Is There Something Wrong With This Years Amarillo

[felten]

Maybe someone could try to contact them directly and see whats up, not sure how you could get in contact with them though.

ed: there's an email address floating around on google

 

[Muscovy_333]

Seasonal variabilty affects all fruit/flower crops.
You only have to look at grapes to see what a microclimate in a region can do to variability of the same variety.
Weather patterns are also incredibly variable and I guess could play a major role in AA% depending on which part of the growth cycle of the plant is in during a prolonged dry/wet/cloudy/windy spell.

Handling, time of harvest, direct sunlight, process, downtime in the factory, transport, storage, critters...could a windy week disperse or damage AA% content??

 

[brad81]

I actually bought a few pounds of amarillo but i found that it really doesn't have the same 'magic' that it first had for me, i still have a pound and a half of the stuff sitting there. Its ok, but tis not the delightful amarillo that i rememeber when I first joined this site.

I hop this isn't the case. I've got my second batch of DSGA on now, only started brewing this year too. I really like it

 

[QldKev]

I think Charst's findings back here about the Podcast with Gerard Lemmens may be on the money. That 6.9% stuff was crap, but I've had Amarillo form seasons since and they just are not that wow factor anymore. It's one hop that is no longer a the top of my favourites.

QldKev

 

[Nick JD]

I think Charst's findings back here about the Podcast with Gerard Lemmens may be on the money. That 6.9% stuff was crap, but I've had Amarillo form seasons since and they just are not that wow factor anymore. It's one hop that is no longer a the top of my favourites.

QldKev

What about the 2009 Amarillo that wasn't 6.9%? That's the part I don't get.

 

[Silver]

I agree. I bought a packet only recently and there is definitely something special missing when i do my OG reading and have a customary taste. Wasn't sure if it was me but interesting to see i am not the only one.

 

[Steve@PMF82]

Seasonal variabilty affects all fruit/flower crops.
You only have to look at grapes to see what a microclimate in a region can do to variability of the same variety.
Weather patterns are also incredibly variable and I guess could play a major role in AA% depending on which part of the growth cycle of the plant is in during a prolonged dry/wet/cloudy/windy spell.

Handling, time of harvest, direct sunlight, process, downtime in the factory, transport, storage, critters...could a windy week disperse or damage AA% content??

Exactly right.... conditions change all the time and adding to that, the amount of cross and selective breeding that goes on to get these NEW WOW hops, just like any other plant or animal takes many many years to become completely stable, even after all the testing phases in that time there can be many many genetic throw backs popping up here and there giving rise to different characteristics in the end result.

Edit: I agree on the amarillo in general and find nicks description of rexona to be reasonably close for my nose when use alone. Still if you pair it up with something of the C variety it still works ok.

 

[QldKev]

What about the 2009 Amarillo that wasn't 6.9%? That's the part I don't get.

I never got to try any others from that year

A while back I was told there should only be one AA%, per hop variety, per farm, per year. So in the case of Amarillo only grown at the one farm it all should have the same AA% for a season. I'm not 100% sure now if that statement is correct. I wonder of the differences in % could be from different harvests, surely the entire farms crop of Amarillo could not be processed all at once.

The 2009 6.9%AA version was horrible, I threw it out. Even the stuff I got a few months back from last years crop is nothing special at all. I've had a keg of JSGA on tap for a couple of months and have been working my way around it.


QldKev

 

[Bizier]

I haven't used it for yonks, but I just had some arrive today.

I am just postulating, but it might just be like Citra was a minute ago, where I was all over it like a rash because I had never tasted it exactly, but now that I am so used to the flavour and can pick it really easily, I am not that thrilled by it anymore.

Now I am all about the HBC man... like this year's crop is the bomb.

 

[DJR]

I have some 2010 crop 9% stuff that has been in the freezer for about a year. It's good. Was better when i first got it, but it is still giving me good results .

Cascade is under-rated, and cheap... With some NS or other NZ hops in the mix it is easy to get something different too - Sauvin Cascade + Amarillo :icon_drunk:

 

[Nick JD]

Amarillo and Cascade compliment each other really well. This one is fermenting atm, and it's tasting supurb in the fermenter. The new stuff Ross has is like the good ol Amarillo, but I've found you need to use slightly more to get the same flavour/aroma late. I still have a few grams of the 6.9% stuff from 2009, and I find it's a great support hop for IPAs. It's very much like they made a 50:50 batch of Cascade and Amarillo and called it Amarillo.

Amarillo & Cascade AAA (American Amber Ale)

Original Gravity (OG): 1.056 (P): 13.8
Final Gravity (FG): 1.014 (P): 3.6
Alcohol (ABV): 5.50 %
Colour (SRM): 15.2 (EBC): 29.9
Bitterness (IBU): 34.5 (Average)

86.63% Pale Ale Malt
9.9% Caramunich III
2.48% Melanoidin
0.99% Roasted Barley

2.6 g/L Amarillo (9.2% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil)
1.8 g/L Cascade (5.8% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil)


Single step Infusion at 64C for 60 Minutes. Boil for 60 Minutes

Fermented at 20C with WLP009 - Australian Ale


Recipe Generated with BrewMate