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Beer Hop Varieties for Homebrewing – Know your Hops

Beer hop varieties for homebrewing. Are you famkegfridge.com Beer Hop Varieties for Homebrewingiliar with the common hops used for beer brewing?

Homebrewing is getting more and more popular. While its history goes way back to ancient times and it went through various prohibitions, people are finally really catching up now. With the advent of new technologies, homebrewing is made much more possible.

Lately, brewers have taken to growing their own hops, too. It makes sense. It gives them more control over the quality and taste of their brews. Growing hops at home is a great idea that is worth much consideration. What one only needs is a supplier of his/her preferred hops, a spacious land to plant the rhizomes in, the right amount of know-how, patience, and a lot of diligence.

The quality of the hops affects the quality of the brew. That is why it is important that if a brewer is going to cultivate hop plants in his/her own backyard, he/she needs to be more knowledgeable about them. That should help the grower decide which varieties to get. After all, raising these plants will actually take many months. It would be a waste if, at the end of it all, the brew turns out bad.

Some Things to Think About

Before making the commitment to growing hops for brewing, it’s important to consider a few things.

First, since the weather is a factor in growing hops, find out the speed at which plants grow in a certain location. If the area allows a shorter growing period, then it would be better to get a variety that develops fast. That could very well be to the owner’s advantage since the quicker they develop, the longer to enjoy the plants.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture can help identify hardy plants through its Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM). It is…

“…the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location. The map is based on the average annual minimum winter temperature, divided into 10-degree F zones.” (USDA PHZM)

“The zones are based on the average annual lowest winter temperature in a location, and each numeric zone spans 10 degrees (F) and is further divided into 5-degree ‘a’ and ‘b’ sections.” (The Seattle Times)

Based on the map, zones 3 to 8 can handle the hardy hops. If a brewer in Washington State, Oregon or Idaho is interested in growing hops, he/she must first check out the state’s local restrictions. It pays to be well-informed.

See also: Different Beer Styles – Know Your Beer

Beer Hop Varieties

To help craft brewers who are hops growers or aspiring growers decide, these are the varieties of hops that they may consider. There are actually more. But first, learn the Three Hops Categories:

Aroma hops – lower alpha acid percentage, associated with good aroma, finishing or conditioning hop

Bitter hops – higher alpha acid percentage, used in the boiling process to extract bitterness

Dual-purpose hops – have qualities of both aroma hops and bitter hops

Now, below are just some of the many Varieties of Hops:

Cascade

  • most beer hop variety — very successful and well-established
  • from Fuggle and Serebrianka (a Russian variety)
  • aroma-type cultivar
  • character: floral, spicy, citrus-like, slight grapefruit, balanced bittering potential, excellent vigor, and yield
  • aroma: floral, spicy citrus, hints of grapefruit
  • commercial examples: Pale Ales, India Pale Ales (IPAs), Porters
  • substitutes: Centennial and Columbus (they have higher alpha acid content), Amarillo, Ahtanum

Centennial

  • one of the most popular varieties
  • aroma-type cultivar
  • also known as “Super Cascade” for the strong citrus aroma
  • similar to cascade and Chinook
  • composition: 3/4 Brewers Gold, 3/32 Fuggle, 1/6 East Kent Golding, 1/32 Bavarian and 1/16 Unknown
  • character: useful for bittering and aroma purposes, earthy and floral with an element of citrus
  • aroma: lemon and floral
  • commercial examples: Ales, IPAs
  • substitutes: Chinook, Galena, Nugget, Zeus, Columbus, Cascade (US)

Chinook

  • good dual-purpose hop
  • green bine cultivar
  • composition: a cross between a Petham Golding and a USDA-selected male (63012M)
  • character: pine-like, spicy bouquet with robust flavors of grapefruit, alpha acid content from 12% to 14%
  • aroma: grapefruit, spice, pine
  • commercial examples: most beer styles from Pale Ales to Lagers
  • substitutes: Galena, Eroica, Nugget, Bullion, Columbus, Northern Brewer, Target

Columbus

  • high alpha variety
  • often referred to as part of “CTZ” (similar high alpha bittering varieties: Columbus, Tomahawk®, Zeus) but genetically distinct from Zeus hops
  • composition: sharp and herbal due to its valuable oil content
  • character: good herbal flavor with a lemon citrus back note, useful for bittering purposes (high rank on the bittering scale)
  • aroma: punchy hoppiness and deep, pensive aroma with understated citrus notes — black pepper, licorice, curry, subtle citrus
  • commercial examples: American IPAs, Pale Ales, Stout, Lager
  • substitutes: Zeus, Chinook, Northern Brewer, Nugget, Target, Warrior®, Millenium, Bullion

Beer Hop Varieties for Homebrewing

Comet

  • dual-purpose hops
  • character: great bittering and assertive aroma notes, a strong accent of grapefruit, dank resin flavors
  • aroma: grassy, grapefruit, “Wild American”
  • substitutes: Galena, Summit™

Crystal

  • a popular beer hop variety among craft brewers
  • triploid aroma-type cultivar
  • character: versatile beer style, woodsy, green, floral, fruity with herb and spice notes of cinnamon, black pepper, and nutmeg, spicier than Hallertau
  • aroma: includes woody and green, earthy, herbal
  • commercial example: German-style Pilsner, Lager, Kölsch, ESB, Belgian Ales
  • substitutes: any Hallertau variety like German Hallertau, Mount Hood, Liberty, Ultra, Strisselspalter, Hersbrucker

Fuggle

  • once the most prominent English hop, used to be known as dual-use hop
  • also known as “Fuggles” and “Fuggle UK”
  • often compared to and used in conjunction with Golding hops
  • character: slightly stronger than the English version, similar to Styrian Golding
  • aroma: includes mild, woody, grass, mint, distinctly European, earthier and less sweet than Kent Goldings
  • commercial example: English-style beers (particularly Stout), American Ales
  • substitutes: Fuggle (US), Willamette, Styrian Golding, Tettnanger, Newport

See also: The Difference Between Ale and Lager

Hallertau

  • German Hallertau
    • also known as “Hallertau”, “Hallertauer”, “Hallertauer Mittelfrüher” and “Hallertau Mittelfruh”
    • character: lightly floral, spicy
    • aroma: floral and spicy
  • Hallertau Blanc
    • daughter of Cascade
    • character: flavor of white wine, fruity, of gooseberry and grass quality, similar to Sauvignon Blanc’s
    • aroma: cassis, elderflower, grapes, grapefruit, lemongrass, notes of passionfruit, pineapple and gooseberry
    • substitute: Nelson Sauvin
  • Hallertau (US)
    • also known as “US Hallertau”
    • Bavarian-style hop
    • composition: low alpha acids, high humulene
    • character: mild, floral, delicately spicy
    • aroma: floral, spicy
    • substitutes: Mount Hood, Liberty, Crystal, Hallertauer Mittelfrüh, Hallertauer Tradition, Ultra
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Golding (US)

  • England’s finest hop
  • English aroma-type
  • also known as “US Golding”, “US Goldings”, “Northwest Goldings”
  • character: balanced bitterness, moderate yielding, floral tones, fruit, herbs
  • aroma: delicate English-style aroma, mild, very pleasant floral aroma, a bit of spice, fruity, herbal
  • commercial example: All English-style beers (Ales, ESB, Bitter), Belgian-style Ales
  • substitutes: East Kent Golding, Fuggle, Willamette, Progress, Whitbread Golding

Magnum

  • high alpha cultivar
  • also known as “Yakima Magnum” (for Magnum US), “Hallertau Magnum” (for the European Magnum)
  • character: mild flavor, subtle spice and fruit characteristics, used as the base bittering variety
  • aroma: low floral to subtle citrus, usually no distinct aroma
  • commercial example: have 12-15% alpha acid — Ales, Lagers, IPAs
  • substitutes: for Magnum (US) – Magnum, Horizon, Northdown, Northern Brewer;
  • for Magnum in Europe – Hallertauer Taurus, Columbus, Nugget

Mount Hood

  • triploid aroma-type cultivar
  • also known as “Mt. Hood/Mt Hood”
  • half-sister to Crystal, Ultra and Liberty
  • Hallertauer triploid hybrid (similar to German Hallertau and German Hersbrucker)
  • character: good yield, good vigor, punchy flavor when brewed
  • aroma: noble hop aroma, includes herbal, pungent and spicy
  • commercial example: Lagers, Pilsners, Bocks, Wheat, Alt, Helles beers
  • substitutes: Crystal, Strisselspalter, Hersbrucker

Northern Brewer (US)

  • dual-purpose hops
  • character: herbal, wood and peppery, useful for bittering purposes in combination with other hops, suitable for brewing, a cross between Northern Brewer and a Native American variety
  • aroma: includes evergreen, woody, mint, earthy, fruity
  • commercial example: IPA, Pale Ale, Hefeweizen
  • substitutes: Northern Brewer, Chinook

See also: Homebrewing 101: The Complete Start Guide

Nugget

  • daughter of Brewer’s Gold and mother of Millennium
  • tastes great in a Session IPA and Red IPAs
  • composition: super alpha acid content, low beta, and low cohumulone
  • character: light flavor, minty bittering and good “green hop” aromas, primarily a bittering hop
  • aroma: mild, pleasant, herbal, floral, resiny
  • commercial example: Ales, Stouts
  • substitute: Galena

Serebrianka

  • sometimes also known as “Silver” or “Silver Hop”
  • parent to Cascade
  • composition: has high humulene and farnesene
  • character: pleasant and largely continental aroma and taste with hints of black tea, herbs and tobacco
  • aroma: includes black tea, herbs, tobacco

Sterling

  • an aroma variety
  • composition: very high farnesene and very low caryophyllene due to the unusual oil content
  • character: noble hop characteristics, spicy, citrus, herbal
  • aroma: includes floral, citrus, spicy, herbal
  • substitute: Saaz

Tettnanger (US)

Beer Hop Varieties for Homebrewing - kegfridge.com

  • also known as “US Tettnanger” and “American Tettnanger:
  • typically used in lager and pilsner style beers
  • character: fine and noble, slightly spicy
  • aroma: includes noble hops characteristics, floral
  • substitutes: Spalter Select, Santiam, Czech Saaz, Spalt

Willamette

  • once the US’ most widely-grown aroma variety
  • a triploid aroma hop
  • sister to Columbia
  • character: modest bittering value and sublime blend of flowers, fruit, earth and spice notes
  • aroma: includes floral, incense, elderberry
  • commercial example: Ales, Lagers
  • substitutes: Fuggle, Styrian Golding, Tettnanger (US), Glacier, Styrian Golding

Zeus

  • often referred to as part of “CTZ” (similar high alpha bittering varieties: Columbus, Tomahawk®, Zeus)
  • character: sweet citrus, herbal, spicy
  • aroma: includes pungent hoppy, black pepper, licorice, curry, herbal, sweet citrus
  • substitute: Columbus

Those, as mentioned, are just a few of the hops varieties that a homebrewer could consider should he/she decides to continue growing hops. Hopefully, these will help in the decision-making.

Meanwhile, any brewer should seriously consider how to properly store the brew once it is done. The best way is to find a place or something that should keep it fresh, chilled and long-lasting. Luckily, it won’t be hard to find. Kegerators are the perfect answer to this.

Keg Fridge knows a lot about quality kegerators. In fact, they can provide brewers with the right kegerators they need. They are also knowledgeable about homebrewing so any questions one might have, the people at Keg Fridge would most probably be able to answer.

For more information, visit us at the official Keg Fridge site.

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