We brewed another SMaSH beer to get a handle on a hop variety that we don’t know too well. This beer used Enigma hops and we present this profile video so you can get our perspective on what this hop can do for you. Watch!
But Are They Enigmatic?
They are an Australian variety and the packet I bought was from the 2018 harvest. The alpha acid percentage listed on the package was 19%! I had Mike take a whiff of the pellets and they packed a punch.
That punch didn’t translate strongly into the aroma of the beer. It was very grassy to me. Mike found floral notes (Geraniums) the aroma and flavor, which was pleasant.
The commercial descriptors included raspberry, red currant, light tropical fruits, and pinot gris. We found that these were not really strong.
There was strong dank thing going on. We felt that these hops were be a nice early addition to a boil, maybe as a substitute to Warrior or Simcoe. Definitely blend them with stronger flavor hops.
Cheers and brew on!
Russ Yearout
Enigma, according to J. Haas, is supposed to resemble Nelson Sauvin, without the dankness. You found plenty of dankness, and we both found little to suggest wine characteristics. I used a heavy amount, roughly 3.5#/ bbl dry hop rate. I added what was supposed to be a very citrus forward hop, Pacifica. I believe in the end it needed an additional citrus punch, as I blended in an ipa which was a citrus bomb, and the results were very good. I’d say a revision or two and it might end up being a very good hop in my IPAs without resorting to Citra and Mosaic all the time.
John
Thank you for the comment, Russ!