Next up are tasting notes from a beer I brewed with Nelson Sauvin. These were
12.1% AA from AHS. The raw hops reminded me of a typical west
coast Cascade/Centennial/Amarillo/etc type hop, but there is a distinct
fragrant white wine note on top of the citrus.
The nose of the
beer is much like the hops themselves. I pick up white grapefruit along
with a distinct, perfumey Fume Blanc/Gewurz-type white wine note.
The
flavor follows closely to what I get in the aroma. It's mainly ruby-red
grapefruit along with a floral/fruity white wine note. There is a bit
of a savory/herbal flavor component behind the wine, but I don't find it
to be very strong or off-putting to my palate. I also get a slight
resinous pine/juniper flavor as well.
I'm a big fan of Nelson.
This will definitely be in heavy rotation in my fruit-forward hoppy beers. I also
think this would be fantastic as a dry hop in a sour beer. In addition, if you were looking for a hop to dry-hop a cider with, Nelson would be an excellent choice.
This tasting note is from a while back. Since I first taste-tested this brew, Nelson has become one of my main IPA hops. It's like a much more interesting C-hop. I've also used it to dry-hop a cider with moderate success. I definitely believe it is the right variety to dry-hop a cider with, I'm just not sure what the best hopping rate should be.
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