# Northdown Hops



## Tony (12/2/06)

I have used them in a bitter for the first time and they are great in my opinion.

My wife tried the bitter (95% MO ale, 5% TF crystal) that was made with a bit of challenger and mostly northdown and she smiled. She said.....

"thats the flavor ive been looking for in a beer since you started this brewing buisness, thats nice"

So looks like i kabe to get more northdown, not that im complaining, i like it too 

cheers


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## Batz (12/2/06)

I like them too Tony

Well this month anyway <_< 

Batz


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## jimmyjack (12/2/06)

used them in a couple of APA's and enjoyed them too!!! very nice hop.

Cheers, Jj


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## BoilerBoy (13/2/06)

I really like this hop too, and it smells fantastic! 

Did an all Northdown pale ale last year using plugs, tasted great, but what I remember most is the "stunning" aroma! :beerbang:


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## warrenlw63 (13/2/06)

Try mixing them up with some Challenger.

Tastes even better again.  Yep, the new wave of English hops get my vote. :beerbang: 

Just don't mention Progress. <_< 

Warren -


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## Tony (13/2/06)

well thats what i did with them, mixed with challenger.

They have a great fresh taste i recon and the aroma is great  

I just scored 8 northdown hops and have ordered 200g pellets for some nice bitters in the keg.

cheers


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## BoilerBoy (13/2/06)

G'Day Warrenlw63,

How did you combine the two? As in bittering, flavour etc

Might give this a go real soon!

BB


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## THE DRUNK ARAB (13/2/06)

warrenlw63 said:


> Try mixing them up with some Challenger.
> 
> Tastes even better again.  Yep, the new wave of English hops get my vote. :beerbang:
> 
> ...



Sorry about the hijack here  

have you tried Target and Challenger together Warren?
I seem to recall you had a liking for Target.

On topic again, were they pellets or plugs Tony?

C&B
TDA


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## Gough (13/2/06)

Big fan of Northdown. I also tend to mix them with Challenger. Recently bottled two beers, an ESB and a Spec Bitter that used a combo of Target, Challenger N'down and EKG. Very happy with both beers  I've only used Target as a bittering hop but have used it in almost every Brit style beer I've made and have liked the results. 

Northdown is a winner though for sure. Congrats on the recent results Tony by the way  

Shawn.


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## warrenlw63 (13/2/06)

TDA.

Had similar results to Shawn. My own personal opinion is that Target is the best "bang-for-buck" bittering hop you can use, that gives a firm, clean bitterness. :beerbang: 

Others MMV of course. :unsure: 

Warren -


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## Ross (13/2/06)

For all the pommie bitters I've made, I've never used it - Time to change that I reckon, especialy after the unwelcomed floral notes my last lot of fuggles seems to have added to my bitter...

cheers Ross


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## colinw (13/2/06)

warrenlw63 said:


> Just don't mention Progress. <_<
> [post="108166"][/post]​


Glad to hear I'm not the only person who hates Progress hops. Every time I use them I get a nasty "cheap perfume" character in the beer which I don't much care for.

Northdown gets my unqualified thumbs up. :super: 

Northdown + Target + EKG is even better, just keep the Target to a fairly small percentage and bittering only.


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## Ross (13/2/06)

colinw said:


> warrenlw63 said:
> 
> 
> > Just don't mention Progress. <_<
> ...



Colin, This is exactly what I got in my last beer - but the only change was my new batch of fuggles - I pray I wasnt given progess in error!!!

cheers Ross


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## colinw (13/2/06)

Ross said:


> colinw said:
> 
> 
> > warrenlw63 said:
> ...


Come to think of it, I've had that with Fuggles as well, although not as pronounced as with Progress. The Fuggles case was solved by dry hopping with some Saaz plugs, which covered it up with a nice spicy aroma.

The aroma from Progress was just plain gag inducing, and took forever to age out and become drinkable. Not everyone who tried the beer found it objectionable.


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## warrenlw63 (13/2/06)

The character of Progress reminded me of blackberry skins or something similar. Just very harsh and unpleasant. 

That said after several months of ageing it seemed to mellow out and give the beer an agreeable character with a darker crystal malt.

The problem is you make an English Bitter expecting to be able to tap the keg after 2 weeks not 3 months. <_< 

Progress, never has a hop had such a self-contradictory name. h34r: 

Warren -


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## colinw (13/2/06)

Yeah, about 3 months was what it took for me as well. Come to think of it the beer had a slight astringency early on as well, but I blamed an oversparge at the time.


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## Tony (13/2/06)

Hey TDA, they were pellets. I got an 80 g bag to try so its what i used.

and thanks shawn   

and i told a lie, it wasnt challenger i used with them, it was EKG.

here is my recipe. Gee ive been posting some of these today.

Tonys Special Bitter

A ProMash Recipe Report

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (L): 45.00 Wort Size (L): 45.00
Total Grain (kg): 8.00
Anticipated OG: 1.044 Plato: 10.86
Anticipated EBC: 13.3
Anticipated IBU: 34.4
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80 %
Wort Boil Time: 75 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential EBC
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
90.0 7.20 kg. TF Maris Otter Pale Ale Malt UK 1.037 5
5.0 0.40 kg. TF Torrefied Wheat UK 1.035 5
5.0 0.40 kg. TF Crystal UK 1.034 145

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
20.00 g. Wye Northdown Pellet 7.20 10.3 First WH
38.00 g. Wye Northdown Pellet 7.20 17.9 60 min.
30.00 g. Goldings - E.K. Pellet 5.20 6.2 20 min.
30.00 g. Goldings - E.K. Pellet 5.20 0.0 0 min.
22.00 g. Wye Northdown Pellet 7.20 0.0 Dry Hop


Yeast
-----

WYeast 1275 Thames Valley Ale




cheers


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## Joel (12/3/06)

So, Northdown can be used for bittering and also for aroma/flavour?

I've been using mainly Northern Brewer for bittering, how do the two compare?


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## Finite (12/3/06)

How hard are chinook's to get?


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## BoilerBoy (12/3/06)

G'Day Joel,

A certain HBS tried to sell me Nth Down telling me they are the same as Nth Brewer. 

However, having used both and loving them both I thought he should really stop smoking them! <_< That aside it is a great dual purpose hop.

I dont know what others have think, but I have found them quite different.

I first tried them (Nth Down) as a sample glass at Goliath (not the same as above HBS) and I couln't pick the hop, it seemed quite unique, particularly the aroma, stunning :excl: 

My next brew will be a combination of Nth Down and Challenger as above posts have inspired me to try this.
Any suggestion welcome.

Cheers

BB


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## warrenlw63 (12/3/06)

Joel said:


> So, Northdown can be used for bittering and also for aroma/flavour?
> 
> I've been using mainly Northern Brewer for bittering, how do the two compare?
> [post="113979"][/post]​



Joel.

At around 7% AAU they're perfectly fine for bittering. Great all-round hop. :beerbang: 

I've got Scottish 70' in the fermenter at the moment that's 100% Northdown.  

Warren -


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## Joel (12/3/06)

I guess I'll just have to make a brew with them! I really like the bitterness I've got from Northern Brewer in the past. I haven't experienced too many hops yet and I've found that the descriptions aren't descriptive enough, so I'm trying to get a feel for what Northdown may be like based on limited experience... I like the spicy/earthy type bitterness and flavour. I've found I have to be sparing with hops like EKG as the flowery/sweet hop flavour can be a bit off putting, but not too bad in small amounts (comes from my Aussie beer trained palate...).


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## Tony (12/3/06)

They are a finer, floral type aroma but the best way to find out is try them in a brew.

what have you got to loose ?

cheers


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## stephen (12/3/06)

Tony said:


> They are a finer, floral type aroma but the best way to find out is try them in a brew.
> 
> what have you got to loose ?
> 
> ...


Tony

I have made your Special Bitter recipe using the Northdown hop for both bittering and dry hoping. I've just bottled it today and, from just trying the wort, WOW am I in for a fantastic beer!!!

Thank you Tony.

Cheers

Steve


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## Tony (12/3/06)

another happy customer

Just finnished a bottle myself.

not bad at all 

It has an aroma that i have never got with any other hop and i have tried most of em.

It can only be described as "Sweet floral, fresh and crisp"

cheers


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## stephen (12/3/06)

Hey Tony

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Steve


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