How do I use these hops? Wakatu, simcoe, cascade and centennial and belma. I love theory hop and late addition of belma, was thinking of wakatu for bitter, simcoe first addition with either cascade or centennial as latervadditions wit possibly a belma or cascade or centennial dry hop! Any suggestions!
Firstly, using five different hop varieties in a batch of beer is a bit too ‘busy’ IMO. My suggestion is to limit to no more than three varieties. I would recommend that you ‘save’ your Wakatu for a non-bittering addition – either in this batch or another batch. Use a general purpose bittering hop like Warrior or Magnum for bittering. Deciding on which 2-3 hops to use for flavor/aroma (including dry hop additions) will depend on what flavor/aroma combinations you seek. For my palate Simcoe provides a flavor/aroma of piney. Centennial contributes citrus (e.g., grapefruit) and on occasion I will sometimes pick up floral. I personally mostly get Citrus from Cascade but this will vary based upon crop year and where the hops were grown. Wakatu is being discussed in another thread and it appears that it can provide flavors/aromas of lime notes. If you want to perceive these lime notes than it would be best to not use other hops that might obfuscate this aspect. If a brewer was looking for a combination of piney and citrus then a mixture of Simcoe and Centennial/Cascade would make sense. Maybe something like a 50/50 mix of Simcoe and Centennial/Cascade for the flavor/aroma additions; for example: · For the last 10 minutes of boil 0.5 oz. Simcoe and 0.5 oz. of Centennial/Cascade · For the end of boil (and 30 minute hop-stand): 0.5 oz. Simcoe and 0.5 oz. of Centennial/Cascade · For dry hopping: 1 oz. Simcoe and 1 oz. of Centennial/Cascade Tailor the hop quantities to suit the level of flavor/aroma intensity desired. Cheers! P.S. I have no personal experience with Belma hops.
