Different flavours from the same Hops in different years/ AA%

[pat86]

Hey guys, broad question for those who maybe have brewed a house recipe or same style using the same hops over several years.

When you adjust a recipe based on the particular AA% for a hop for a new harvest, does the flavour, aroma and bitterness come out the same?

As an example, if you have 2012 Amarillo at 11% AA% and then the 2013 Amarillo you get is 8% and you adjust by using more hops, did you find that you got a better flavour? More aroma? Smoother bitterness? Anything different at all?

I just got thinking because I've got some super low AA% Tettnanger and I am aiming for a 50IBU all Tettnang beer - which means even though I do a 90 min boil, something in the range of 170g Tett! I don't want to find that the bitterness is right but now the hop aroma or flavour is over the top... If that is a risk I might lower the bitterness a bit...

Cheers,

 

[manticle]

My experience - IBU is only part of the picture and getting the balance right is not easy.

No hard and fast rule though unfortunately - it's like every steak, every mushroom, every clove of garlic is a little bit different.

 

[geneabovill]

Alpha Acid is only part of the picture. As we all know, that imparts most of what we perceive as bitterness in the beer.

The other flavours we perceive in hops come from the oils therein. Myrcene being one of them. (And at 4am I can't remember the rest).

As α acid changes with every crop, as does the level of oils present within each cone. Being an agriculture crop, this is mainly due to water availability, exposure to sunlight, nutrients in the soil, etc. Also can be a result of the amount of processing involved. Whole hop cones undergo far less processing than pellets. (Duh)

So, that was a long-winded way of saying yes. The flavour varies with each crop too. Can't say if it'll be smoother or what, but it will change.

 

[peas_and_corn]

There would be a lot of variation in hops available for home brewers, as the breweries get the first cut of the stuff that is closest to spec. Since home brew stores order much smaller volumes, they get what's left over, and as a result the profile of the hops is a bit more predictable.

 

[slcmorro]

it's like every steak, every mushroom, every clove of garlic is a little bit different.

Thanks! I've decided I'm having porterhouse with mushroom and garlic sauce for dinner! :icon_drool2:

 

[wynnum1]

How they fertilize the hops with can also change the hops .

 

[pat86]

Thanks all. Any anecdotal evidence of say, more hop aroma/ more grassy flavours when using a larger amount of lower AA% hops to achieve the same total IBU?

I guess my question is a bit like comparing a 50 IBU 10 minute IPA which has more flavour/aroma than a 50 IBU IPA with a traditional 60 minute boil with multiple hop additions...

Has anyone noticed that kind of effect with low AA harvests - more flavour & aroma or more grassiness?