This is my first post so please bear with me and point me in the right direction if there is already a thread on this. I want to learn more about hops and flavors that certain hops produce. Where is a good place to start? I live in suburban chicago so please keep it limited to bears I can get here. Thanks for the help!
Founder Centennial uses primarily or only Centennial. Their Red's Rye uses only Amarillo. Try a forum search on "single hop beers" and see what comes up. Ask the guys in the Homebrewing forum about a chart showing flavors/uses of each hop variety.
Home brewing posts and forums can tell you plenty about hops. Which kinds that produce which flavors.
Start here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/101/hops It's a modest list and doesn't include many of the newer varieties that have come off the vine as of late that young upstarts are freaking out over. and here's a bit more of an in depth look. http://www.onebeer.net/hopschart.html If you need to blow your mind. Read "For the Love of Hops..." And Binny's and other decent packies will take care of the rest.
I would highly recommend the book For the Love of Hops by Stan Hieronymus. The book is an enjoyable read and on pages 139-173 individual hop varieties are detailed including descriptions of the flavor/aroma provided by each of the hop varieties. If you are interested in drinking single hopped beers, there is a list of those beers. BA jackbear maintains an online list here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsZLUtUXjy6ZdGZqaVRsV1J4c0tabnVlOVdFY05wdmc&usp=sharing Cheers!
Here is a list of some popular ipas and the hops used in each one. http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2013/02/american-ipa-hop-bills-and-analysis.html
This seems like a pretty thorough list. Enjoy... http://www.murphyandson.co.uk/BrewingArticles/HopSpecs.htm#american
Little pricey, but experience it for yourself. Dry hop in Bud Lite. Read this on a blog a while back we have had great success. 1) Buy a 12 or 24 pack of long necks 2) Sanitize bottle caps 3) Open the beers 4) Add a couple pellets of each hop to each beer (keep notes ) We always hold one as a control. 5) Re-cap and hold 1-2 weeks (Don't go longer. Too much grassiness develops) 6) chill beers and sample. Clean background to get the hop profile easily. Has helped with dry hopping plenty of IPAs. You can test blends etc! Big key is having to buy multiple different 1-2 oz packages of hops. I find reading helps, but understanding the flavors of Simcoe, Cascade, Chinook, etc done yourself is a great learning experience. You also don't have to worry about "fresh" beers.
You might find this helpful... http://www.hopunion.com/hop-varieties/ There are other web sources, too. However, IME, it's not always easy to identify with written descriptions of flavor and aroma until you are actually drinking a beer with the hop in it.
I know you are looking for beers to try with certain hop flavors, but my friend's blog has the best hop resource I know- http://www.bear-flavored.com/2011/12/bear-flavoreds-ultimate-guide-to-hop.html
You can do it with Miller re cappable cans as well ( http://ingenuitybrew.blogspot.com/2013/05/dry-hop-test-with-miler-lite-results.html ). For someone whos not brewing and doesn't have a capper, the bottles make it easier since you can open, drop in hops and close back up without any equipment.
