How to Categorize the Bitterness in Hops

I buy hops from freshhops and they have a chart that shows the bitterness value.

http://freshops.com/hops/variety_descriptions/

Also there is a homebrewing forum in which bittering hops have been discussed:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/your-favourite-bittering-hops-and-why.65643/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/bittering-hops-does-it-matter-what-you-use.43637/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/cleanest-bittering-hops.29077/

To answer your question my take is it's differences from person to person in regards to what hops are "harsh" and what provide a "clean" bitterness. I've used citra for bittering when some people say it gives a weird flavor. Best thing about home brewing is experimenting so try didn't hops and see which ones you like.

Also, when you add the hops in the boil will have a significant impact on the bitterness.

My go to is simcoe for what it's worth.

 

Also, if you want to get a better handle on specific hop profiles, you can try out @derailment's B-Hoppy Hop Candy. Here is a great hops resource as well.

 

I think that bitterness often gets conflated with other hop attributes. If you have beers made with different hop but with the same overall alpha acid percentages and hop utilizations, you may perceive the bitterness differently due to difference in the types of alpha acids . High cohumlone content is sometimes credited for a harsher bitterness, but as this link notes, we are learning new things about hops that suggest this wisdom is overstated. There is also a role played by beta acids in producing bitterness through oxidation. Finally there are differences in aromatic oils, which are generally not considered as major bittering elements, but could perhaps (I'm speculating) influence your perceptions of bitterness also. It's hard to know, because you can't really change all the potential variables independently

 

There was a presentation at the NHC that pretty much refuted the high cohumulone=harsh bitterness.

 

High Alpha...Medium Alpha...Low Alpha

Seriously, I have never been able to discern that much difference with the same IBUs (IPAs)

 

Do you recall the conclusion they came to, or the method they used to do so?

I'd be interested, since I seem to perceive Chinook as quite a bit harsher than Magnum...even though they have similar levels.

 

They brewed beers using hops with low and high cohumulone. The high cohumulone beer was brewed twice with different IBU levels, and blended so that the blend was equal to the low cohumolone beer, 38.7 IBUs both cases measured in the lab. The original experiment years back, 1972, did not have equal IBUs, since the high IBU one (62% more) was with high cohumulone it was deemed harsher.

Work was done by Mike Karnowski at Green Man Brewing Asheville NC. The end slide is a vote, results of tasting in the conf. room not given. There have been other studies done recently that says maybe cohumulone is not harsh, but it isomorizes at a higher rate so you will get more IBU from a high cohumulone hop.

AHA members can view here.
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/resources/conference-seminars/

Edit
http://www.barthhaasgroup.com/johbarth/images/pdfs/2009_BWI_Cohumulon.pdf

Edit 2:
The type of alpha-acid also presumably influences the quality of bitterness, as it is generally believed that iso-cohumulone contributes a harsher and more unpleasant bitterness compared to iso-humulone. However, recent studies seem to indicate that there isn’t any difference in bittering quality between the two alpha-acids. Because of a slightly higher polarity, cohumulone and iso-cohumulone have slightly higher solubility in wort compared to humulone and iso-humulone, meaning they are usually present in slightly higher quantities. Table 1 contains a table with the typical alpha-acid percentages and cohumulone contents of various hop varieties. Looking at the table, it becomes evident that hop varieties such as Simcoe, Horizon and Warrior are preferred, if one is after a hop variety that has a low-cohumulone, yet high alpha-acid, content.

http://beer.suregork.com/?p=2377

 

Amen brother . . . I bet the analysts never had an Arrogant Bastard (Chinook/34%-cohu) and said "naw, that ain't too harsh".

 

The presentation at the 2014 NHC was: Cohumulone: Friend or Foe by Mike Karnowski.

I did not attend this presentation (I went to another one at that time) but I read through the charts and listened to the audio.

Two beers were provided to the audience which had the same IBUs with one using a low cohumulone hop (Vanguard) and one using a high cohumulone hop (Brewers Gold). These beers were made available to the audience blind and they were asked if one beer had a ‘harsher’ bitterness than the other. My listening from the presentation was that there was no unambiguous definitive perceptible difference between the two beers. For example beer no. 1 was brewed with the low cohumulone hop (Vanguard) and ¼ of the audience thought this beer was harsher than beer no. 2 (the beer brewed with Brewers Gold).

Another interesting aspect from this presentation is that for low cohumulone hops there is a significant difference between calculated IBUs and measured IBUs; the measured IBUs are lower than calculated. For high cohumulone hops the calculator is more accurate.

Hopefully Jeff (@hopfenunmaltz) attended this presentation and therefore can provide more details.

Cheers!

 

While Arrogant Bastard is not my favorite Stone beer, I guess that (Chinook) might be why I enjoy a lot of their assertive beers, but think their Pale Ale is really mediocre.

 

Should of said that I wasn't there above, but there are other reports out there that say if the measured IBU is the same there is no difference. Cohumulone dissolves more readily, and you get higher IBUs for a high cohumulone hop.

 

Jeff, that was pretty much my take away from reading/listening to the Mike Karnowski presentation.

Cheers!

Jack

 

The two link edit in above say that same.

 

Thanks for those links. I enjoyed reading them.

Cheers!

 

Another brewing myth bites the dust?

 

Jeff, the best that I can say is that it is busted as far as I am personally concerned. You just need to read a few posts in this thread to recognize that not all folks are convinced of this busting.

Cheers!

 

Could be. It seems like there may have been too little data to support it in the first place. It is interesting how what apparently is a singular study from the 70s generated so much support without getting picked apart in such an obvious way.

While that example in my earlier posts appears to be flawed, the message remains the same - the chemistry of hops is complicated and more than one factor likely plays into perceptions of bitterness qualities.

Well, at least one thing remains true: if you first-wort hop with a high cohumulone hop, you will reduce the harshness of the bitterness. Right? Are you with me? Anyone?

 

The minute I read singular study from the 70s I thought of FWH and then I got to your punchline