Willamette on its own...

[jjones17]

Well, I have pretty much decided that Willamette is an excellent blending hop. After trying it in several different ways I think this is probably my favorite hop to complement most of the floral/citrusy hops. In fact, I will probably add this to most of my hoppy beers to cut down on using too much of my favorite showstoppers too fast (Amarillo, fuggles, Centennial).

 

[chucke]

I'm drinking an ESB that's 100% Willamette.
It's spectacular... if I do say so myself.

 

[DavidSteel]

I'm drinking an ESB that's 100% Willamette.
It's spectacular... if I do say so myself.

I just brewed an all willamette IPA from a parti-gyle. Made 1 gallon, got 8 bottles worth. Sample was beyond amazing.

 

[mhot55]

Brewed an all willemette blonde a bit back. Was awesome. When you're looking for a nice light ale that isn't overtly-"American" hop wise (spice/ citrus), then willemette fits nicely.

 

[hopvine]

It's funny that you should mention using Williamette in combination with other hops.

I recently did an experiment using 4 different hops in 4 different one gallon batches. The grain bill was the same in all four beers and the amount of the hops was adjusted to reach a similar IBU level in each. The idea was to see for myself if there is any real difference in flavor with a single :60 min bittering addition and, if so, which flavors do I prefer.

After fermentation, I tasted each sample and did notice "subtle" differences. Some hops had more "flavor" than others. I found that Williamette, as a bittering hop, is pretty neutral. The interesting thing is that when I tried blending some of the finished beers, I found that the Willamette blended very well with two other hops from the test.

My favorite combination was Williamette and Simcoe. I think I'm going to formulate an American pale ale with these two hops and see how it turns out.

Could you comment a little more on the other three beers/hops from this experiment, and how you perceived the bitterness/flavor from those? I've always wondered about the importance of the 60 minute addition strain.

 

[Shake]

I really enjoy the flavor of Willamette in Lauganitas IPA. In my opinion that flavor really comes forward in that beer.

 

[Bjornbrewer]

I'm drinking an ESB that's 100% Willamette.
It's spectacular... if I do say so myself.

Your brew? Do you have a recipe for that...I'd like to try an ESB soon and Will's would be the way to go.

Thanks