Fine-tuning your hop palate

Here is something that might help as far as the typical use and what to expect in the resulting flavor/aroma. There is a handy pull-down by beer style that jumps to different tables. I left it on IPA because I was checking to see if Mosaic was included, but I don't know if it stayed that way... While not linked to a particular beer, it has a lot of information in one place and will at least tell you what might be used in each style. I am sure others will chime in with more specifics and maybe some individual beers, but I think many feature hop blends.

http://byo.com/resources/hops

I learned a lot when I started home brewing and I am still a novice. But when you open up a package of hops, you won't forget what they smell like. Even if you don't home brew, I believe it is useful to understand the ingredients - when you can smell/taste the individual components it sort of cements their identity in the mind, but that is just my opinion.

 

Here is another

http://www.homebrewstuff.com/hop-profiles

Abit more descriptive, maybe not as complete. Search hop flavor profiles and see what works. Plenty of stuff comes up.

 

I think this is a great post, I'd be interested in seeing examples myself.

I'm not an expert but a few are:

Arrogant Bastard - Chinook
Clown Shoes Galactica - Galaxy
Founders Centennial IPA - (wait for it.....) Centennial

 

Clown Shoes Galactica was at HopScotch in Downtown Fullerton if you're nearby. In for more replies! Great post OP

 

If you are anywhere close to Societe, they have been running their bachelor series showcasing one specific hop at a time. It looks like Chinook is the latest. I had the Mosaic version a few months back and it was awesome.

 

Amarillo: deschutes chasin freshies is all amarillo this year.
Cascade: snpa is the quintessential cascade brew.
Citra: zombie dust
Galaxy: hop savant galaxy
Chinook: dry dock breakwater pale ale
That's all that comes to mind for me where those hops stand out as individuals. There are so many belnds out there, its hard to find. I have learned a lot from home brewing though and reccomend that you look into maybe getting a french press, a bland ass pale ale, and a variety of hops from the local homebrew store and start experimenting on your own.

 

Deschutes Chasin Freshies. I thought it was fantastic.

 

I agree. I put down quite a few bottles of that.

OP: PseudoSue is another Citra (i believe its 100%?) - and its amazing.

 

gumball head is all armarillo as well.

 

I don't brew beer, so maybe I'm talking out of my ass...but I'm pretty comfortable saying that the best Citra examples I've had were KRBC Citra, Drake's Aroma Coma, and Knee Deep's Citra Extra Pale Ale. You really have to get a super fresh bottle with this hop as it fades quickly, giving way to a stronger malt presence and resulting in a totally different beer. Look for anything with less than a month on it. These beers tend to be real juicy. Can't speak to ZD because both times I had it, it wasn't that great. I'm assuming I got old shit (they don't bottle date).

Lagunitas Sucks and Dirt Wolf both have a lot of different hops in 'em, but I'm pretty sure they both showcase Simcoe pretty loudly. If you are down in SD, the same is true for Societe's Roustabout. These beers have an almost savory note in them. Some folks are turned off by it. I think it's awesome.

 

I've been thinking about learning about how and what hops do to beer but I've decided to go the Supreme Court porno definition route [sort of]: I don't know what kind of hops are in a particular beer but I know I like the aroma and flavor when I smell and taste it.

 

http://mikkeller.dk/single-hop-ipas/

Finding a brewer with a single hop series is a great way to go. Really limits the confounding variable associated with 2 completely different beers.

 

I've been wanting to try this out for some time: http://www.bertusbrewery.com/2013/03/dry-hopped-bud-light.html

This guy basically takes bud light and dry hops 12 different bottles with 12 kinds of hops. The taste of bud light is so faint that you basically only taste the hops.

 

HF is easy but the beers are hard to find, Single hop using galaxy, citra, Double Citra etc.