Hop Combinations

That's a lot of hops! I hope you're doing a lot of brewing.

Two hops that I'd say you should not blend are Belma and Comet. Do those as a single hop and see what you think.

Some obvious choices are Azacca/Ammarillo, and you could add in Citra and/or Mandarina Bavaria.

Simcoe works well with Amarillo and Azacca as well. Probably Ekuanot as well.

Huell Mellon is another one I think you might want to try solo, but I'd guess (I've never done it) that it might be a good combo with Belma.

 

Looking at the list you have I'm thinking every one of those is unique and also distinct. Nothing Noblesque there.

Not that you can't mix them up but if it were me I'd buy some Magnum for bittering. Then use 8 ounces of each variety in each IPA for aroma and possibly late addtion.

Yeah, I'd buy more hops. Crazy.

There are resources that can tell you about a hops origin along with suitable substitutes. Stay within the general profile and it works. Citrus with citrus etc. Unless you want to try say citrus with earthy. Your beer.

I also think more than 2 varieties in a beer is too much. That's just my opinion man.

Cheers

 

Read the descriptors of each of them thoroughly. Run with those.
I see a lot of interpretations of the recent trends in IPA's coming out of your haul. i.e. belgo / ne / brut.

 

Haha, I'm assuming by "bad combo" suggestion you're talking about Belma and Comet? While I do agree with that as a bad combo, I really just meant to use those two first solo so you can see what they do.

Belma, I'm not fond of, and to be honest I can't really come up with a suggestion as to a blend. It seems to be one of those hops that's neither here nor there and just doesn't bring anything to the equation. However, everyone has different tastes and I have brewed a single hop pale ale with Belma that people liked.

Comet is a different story, and although I think you should try a single hop beer, I think you can use it in a blend. It's a little like Cascade but it's got a touch of pine to it, and maybe some apricot or peach. It should work well with Amarillo, but it would be a supporting hop. What else? I'm not familiar with Medusa or Waimea, but it might go well with Ekuanot (lemon/lime, orange, berry). It's not a strong hop though and I'd still see it as secondary.

I should also note at this point that I highly agree with @billandsuz that I generally like to keep a brew to two (or three) different hops, not including bittering, unless it's a citrusy NEIPA.

On that note, I don't feel that Mandarina Bavaria is a weak hop, and I've used it quite effectively, but always in conjunction with Amarillo. It gives a beautiful orange flavor and the beer I make is called MandarIPA.

Another one I think I missed is Simcoe, Citra, Amarillo which I've used for multiple IPAs.

 

I periodically brew an IPA with Simcoe/Amarillo. I think these two hops complement each other very well.

I have brewed a number of batches that solely featured Ekuanot and I was very happy with all of those batches. For my palate Ekuanot provides a lot of complexity; it is like 2-3 hop varieties in one.

I have yet to brew with Mandarina Bavaria but every commercial beer that featured this hop had subtle hop aroma/flavor. If you wanted to combine this with another hop maybe use a 2/3 to one ratio – for dry hoping 2 ounces Mandarina Bavaria and 1 ounce other.

I have brewed with Citra quite a bit and every combination I used with Citra has turned out well. Just be careful in that Citra can be a very powerful hop. For example if you were to combine this with Mandarina Bavaria go with a higher ratio (e.g., 3 parts Mandarina Bavaria and 1 part Citra).

Cheers!

 

Since you are new but I don't know your experience level might I suggest this as well, make some hop teas so that you can get a better idea of what you're dealing with. Take notes. Just boil some water with some sugar added, and then pour some over a strainer with a single hop pellet in. If that's not enough you can always pour over it again. You should then have a fairly good idea of what the hop will offer you.

 

Exactly! And if you're going to use Amarillo as well I'd put that in slot two as far as percentage goes.

 

Just to make sure, you are opining that the hop aroma/flavor intensity of Amarillo is on par with Mandarina Bavaria?

Cheers!

 

Negative, I'd say that Amarillo is more intense than Mandarina Bavaria. Thus, in order of volume: Mandarina Bavaria, Amarillo, Citra. The Citra should be the lesser amount but it lends such a brilliant and zesty edge to everything!

 

The comet I grew this year was pure grapefruit. I am getting ready to do a smash IPA with it. As to the others I have never brewed with any of them O.O

 

Some of those hops you have for bittering have some interesting flavors as well. CTZ is great as an aroma or DH addition, and I seem to recall @OldSock using nugget and bravo as bio-transformation hops in the early days of Cheater Hops. Don't neglect them.

So far as combos I'd go with that I know will be tasty:
Amarillo, Citra, Simcoe
Amarillo, Simcoe
Amarillo, Citra
Citra, Simcoe
Azacca, Simcoe
Amarillo, Azacca, Simcoe

For whatever reason, I'd love to try CTZ, Comet, Simcoe. Maybe 1:1:3 ration on those

 

The commercial beers that I tasted that were solely dry hopped with CTZ had BIG dank aromas; I was not a fan of those beers.

Cheers!

 

I tried Mandarina once.
I did not get nearly the citrus I expected.
There’s nothing like Citra for that.

I also tried Comet in an IPA with Amarillo and Simcoe.
I actually bittered with it instead of my usual Nugget.
And did a late addition as well.
I didn’t think there was enough punch from the Comet to make a mark on the other two.

The most citrus forward beer I have made was with a ton of Citra and a half ton of Mosaic. Something about the Mosaic frames the Citra wonderfully. It’s not an epiphany or anything ... everyone is doing it. But I threw some tangerine zest sanitized in vodka in the fermenter and it was an orange bomb.

 

I bet comet and Medusa would be a cool combo. They’re both pretty funky hops. if you don’t want to get too weird...
Citra Simcoe Amarillo = Automatic win
For my taste Belma and azacca aren’t great on their own.

 

An herbal, dank quality for sure. I absolute LOVE CTZ and have it in almost all my IPA's... Typically my bittering addition, but whirlpool and dry hopping as well. Blended with hops like Galaxy, Simcoe, Citra, Nelson, Vic Secret, etc... All good. I have not done a single hop of it, though. That would probably be pretty intense stuff! Have to get the right crop of CTZ though, as it can borderline on oniony for sure.

 

Hull Melon compliments Mandarina Bavaria. I have used 2 parts of Mandarina to 1 part Hull Melon.

 

I support this combo.

I have. A session IPA with a 50/50 split of Pilsner and Munich I and 10 oz of Columbus. Interestingly, I got mostly pine, grapefruit, and some resin from that beer. Usually, when I use Columbus with popular fruity hops, I find it brings the same dankness that I get when I sniff the hops right out of the bag. Maybe it’s a flavor association thing where fruity flavors make your brain read “dank”, but that same flavor compound with pine reads “resin”. I always thought those two flavor descriptors were distinct, yet inexplicably linked, and I was never sure where the line was.

But I agree with you on CTZ in general, and use it in all of my IPAs, especially NE style.