New american hop varieties

[dreadskin69]

Hi guys,
Anyone heard of any new hop varieties coming online for 2016? It's been a while since the likes of equinox came along.
Also any Americans tried out medusa?
I'm particularly interested in the big fruity and piney types.
Cheers?

[Jocky]

Eureka - previously known as 'Experimental Pine Fruit', has a brew day and tasting break down here: http://brulosophy.com/2015/08/20/the-ho ... ine-fruit/

[legion]

Those Eureka hops do sound interesting, may have to give em a try.

Malt Miller sell Lemon Drops - 4.4% Alpha

This is a new U.S. variety released in 2014 with Cascade parentage. Used late and/or for dry hopping in a wide range of ales but especially IPA and saisons where the true lemon flavour will showcase.

Plus at geterbrewed
jarrylo (pronounced Jar-ril-low) is named after Jarilo, the Slavic god of fertility and springtime.
Jarrylo's banana, pear, spice aroma translates perfectly to Pale Ales, Saisons and Belgians.
Aroma: banana; grassy; pear; orange; spicy; fruit


Pekko is named for the Finnish God of Field and Crops.
Pekko’s complex and clean characteristics of floral, citrus, and mint lend itself to many different styles of beer.
Aroma: clean; pleasant; floral; citrus; mint; herbal; mellow; pineapple; thyme; saaz-like cucumber; sage; touch of lemon

[seymour]

The newest I've tried was Azacca, and I loved it: Schlafly Hop Trial - Azacca

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
Azacca®, named for the Haitian god of agriculture, is a brand-new American dwarf hop cultivar big in citrus and tropical fruit tones. Its excellent aromatic qualities have quickly made Azacca® popular for late and dry-hop additions in varying beer styles. As usual, we dry-hopped this trial Pale Ale with 1.5 lbs/bbl.

This is the review I published:

Aroma 8 out of 10, Appearance 4 out of 5, Taste 7 out of 10, Palate 4 out of 5, Overall 17 out of 20, = 4.0 Ratebeer rating

Tasted on tap at The Bottleworks in a nonic pub glass. It poured a crystal-clear golden colour with thick and creamy white foam, everlasting with lots of nice lace. Much improved appearance compared to past Schlafly Hop Trials. Basic pale malt traits, faintly biscuity, very little residual sweetness, the overall balance obviously dominated by hops. Based on this trial, Azacca hops have a strong but smooth bitterness, intense and distinctive but not nearly as rough as most other new high-alpha varieties. Intense flavours too: broadleaf weeds, herbal tea, black pepper, black currant, grapefruit rind, wildflower honey, overripe apricots, radish, cedar, faint curry spices. The aroma seemed sweeter than the beer actually tasted, hinting at candy/caramel, very floral, clementine oranges. This single hop is extremely complex, all familiar traits but seldom found in one place. I would compare this to a beer using Perle and Columbus for bittering, Amarillo, Cluster, Simcoe and Mosaic for flavour, Crystal and First Gold for aroma. I know, right?! Light body, strong carbonation, pleasant alcoholic warmth, surprisingly dry finish, lingering hoppy aftertaste but no stickiness. Very tasty.

[Aaron]

Has anyone had brewing success with these new hops yet? Interested to know what's worth trying.

Pekko, ADHA 529,527, Jarrylo etc?

[seymour]

Some more new US hops (to me at least) I've tasted this year include:

I enjoyed Stone Go To IPA which contains Hopsteiner Experimental 06300, but blended with Mosaic, Citra, Ahtanum, Cascade, Crystal, El Dorado, Magnum, and Sterling, so it was hard to discern much.

I enjoyed Oskar Blues Pinner Throwback IPA which contains, Hopsteiner Experimental 07270, but blended with Mosaic, Citra, Azacca, El Dorado, Calypso, Cascade, Centennial, so it was hard to discern much.

I enjoyed Anchor IPA which contains HBC 431, but blended with Cascade, Apollo, Citra, Nelson Sauvin, so it was hard to discern much.

I don't know how new they are, but I got some Super Galena/Hopsteiner 9908 to experiment with, which I've enjoyed in Oskar Blues Dales Pale Ale, Stone Enjoy By IPA, and Urban Chestnut Wolpertinger.

Lemondrop was underwhelming, very blah, not nearly as lemony as hoped, just not great. I wanted to like it, but didn't. I've tasted it in three different brews with the same impression. I talked to a pro brewer who used a ton of Lemondrop dry hops and still didn't get much lemon. Your mileage may vary. To me First Gold, Progress, Styrian Goldings, and Sorachi Ace are more lemony, and are all much more interesting and flavourful overall. If you've tasted a beer with Lemondrop which you loved (such as Stone Delicious IPA) I'll bet big money you're actually digging the other dominant hop (in that case, El Dorado.)

Rogue Brewing brags about their new Alluvial, Freedom, Independent, Rebel, and Revolution hops grown on their own estate. I've tasted them all blended into delicious beers, but I'm not convinced they're all-new. Rogue lists each brew's ingredients on their bottles and website, and I've noticed these new "proprietary" hops started replacing familiar ones like Cascade, Perle, Willamette, Crystal, etc, without any resulting flavour changes in the final beer. So, I suspect these are more likely improved clones from their own field trials as opposed to truly unique hybrids. I could be wrong, but I'd like some proof.


Aaron, since you mentioned Equinox, this one might interest you the most:

Ales For ALS blend is comprised of 7 new varieties: 40% Equinox/HBC 366, 20% HBC291, 10% Mosaic/HBC 369, 10% HBC 620, 10% HBC 344, 5% HBC 438, 5% HBC 522
Check-out http://www.alesforals.com/HopBlend.aspx. Also, they are also offering HBC 438 directly to homebrewers at this hyperlink.

I got some Ales For ALS blend to brew with, probably in my next hop trial. But I tasted the Schlafly version, and here's what I thought (spoiler alert: meh. But I'm still intrigued enough to give 'em a spin myself.)

Schlafly Ales For ALS Amber
Aroma 6/10, Appearance 4/5, Taste 6/10, Palate 3/5, Overall 13/20 = 3.2
On tap at the Bottleworks in a nonic glass. It poured a slightly hazy reddish copper colour with thin, fast-subsiding white foam but lots of sticky lace. Intense aromas dominated by new-school American hops: broadleaf weeds, grass, tropical fruit, root vegetables, herbal, earthy spice. Flavour was definitely hops-forward too, very bitter with more of the aforementioned traits, but underneath was a nice biscuity, toasty, caramelly maltbill which presented more in the aftertaste. I didn’t especially love the overall balance, a bit too acidic, this hop blend was pretty harsh and rough-around-the-edges, with some faint unpleasant medicinal/chemical cleanser flaws too, but that's probably the dishwasher's fault.

Here's what I've gathered about the underlying experimental hops:

HBC 291: Floral, fruity, black pepper spice.

HBC 342: Good flavour and aroma: grapefruit, tropical fruit, melon.

HBC 344: Bred from Warrior. Strong flavours and aromas: green apple, tart stone fruit, tropical fruit.

HBC 431: Bold, unusual flavour and aroma: grass, tobacco, straw, wood, peach, pear, berries. High yielding, tidy growth habit, powdery mildew resistance.

HBC 438: Orange, cherry, plum, mango, mint, herbal, floral.

[Aaron]

Thanks for you insights Seymour.

I have actually brewed with equinox, a few times, and love it. I recently dryhopped a pale ale with equinox that had had a load of citra in the whirlpool and that is a tasty combo. Anyway, I got some ADHA 529 pellets, based solely on the commercial description. I'll be doing a smash with those.

[Aaron]

Seymour, that's a high rating you gave the Azacca single hop. What do you think azacca would pair well with? or best on its own?

How about Equinox?

[seymour]

Seymour, that's a high rating you gave the Azacca single hop. What do you think azacca would pair well with? or best on its own?...

You're right, I loved that Schlafly Azacca trial. Despite being a single-hop trial, the resulting beer was a fantastic APA in its own rite. I find it smoother than almost every other recent US hop, which (love it or hate it) have an extremely sharp, piercing bitterness. Azacca had lots of intense fruitiness and stuff going on, but without that severe bite. So yeah, I think it's great by itself for a hops-forward IPA kinda brew. I actually think if you were to blend any other US high-alpha hops with it you'd make the beer harsher, so a single-hop brew is a good idea. On the other hand, if you wanna go even softer in a relatively traditional malt-to-hops balance, I think Azacca would blend nicely with something English and citrusy like Goldings, First Gold, Challenger, etc. It all depends on what you're going for, of course. As you've gathered, I often tend to prefer the more tame, harmonious, well-rounded, non-kick-you-in-the-face-hop-bombs. Of course, I enjoy the whole range, as you must be discovering from my Ratebeer ratings, Simcoe Mild-esque recipes, etc.

In the time since my original post about Schlafly's Azacca brew, I tasted Azacca again in Oskar Blues Pinner Throwback IPA, which was also delicious, and probably more what you're going for. It's a crazy-hoppy A-IPA containing a blend of Mosaic, Citra, Azacca, El Dorado, Calypso, Hopsteiner Experimental 07270, Cascade, Centennial.

...How about Equinox?

I haven't personally brewed Equinox yet, but I've tasted it in two yummy single-hop trials, from Alpha and Schlafly (click links to Ratebeer reviews), and blended in two other commercial beers. Lagunitas Born Yesterday Fresh Hop Pale Ale was an intense wet-hopped brew with 11 lbs-per-barrel of Amarillo, Equinox, Simcoe, Citra, Mosaic. Lagunitas Equinox Ale blended Equinox with Simcoe, which had an intense bitter bite and extreme pine resiny flavour, but was very tasty if you're into that. Forum member Scuppeteer is a big hop-head, I like how his APA recipe looks with Amarillo and Equinox. I bet Ahtanum or Chinook or Crystal would pair nicely too. But personally, I'd likely brew it alone (but doubling-down on the malt complexity to support it: some pale rye malt, English dark crystal, maybe some Belgian Aromatic, pinch of Crisp Roasted Barley...) It's extremely complex and again, Equinox's bitterness is not as rough as Mosaic and others, so why risk mucking it up? If you're trying to save money, an English hop like Progress, Phoenix, Endeavour, or Flyer could be used to dilute it without too much of a trade-off.

Aaron, have you used Cluster? An oldie but a goodie, I have a feeling you'd love it.

[seymour]

...I got some ADHA 529 pellets, based solely on the commercial description. I'll be doing a smash with those.

Please let us all know how that goes for you. I'm really excited about all those new American dwarf hops. I truly believe dwarf hops are the way of the future, it just makes so much more sense agrinomically. Your English hop growers have been moving that direction for awhile, and until this batch of US hops (Azacca, Jarrylo, Pekko, ADHA-484, ADHA-527, ADHA-529) you guys had a lot more to show for those labours on your side of the pond.

I'm personally cross-breeding some new dwarf hybrid hops, so I'll let you know if I end up with something new and exciting. Cheers!

[scuppeteer]

Equinox is IMO the best new(ish) hop from the states, unfortunately like most US varieties this year its like rocking horse poo. As Seymour said my recipe is OK, but, and shame on me I know, I use the Amarillo for bittering only, all Equinox @ 10 mins and flame out. It is a nice hop.

Why on earth would you label a hop ADHA??? Sounds like you have an affliction of some sorts!

Or is it an acronym for Attention Disorder Hop Addict?

[Aaron]

Seymour, that's a high rating you gave the Azacca single hop. What do you think azacca would pair well with? or best on its own?...

You're right, I loved that Schlafly Azacca trial. Despite being a single-hop trial, the resulting beer was a fantastic APA in its own rite. I find it smoother than almost every other recent US hop, which (love it or hate it) have an extremely sharp, piercing bitterness. Azacca had lots of intense fruitiness and stuff going on, but without that severe bite. So yeah, I think it's great by itself for a hops-forward IPA kinda brew. I actually think if you were to blend any other US high-alpha hops with it you'd make the beer harsher, so a single-hop brew is a good idea. On the other hand, if you wanna go even softer in a relatively traditional malt-to-hops balance, I think Azacca would blend nicely with something English and citrusy like Goldings, First Gold, Challenger, etc. It all depends on what you're going for, of course. As you've gathered, I often tend to prefer the more tame, harmonious, well-rounded, non-kick-you-in-the-face-hop-bombs. Of course, I enjoy the whole range, as you must be discovering from my Ratebeer ratings, Simcoe Mild-esque recipes, etc.

In the time since my original post about Schlafly's Azacca brew, I tasted Azacca again in Oskar Blues Pinner Throwback IPA, which was also delicious, and probably more what you're going for. It's a crazy-hoppy A-IPA containing a blend of Mosaic, Citra, Azacca, El Dorado, Calypso, Hopsteiner Experimental 07270, Cascade, Centennial.

...How about Equinox?

I haven't personally brewed Equinox yet, but I've tasted it in two yummy single-hop trials, from Alpha and Schlafly (click links to Ratebeer reviews), and blended in two other commercial beers. Lagunitas Born Yesterday Fresh Hop Pale Ale was an intense wet-hopped brew with 11 lbs-per-barrel of Amarillo, Equinox, Simcoe, Citra, Mosaic. Lagunitas Equinox Ale blended Equinox with Simcoe, which had an intense bitter bite and extreme pine resiny flavour, but was very tasty if you're into that. Forum member Scuppeteer is a big hop-head, I like how his APA recipe looks with Amarillo and Equinox. I bet Ahtanum or Chinook or Crystal would pair nicely too. But personally, I'd likely brew it alone (but doubling-down on the malt complexity to support it: some pale rye malt, English dark crystal, maybe some Belgian Aromatic, pinch of Crisp Roasted Barley...) It's extremely complex and again, Equinox's bitterness is not as rough as Mosaic and others, so why risk mucking it up? If you're trying to save money, an English hop like Progress, Phoenix, Endeavour, or Flyer could be used to dilute it without too much of a trade-off.

Aaron, have you used Cluster? An oldie but a goodie, I have a feeling you'd love it.

That's pretty much what I brewed last time I used equinox minus the roasted barley. Very nice brew. Lot's of spice from hops and crystal rye malt intermingling, and even some input from the yeast. I used WLP051. I think the key here was to not overdo it with the hops because equinox could easily overpower those, more delicate, malt flavours if you're heavy-handed.

I haven't used Cluster yet but i've got some in the freezer. I have a lot more beers to brew than I have fermentation space unfortunately, so the Cluster is in the queue along with the ADHA 529, and now the Azacca (which I just ordered). I also have some Archer in the freezer which I'm thinking of pairing with Azacca and a touch of Admiral for bittering.

Just out of interest what does roasted barley bring to a brew?

[seymour]

Roasted Barley or Black Malt at about 1%: a reddish tint and some very subtle, barely perceptible but delicious nuances like black licourice, tart cherry, almost burnt toast, campfire, Port wine.

[seymour]

...Why on earth would you label a hop ADHA??? Sounds like you have an affliction of some sorts! Or is it an acronym for Attention Disorder Hop Addict?

Scupps mate, I see your point but ADHA = American Dwarf Hop Association. That acronym is only a working title, as soon as they're proven in brewing trials they get an official name referencing fertility gods and such, much more to your liking.

[scuppeteer]

...Why on earth would you label a hop ADHA??? Sounds like you have an affliction of some sorts! Or is it an acronym for Attention Disorder Hop Addict?

Scupps mate, I see your point but ADHA = American Dwarf Hop Association. That acronym is only a working title, as soon as they're proven in brewing trials they get an official name referencing fertility gods and such, much more to your liking.

Its obviously a bigger enterprise your side of the pond, I think dwarfs here are a bit by the by now, except those that are already proven. Mostly looking at talls again for breeding programs. Its still a bloody funny name for an association though.
They should all be named as thus: Dwalin, Balin, Kili, Fili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and Thorin.