I don't think I like Cascade hops

Anchor Liberty Ale is a Cascade heavy IPA.

 

Bear Republic Racer 5

 

Don't know if underwhelmed and "underlike" are the same thing but I have a similar love/hate relationship with Centennial hops. I love Two Hearted but I'm not so keen on Founder's Centennial. Both have similar hop additions, and both are all Centennial, including dry hopped. But, malts are different and yeast is way different. Maybe toying around with other Cascade offerings that are a departure in other ingredients is what you can do.

 

I think the point here about other variables is a valuable one. Just because a number of beers that you don't like use Cascade hops, doesn't necessarily mean that's the variable you don't like, does it?

Using the examples above...personally, I love SNPA...love it. Can't stand the Soul IPA from Green Flash. So maybe it isn't the hops that you don't like about those beers. Maybe body, malt bill, yeast, ABV, etc... are the variables that are really turning you on or off on a beer. The beers you mentioned that you like are either DIPAs or at the very least tipping the scales in the style department...so maybe you just don't like smaller, more subtle hop-forward beers.

Also, I certainly wouldn't use that Soul IPA as a standard for Cascade hops.

EDIT: maybe try a DIPA that uses Cascade? I was trying to come up with an example but couldn't...I think the trend shift from IPA to DIPA may have loosely coincided with a departure from Cascade as a common hop addition, with more emphasis on Citra, Mosaic, Simcoe, Amarillo, etc... but I'm sure someone can come up with something...

 

yeah, I think they missed the mark a bit on that one...cause I usually do enjoy Green Flash brews as well...

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't cascade hops the "hop of choice" for much of the American craft pales/IPAs made through the 1990's and early 2000's? If so, I wasn't really a big fan of pales or IPAs back then so I guess I'm not big on cascade hops overall. SNPA tastes much better to myself now vs. 10+ years ago, but my pallate has been trained.

 

Deschutes Mirror Pond is hopped exclusively with Cascade according to their website. I've always enjoyed SNPA but now prefer MP as my go-to widely available pale ale. If you don't like MP, then yea, it might be the hops.

 

I'd agree with this...

 

Yeah, I'm a hop head and I'm generally not a lover of Cascade.

 

^this

I fell into the same line of thinking about cascade hops a while back after drinking a mirror pond and pretty much swore off cascade all together. I would even go as far as to look up descriptions on beers before trying in order them to avoid em.

However, over time, I found that depending on how much, when they are added and the other ingredients/hops used I don't mind them. Of course it'll take some seriously sampling to find your sweet spot, but seeing cascade in the hop bill no longer means 'avoid' to me.

 

As someone else has said try a DIPA. There are quite a few Dark Cascadian Ales on the West coast that I've enjoyed. Now everyone's tastes are different but they tend to be more balanced than some of the very hop forward beers I believe you're talking about.

 

Another reason you might not want to write-off Cascade completely is that the hop flavor in a beer can depend a lot on how the brewer uses the hops... The same hop variety added early (long boil) vs late (short boil)/dry-hop can impart different bitterness levels, flavors, and aromas to the beer.

 

An IPA that features Cascade is Sierra Nevada Celebration (there are other hops used in that beer besides Cascade).

@Ranbot brought up the salient point of how a particular hop is used in the brewing process will influence how the resulting beer may taste. For example, maybe the OP would prefer the Cascade flavors from kettle hopping vs. the aroma/flavor of Cascade from dry hopping.

@gopens44 brought up the topic of Centennial hops and Bell’s Two Hearted vs. Founders Centennial IPA (it should be recognized that Two Hearted is 100% Centennial while Founders Centennial is not 100% Centennial). I am a BIG fan of Two Hearted and not much of a fan of Centennial IPA; how the hops are using in the brewing process will impact the overall flavor profile of a beer.

Also, the type of malts used will have an impact as well.

Cheers!

 

As blasphemous as it sounds I think SNPA is a bit shit but I like Cascade hops just fine. You could say it's not the hop it's how you use it.

 

Citra and simcoe can both get really cat pissy depending on how you use them, especially if you use them as bittering hops.

 

I would have much preferred cat piss to what I actually got out of that beer...

 

Almost dead on to my experience...