I recently bought a few pounds of "cheater" hops and am having trouble deciding on which combo to use. I have a pound of each at of the following and am looking to use a combo of 2... maybe 3: Citra Mosaic Sabro Simcoe Nelson-Sauvin Galaxy Out of the options, I've used Mosaic/Citra, Simcoe/Galaxy, Simcoe/Citra in the past and thought they worked really well together. I'm hesitant to try something like Nelson/Galaxy in fear that the parts individually would be greater than the sum. I'm curious to hear everyone's opinion on the matter whether it is homebrewed or commercial.
Sabro is the outlier of that bunch. All those other hops are great by themselves or paired. I always recommend instead of splitting them at each addition try using one hop at certain times. Or focus on one hotside and one cold.
I'm a big fan of Simcoe on the hot side, not so much cold side. Unless in dialed back and in conjunction with another varietal.
Last month I homebrewed an IPA using Galaxy & Mosiac (more Galaxy than Mosaic) and I am very pleased with the result. I brewed a 'regular' IPA (i.e., no flaked adjuncts, no oats, I used US-05) but this beer because of its flavor profile is reminiscent of a 'NEIPA'. A couple of months ago I brewed an IPA solely using Sabro for flavor, end of boil and dry hopping. That beer was quite interesting with a combination of coconut, tropical fruits and citrus flavors. My wife, who is a BIG hop head, loved that batch. It was all gone very quickly. I have never brewed with Nelson Sauvin so I have no input here. Cheers!
Have you brewed with Simcoe lately? Back in the old days (5+ years ago) I would pick up a notable pine aroma/flavor from Simcoe hops. One of my favorite combinations for an IPA was a 50/50 combination of Simcoe & Amarillo and I enjoyed the combination of piney and citrus flavors. I have not picked up pine in Simcoe in a long time. Cheers!
Yes, I tend to use Simcoe quite a bit. In moderation it can really add a nice dimension of piney dankness. It’s my go to bittering hop if I had to choose one for IPAs.
It would seem that you have been more lucky than I have. All of the Simcoe hops that I have purchased recently (e.g., last 5ish years) have had no perceptible pine aroma/flavor. We homebrewers are 'bottom feeders' when it comes to selecting/purchasing hops. Cheers!
I understand that the common homebrewer is last in mind from a supply chain perspective. That said, I’ve been mostly satisfied the past few years with purchasing hops directly from Yakima Valley Hops.
Please report back on what you think of your beer. My wife drank three bottles of my Galaxy/Mosaic IPA yesterday. I have a feeling this batch will be gone real soon! Cheers!
i like coolships combos used so far, but am not a mosaic fan. Have been a big fan of citra at 5 FO, then dry hopped with 4 oz galixy. simco with citra or galixy always good for me, have not tryed the others.
I used the Sabro in a brown ale recently that I dry hopped with toasted coconut. The coconut was phenomenal in it. It was not artificial tasting at all. I did use to much in the hot side and it was bitter. But I can fix that next time
If we're going to state things outside of what OP @Yungcoolship mentioned, for an IPA, I really like: Centennial, Amarillo, and Simcoe Chinook, Columbus, and Simcoe
