El Dorado Hops

[Michael Kelly]

Has anybody used El Dorado hops? I was asked by a pro-brewer (Brew-pub) to brew a test batch to evaluate the flavor. I understand simcoe hops will be in short supply this year. If your not under contract your out of luck. Also the spot market is out. I,m getting this info from my pro-brewer friend. Their contract got screwed up and simcoe was left out. The supplier suggested El Dorado as a replacement for Simcoe. From what I can find out on the internet people are describing the flavor as watermelon, and passion fruit. The aroma of the pellets when I crush some in my hands is wonderful, I don't get fruit aromas. I was going to use them in my base line Pale Ale, the AA% is 14. I,m thinking of just adding El Dorado at knock out, and whirlpool. Any feed back would be appreciated.
MK

[Michael Kelly]

Wow, 96 people have looked at this and not one has even made a comment.
OK.....Anybody ever heard of El Dorado Hops?

[snowcapt]

Wow, 96 people have looked at this and not one has even made a comment.
OK.....Anybody ever heard of El Dorado Hops?

I havent heard of em. I am looking in my BYO Hop Lover's Guide, and apparently, they haven't either.

What are the specs?

[Michael Kelly]

Snowcapt, Thanks for taking the time to reply.
AA% 14-16
Beta% 7-8
Cohumulone 28-30%
Caryophytlene 6-8%
Farnesene 0.1%
Humulene 10-15%
Myrcene 55-60%

[CRBrewHound]

If you are evaluating I would try brewing 2 identical recipes if possible 1 all simcoe and 1 all Ed Dorado Hops. You can still find some simcoe here and there on some sites. However, they have gotten right pricy and they are limiting purchase. At least that was the case last time I looked which was about 3 weeks ago when I was brewing my pale & Double IPA's for the spring.

I think a pale ale would be the right beer for evaluation so that you are focusing on hop character for flavor, without going overboard on bitterness like with IPA's.

[snowcapt]

MK, did you get them from the fabled city of lost gold? Have you used them? Also, are they an off-shoot of another variety? I am looking at the guide and it looks like the closest thing to them that I can see is Newport and Satus. Familiar with those?

[Hoser]

Never used them, never heard of them. From what I can tell they appear to be closer in flavor and aroma to citra than to simcoe. IMHO, there is no substitute for simcoe, but columbus is probably the closest. At any rate, a simple google search turned up a single hop project Flying Dog did with this hop:
http://www.flyingdognews.com/2011/02/17 ... el-dorado/
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/68/66891

The profile sounds very similar to calypso hops which I just ordered from hopsdirect.com out of curiosity, can't beat $8.95/lb :

Calypso Pellet Hop
Alpha Acid 12.0%
Dual Purpose Hop
Pleasant, fruity aroma, with hints of pear and apple
Typical Brewing Styles: Ales, Stouts and Barley Wines

Curious to hear what your results will be. I would just do a hop burst/dry hop schedule similar Jamil's Evil Twin clone if you want to evaluate the true essence of a single hop profile. Sometimes these newer varieties can be to "catty" if you use to much or isomerize them too much with long boil contact times.

[Michael Kelly]

All good stuff, CLS Farms in Moxee WA planted 1.5 acres last year. Their pretty tight lipped about their breeding program. I got a pound of pellets from a pro-brewer. He wants me to brew a pilot batch for him to taste. CLS Farms even coptyrighted a logo for EL Dorado Hops check it out on Facebook. Has any body tried the Flying dog IPA with El Dorado Hops?