Random question, got some Columbus from Yakima. I took the sticker off and never wrote down what the AA was. Anyone have any idea what they are checking in at? I want to say it was around 13%
Somewhat related: are you and I the only ones that don't like the new Yakima bags that have the labels glued the opening? To their credit, they list the year on the label but it's the first thing to be cut off when opening a new bag . . . along with AA%. You think these guys ever brew? Or update their website?
The packages I got didn't have the labels over the opening, but I did receive one with two different labels. One was for the variety I had ordered, the other was for a variety I hadn't, so I'm assuming its what I ordered. Another package had no label at all, so I'm just kinda hoping its the pacifica I ordered.
I got some 2014 Columbus pellets from Yakima a couple of months ago, and they were labeled 17.7%. That's about as high as I've ever seen.
Why not just look at your brewing software which requires you to update anyway for varying AA? I've gotten into the habit of doing this because year to year the AA is all over the map and even with a sticker, if you don't update in the software you could be way off from the default values.
Columbus has often been described as dank, but when I dry hop with it exclusively, all I get is black licorice and floral which is not a familiar brand of dank. That would be fine, if I liked to smell black licorice, but I don't. Columbus has fallen out of my list of hops to use. Please tell me why I need to reconsider this.
Don't do that : )....I have never gotten pronounced black licorice from CTZ, but I don't usually use it as the leading hop or even with other hops at a 1:1 I think it plays nice/spice with very fruity and citrusy hops at lower ratios
One beer that I previously enjoyed that uses plenty of Columbus is Ballast Point Big Eye. I had maybe 3-4 six packs. Loved every one of them. The flavor was a robust orange and lemon. The other hop is Centennial. The aroma was minimal. I didn't care about the lack of aroma because the citrus flavor was large and quite good. Recently, Big Eye was not very citrusy in the flavor, more bitter than previous times and the aroma was black licorice and floral off the charts. Since the bottling dates are generally illegible, I concluded I like aged Big Eye, but not fresh. Hopunion considers Columbus to have notes of licorice. I tend to agree with their assessment based on my Big Eye experience. https://www.hopunion.com/columbus/
