Hop Of The Week 14/3/07 - Centennial

[Stuster]

This week it's another American hop (there are so many of them after all!) - Centennial. A citrusy hop, similar to Cascade. What beers have you used this hop in? How did you use it - bittering/flavour/aroma/dry hopping? What other hops does it go well with? Are there any commercial beers that this hop is used in available here? Any other tips for using this hop?

Tell us all you know so we can make better beer. :chug:

Information from here.

Centennial (United States)
Specifications
Pedigree: Selected from a cross between Brewers Gold and a selected USDA male.
Aroma: Medium intensity with floral and citrus tones
Alpha Acids: 9.5 11.5% w/w
Beta Acids: 3.5 4.5% w/w
Co-Humulone: 29 30% of alpha acids
Storageability: 60 65% alpha acids remaining after 6 months storage at 20 C
Total Oil: 1.5 2.3 mls/100 grams
Myrcene: 45 55% of whole oil
Humulene: 10 18% of whole oil
Caryophyllene: 5 8% of whole oil
Farnesene: <1% of whole oil
General Trade Perception: Very balanced hop, sometimes called a super Cascade
Possible Substitutions: Cascade, possibly Columbus or Chinook. Analytically a blend of 70% Cascade and 30% Columbus will give similar profile.
Typical Beer Styles: All US Ale styles, has been used with US Wheat beers
Additional Information: Named from the Washington State Centennial Celebration. At one time this variety was going to be destroyed for lack of interest by the worlds major breweries. Today has found a very favorable following by craft-brewers.
Information source: Hopunion CBS, LLC

 

[bconnery]

I used this in a sort of American wheat and it worked very well.

It was a little on the bitter side for a wheat but I really liked it. Basically split it 60/40% between bittering and flavour/aroma addition (@2 mins)

 

[T.D.]

I've used Centennial in a few APAs and American Ambers and think its a nice hop. Definitely has a place in American Ales that's for sure. A lot of people say its the same as Cascade but I find cascade to be a bit smoother and more fruity. Centennial seems to have a bit more "bite", from my experneice anyway. Definitely still that quintessential American citrus flavour though - in that respect its similar to cascade.

Personally though, if there is cascade available I would usually choose that over centennial - just seems to create a more balanced flavour. If there is a shortage of cascade (like that's going to happen...) I would definitely turn to centennial as a substitute.

 

[Stuster]

Would that extra bite from Centennial be good in an AIPA then, T.D.? Have you used them with anything else?

 

[Duff]

Centennial, a great hop.

Not as harsh as Columbus, but very versatile in bittering and/or flavouring additions as well as dry hopping. Not as fruity as Cascade as TD noted, but still kicks alot of flavour even from a 60min addition, particularly in combination with Warrior. Excellent for flavour combinations with Amarillo, Columbus, Simcoe and Cascade.

One of my favourites :beerbang:

Cheers.

Edit: If you want to try a new hop, go the single hopped pale ales. This was the one I brewed with all Centennial. Give it a try.

----------

07-01 Brett's Centennial Bitzer

A ProMash Recipe Report

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (L): 40.00 Wort Size (L): 40.00
Total Grain (kg): 8.85
Anticipated OG: 1.052 Plato: 12.83
Anticipated SRM: 9.4
Anticipated IBU: 48.1
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
52.0 4.60 kg. TF Maris Otter UK 1.037 3
28.2 2.50 kg. JWM Traditional Ale Malt Australia 1.038 3
14.1 1.25 kg. Weyermann Wheat Dark Germany 1.039 8
5.6 0.50 kg. JWM Crystal 140 Australia 1.035 74

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
35.00 g. Centennial Pellet 9.90 28.2 60 min.
35.00 g. Centennial Pellet 9.90 9.5 20 min.
35.00 g. Centennial Pellet 9.90 5.6 10 min.
35.00 g. Centennial Pellet 9.90 4.7 5 min.
70.00 g. Centennial Pellet 9.90 0.0 0 min.


Yeast
-----

White Labs WLP001 California Ale

 

[T.D.]

Would that extra bite from Centennial be good in an AIPA then, T.D.? Have you used them with anything else?

Yep, definitely! One of the beers I used them in was an AIPA. They worked really well in that style. I gave some centennial to a mate who was brewing an Imperial AIPA and from what I have tasted of that beer its a cracker too. The extra bite goes really well with the fuller body and extra alcohol.

 

[Jye]

When I keg my next APA I will have 2 on tap that are exactly the same except one will have centenial added to the simcoe/amarillo mix... I think some side by side tasting will be inorder.

 

[Ross]

One of my very favourite USA hops, very rarely make an apa without it.
My 200 ibu beer which is a house beer, is made with all centeenial for flavour/aroma :wub:

cheers Ross

 

[Mr Bond]

How timely is this?
I've just purchased 90 gees of this hop to play around with.

It all looks good so far!

As for the AIPA Have a read of this article.As well as info on many other varieties it appears that centennial is an excellent hop for this style.

 

[Stuster]

How timely is this?
I've just purchased 90 gees of this hop to play around with.

It all looks good so far!

As for the AIPA Have a read of this article.As well as info on many other varieties it appears that centennial is an excellent hop for this style.

It seems my psychic powers are working well then, Braulubber. :lol:

Great link. Thanks. :super:

 

[Mr Bond]

It seems my psychic powers are working well then, Braulubber. :lol:

I'm spooked.

I've decided to do a summer type ale with centennial @ 60 min and some glacier(another newy to try)as a late addition.
I will then use the yeast cake to do an all centennial AIPA.

 

[THE DRUNK ARAB]

I'm with Duff and Ross on this one. Centennial is my favourite US hop without a doubt. It is the one variety of hop I never run out of.

Goes well with Amarillo in an AAA, goes well by itself in an ABA. Goes well with Colombus/Warrior/Cascade in a strong APA.

C&B
TDA

 

[Mr Bond]

Yeah I'm gonna do a 1050 ish,50 IBU american IPA next up.centennial front to back.

 

[Spiesy]

Has anyone ever experienced "dank" with this hop? You know, that wet, dirty socks vibe?

I made an Amber Ale recently where the beer turned violently from a beautiful floral, perfume-esque aroma to Dank City within 24-hours.

Recipe (20l batch, BIAB, NC):
73% JW Ale, 15% CaraMunich II, 4.5% Wheat, 4.5% CaraPils, 3% Crystal 140. 5.8%ABV. 1012 FG.
19.3 IBU Simcoe @ 60mins. 8.7IBU Simcoe @ 20mins. 5.3IBU (12g) Cent @ 10mins. 10g Cents @ flame out. 20g Cent dry hop.
BRY-97. Fermented at 18-degrees for 10-days. Raised to 19 for a day. Crash chilled @ 2-degrees for 4-days. Dry hops added in hop bag for duration of crash chill.

I have a suspicion that the hop bag sat over the tap once decanting to the keg, and the wort ran through it - kind of like a randal, before reaching the keg. I force carbed for 24-hours, the beer was lovely, 24-hours later... DANK.

I have now relegated said keg to the lagering fridge to give it some time.

Thoughts?

 

[Spiesy]

So nobody uses Centennial... interesting.

Good chats.

 

[lukiferj]

I use a lot of Centennial and have never experienced this dank you speak of. I mostly dry hop in the keg now as I prefer the results (aroma/flavour) rather than dry hopping in the fermenter. Also leaves my yeast a bit cleaner for reuse.

How fresh were the hops? How do you treat your hop bag?

 

[Samuel Adams]

I've had nothing but good experiences with Centennial, I love it !

 

[Spiesy]

How fresh were the hops? How do you treat your hop bag?

2011 crop. Vac sealed and frozen.

Hop bag was boiled and then soaked in StarSan.

 

[Spiesy]

The reason I believe it's Cents, is that I've tried other commercial beers and experienced it before. Bidgeport Hop Czar comes to mind, which is heavy handed on Cents.

 

[lukiferj]

I have never tried the Hop Czar but have never experienced the dank in other centennial hopped beers.

Similar dry hopping process to me. Maybe give it a couple of weeks and see how it goes.