Tag: hops

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Map that Flavor

from the Draught Labs website

Finding the right word is sometimes extra easy and sometimes excruciatingly hard. And when trying to convey beer flavors, you can quickly lose the thread searching for just the write word.

There are a few thesaurus type beer products out there but this set from DraughtLab have a couple extra things going. One is that they are brewer based so it is not a watered down beer ticker list. Secondly, they do hops but they have two malt maps as well. Since they are industry based, they have bulk pricing. So maybe find a few friends who could use a vocabulary boost.

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Hazy with a Change

Heinken’s California brewery, Lagunitas is going all types of hoppy in the near future. Adding hazy to their Sumpin’ line and then wet-hopping another seasonal. No use for filters in Petaluma.

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Improve Your Lupulin Vocabulary

If you are subscribed to the Hop Queries newsletter, well then what kind of beer rabbit hole geek are you?

At the recent Brewing Summit 2018, hop aromas were broken down into these groups and I think it is quite useful to have handy the next time you try an IPA that is new to you to see where it lands……
 
Fruity – Citrus
Grapefruit, Orange, Lemon, Lime, Tangerine, Mandarin
 
Fruity – Tropical
Mango, Pineapple, Papaya, Banana, Lychee, Guava, Passion Fruit, Coconut
 
Fruity – Berry
Raspberry, Strawberry, Blueberry, Blackberry, Concord Grape, White Grape, Gooseberry, Black Currant/Catty, Red Currant, White Wine
 
Fruity – Stone Fruit
Peach, Apricot, Nectarine, Cherry, Plum
 
Fruity – Melon
Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Cucumber, Watermelon
 
Fruity – Pomme
Apple, Pear
 
Floral
Geranium, Rose, Lavender, Jasmine, Elderflower, Potpourri
 
Woody
Pine, Resinous, Cedar, Tobacco, Sandalwood
 
Herbaceous
Black Tea, Green Tea, Mint, Rosemary, Bergamot, Dill, Thyme, Basil, Sage, Cannabis, Skunk, Menthol
 
Grassy
Fresh Cut Grass, Lemongrass, Green Leaves, Hay
 
Spicy
Black Pepper, Clove, Licorice/Anise, Ginger, Coriander, Cardamom
 
Sweet Aromatic
Caramel, Chocolate, Vanilla, Bubblegum
 
Medicinal
Plastic, Rubber, Burnt Rubber, Smoke, Petroleum, Diesel
 
Dairy
Cheese, Cream, Waxy
 
Earthy
Musty, Soil, Marsh, Moss
 
Vegetal
Onion, Green Onion, Garlic, Green Bell Pepper, Celery, Asparagus, Cabbage

This is very useful to see where your favorite hoppy beers are so that you can pursue ones with similar aroma profiles and really hone in on your preferred IPA.

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Protect the Hops

Beer is dependent on farming and so far the current shit government we have has not been very helpful. Basically throwing paper towels at people in the form of “cash for tariffs”.

Thankfully there are some trying to improve the lot of hop farmers at least.

Check out this New School Beer post about how Oregon Senator Ron Wyden is fighting for hop protection.

Let’s hope we, as a nation, can create a (literally) a better environment for farmers to work in.

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Featured Reviews – Hops from Figueroa Mountain


Figueroa Mountain has expanded their canned offerings and for the first of two “doubled-up” reviews, I re-taste Hoppy Poppy IPA and Lizard’s Mouth DIPA for the first time from cans and for the first time in quite a while.

First up is Hoppy Poppy IPA which pours a real dark orange. On the nose is a soft orange blossom aroma but this tastes much stronger than a normal, regulation IPA. There is a really strong malt backbone to this beer along with some pine notes that lurk in the background.

Next is Lizard’s Mouth DIPA which also sports an orange aroma but this is more hearty than just a blossom. There is heavier alcohol with a bit of burn to it putting this closer to a Barleywine in my book. The Lizard also holds a big malt presence and it is bitter but more in a radicchio way.

From these two examples, it appears that FigMtn is just upleveled hop wise which would make a Session IPA more in the IPA realm. Of the two, I like the Poppy a bit better due to the less heavy presence.

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Dribble

File this away for when Russian River really gets their new, bigger Windsor brewery humming and maybe more beer heads to us in SoCal.

Not only will you probably get a really good IPA, but you will be learning some agricultural history….

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Rad Riesling


Mixing the two worlds of wine and beer with just the right balance requires some serious blending skill. And considering that 2017 was the hottest year on record, I will need something light and refreshing which makes this offering from the Union Wine Company intriguing on two levels. You get grapefruit juice, Riesling wine and two C-Hops (Crystal and Cascade).

Part wine cooler, part radler and part hops.

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Rose, cider & hops

I haven’t been sold on the mix of cider and hops. Maybe I just haven’t had the right one for me. But this summer, Tin City may have the answer…

That answer is blending cider with rose AND hops. If I can find a can, I will see if the Paso Robles cider house has cracked the code.

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Yakima Hops


Know a trip to hop country in Yakima, Washington would be better with a trip to the hop fields but there are a couple good ideas that I can wholeheartedly approve.

1. Hop Museum – This would be my first stop. Even a small museum would probably hold some excellent hop knowledge.
2. Bale Breaker Brewing – This is one of the breweries that I really want to visit. The whole idea of being on the farm AND the brewery is great.

Check out all the ideas for a long weekend trip HERE.

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The Firkin for March 2018


I was listening to the Beervana podcast while navigating my way to a beer fest when the topic of Desert Island hops was brought up. Host Patrick Emerson and Jeff Alworth discussed what five hops they would want access to to keep their beer needs satisfied.

I thought it made for an interesting reasonings for what one finds inmportant especially considering that the other main beer ingredients, except maybe for yeast, can’t really be debated. Hard water or Soft? Please. Malts are super important but no one is ordering a beer based on it. Though you could argue they should.

Anyway, here are my choices….

1. Saaz – gotta have this crisp pilsner hop available.
2. Cascade – this is the base IPA hop.
3. East Kent Goldings – a heritage hop that I can’t imagine not being around
4. Nelson Sauvin – the best example of Southern Hemisphere hops.
5. an experimental hop – I want to have something fresh and new around as well since #independent beer is based on what’s next.