What do Warrior hops smell/taste like?

[Boleslaus]

I've searched and found a few round-about answers, but nothing definitive. I know Warrior is most commonly used as a bittering hop so not that much out there. I am brewing an IPA with Warrior, Centennial, and Casacde. Warrior will be at 60 min, but I also plan on adding either a late addition or dry hopping in combination with the other 2.

What kind of aroma and flavor can I expect out of warriors?

 

[LexusChris]

I usually use Warrior as a bittering addition, because of its high-alpha. But, I have used it as a flavor addition on a APA with some cascade and it was good!

I've seen it described as 'citrus-and-spicy' when used as a finishing hop on a site here & there... seems about right.
--LexusChris

 

[bigbeergeek]

I recently did an imperial IPA with warrior, columbus, and centennial. Columbus at 90, 45. columbus, centennial, and warrior (together) at 10, 5, 0 and dry hopped. I wish I had left the warrior out of the late additions completely. it has a harshness and almost astringency to its flavor. I'd compare the flavor to a beefed-up chinook, quite resiny, not citrusy, floral, or fruity. I'm stuck with about half a pound of the stuff and I'm not sure I even want to use it for bittering anymore. My .02.

 

[BA_from_GA]

I recently did an imperial IPA with warrior, columbus, and centennial. Columbus at 90, 45. columbus, centennial, and warrior (together) at 10, 5, 0 and dry hopped. I wish I had left the warrior out of the late additions completely. it has a harshness and almost astringency to its flavor. I'd compare the flavor to a beefed-up chinook, quite resiny, not citrusy, floral, or fruity. I'm stuck with about half a pound of the stuff and I'm not sure I even want to use it for bittering anymore. My .02.

You don't want to use it... Just mail it to me and I'll make sure it's propperly disposed of.

 

[Fishhy]

You don't want to use it... Just mail it to me and I'll make sure it's propperly disposed of.

I'll even pay for postage to here...

 

[Boleslaus]

You don't want to use it... Just mail it to me and I'll make sure it's propperly disposed of.

You wouldn't agree that it is harsh and astringent? I really want to use them, but not if they are really as bad as bigbeergeek suggests.

Wasn't going to use that much.

Hop Schedule

.75 oz Warrior @ 60
1 oz Centennial @ 15
1 oz Cascade @ 5
1 oz Cascade @ 0
1 oz Cascade DH
1 oz Warrior DH

(Debating adding some warrior with the Centennial)

 

[wildwest450]

I'm stuck with about half a pound of the stuff and I'm not sure I even want to use it for bittering anymore. My .02.

It's one of the best neutral, clean bittering hops you can use. Send them to me, if you don't want them.


_

 

[samc]

If it is described as beefed-up Chinook, I'd just use less of it and enjoy. I like Chinook as an aroma/flavor addition. Works really well with Rye for me.

 

[JonM]

If you can find it, Left Hand does a Warrior IPA. It's not all Warrior, but they say it's made with Warrior and Cascade so that might give you an idea.

 

[Boleslaus]

If you can find it, Left Hand does a Warrior IPA. It's not all Warrior, but they say it's made with Warrior and Cascade so that might give you an idea.

I actually tried that the other night. I didn't really care for it that much. To me it tasted too caramelly and I didn't even get that much hop flavor.

 

[bigbeergeek]

It's one of the best neutral, clean bittering hops you can use. Send them to me, if you don't want them.


_

I'm not mailing 'em to anyone! I'll slowly whittle away at 'em, but at nearly 18% AA a little goes a long way. I would not call them "neutral" like magnum or nugget have come across in my single-hop brews. If you ever tried the mikkeller warrior single hop IPA, you'd agree that this hop does not play neutrally with others at school...

 

[JonM]

I actually tried that the other night. I didn't really care for it that much. To me it tasted too caramelly and I didn't even get that much hop flavor.

I saw it at a bar last night an remembered that it's a fresh hop brew, meaning that it's made at harvest time. The hoppiness is probably on the decline this time of year.

 

[Boleslaus]

Well I guess I'll find out first hand. Brewed my IPA today!

 

[mrk305]

I never tried them as a late addition hop, but I do like them for 60 minutes. I usually finish with a much lower IBU hop like Saaz.

 

[Fishhy]

I never tried them as a late addition hop, but I do like them for 60 minutes. I usually finish with a much lower IBU hop like Saaz.

Same, I'd definitely describe them as a bittering hop, not an aroma hop.

 

[Boleslaus]

Well I'm about to find out for myself. I brewed the a recipe and it should be ready tomorrow just in time for the long weekend. I figured I'd see for myself if its ok to use Warrior as a flavor/aroma hop.

6.25 lbs. Light DME
2.25 lbs. 2-Row
1.25 lbs. Munich (Light)
.5 lbs. C-80

.25 oz Warrior (FWH)
.75 oz Warrior (60)
1 oz Centennial (15)
1 oz Cascade (5)
1 oz Cascade (0)
1 oz Cascade (DH)
1 oz Warrior (DH)
.5 oz Centennial (DH)

Mashed @154
US-04 @ 64 up to 68

 

[HexKrak]

They're very similar to Cascades, but with a higher AA. I like them a lot.

 

[Boleslaus]

So an update on the IPA. I tried a few glasses of it this past weekend. While I'm not totally wowed, I'm not disappointed either. First off, I overshot my OG a little bit and the beer also attenuated a little more than I would have liked, resulting in a 7.5% beer. It gives it a little more alcohol flavor than I wanted. The hops though turned out pretty good. It has a nice build up, with a good bit of citrus in the middle (not very grapefruity though). Finishes pretty dry and the bitterness lingers a bit. Like I said, not bad for my first attempt at an IPA. I might consider swapping out the FWH and just using the Warrior for dry hopping. Or I might try the same recipe with something like Nugget, Summit, Chinook or Columbus just to see the difference. Maybe even mix it up with something different like Montueka, Pacific Gem, or Southern Cross.

 

[Boleslaus]

So after a few weeks of trying my IPA here are some more notes. For one, the abv needs to come down a bit, by doing this I can hopefully leave a little more malt character to the beer. Still want it to finish dry, but hopefully using a base like Golden Promise will help. I also have to concede that I should have listened to conventional wisdom and not used Warrior as a late hop addition. Maybe it works in a DFH, continuous hop beer, but I think something more typical for flavor/aroma would be better. I'm thinking about going only Centennial and Chinook for the next version, with same malt bill (using GP).

 

[houndsbreath]

This is quite timely! I'm brewing a pale ale with Warrior/Cascade/Willamette Saturday. I have been tweaking hop additions and will push the .25oz from 1min boil to 25min. I'm doing a DogFishHead style slow addition; 0.25 oz added slowly. Supposedly that technique reduces the harshness the OP mentions. I've used Warrior before as a 60 min resulting in a fantastic strong but smooth bitterness in my Belgian IPA.

 

[jonmohno]

Im going to try this in my first lager just getting roughly 15-20 ibu's using warrior since its clean and neutral. I have some sapphire which i can use but dont know if i have enough and have enough yeast to do two lagers. So any objections using warrior as a bittering maybe aroma hop in a lager? Any help? otherwise im brewing this up tomarrow and i may have to make a new thread. I just dont see this in any lager recipes but why not if its neutral?

 

[pm5k00]

Warrior IMHO have a orange flavor to them, I use them at 90 or 60 and 15 and under. I would not use between 30-16 min as you could end up with that harsh flavor others have mentioned.

 

[jonmohno]

Nice,i think ill bitter with them then flavor and aroma with my sapphire then. I was just going to use cascades but i have some warrior opened from the last batch and would rather use them first. Sounds good to me, thanks.

 

[Irrenarzt]

I've had good luck with Warrior as a bittering addition hop. In fact, I just bought a pound more from Jeremy at Apexbrewwares. Good stuff.

 

[944play]

Still want it to finish dry, but hopefully using a base like Golden Promise will help.

GP to me makes an impression of sweetness even in a dry beer. Not quite the same "warm, malty" sweetness of, say, Vienna, but more like a honey- or nectar-aroma type of sweet impression. Hard to describe, but other base malts seem to be capable of delivering a drier feel. 2-row plus a bit of Victory or Brown malt, maybe.

 

[user 213331]

I've searched and found a few round-about answers, but nothing definitive. I know Warrior is most commonly used as a bittering hop so not that much out there. I am brewing an IPA with Warrior, Centennial, and Casacde. Warrior will be at 60 min, but I also plan on adding either a late addition or dry hopping in combination with the other 2.

What kind of aroma and flavor can I expect out of warriors?

I've searched and found a few round-about answers, but nothing definitive. I know Warrior is most commonly used as a bittering hop so not that much out there. I am brewing an IPA with Warrior, Centennial, and Casacde. Warrior will be at 60 min, but I also plan on adding either a late addition or dry hopping in combination with the other 2.

What kind of aroma and flavor can I expect out of warriors?

I only use Warrior for bittering purposes, 1.0 oz. at the 30 - 45 minute point of the boil. I use it in that manner to make a NEIPA along with 2 oz. each of Mosaic, Citra & Amarillo (Whirlpool at end of boil for 5 minutes before cooling). I dry hop with 1.5 oz. each of Mosaic, Citra & Amarillo for four days in the secondary. Also bitter an IPA with 1 oz. of Warrior (30 minutes of boil). I use 1 oz. each of Mosaic, Chinook and Simcoe hops at 5 minutes of the boil and dry hop with 1.5 oz. each of Mosaic, Chinook and Simcoe in the secondary for four days. Also use a tsp. of Damiana and Horny Goat Weed herbs at 5 minutes of the boil in this brew.

I really like both brews and get rave reviews from those who share them, including two brew masters at local brew pubs.

Unless I want a "Bitter Brute" type of IPA, i never add the bittering hops before the 45 minute point of the boil and, more often, add at the 30 minute point of the boil.

 

[catdaddy66]

I created a pale ale recipe years ago that I use warrior and green bullet hops in, with a hop "guest" in the form of a rotating variety. I do use warrior late and it does have a pleasant harshness that is amazing.

I call it... (drumroll...!) Green Warrior! Lol

This year's iteration will be using pacific jade for bittering at 13.1aa%. The late additions will be an oz each of the titular hops at 15.4aa and 12.2aa.