Amarillo Or Hallertau

[Here Hare Here]

So I bought a packet of Hallertau pellets intended for a delicious wheat beer.
Only when I got home I noticed it has 2 labels on it...
One side says Hallertau AA4.7 the other side says Amarillo without an AA.

From what i read Amarillo bitterness is way higher than Hallertau.

The HBS is not really near enough to pop back and change it.. (I was out of town and just passing..)

Being fairly new at this I haven't used either before, does anyone know how to tell which they could be - I guess by smell somhow?

cheers

 

[RetsamHsam]

If you gave me the finished product and asked me to pick which hop you had used I would be able to tell them apart. But I would not be able to tell the difference while they are still in pellet form...

I would call the HBS and see if they can tell you which variety you have. If they can't, get them to post you a new packet of hallertau!

 

[T.D.]

Amarillo smells like tropical fruit - almost passionfruity. Hallertau will be more spicey and herbaceous and much more subtle, far less fruity. But it can be hard when you haven't used either hop before.

Do you know any experienced brewers nearby? The difference is significant enough that somebody who has used both hops before should be able to tell the difference without any trouble.

 

[Renegade]

That's bad form on the shop's part.

But while Hal is probably more to style of a wheat, I trew a fistful of Amarillo into a recent wheat as a dry hopping and it was superb. You will certainly know once you do a brew with them.

 

[MCT]

Boil the kettle and half fill a tea cup with boiling water with a pellet
I reckon you'll pick the Amarillo straight away, it's pretty distinctive, very citrusy kind of aroma.
Anyway tell us what you smell. Hallertau will have a kind of 'floral' kind of smell.

 

[Ross]

Sounds to me like the Store has used a pack that had an unseen old label on the back. Almost definately the Hallertau as it has a finished label, but to be safe contact the store you purchased from & get them to confirm.

cheers Ross

 

[discoloop]

If you can get by using the hops just for flavour and aroma, I'd say just dive in and see what happens. If you're planning on using them for bittering, you'll need to find out....

 

[Weizguy]

Come on, guys...this is a no-brainer.

If the hops are fresh, the Hallertau will produce a perfumed aroma, sort of like Eau de Cologne and bubblegum (IMHO), and the Amarillo will show a strong and mighty fruity tropical fruitiness.

If the hops are not fresh, they will smell cheesy or plastic-y and they are best avoided anyway.

my 2 cents
Les out

 

[Here Hare Here]

cheers folks , ill pop a couple in water and give it a good sniff.. if its not obvious ill take one over to one the the local-ish stores and see if they can tell me.. ill probably call the original store as well. Amarillo is a few dollars more a pack so theres a good chance its probably is Hallertau.

 

[BennyBrewster]

Pity your not a bit closer, I got plenty of both in the freezer we could have compared aroma and worked it out quick smart.