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Hop taste test.

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 3:20 pm
by Banjo-guy
I just bought a six pack of Bud. I put 1.5 grams of a different hop in each bottle and re-capped them.( in reality I moved the beer and re-capped because of the screw tops). I’m dry hopping the bland Budweiser and will taste test the 6 different hops with my son and daughter-in law tomorrow night.
I used:
EK Goldings
Amarillo
Cascade
Simcoe
Citra
Galaxy

I wish I had more time for the beer to sit on the hops to extract the most flavor as possible. I’ll open the Cascade bottle first to see if enough of the flavor came through. If not I’ll put off the tasting for another day.
It will be a fun experiment.

Re: Hop taste test.

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 4:39 pm
by BlackDuck
That does sound like a fun experiment. Looking forward to hearing about the results.


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Re: Hop taste test.

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 8:49 am
by Dawg LB Steve
Good luck with that, we did this exact thing at a local meeting. The results were less than expected, there was so much hop debris and oxidation, took a bite of lunch the next day and still had raw hop on my taste buds. The best way to do this is to make a hop tea with each hop, after cooling add hop tea to glass then open the beer fresh and add the beer. Like to hear how your experiment turned out!
:cheers:

Re: Hop taste test.

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 9:52 am
by John Sand
I tried this with an older IPA and several hops. It was successful, though I think I left it perhaps a week. I found that more than 1 gram (iirc) caused foam, or floaties. I can check my notes if there is interest.

Re: Hop taste test.

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 10:19 am
by Banjo-guy
The results were not that clear. If the hops had more time in contact with the beer I think the flavors would have been stronger. I’ll try this again.
It seems to me that dry hopping an actual beer instead of making a hop tea is a more accurate way of tasting hops but I’ve never tried the hop tea method. I’ll give that a shot just to see.
The EK Goldings smelled and tasted really bad for my test. My daughter-in-law said that they tasted like a dead mouse smells. I agree with her. The EK Goldings beer was awful.

I like doing these tastings when people come over. It’s fun for everyone. I did one last summer to compare US 05 with the Wyeast Chico strain. I brewed as if I was running a Brulosophy experiment. I used an APA. I always assumed that US 05 was a clean fermenting yeast but I could clearly pick up a strong peach flavor when US- 05 was fermented at 65 degrees. My non brewing relatives tasted it in blind tests. I don’t use 05 anymore.
It’s a fun activity.

Re: Hop taste test.

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 10:39 am
by RickBeer
Hop tea would be the right approach, but you should use Bud Light, not Bud.

Or, simply pull the descriptions of each hop and compare the descriptions, and then go to your LBK and smell fresh ones.

East Kent Goldings - is a dual purpose hop, a quintessential English variety. Aroma citrus and spicy. https://ychhops.com/varieties/east-kent-golding

Amarillo - is a US Aroma hop. Aroma floral and citrus. https://ychhops.com/varieties/amarillo-brand-vgxp01

Cascade - is a US aroma hop. Aroma floral, citrus, spicy. https://ychhops.com/varieties/cascade

Simcoe - also a US hop, dual purpose. Aroma earthy, citrus, pine. https://ychhops.com/varieties/simcoe-brand-ycr-14-cv

Citra - a US aroma hop. Citrus, tropical fruit. https://ychhops.com/varieties/citra-brand-hbc-394-cv

Galaxy - a Australian dual purpose hop. Fruity. https://ychhops.com/varieties/galaxy
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Re: Hop taste test.

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 6:48 pm
by berryman
This is a interesting experiment but I don't think a true way to compare different hop varieties. Basically just dry hopping and won't really get the hop flavors of each different variety, just maybe the aroma of each. With out a boil you probably won't get much taste difference between them, but might notice the smell and after taste difference of each. I am following you and keep posting on this because I like to do experiments to.

Re: Hop taste test.

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 6:52 pm
by Kealia
There was somebody who did this a few years ago and shared their experiences, too.
Let me go find it.....<runs off to Google it>

Ok, found it.

It would be interesting to see if your experiences are similar at all.

Re: Hop taste test.

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 7:00 pm
by John Sand
I also find US05 peach-y at lower temps. I routinely use it, but keep it in the upper 60s.
I read my notes on bottle hopping. I tried 1 gram of Cascade in an older IPA, I gram Fuggles in an older Irish Red. Let them soak for a week at room temp, the refrigerated for a week. The Cascade improved the IPA, the Fuggles were a bit grassy.

Re: Hop taste test.

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 8:35 pm
by Banjo-guy
Kealia wrote:There was somebody who did this a few years ago and shared their experiences, too.
Let me go find it.....<runs off to Google it>

Ok, found it.

It would be interesting to see if your experiences are similar at all.
I read that before doing this. That’s where I got the idea.
He used Bud Lite ( as Rick Beer suggested). I guess it has even less flavor than regular Bud.

I like doing these experiments. When I read the discriptions of various hops I can never get beyond citrusy( cascade, citra ) or earthy fuggles. I just can’t pick them out of a beer unless someone tells me what is in the beer.