your favorite noble hop

[Jimsal]

For a Vienna Lager, Hallertau is a better choice. I like Sterling a lot but it's got a relatively fruity profile compared to Hallertau. For a beer that's malt-forward like that, a good charge of Hallertau at 60 and just bit at 10 minutes will give you a good balance.

I think I will take your advcie

 

[Iliff Avenue Brewhouse]

For a Vienna Lager, Hallertau is a better choice. I like Sterling a lot but it's got a relatively fruity profile compared to Hallertau. For a beer that's malt-forward like that, a good charge of Hallertau at 60 and just bit at 10 minutes will give you a good balance.

I do agree with this. As far as the recipe I personally would back off the crystal malt considerably or remove it all together. Just my opinion.

 

[Nosybear]

I do agree with this. As far as the recipe I personally would back off the crystal malt considerably or remove it all together. Just my opinion.

Agreed. Crystal really has no place in a Vienna Lager. And considering proximity, Saaz is likely the hop of choice, although Sterling is a pretty good replacement. German beers are all about process and as I've discovered, it's hard to replace the process with ingredients. A good, 100% Vienna malt will make a good Vienna lager, no need to tart it up, unless tarting is what you want to do with your beer!

 

[Hogarthe]

I always heard "noble hop" meant it was a traditional hop that was grown in the place it originated. So Hallertau grown in the Hallertau region of Germany is noble, but U.S. grown Hallertau is not. And by this definition EKG counts as noble as well.

 

[Iliff Avenue Brewhouse]

I always heard "noble hop" meant it was a traditional hop that was grown in the place it originated. So Hallertau grown in the Hallertau region of Germany is noble, but U.S. grown Hallertau is not. And by this definition EKG counts as noble as well.

There are apparently 4 noble hops (Hallertau Mit, Spalt, Tettnang, & Saaz) but for some reason I thought there was 5. EKG is not a noble hop.

https://beerandbrewing.com/noble-hops-cheat-sheet/

 

[Medarius]

I always heard "noble hop" meant it was a traditional hop that was grown in the place it originated. So Hallertau grown in the Hallertau region of Germany is noble, but U.S. grown Hallertau is not.

Don't know about noble designation but from what I have read hops are like grapes, you can grow the same hops in Germany or Oregon but the soil ph & climate make a big difference in quality ,flavor etc.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I'm a big fan of all noble varieties, I use Magnum in every brew, I also use Hallertauer Mittelfrueh, hersbrucker, perl and Mandarina Bavaria for a good finish, there all good really, not very strong so you need to add enough for your tastes, I really haven't found a noble hop I didn't like, the only issue is availability, fresh saaz is always sold out as well as Mittelfrueh so I grab them when I can, hersbrucker seems to be my go to now just because its more available than Mittelfrueh which is my favorite, I can never get a hold of saaz in large quantities so I stopped tying

 

[Iliff Avenue Brewhouse]

I'm a big fan of all noble varieties, I use Magnum in every brew, I also use Hallertauer Mittelfrueh, hersbrucker, perl and Mandarina Bavaria for a good finish, there all good really, not very strong so you need to add enough for your tastes, I really haven't found a noble hop I didn't like, the only issue is availability, fresh saaz is always sold out as well as Mittelfrueh so I grab them when I can, hersbrucker seems to be my go to now just because its more available than Mittelfrueh which is my favorite, I can never get a hold of saaz in large quantities so I stopped tying

Are you saying that Mandarina Bavaria is a noble hop? There are only 4 or 5 traditional 'noble' hops.

 

[Nosybear]

Are you saying that Mandarina Bavaria is a noble hop? There are only 4 or 5 traditional 'noble' hops.

Nope, not yet it isn't.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I think were cutting hairs here, it's grown in the same region just newer, I also think "some things, names" to say loosely are stuck in time and need to evolve as time goes on

 

[Iliff Avenue Brewhouse]

I think were cutting hairs here, it's grown in the same region just newer, I also think "some things, names" to say loosely are stuck in time and need to evolve as time goes on

Fair enough however the noble hops have been classified that way for hundreds of years. I don't think that's going to change. I guess it depends on people's perception of what a noble hop it. I always thougt it was pretty clear.

"The table below indicates the four classic noble hops, common names for the authentic landrace cultivars, and potentially confusing varieties that might be carelessly labeled. This isn’t to suggest that great beer can’t be made with these other varieties, but rather that you should know what you’re getting when you purchase hops."

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

my point exactly how old is that? and were getting off topic so the answer to op is I have no favorite, there all good

 

[Iliff Avenue Brewhouse]

my point exactly how old is that? and were getting off topic so the answer to op is I have no favorite, there all good

Well that's from an article two years ago. Sorry I thought the four noble hops was the subject. Sorry to veer...

My favorite is Hallertau Mittelfruh. Somehow I have never used Saaz but have a few ounces in the freezer ready to go.

 

[J A]

Fair enough however the noble hops have been classified that way for hundreds of years. I don't think that's going to change.

Here's a quote from a Beer and Brewing article:
"The term was created in the United States only sometime in the 1980s and has no technical meaning. It was meant to set apart from the world’s hundreds of hop varieties a select few, venerable Continental European ones with fairly low alpha acid and fairly high essential oil contents. These were initially the German Hallertauer Mittelfrueh, Spalter, and Tettnanger, and the Czech Saaz from the Žatec region of Bohemia."

That seems to be corroborated by a number of sources. Seems to me that as more and more varieties have been bred from the original lineage of the 4 traditional European variety, the term has been expanded to take in those hops. To me there's a certain underlying flavor that's the common thread - smooth, rich, earthy, slightly dank/skunky.

 

[Iliff Avenue Brewhouse]

I apologize. I thought it was a pretty standard designation. My bad. I honestly don’t worry about it too much and use a lot of what I previously considered ‘noblish’ hops. Maybe they are actually noble hops.

 

[J A]

I think we all assume that it's been around forever as a designation. I was surprised to learn that the term was popularized as recently as the 80s. I suppose the timing corresponds with the rise of craft brewing here in teh US and the desire for marketing to set beers apart with a connection to venerable brewing traditions and ingredients.
I seem to remember beer commercials back in the day making a big deal of the "noble hops" or "finest hallertau hops".

 

[Hawkbox]

Where's the beef!?

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I think we all assume that it's been around forever as a designation. I was surprised to learn that the term was popularized as recently as the 80s. I suppose the timing corresponds with the rise of craft brewing here in teh US and the desire for marketing to set beers apart with a connection to venerable brewing traditions and ingredients.
I seem to remember beer commercials back in the day making a big deal of the "noble hops" or "finest hallertau hops".

yes I think that whole thing was created by advertisers and it just stuck with no historical background and now the purist stamped it as a law and that's the issue I have with a lot of online copy and past articles, too many people believe everything they read and half of it just isn't true, I'm a big ranter of fake news just to get a buck, ok my rant's over

 

[Hawkbox]

That's kind of how I approach a lot of brewing. Something someone latched onto 20 years ago and people preach as gospel.

It's as close to a cargo cult as I've seen in North America. (Ignoring Anti-Vaxxers but don't get me started on that).

 

[Nosybear]

That's kind of how I approach a lot of brewing. Something someone latched onto 20 years ago and people preach as gospel.

It's as close to a cargo cult as I've seen in North America. (Ignoring Anti-Vaxxers but don't get me started on that).

Beer lore.