# Cascade



## peas_and_corn (8/5/10)

I had a look to see if there was a topic about Cascade, and I couldn't find one in this subforum, which surprised me. So I thought I'll start one. So what are your thoughts on this hop? Best used as bittering, flavour, aroma, or all the way through a hop bill? What hops combine best with it? Some good recipes for it?

Info from here



> Pedigree: Open pollination of a Fuggle seedling, itself derived from crosses between Fuggle and the Russian hop Serebrianker.
> Maturity: Mid-Season
> Yield: 1600 – 2200 kg./ha or 1430 – 1960 lb./ac.
> Growth Habit: Good to excellent
> ...


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## peas_and_corn (8/5/10)

Ah shit, please could a mod fix the typo.


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## phinnsfotos (8/5/10)

On the list of "must use hop" but haven't gotten around to it. Got very side tracked with Amarillo


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## Sydneybrewer (8/5/10)

My favourite hop so far, hard to make a mistake with it as i find it very duel purpose just as great for aroma as it is for bittering, also has a nice balanced citrus flavour. An all cascade apa is my house beer atm.


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## jyo (8/5/10)

I first started out using Cascade when doing kits. Absolutely love it. Great in combo with Amarillo, Simcoe, Centennial and Saaz and have recently mixed it with Styrian Goldings as a flavour addition in a pale ale- still in ferment. Can't get enough of it in my beers.


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## _HOME_BREW_WALLACE_ (9/5/10)

jyo said:


> I first started out using Cascade when doing kits. Absolutely love it. Great in combo with Amarillo, Simcoe, Centennial and Saaz and have recently mixed it with Styrian Goldings as a flavour addition in a pale ale- still in ferment. Can't get enough of it in my beers.




+1!

I also found it goes well with amarillo and simcoe dunno about the others yet. let us know how the PA turns out!


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## Fents (9/5/10)

there will always be a place in my hop freezer for cascade.


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## Bizier (9/5/10)

> So what are your thoughts on this hop?



What do you say to this question?

It is to the US what EKG is to the UK, or Saaz to CZ. The defining American hop taste.


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## hamstringsally (12/6/10)

jyo said:


> I first started out using Cascade when doing kits. Absolutely love it. Great in combo with Amarillo, Simcoe, Centennial and Saaz and have recently mixed it with Styrian Goldings as a flavour addition in a pale ale- still in ferment. Can't get enough of it in my beers.




hey jyo which would you say works best with cascade out of the few you mentioned? i love little creatures pale ale and all it has in it is cascade. some at start of boil then 20 min in then 5 to go at the end then dry hop after boil. what would work good to tweak the flavor a bit?


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## Kai (12/6/10)

It's also worth getting into some Tasmanian Cascade if you can find some. They're different, but good.


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## jyo (12/6/10)

hamstringsally said:


> hey jyo which would you say works best with cascade out of the few you mentioned? i love little creatures pale ale and all it has in it is cascade. some at start of boil then 20 min in then 5 to go at the end then dry hop after boil. what would work good to tweak the flavor a bit?



Personally, in APA's I love Cascade for my first 2 additions, (60 min and 30 min) and I like to finsh off with a combo of Cascade and either Amarillo, Simcoe or Galaxy :icon_drool2: :icon_drool2: (which I forgot to mention earlier). Chinook is a must (IMO) as a finisher (last 15mins or flameout) if you want something like LCPA. Others may chime in and give you some extra tips.

I meant to update on the PA with Styrian. I really only used it up because it had been in the freezer for a couple of years and I didn't want to waste it. I bittered with 35 grams of Styrian for 60mins, and the other additions were Cascade. Usual simple house APA grain bill: 4.5 kg galaxy malt, 300 crystal, 300 carapils.... It has a really smooth and rounded bitterness, I am shit at describing flavours  . A combination that I will try again.


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## technoicon (17/6/10)

really love this hop to. I have used it in multiple beers. usually as a flavoring hop, and mixed i with nelson sav make's an awesome beer!

cheers


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## MarkBastard (17/6/10)

Little Creatures IPA is a great example of this hop. 55 IBU, all Cascade. Not sure if that includes Tas Cascade though.


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## andy081969 (29/6/14)

Got a brew fermenting on this hop at the moment - used from start of boil right to the end and will be dry hopping as well - style is a apa and cannot wait to get this in the keg


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (9/7/14)

I'm starting to lean towards Cascade being a much underrated hop (by me that is).

I've always been on Citra bandwagon (and will remain so), and love a good Nelson Sauvin. Been always keen to try out newer hops as they came out (Galaxy, Mosaic, etc).

But I'm finally finding that I actually like Cascade enough as a hop for itself. I don't think I'd ever use it alone, but finding I really like what it brings to the table when offset with fruitier, less citrusy hops.

Doing a DIPA with it and Simcoe at the moment and chucked it in with some Citra and CTZ. Seems to work a treat, fermenter smell indicative.


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## Yob (9/7/14)

I think NZ cascade is the best of the bunch Goomba, got an Amarillo NZ cascade in while I'm away, when I get home I'll dry hop it and cc the bastard, really looking forward to it


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (9/7/14)

I think you'll need it, mate. All the best too.

I've heard that about NZ cascade, might get some in.


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## Phoney (9/7/14)

What's the difference between NZ cascade & US cascade? (besides where they're grown of course)


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## peas_and_corn (10/7/14)

The location of the farm affects the flavour properties of the hops. NZ hops tend to be more tropical


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## Donske (10/7/14)

Lord Raja Goomba I said:


> But I'm finally finding that I actually like Cascade enough as a hop for itself. *I don't think I'd ever use it alone,* but finding I really like what it brings to the table when offset with fruitier, less citrusy hops.


I think Cascade is one of the few hops that can stand on it's own in a SMaSH APA and not come across as a single hop beer.

It's actually a little funny watching people guess everything except Cascade when sampling.


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## Liam_snorkel (10/7/14)

^ a good example of the above is Epic Pale Ale. 100% US Cascade. Such depth of flavour, achieved by multiple heavy handed additions during the boil and also multi staged dry hopping. :drool: I want one right now.


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## Donske (10/7/14)

Liam_snorkel said:


> ^ a good example of the above is Epic Pale Ale. 100% US Cascade. Such depth of flavour, achieved by multiple heavy handed additions during the boil and also multi staged dry hopping. :drool: I want one right now.



Haha, yeah, that beer is amazing fresh.

Damn it, now I'm thinking of pouring a beer and watching the football.


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (10/7/14)

Mmmmm..... Oranje Cascade.

When I said I don't think I'd use it on it's own - I think I like my APA/AIPA with multifaceted hopping (but not too many as I find this just muddies the flavour).

It's a bit like SMaSH beers - I've been there, done that for education, and even Citra is a hop, which I love, but I'm not fond of without some sort of backup. It's more the one-dimensionality of one hop APA/AIPA.

Whereas for an English Ale - great to one hop beers. I reckon an early addition of Cascade would suit it, with a Willamette backup - just a small bit later on.


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## Liam_snorkel (10/7/14)

This thread has got me planning a brew with the epic pale ale schedule with cascade flowers (got a big bag taunting me from inside the fridge) and an English ale yeast.


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## Donske (10/7/14)

Liam_snorkel said:


> This thread has got me planning a brew with the epic pale ale schedule with cascade flowers (got a big bag taunting me from inside the fridge) and an English ale yeast.



It's convinced me to go back to Cascade for my pale next time around, I've been using Chinook recently (another hop that really holds it own in a pale if used with a gentle touch).


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## Mardoo (10/7/14)

I just did a couple brews with a blend of US, NZ and Oz Cascade. (Thanks to Yob for the NZ and Oz flowers!) I'm really liking them, although they're still young. We'll see once they're fully conditioned, but I'm hoping to get some of each of the different flavor profiles.

ATM I'd describe the US as citrus/dank, the NZ as more fruity floral with a touch of vanilla, and the Oz as somewhere in the vicinity of a citrusy pineapple. I didn't really find the NZ to be that tropical at all, thankfully. I'm not a huge fan of tropical fruit hop flavors (read: passionfruit).


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## stakka82 (10/7/14)

How are you able to discern the differences if they're being used in a blend?


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (10/7/14)

I reckon it is more citrusy (though I've only used US) if combined with Citra and makes Citra more tropical and stonefruity than normal. Great combo.

Even better with a small early bittering and some Chinook late to give some pine cone woodiness to offset the fruit salad.


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## Donske (10/7/14)

Lord Raja Goomba I said:


> I reckon it is more citrusy (though I've only used US) if combined with Citra and makes Citra more tropical and stonefruity than normal. Great combo.
> 
> Even better with a small early bittering and some Chinook late to give some pine cone woodiness to offset the fruit salad.



Another really great combo is 10 IBUs of neutral hop at 60, 5 to 10 IBUs of Chinook at 15, equal parts US Cascade and Riwaka at 5 or whirlpool to get up to 40/45 IBUs total.

I really need to find somewhere to get pounds of Riwaka, The 90g limit from Craft Brewer doesn't stretch far enough doing doubles.


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## Mardoo (10/7/14)

stakka82 said:


> How are you able to discern the differences if they're being used in a blend?


We'll just have to see about that, now won't we?  That's part of the exercise. Is it different from straight US Cascade in those beers? The differences were evident in the hop teas I made to taste them but we all know with hops the proof is in the beer pudding.


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## going down a hill (11/7/14)

The late and dry hopping that is in 2 Brothers Growler is an amazing display at how good Cascade is. I don't brew enough APA's to know how they have got that particular flavour and aroma from the hop, maybe its time I brew couple and throw the Cascade kitchen sink at it, late.


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## Brooa (4/11/15)

I dry hop a "Wal's Pale Ale" in the cube with 60g of Cascade, & 15-20g Galaxy, for 5 days minimum. Gives a really nice aroma to the finished beer. I've also replaced the Galaxy with Nelson for pleasing results.


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## Moad (27/4/16)

Anyone with further comments on AUS cascade? I like the grapefruit from us cascade and just picked up some AUS to see what it brings to the party.


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## rude (28/4/16)

Broona when you say cube dry hop are you fermenting in the cube


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## Moad (2/6/16)

Well for anyone playing at home, I'm finding AUS cascade to be more grassy and earthy than the big hits of grapefruit from US cascade.

It's a fairly fresh beer so will see how it ages over the next few weeks, it is a little harsher so that may mellow out and reduce that grassiness.


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## yankinoz (2/6/16)

Versatile hop.

I have found bittering from Cascade unpleasant, and yet one excellent and successful US lager, Riverwest Stein beer, uses it as a bittering hop at -2 hours. Who knows what they do right and I do wrong?

Agree with the above dry hop recommendation. As a dry hop it brings a lovely floral aroma it's hard to get any other way, but don't leave it in more than two days unless you like grass.

I'd dispute the above substitutions.

Agree it's one of the best hops to use alone for flavour and aroma, for the combination of floral and fruit, but in US Cascade the fruit contribution is distinctive but not overwhelming; the grapefruit character seems to vary a lot. Some AIPA brewers trash Cascade in favour of thermonuclear hops like Citra.

It combines well with many other hops. I've liked it with, variously, Galaxy, Simcoe, Nelson, Amarillo and Waimea, but in combination with any of those hops Cascade is always at least 2/3 of any late additions, so it doesn't get lost. Somewhere I saw an interview with the first commercial grower of Cascade, and she said their first buyers were mostly British breweries, before Sierra Nevada made it an American icon. I haven't tried it with popular British hops, Styrian Goldings, Saaz or other fairly subtle hops.


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