What is your favourite English hop variety?

[Peatbogbrewer]

Challenger, love loads of it in summer pale, i also like Bramling X, which i have neglected for while.......

[Haydnexport]

Ive got a fair bit of brambling x , what do you brew with it?

[BigMouth]

I brewed with bramling x in a dark beer where it gave a licorice taste and in a pale where it lent blackcurrant notes.
I really don't know if I liked either too much. Nice but unusual. Not for session beers but neat in a speciality.

[seymour]

I highly recommend Nonsuch hops. Forum member timbo kindly mailed me some Nonsuch hops from A Bushel of Hops http://abushelofhops.co.uk/shop/

As you may know, in the 1940s, Professor E. S. Salmon at Wye College, Kent, directed a hops breeding program intended to produce new varieties by crossing English brewing classics with wild North American hops for improved yield and disease resistance. Many of his results are still well-known and going strong today: Northern Brewer, Brewers Gold, Bullion, Northdown, Bramling Cross, etc. Salmon produced many other new varieties with desirable growing traits, but they were rejected for being too boldly aromatic and flavorful for ultra-conservative English brewers and drinkers at that time. Examples include Pride of Kent, Keyworth’s Early, Keyworth’s Midseason, Nonsuch, Sunshine, Early Promise, Early Choice, Quality Hop, Fillpocket, etc.

Nowadays though, in the world of kick-you-in-the-face IPA hop bombs, brewers and drinkers want the boldest hops possible, so a few English hop growers are reviving those “lost” English hybrids to see if they’ll become more popular nowadays. There’s really no reason English born and bred hops can’t be as exciting and diverse as the highly coveted American, Australian, and New Zealand varieties.

I didn’t have enough Nonsuch to do a proper single hop brew which is the ideal way to observe bitterness, aroma, and flavour. I used the entire 100g packet of Nonsuch hops as dry hops in a cask of our basic British Bitter which is mildly hopped with Goldings. I know that base beer well enough to recognize the new aromas and flavours produced by the Nonsuch.

To my palate (your mileage may vary), Nonsuch was very bold indeed, like a New World hop, featuring bitter orange marmalade, lemon zest, grassy, a little weedy and vegetal in a good way like Northdown, juicy, apricots, green grapes, kiwi and strawberry. NOT pine resiny, black peppery, earthy, herbal. Very unique, especially for an old English variety. Reminded me of aspects of Sorachi Ace, Nelson Sauvin, Rakau.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em!

[Dennis King]

I'm drinking a beer at the moment that I brewed with Keyworth early and it is a pleasant beer, not earth shattering but pleasant.

[seymour]

I'm drinking a beer at the moment that I brewed with Keyworth early and it is a pleasant beer, not earth shattering but pleasant.

Interesting. I dry-hopped another cask with Keyworth Early, and will tap it very soon. I've used Keyworth Midseason in three brews, and like them very much. Very English: woodsy, earthy, resiny, floral. I can't really tell these apart from Fuggles, though Keyworth Midseason might just be a tad more intense. Works beautifully in dark English ales.

[Dennis King]

Fuggles like is a good description.

[McMullan]

I'm drinking a beer at the moment that I brewed with Keyworth early and it is a pleasant beer, not earth shattering but pleasant.

Do hops need to be 'earth shattering', though? No, they don't, IMO. Fuggles has survived for a very good reason. That's all I'm gonna say

[Dennis King]

I'm drinking a beer at the moment that I brewed with Keyworth early and it is a pleasant beer, not earth shattering but pleasant.

Do hops need to be 'earth shattering', though? No, they don't, IMO. Fuggles has survived for a very good reason. That's all I'm gonna say

Agree, I'm thinking people will think they are something different but they are just another decent English hop and I love English hops.

[McMullan]

They're the dog's bollocks. Not a flash in the kettle...

[Dennis King]

Brewing a porter at the weekend using only Fuggles

[McMullan]

Brewing a porter at the weekend using only Fuggles

[alexlark]

Best brew I've done is a pale with lots of EKG.

[McMullan]

Best brew I've done is a pale with lots of EKG.

Another classic English hop. One that's survived for a good reason too

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

I have posted elsewhere on ideas for using Boadicea and Olicana (have some First Gold too). I am wanting to go down the way of an all english pale ale / bitter style, but I dont have a flavour reference for the hops in question.

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=79604

Closest I got was an english IPA (all goldings ~ 500g in 50L), beer was good, but lacked a bit of hop complexity.