Is There Something Wrong With This Years Amarillo

[ekul]

Hi everyone,

is there something wrong with this seasons amarillo? Its the 6.9%aa stuff i'm referring to.


When i joined last year i found that every second recipe that i looked at contained amarillo. I made lots of centarillo, golden ale and of course the drsmurtos golden ale.

However since the US hop harvest i haven't nopticed as many posts making reference to this hop.

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 had assumed that amarillo had changed. However I tasted a beer at a mates place that featured amarillo and it had that characteristic amarillo flavour. I'm not sure if it was this yeasrs or last years amarillo though. Since the US hop harvest i've been using alot of cascade, its cheap and it tastes great.

I'm interested in what other people think of this years amarillo. I'm thinking of using some of this years tomorrow. Might use it real late to cover up the harshness i've been getting from it.

 

[Nick JD]

Is it the low AA stuff? 6.9%?

 

[ekul]

thanks Nick JD, i put that in my OP to avoid confusion.

 

[Silo Ted]

I'm sick of using American hops.

And reading about how every new AG'er should make DSGA.

So no more Amarillo here.

 

[bignath]

Haven't used much amarillo, but i've noticed what seems to be a definite shift to New Zealand hops and of course the nobles' always get a mention....

 

[Nick JD]

thanks Nick JD, i put that in my OP to avoid confusion.

I quite like it. It's not so "Rexona Sport" and a bit more citrusy. However, I have noticed that dry hopped for too long is starts to give some PoR type flavours to the beer, which is a little disconcerting, but probably perfect to all those trying to clone James Squier's Golden Bland.

 

[gregs]

I must say the only Amarillo hoped beer that I would say was very good was a beer that I hoped Amarillo all the way.

Ive never really enjoyed it when mix with other hops, bittering or the alike. I can drink the beer but its a hop I dont like to mix.

 

[Henno]

I have noticed it mate. I've set fire to a lot of money from a few different mobs now and am over it. Always the 6.9% stuff. I was going to start a thread like this myself but apparently Amarillo is so pass.

 

[ekul]

Henno- do you think its passe because it got shit or because everyone got sick of it?

 

[Bribie G]

Like I was like talking to my friend Shaaaniiiaaah and she like reckons that Amarillo is so like sooooooooooooooooo S-04

edit, sorry about that, actually I prefer the

 

[Henno]

I was only being cheeky mate. All the gurus seem to be bagging it out this year, it seems to be the uncool hop at the moment and worthy only of ridicule. I do miss my boring old golden ale coz it was something I had the hang of (as opposed to my recent failures) and my friends liked it.

 

[gregs]

Like I was like talking to my friend Shaaaniiiaaah and she like reckons that Amarillo is so like sooooooooooooooooo S-04

edit, sorry about that, actually I prefer the

You dont have any friends.

 

[Charst]

If you look back through the basic brewing Podcasts to 2005 you'll find 2 parts of an interview with Gerard Lemmens. Hop packaging bloke.
From memory he talks about how his favourite new hop is Amarillo but he is waiting to see how it settles after a few years crops as he believes the taste changes over the first few years. 6 Years on if you not liking it then this may be the answer. or you could have got a dud batch......



"Gerard Lemmens of Brewers Supply Group, who has a long history in the brewing industry - including brewing with Heineken and Bass, joins us to talk about hops and trends in the hop industry."

http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=61

 

[Silo Ted]

Like I was like talking to my friend Shaaaniiiaaah and she like reckons that Amarillo is so like sooooooooooooooooo S-04

edit, sorry about that, actually I prefer the Old Amarillo

Well, I knew Amarillo before it was famous, was so much cooler before selling out to a 6.9 % mainstream AA. :lol:

Seriously, if Charst is right, maybe it is in genetic self destruction mode. When man plays god over plant strains, there's no predicting the long term outcome.

They might even find out that Amarillo caused the Japan quakes.

I'm bailing out now, and going back to pommie hops.

 

[warra48]

I'm not over it, because I never got into it in the first place.

By the way, where's the "I'm Amarillo's Dad" option?

 

[Pennywise]

I'm the opposite to gregs, I've done a couple of Amarillo SMASH recipes and didn't go much on them at all. Now I'm mixing with Cascade & Centenial, which always pleases me I have about 200g left of the 6.9% stuff and the only thing I can say I may have noticed is it's not as potent

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Tried it twice was not taken by it , now its like Disco. Noble me up Scotty.
GB

 

[praxis178]

Tried it twice was not taken by it , now its like Disco. Noble me up Scotty.
GB

Still have about 200g of it, was keen now I'm not so sure..... Been hitting the nobles and UK hops pretty hard of late.

 

[argon]

So far i've done an IPA with chinook/cascade/(new)amarillo mix. It's ok seems a little to fruity. Still a little underwhelming, although haven't had Amarillo in the brewery for a while.

I have an Amarillo Brown ale in primary now, supported by a little bit of cascade... samples are looking promising. I think the simpler hop combo and simpler grain bill is helping (90% Ale 10% Special B).

will give Amarillo another shot in a sessionable ale...maybe a DSGA before coming down with final judgement.

 

[Jazzafish]

80's pop music was popular once too... Some people still like it. Some have always hated the poxy crap.

With Amarillo, it was a new flavour like the 80's pop music was a new sound. Some people have moved on, some people never cared for it in the first place.

I liked Amarillo from the get go and I have noticed some seasonal change. This will happen with every hop variety. It has now balanced towards a passionfruit type flavour. When I first came across it (JSGA early releases), there seemed to be a stronger stonefruit character.

I have never used it for bittering, so can't comment on changes here.

As I love passionfruit and stone fruit, it is still the late/dry hop I base American Pale Ales around... but I find myself combining it with cascade and centenial. Want to try it with Nelson Savion and Cintra though.

Thats the beauty of home brewing, taylor flavours to suit yourself.