beer. Maybe try it in boil and/or whirlpool instead of dry hop and see if it's less peppery? Perhaps it just depends on the particular crop you get because I have heard of people getting fruity flavors from it somehow.

 

[Brooothru]

I have only used it once but it was a hazy IPA recently with Citra, Amarillo, Sabro, and Ekuanot cryo in the dry hop. It was only 1 oz of Ekuanot cryo in a 7 oz dry hop but the green pepper flavor absolutely dominates the beer. Maybe try it in boil and/or whirlpool instead of dry hop and see if it's less peppery? Perhaps it just depends on the particular crop you get because I have heard of people getting fruity flavors from it somehow.

I heard the same thing about the green pepper notes being dependent upon the year in which the hop was grown. They must have been prominent in the 2017 crop 'cause the ones I used in Spring 2018 were very "green peppery" flavor and aroma, and not much re: citrus and tropical fruit. I hate to waste 6 oz of hops (3 of 'em Cryo hops), but I really wasn't all that pleased with the way my beer turned out that time. What I've heard more recently was that using them earlier in the boil might enhance the green pepper, which is the opposite of what you experienced. I wonder if there is a temperature band that would de-emphasize that flavor, say steeping at 170F for :20 mins after flameout.

Brooo Brother