Hop qualities question

The most obvious one IMO is Coniston Bluebird - it usually has tons of Challenger hop flavour/aroma & not much bitterness(but seems to have less hoppiness in the most recent hepworth-brewed bottled version I tried)

IMO many traditional regional bitters have decent bitterness (30-40IBU) but often not much hoppiness.

Beers like Summer Lightning, JHB & Caley Deuchars IPA are all IMO hoppy & bitter.

hoppiness/hop aroma is the fruity, aromatic side of a beer, the particular flavour depends on the freshness & ripeness of the hops, the variety of hop and in using sufficient quantities late in the boil (or in the FV, cask) to get the flavour.

Coniston say Challengers have a Geranium flavour - it's been a while since I lunched on geranium, tho. Goldings have an orangey taste, Fuggles are earthier, Bramling X are supposed to be blackcurranty, Target IMO tastes like lemon sherbet(!), many US hops like Cascades have a typical grapefruit flavour.

Bitterness is the dry, bitter (doh!) even mouth-puckeringingly so, if highly bitter - I still remember my first pint of Brakspear ordinary (cue romantic music, soft focus & wistful far-away look . . .) which was extraordinarily bitter, but superb. cheers MikeMcG mic (underscore) mac (at) postmaster (dot) co (dot) uk

Ah, yes. Me too.

Excellent answer, many thanks.

- guy

Guy Snape9/9/03 9:27 AM

Let me know when it's ready Guy and I'll come down and help you with it.

CR :-)

I think the above applies to astringency as well as bitterness. For me, the difference is that bitterness affects the mid tongue forwards and astringency affects the mid tounge backwards.

hmmm, I'm not too good at pinpointing flavours specifically to regions of my tongue - I've seen that diagram which shows you where on your tongue you're supposed to taste sweet, salt, sour, etc - I have no problem tasting flavours, but apart from tasting 'finishes' on the back of my throat, I can't 'place' them to a specific tongue/mouth region :~)

I would have just described astringent as *unpleasantly bitter* (not necessarily from hops tho)

A good US homebrew chemistry book I have describes it (astringency) as an off-flavo(u)r - "Drying, puckering taste felt throughout the mouth. Can be tannin, vinegary, or tart sensation. Can also feel like metallic or powdery coating of mouth." (Brew Chem 101 - Lee W. Janson, Storey Publ 1996)

You'd be very welcome Chris, on two conditions:

Cheers,

- guy