Using non-bittering hops for bittering?

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petrolSpice

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I recently bought 4 lbs of hops of many varieties, but mostly the 4 C's (Cascade, Columbus, Centennial, and Chinook), Mosaic, and some 2 oz samples of other stuff.

The majority of these aren't typically used for bittering. Most recipes I've seen use Magnum or Warrior for bittering, but I'm pretty much out of these as a result.

Is there any downside to using non-bittering hops for bittering? Obviously the AA% varies so amount needs to be adjusted to match desired IBU.

I know the C's can usually be used for both, but what about hops that are commonly only for aroma or dry hopping? Off flavors from doing this?
 
Look into something known as cohumulone. Any of the so-called low-cohumulone hops can be used for bittering. This includes Cascade, as well as Magnum and Warrior, as well as most of the old noble types. I'm not sure about the cohumulone of the other C type hops that you mentioned.

You can use any hop for bittering but those with higher cohumulone can cause the bitterness to taste perceptibly more harsh. Cohumulone causes harshness. If you ever tasted an IPA that was almost undrinkably bitter, cohumulone might be the reason why. However a 100 IBU beer with low cohumulone hops is still easily drinkable by just about any beer aficionado.

Personally I use homegrown Hallertau and Cascade for much of my bittering because over the years I have figured out their average alpha acid content, and I always have plenty of them, so I might as well, not to mention that these are pretty standard hops that I can use in just about any beer style that I want to brew.

So yeah, it's totally fine to use any hops you want for bittering, with the possible caveat that you might want to research the average cohumulone content and not use too much of a high cohumulone hop for all your bittering. But if you did like a 50/50 blend with low cohumulone hops, I bet it would turn out just fine and not too harsh.

Cheers.
 
"Bittering" hops are generally called that because they are higher alpha acids, and you get more IBUs for your money using higher alpha acid hops.

Before the hops 'crisis' in 2008 or so, higher alpha acid hop varieties were not really available like they are now, so people used cascade, centennial, chinook, etc for bittering their beers. For many German beers, plain old hallertauer was used before magnum became more readily available. I often use many of my hops for bittering as well as for flavoring and aroma and dryhopping. I don't often buy "bittering" hops that are super high alpha acid content but aren't noted for great flavor. I use chinook for bittering and later in the boil, and columbus too, just as examples.

In other words, there really isn't such a thing as "bittering" hops vs flavor hops, not really. All hops have bittering ability, and all of them have flavor. Common usage is what labels them "bittering" or "flavor" hops.
 
I have seen several recipes that used those hop varieties for bittering. I have used both centennial and cascade for bittering myself and have been pleased with them in that role.
 
I've used all those you listed, with the exception of Centennial, for bittering at one time or another. And Centennial, AKA Super Cascade, should be just fine too...
 
It's fine to do that, but keep in mind that hop pellets are really absorbant of wort, so if you are dumping a ton of low AA% hops to get your deisred IBU, you are greatly increasing your trub, and decreasing your overall yield. In simpler terms, less beer at the end of the day.
 
It's fine to do that, but keep in mind that hop pellets are really absorbant of wort, so if you are dumping a ton of low AA% hops to get your deisred IBU, you are greatly increasing your trub, and decreasing your overall yield. In simpler terms, less beer at the end of the day.

I have been using a bag to hold the hops in the boil, I squeeze out the wort once done boiling so there is virtually no volume loss due to the boil hops.
 
Columbus is a kick-ass bittering hop, I use that a lot. Indeed, Columbus is just a kick-ass hop all around in every stage of brewing.

Chinook, I find a tad harsh when bittering, but can be good in a heavy IPA/DIPA.

Cascade, I have never been happy with that as a bittering hop, I find it very harsh...but maybe that's because you need so much of it for bittering (relatively low Alpha compared to other C hops).

Centennial I find to get a little "soapy" tasting when used in bittering, I dunno why.

Mosaic is way too awesome to waste in bittering.
 
As far as low alpha bittering hops go, I love using Glacier or German Tradition in my not-too-hoppy beers. They tend to work fantastic; very smooth bittering that lets the other hops or malt shine through.
 
There's a bit of debate as to whether or not cohumulone content is actually a significant contributor to a "harsh bitterness". There are still many unidentified compounds in hops, and we aren't totally sure how the balance of duties weighs out. Mitch Steele has some really good stuff about this in his IPA book.

I also came across a great section in Brewing New Lager Beers dealing with flavor contributions of low-alpha first wort additions in finished beers, so that might be something to try out as well.
 
I have been using a bag to hold the hops in the boil, I squeeze out the wort once done boiling so there is virtually no volume loss due to the boil hops.
If you are looking to increase bittering utilization, nylon or muslin bag will work against you since you are reducing surface area as the hops clump together. Besides an effective whirlpool, using a hop spider is your best option as the hops are allowed more room for wort contact. If you stick with bags, and want to increase your yield, have them naturally drain by holding them over your kettle, as squeezing the bags can extract negative bittering characteristics downstream like undesirable vegital flavors.
 
If you are looking to increase bittering utilization, nylon or muslin bag will work against you since you are reducing surface area as the hops clump together. Besides an effective whirlpool, using a hop spider is your best option as the hops are allowed more room for wort contact. If you stick with bags, and want to increase your yield, have them naturally drain by holding them over your kettle, as squeezing the bags can extract negative bittering characteristics downstream like undesirable vegital flavors.

Definitely agree with highfivinmofo. It wasn't until recently I cruised the forum and realized the nylon bags were hurting my big beers a lot more than I originally thought. Brewed a few without the hop bag and WOW...big difference. As far as bittering hops, I've used Cascade and Chinook a lot. I like both, but Chinook has gotten a little harsh if I'm not careful. Still a great hop.
 
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