American IPAs and the Hops they Use

[Econwatson]

G'day all.

I was in another homebrewing forum, and stumbled across this post. It's a list of American IPAs and the types of hops used in each. Thought it might be useful to somebody! The guy claims none of them are guesses, and are sourced from a variety of locations (bottles, websites etc)

Alpine Duet - Simcoe and Amarillo

Alpine Hoppy Birthday - Pacific Jade, Centennial, Amarillo, Columbus, Nelson Sauvin, Citra, and Simcoe.

Alpine Nelson - Nelson Sauvin and Southern Cross

Alpine Pure Hoppiness - Hallertau, Hersbrucker, Tomahawk, Cascade and Centennial

Ballast Point Sculpin - Mash hops: Simcoe, Boil: CTZ, Chinook,
Cascade, Northern Brewer, Centennial, Galena, Amarillo, Dry Hop:
Amarillo & Simcoe. For a 5 gallon batch dry hop with about 3 oz of
each.

Bell's Hopslam - Hersbrucker, Centennial, Glacier, Vanguard, and Crystal in the kettle, and then dry hopped with Simcoe.

Captain Lawrence Captain's Reserve - Columbus, Chinook, and Cascade

Cigar City Jai Alai - Kettle hops: Ahtanum, Columbus, Cascade, Amarillo, and Centennial. Dry hopped with Simcoe.

Coast The Boy King - Citra, Chinook, Nugget, Cascade, Centennial and Columbus.

Fat Head's Head Hunter - Simcoe, Columbus, and Cascade

Firestone Walker Double Jack - Bittering: Warrior, Columbus; Late Kettle: Cascade, and Centennial;
Dry Hops: Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial, and Simcoe

Firestone Walker Union Jack - Bittering: Warrior, Simcoe; Late
Kettle: Cascade, Centennial; Dry Hops: Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial,
Chinook, Simcoe

Flying Fish Exit 16 - FW: Citra, Boil: Columbus, 5 min: Cenntenial: 3
min: Simcoe, WP: Citra, First DH: 50% chinook, 50% Citra, Second DH:
75% Citra, 25% Columbus

Hill Farmstead Abner - Chinook, Citra, Columbus, Simcoe, and Warrior

Hill Farmstead Ephraim - Centennial, Chinook, Columbus, Simcoe, and Warrior

Hill Farmstead Double Galaxy - Galaxy

Kern River Citra Double IPA - Nugget to bitter, Citra in the kettle, and Citra and Amarillo dry hop

Lagunitas Sucks - Chinook, Simcoe, Apollo, Summit, Nugget, and HBC342

Russian River Pliny the Elder - Kettle hop extract, Simcoe, Columbus, Centennial. Dry Hop Simcoe, Columbus, and Centennial.

Russian River Pliny the Younger - Bittered with extract, Amarillo and Simcoe (plus others?) in the boil.
Dry Hop Schedule
DH 1 Simcoe, Amarillo, Centennial for one week and remove
DH 2 Amarillo, Centennial for one week and remove
DH 3 Simcoe for one week and remove
DH 4 Simcoe, Amarillo Dry Hop in Keg

Smuttynose Big A IPA - 2008: Nugget, Cascade, Centennial, Crystal,
Chinook, Sterling. 2006: Warrior, Cascade, Centennial, Crystal, Horizon,
Amarillo, Ahtanum

Smuttynose "Finestkind" - Bittering: Magnum; Flavoring: Simcoe, Centennial, Santiam; Dry hops: Amarillo

Southern Tier Unearthly IPA - Kettle Hops: Chinook and Cascade, Hop
Back: Styrian Golding, Dry Hopped: Cascade, Centennial, and Chinook

Surly 16 Grit/Abrasive - Warrior, Citra (Previously CTZ bittering
extract, Amarillo, and Columbus. Before that, kettle hopped with CTZ
extract, Amarillo and Glacier hops. Twice dry-hopped with Glacier and
Amarillo).

Surly Furious - Warrior, Ahtanum, Simcoe, and Amarillo

Three Floyds Dreadnaught - Warrior, Simcoe, Centennial, and Cascade

Three Floyds Zombie Dust - Citra

Town Hall Masala Mama - Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial, and Mt. Hood

 

[Nick JD]

I've started to yearn for 'simple' IPAs now. Back to their C hop roots. While I like a fruitbowl ale, there's something repeatedly delicious about the highly-bittered, citrus-only ale.

A quaffer IPA.

 

[mikec]

With as many as 7 or 8 hop varieties in some of those, I am curious.
Is it possible to have too many varieties in a single beer? Surely half of them are just going to be undetectable, while others will dominate. Or it just tastes like crap.

 

[Liam_snorkel]

I guess we'll never know.

I've only heard of one of those breweries, let alone tasted their beers.

 

[bum]

Surely half of them are just going to be undetectable, while others will dominate. Or it just tastes like crap.

Or maybe blend together to make a new flavour? I'm a big fan of "cupboard cleaner" batches (getting rid of the last piddly bits of hops and grains, not enough of anything to build a batch around). I usually just chuck everything in really late and hope for the best. Some of these get the best and most interesting hop profiles you could hope to find.

I've only heard of one of those breweries, let alone tasted their beers.

Most of them have limited distribution even in the States. I've seen six of those brewery's beers here though (but not necessarily those exact beers).

 

[rehab]

I've started to yearn for 'simple' IPAs now. Back to their C hop roots. While I like a fruitbowl ale, there's something repeatedly delicious about the highly-bittered, citrus-only ale.

A quaffer IPA.

Same here. I quite like the Smash Blonde I did with Centennial and like commercial offerings with simple hops such as the Mikkeler series

Also made another APA with centennial and Citra and that was the best brew I have made to date.

Doubt I will ever attempt to make anything as layered as a Heady Topper or the such... No point spending over a hundred dollars due to all the different hops needed for a 20 ltr batch either.

 

[431neb]

Just bought a kilo of Simcoe so I'm happy to see it being used in a variety of ways.

 

[Toper]

I've started to yearn for 'simple' IPAs now. Back to their C hop roots. While I like a fruitbowl ale, there's something repeatedly delicious about the highly-bittered, citrus-only ale.

A quaffer IPA.

With as many as 7 or 8 hop varieties in some of those, I am curious.
Is it possible to have too many varieties in a single beer? Surely half of them are just going to be undetectable, while others will dominate. Or it just tastes like crap.

Gotta agree Nick,an IPA or APA with just Cascade for bittering,flavour and aroma can be lovely.IMO there's no real need for more than 3/4 hop varieties to give a good depth of flavour or aroma.After that ,I doubt very much anyone except someone with a highly developed palate could pick them.I remember the first time I tried Epic ,from NZ;they boasted of 23 different hops in the beer,buggered if I could pick more than 2/3 of them. More a marketing thing I thought .Simcoe is a damn nice allrounder,a good addition to the 'big 3 C' hops,used as the only hop in Jamieson's 'Beast' from memory.

 

[bum]

they boasted of 23 different hops in the beer,buggered if I could pick more than 2/3 of them

I strongly suspect you've missed the point of brews like that. Not every beer should beer like that, of course, but when they are made they aren't supposed to be thought of as a liquid version of "Where's Wally?". When you eat do you insist on being able to compartmentalise every ingredient of a meal as you taste it? Or do you sometimes like to find complimentary flavours that combine into something more interesting than a single ingredient?

 

[///]

I've done ok brewing a US style IPA with the Aust Beer Awards and spent time in Cali drinking alot of these. The golden rule is LOTS ... just add LOTS ... 5 gms of dry hops a litre of beer is a good place.

There is some tricks under the hood with mine ... holding those close to my chest.

Incidentally, White Labs put about 50 IPA's through their lab. 99% of them were 7% alc and 70 BU's ... funny that!

 

[Toper]

I don't think I missed the point of that beer at all Bum,and when I eat ,or drink ,I certainly don't want to compartmentalise the flavours/aromas.I agree that a mix of hops can often combine to something superior to the single,but with the Epic,I still think that 23 hops were a bit over the top and more a marketing thing.I personally thought the same result could have been achieved with a lot less,only my personal opinion though I've multi hopped many times,but still think 3/4 varieties ,added at different stages,etc,can give a great flavour/aroma.I'll happily admit I've never gone to more than that many varieties,but Ive never felt the need to.Not saying for a minute that a skilled brewer using 7/8/9/10,etc hop varieties can't achieve some great flavours,but I just wonder if there's a point where ,to the 'average' brewer it becomes indestinguishable.

 

[bum]

I think if we're talking about a "smaller" beer then it almost certainly becomes a waste of time but less so with a bigger, heavily hopped beer. Again, I think the key difference in opinion here comes down to the use of the word distinguish/indistinguishable - achieving clearly identifiable hop flavours is clearly is not the intention of the brewers of such beers. I'm pretty sure I had the Epic beer you're talking about (the NZ Collaboration one yeah?) and I certainly couldn't pick the hops but neither was the hop profile muddy or confused. Wasn't an amazing beer for my money but certainly didn't seem to suffer at all due to the number of hop varieties present.

I agree that it may not be advisable or even worthwhile doing for every beer but it is well worth doing at least once if a brewer has some interest. For the record, 3/4 varieties in this style is where I usually sit too.

 

[Barry]

I like IPA's. Usually like them with a couple of different hops at least. Two many different hops can muddle the hop character. However the proof is in the drinking.
I have been messing around with hopping at; FWH, end of the boil, when the wort is cooled to 40oC, dry hopped twice but for a maximum of 4 days. No mid boil additions. I am getting a lot of hop oil character without harshness. Mainly using combinations of Cascade, Amarillo, Citra and Centennial.
Thanks for the list.

 

[Dave70]

Alpine Nelson - Nelson Sauvin and Southern Cross

Sounds right up my alley. Though I fail to see how a beer that uses hops that were born and bred in NZ exclusively lays claim to being an American IPA.
Russel crow? Phar Lap? - OK, fair enough..

No doubt about it. My hoppy, simple ales have always made more friends than estery Belgians.

 

[rehab]

Gotta agree Nick,an IPA or APA with just Cascade for bittering,flavour and aroma can be lovely.IMO there's no real need for more than 3/4 hop varieties to give a good depth of flavour or aroma.After that ,I doubt very much anyone except someone with a highly developed palate could pick them.I remember the first time I tried Epic ,from NZ;they boasted of 23 different hops in the beer,buggered if I could pick more than 2/3 of them. More a marketing thing I thought .Simcoe is a damn nice allrounder,a good addition to the 'big 3 C' hops,used as the only hop in Jamieson's 'Beast' from memory.

I think you may have taken it the wrong way it is single hop of just US Cascade. I think they were implying at the rate of hopping there should be 23 hops worth in each bottle.

 

[rehab]

Alpine Nelson - Nelson Sauvin and Southern Cross

Sounds right up my alley. Though I fail to see how a beer that uses hops that were born and bred in NZ exclusively lays claim to being an American IPA.
Russel crow? Phar Lap? - OK, fair enough..

No doubt about it. My hoppy, simple ales have always made more friends than estery Belgians.

I guess because it is heavily hopped and grain bill is the US IPA Style so it would fit in under the (BJCP) guidlines.

Only last year (and maybe the year before) have we had NZ IPA and our own NZ styles recognised at the National comp and that wouldn't be a change recognised worldwide. So people who wanted to enter into a comp would still have to put it as US IPA as it would be too hoppy and not noble enough for English IPA category.

Feck fitting into styles though, I say. Usually beers taste better when they are just made to taste.

 

[Econwatson]

Sorry to derail the conversation, I was just wondering, is there some sort of database of hops, that gives descriptions of what bitterness or aromas they add to a brew? I'd love to read up on it and increase my knowledge!

 

[milestron]

nice post - putting together my next apa/ipa recipe so it's good to see some tried and tested combos (albeit most of these I've never heard of)

 

[Beerbuoy]

Sorry to derail the conversation, I was just wondering, is there some sort of database of hops, that gives descriptions of what bitterness or aromas they add to a brew? I'd love to read up on it and increase my knowledge!

I use the Craft Brewer website as my hop database. If the hop is not on the site you probably can't buy it anyway.


I read recently that the American brewers where blending hops so they could sub different types without having a huge affect on the beer. Makes it easier to put out a consistant product when hop availability changes.

 

[Dave70]

I guess because it is heavily hopped and grain bill is the US IPA Style so it would fit in under the (BJCP) guidlines.

Only last year (and maybe the year before) have we had NZ IPA and our own NZ styles recognised at the National comp and that wouldn't be a change recognised worldwide. So people who wanted to enter into a comp would still have to put it as US IPA as it would be too hoppy and not noble enough for English IPA category.

Feck fitting into styles though, I say. Usually beers taste better when they are just made to taste.

Yeah, bugger styles. But beer comps would be pretty dry if the only ribbon they handed out was 'best of show'. In the end, it's all subjective anyway unless you can perform a chemical analysis to reveal its bitterness, maltiness ect then cross reference it to the guidelines.

Then again, I hate 'fusion' restaurants, (tofu lasanga sir?..) which makes me somewhat of a hypocrite I suppose.