Amarillo Poll

[Digger11]

Have you had any commercial versions that used it that you like? JS golden ale is one but from last tasting, I'm pretty sure both kooinda and beechworth pale use it in conjunction with other hops.

Manticle, have been planning too - I will buy a JS golden ale tomorrow and try it out.

 

[manticle]

The golden ale does get mixed reviews - when it's at its best it's great (best in the range I reckon). They have made some that falls short on the amarillo flavour due to a hop shortage last year (?) so check the date and make sure its recent. Also don't drink it freeing cold as the flavour will be subdued.

 

[Sydneybrewer]

I am definetly not a fan, gives off a afteraste that i am not a fan of if used for flavouring and/or bittering maybe i just used too much of it i dont know, but i have used copias amounts of cascade and saaz in beer with great results.

 

[Screwtop]

Like all hop varieties Amarillo has it's applications. Depends upon Style, Strength, other hop varieties used, and finishing gravity. I find that Amarillo and Hallertau pronounce sweetness so a lower FG helps in producing a well balanced beer using these hops.

Cheers,

Screwy

 

[Digger11]

The golden ale does get mixed reviews - when it's at its best it's great (best in the range I reckon). They have made some that falls short on the amarillo flavour due to a hop shortage last year (?) so check the date and make sure its recent. Also don't drink it freeing cold as the flavour will be subdued.

O.K. thanks - there is a little boutiwue beer shop around the corner called Slowbeer, so I plan to drop in there and I'll ask them if they have any Amarillo hopped beers as well.

 

[chadjaja]

God bless Dr Smurto

I have a cousin who's greatest pleasure in life is the point to which he drinks so much Amarillo ale he can smell it when he pisses

 

[rendo]

Hi All,

For those who havent tried Amarillo (that'd be me), who wants to have a crack at describing the flavour, smell, aftertaste etc. Also, what sort of beers it suits, (seems APA's etc...what about lagers?)

Sounds like quite the unique hop......I am going to try it in the future for sure

Manticle, 4star,Screwy.....?? surely u guys can desc it



rendo

God bless Dr Smurto

I have a cousin who's greatest pleasure in life is the point to which he drinks so much Amarillo ale he can smell it when he pisses

 

[manticle]

Generally described as citrus - I would put it in line with mandarin but it depends entirely on what malt, other hops and yeast it's combined with.

 

[rendo]

Citrus hey....cool, I'll brew with it one day for sure.

Couldnt agree more about the dependancy on malt, other hops, yeast.....goes for most things

I cant help myself with hops. I drop a tiny bit of a pellet in about 50mls of hot water, let it sit there for 10mins and then drink it. That way I get a feel for what it tastes like. Usually like bitter shit, but u do get an appreciation for its profile.

So far done with hallertau, saaz, cluster. Want to brew with cascade, amarillo...hmmm a few others that I cant think of...tetanger(sp?)...PoR, hmmm anyway

rendo

Generally described as citrus - I would put it in line with mandarin but it depends entirely on what malt, other hops and yeast it's combined with.

 

[manticle]

Tettnanger is lovely. Many hops have citrus characteristics - tettnanger reminds me of oranges, target tends towards a citrus nature , hallertuaer has a lemony/floral characteristic, centennial and cascade are grapefruit etc, etc.

I find that noble hops and English hops with fruity characteristics show subtle fruit whereas American hops tend to be right there in your face showing you where the fruit bowl is (in amongst the pine needles). Both work in the right quantities, with the right combinations, used at the right times in the right beer.

 

[jiesu]

I have a brew that has recently finished and It has a very sweet aroma but the taste is rather dry. I believe i used amarillo or cascade I can't remember off hand and also used some B saaz. Is the sweet smell a characteristic of Amarillo. It almost smells as sweet as a soft drink.

 

[jyo]

Love Amarillo for Flavour and aroma. I am currently stuck on my Pale Ales bittering with Cascade, Simcoe or POR and finishing off with a combo of Amarillo and Cascade then dry hop Amarillo. Fruity as a pink float on mardi gras day. I haven't honestly tried bittering with it- it would just seem like a shame to scrub off all that awesome aroma.

 

[jakub76]

I like Amarillo but, as others have also discovered, I enjoy it in small doses. It is a unique and hugely full-flavoured hop, unmistakable and instantly recognizable. I find it a bit tiresome if it's the only beer on offer - night after night. Not the best session beer flavour hop, more of a banquet to be enjoyed on occasion.
I have used it as a bittering, flavour and aroma hops and found it really shines as a flavour addition matched with Perle as the bittering hop. That's my palette anyway. I find some hops too acidic, particularly Saaz but I love Hallertau.
Hallertau is so easy to balance with your malt that all the bits just go together and you don't notice the individual ingredients however Amarillo just jumps up and down screaming LOOK AT ME!!! I'M AMARILLO!!!

Again, just my palette + a few homebrews for colour

 

[Back Yard Brewer]

I really liked it when I first started brewing, still do, but I'm more interested in other hops now.

Got a bit excited with it for a while, so have decided to try a different hop with each brew.

Yes here to. As much as I still like it and I still have a good supply of it, I am a little over it. I was all gun ho about Amarillo when I first started AGing but came to realise there are a lot of different hops out there.
Don't tell the wife but I have a little bit of a thing for chinook and columbus atm h34r:

BYB

 

[Hatchy]

Works brilliantly in DSGA. I got a bit too excited about it & used it in every batch for a while. I'd currently have it in my favorite 3 hops with galaxy & cascade but there are stacks of hops I haven't used so my opinion won't be as valuable as some of these other blokes

 

[jayse]

its all in how you use it, you can make it do great things or it can come across as yeah whatever.

I like it with plenty of kettle hopping behind it not just all finishing hop like a couple beers going around, nice big bitterness and 20min flavour addition. Gotta have that.

It can be wonderfull if used right and it can also be pretty average and try hard sometimes, I like the idea of any hop can do what you want when used right.

 

[Screwtop]

Generally described as citrus - I would put it in line with mandarin but it depends entirely on what malt, other hops and yeast it's combined with.

I would go with mandarin/honey

Yes here to. As much as I still like it and I still have a good supply of it, I am a little over it. I was all gun ho about Amarillo when I first started AGing but came to realise there are a lot of different hops out there.
Don't tell the wife but I have a little bit of a thing for chinook and columbus atm h34r:

BYB

+ 1 for the Chinook and Columbus fan club

its all in how you use it, you can make it do great things or it can come across as yeah whatever.

I like it with plenty of kettle hopping behind it not just all finishing hop like a couple beers going around, nice big bitterness and 20min flavour addition. Gotta have that.

It can be wonderfull if used right and it can also be pretty average and try hard sometimes, I like the idea of any hop can do what you want when used right.

I like to use a big fairly clean AA hop for bittering then a 20 min addition of Amarillo. As Jayse points out, like all flavours, depends how you build/layer them and what combinations work.

Screwy

 

[Sammus]

I like amareeeyo, I'd say it's passionfruit though. All I get is heaps and heaps and heaps of passionfruit, every time. like I'm drinking the pulp from a passionfruit. Then it mellows out after about a month, and it's still tastey, just like beered down passionfruit pulp

 

[Fents]

i get passionfruit too. overused it when it first came on the market, was hopping everything with it and now im over it.

citra is the one for me now.

 

[Maple]

Have you had any commercial versions that used it that you like? JS golden ale is one but from last tasting, I'm pretty sure both kooinda and beechworth pale use it in conjunction with other hops.

Manticle, have been planning too - I will buy a JS golden ale tomorrow and try it out.

There are better examples of amarillo in a commercial beer than JSGA. If you can find it, Rogue's Yellow Snow is an absolute pearl of a beer that shows just what can be done with only this one hop. It's a hard beer to come by here, but not impossible.