For my test I selected 13 different hop varietals to test: US Glacier, US Apollo, US Calypso, UK Challenger, US Mosaic, US Citra, US Bravo, US Simcoe, NZ Nelson Sauvin, NZ Pacific Jade, NZ Pacific Hallertau (aka Pacifica), Golden Road Brewing NZ Moteuka (Supplied for the GABF Mystery Hops Competition), NZ Moteuka (HopUnion).
In regards to doing the actual dry hopping... I used 16 oz aluminum Miller Lite Cans with resealable screw tops. My standard dry hop size for a batch is around 3 ounces, which is 85 grams. Assuming 54 bottles per 5 gallon batch that puts the dry hop per a 12 oz bottle at 1.5 grams. Since the bottles are 16 oz, that puts the dry hop amount at 2 grams per a bottle. Pellets were weighed on a lab scale with an error of +/- 1 mg, so measurements were exactly 2 grams per bottle. Bottles were opened, hops were added and a drop of biofine was added to each bottle. Hops were left at room temp for 5 days before being moved to the fridge for 3 days to clear.
Interestingly, I tasted the hop character of some bottles at 3 days, and it was night and day compared to the 5 day mark (+ 3 day crash cool). The hops Citra and Mosaic had little to no flavor and tasted somewhat grassy and weak whereas at the 5 day mark they were potent as hell (read description below). Notably, this is similar to what I've seen in my 5 gallon batches when I tried to shift to the 3 day dry hop scheme as opposed to my standard 7 day schedule.
So, after all that, here are my tasting notes on the hop varietals I dry hopped Miller Lite with:
US Glacier
Aroma: Pineapple, berry, slight citrus (orange peel)
Taste: Earthy, straw, soapy, slight tart citrus (orange peel)
Misc: Surly Bitter Brewer (Great beer BTW) is an all US Glacier beer, and it has a strong straw and tart citrus flavor, suggesting that maybe what Glacier contributes in the boil as well.
US Apollo
Aroma: Plant stems, straw, musty closet, weed, grapefruit
Taste: Onion (not sweet), harsh and lingering bitterness, dirt covered grapefruit, skunk
Misc: This hop has a great grapefruit and onion character when used in the boil (personal experience). Incredibly potent, and cheap as hell. Don't use it as a SMaSH beer hop (I did) because it will come out way to potent and exhibit some off flavors (ONION! FOOT! ARMPIT!) in addition to grapefruit.
Aroma: Honey, apricots, floral, reminiscent of ice wine
Taste: White wine (sweet), melon, lemon, clean grapefruit, sweet tea
Aroma: Apple, sharp citrus (orange), fresh cut daisies
Taste: Flower stems, slight tartness, fresh cut daisies
Aroma: Peaches, passionfruit, slight funkiness/dankness
Taste: Passionfruit (HUGE), subtle dankness, peach
Misc: Like a mix of Galaxy, Citra and Nelson. I dissed this hop when I first tried it, but stand corrected.
Aroma: Lychee, tropical fruit (Guava, pineapple, passion fruit), peaches
Taste: Lychee, tropical fruit (Guava, pineapple, passion fruit), melon (cantaloupe), grapefruit, acidic
Misc: Boil use is more tinged to tropical fruit, less grapefruit more lychee, guava and passionfruit. Potent as a dry hop, but still very well rounded.
Aroma: Grapes, miscellaneous fruitiness, faint citrus
Taste: A bit bland (Same as commercial brews using this as sole hop): faint grapes, tart citrus, chalkyness with a touch of spice
Misc: Not a fan of this hop in anything I've tried it in (Commercial or Dry hopped Miller Lite). Curious to try it in a friends homebrew that I've been sitting on.
Aroma: Peaches, passionfruit, pineapple, catty/musky, faint pine
Taste: Spicy, peaches, pine, cat whiz
Aroma: Musty, dank (pot), funky white wine
Taste: Big musty white wine and dankness. Slight peach flavor coming through.
Aroma: Huge dankness (e.g. pot), earthy, black pepper, orange rind, just punchy/strong flavors across the board
Taste: Spicy, dank, strong citrus rind, dry wine
Misc: Nelson Sauvin with amped up with citrus and pepper flavors/aroma. Awesome.
Aroma: Strong dankness (Nelson like), earthy, musky citrus, slight skunk
Taste: Mild dankness, earthy, strong citrus lingers in finish, some white wine
Misc: One of my favorite hops. Mixed 50% Pacifica, 25% Citra, 25% Mosaic = dankness with ludicrous amounts of tropical fruit.
Aroma: Very marijuana like, skunky (as in animal), citrus (orange, pineapple), dirt, stemmy
Taste: Funky (toe jam), marijuana, citrus (orange, pineapple), maui onion, spicy
Aroma: Cantaloupe, honey dew melon, flowers, honey, mango, peaches
Taste: Melon (Cantaloupe, honey dew) for days, pineapple, citrus (lemon & orange rind), peaches
Misc: Pretty amazing hop. In stark contrast to the GRB Moteuka, this one is amazing and will be used soon. 40% Moteuka, 40% Citra, 20% Pacifica is an awesome blend.
