Boadicea and Sovereign

Ingredients
1

Whats everyones take on Boadicea and Sovereign hops? Just wondering if they are worth trying or not.

2

I have tried Boadicea only of the two. It was a goofy hop, that I still dont have a full decision made on. It seemed to have a lot of earthy flavor character, and a super strong vegetable/earthy note on the nose that faded with time, but not in the near term more like 2 months.

The thing that keeps me on the fence though is it gave all recipes a strange flavor complexity I have not gained from other hops or combos that kept me coming back even though the aroma was off-putting. I have a scheme on the docket to bitter/flavor with Boadicea and use either Centennial, Amarillo or Simoce or a use of two late in the boil etc… to bomb out the aromas from Boadicea but gain the added complexity I find with it.

If I was real adventurous I would bitter a Pils with it and use Saaz or Tett in the aroma department, But lagers are mad work (although a labor of love of course) I would be awful pissed to totally wreck a Pils though so this is on the far, far away train of thought still.

I vacuum packed and froze a divided up pound back in '08 during the “Hop Crisis” and they seem to be gold still as I just made a beer last fall with 'em and still have 10 ounce because as described above I am just trigger shy because of the off putting aroma. But they are worth a try for sure, just buy an ounce or two instead of a pound like I did.

Edit* Say I was poking around looking to see if any updated info was around the net and didn’t realize 400# monkey IPA was made with Boadicea and Sovereign. Given I haven’t had that brew for over 6 years, so I will have to sit down with it again and see if cloning should be thought about further. I remember liking it, but clarity about details simply is not there anymore.

http://www.lefthandbrewing.com/beers/400-lb-monkey
3

Thanks for the input and posting the link. I was definitely thinking just a few oz’s to try first. Looks like I may have to try the 400lb monkey before making a purchase.

4

[quote=“ITsPossible”]
Edit* Say I was poking around looking to see if any updated info was around the net and didn’t realize 400# monkey IPA was made with Boadicea and Sovereign. Given I haven’t had that brew for over 6 years, so I will have to sit down with it again and see if cloning should be thought about further. I remember liking it, but clarity about details simply is not there anymore.

http://www.lefthandbrewing.com/beers/400-lb-monkey[/quote]

I just tasted the 400lb monkey
http://criticaltastings.blogspot.com/2012/01/left-hand-brewing-company-400-pound.html
for my blog not too long ago. I’m not sure what the exact hopping schedule is, but there was spice and fruit from the hops in the aroma. The flavoring hops was a big spice note with some pine, herbal and oaky/woodiness. Not really sure what comes from what, but I really like the combo.

5

Tried 400lb Monkey yesterday. I’m not a huge LH fan, but this beer wasn’t bad. May have to plan a batch for these hops.