I think all of us brewers have a favorite ingredient to use. A hop that you just love to use, or that goto yeast that you grab every time.

For favorite grain and yeast, my picks are pretty clear,, but I’m gonna save those for a  later post. Today it’s the hops that I wanna look at.

But I can’t seem to narrow it down to one overall favorite hop. So I’m gonna cheat and do three hops. One for each region of beers I like best. An American Hop, a German hop, and what I’m going to use today, a British hop.

My pick for favorite British/UK style hop has got to be the Golding, or more specific, East Kent Golding to sound more snooty. The difference between the two really is negligible, and that gap widens and contracts each season or weather event.

UK Goldings are a big player in the UK beer styles. Much more in the late editions than say,,, Fuggles. Goldings have that earthy, noble hop characteristic that most people associate with the British style beers. I wouldn’t say pungent,, but there is something very faint like that going on. And they have a more rounded, or softer feel, in the bittering perception as compared with hops of similar Alpha acids.

I would say from my experience with them is that the Golding hop is a bit more pronounced in the earthyness and sometimes floral than your Fuggles, which can lean towards a citrusy note if used later in the boil.
Those two flavor points play good together and thats why you see them used together so much, and could be why Fuggles is sometimes described as dirt, when it’s infact probably the Goldings that’s it’s often pared with.

The US variety on the other hand starts moving the profile slightly. Fruitier and scant traces of citrus start showing up more than the earthy tones. Side by side with the UK versions, they are different animals, almost like the before mentioned mix of Goldings and Fuggles.

As far as the numbers go, your looking at a average 4-5% alpha 3ish% beta. So not a super bittering hop, and staying close to the  “noble ish” ratio.

I know a few brewers that grow them here in NE wisconsin and they have had widely varying luck. Some can get bushels of cones and 50 foot vines, while the next guy with roots taken from the same plants a few miles away can barely get them to grow.

It’s really a standout taste and aroma profile. So give the a shot.  Here is a proven 9stripe recipe to get ya going.