What is your favourite American hop variety?

[seymour]

Well I am from UK and have been told many times that Europe grows only girly sissy hops unlike the manly hops from America in some cases I would agree but I wouldn't use girly sissy to describe English and European hops I would use refined, maybe at a push regal...

Certainly refined BG. The best example of the English Terroir is Cascade, the over rated and overused American hop! The English grown one is much more subtle and gives the same flavours to a beer without smelling of Cat Piss when you open a bale. Its just nicer!

As for my favourite's probably El Dorado and Equinox. Yes they are punchy but aren't so in your face as the 'C's. Centennial is great but you might as well drink a bottle of air freshener and as for Citra, well I just don't get it.

You know, I actually meant no offense toward English and European hops. I'm a crazy fan boy for those too. I wrote that review back in 2011 upon tasting the all Cluster IPA. I exaggerated to make a point, but my main point was to refute the horrible reputation Cluster has, not necessarily to put any other hops down (though I know that's not exactly how it came out.)

For instance, I'm not saying Citra is better than Hallertau. They're completely different (even though Citra is directly descended from Hallertau, ironically), used differently, in different kind of beers. When used thus, they both work beautifully in their own rite.

I honestly haven't tasted English-grown Cascade, but I believe you. I do know we simply cannot grow Fuggles and Goldings as deliciously as you. I can't believe US grown Fuggles are even related, they are so intrinsically different. Our Fuggle-replacement Willamette is good, but also very different. And to your point about terroir, Yakima valley grown Challenger is much more robust and grapefruity than UK Challenger. That's a variety where I love them both, but I think I actually prefer the US Challenger a little more. In other cases where a hop is grown on both sides of the pond, I almost always prefer the UK version. One last point: you guys have some varieties which are a little coarse and catty too and you know it. I think one difference is your conservative brewers and drinkers have mainly rejected them over the generations (Target, Bullion, Northdown, Bramling Cross, Whitbread Goldings Variety, Admiral, Keyworth, etc, come to mind...) Some, like Northern Brewer, originated in England, but were rejected and nowadays are almost all grown in US and Germany, right?

I realize this is an English web forum primarily about English ale brewing. I promise I wouldn't come on this strong about US hops except that the topic title is "What is your favourite American hop variety?" after all.

[Clibit]

This is an interesting discussion and there's good value in all the opinions. I like all sorts of hops, there's no such thing as a bad hop in my little world. I must get round to trying Cluster, still not used it.

[6470zzy]

Addendum...am strangely surprised Hawaii doesn't produce hops.. too hot/volcanic?

Too tropical I believe, not enough seasonal temperature variation.

Cheers

[beer gut]

I think this thread is Awesome I have learnt so about much thanks everyone. I find hops fascinating how such a rambling plant can bring so much joy and how the flavours and aromas can change with the change of environment. I am brewing my English I.P.A. next week Geordie Grog using First Gold and Celia.

[scuppeteer]

I'm not sure that we're conservative Seymour, but do have a habit of believing the growers about the type of hop they are producing. If told its a kettle hop because its high alpha then that's where it goes, which in itself is a very wrong assumption.
All of the hops you mention are fantastic aroma hops in their own right and mostly on the mid to high alpha range. Except WGV, that's just a shit hop wherever you put it!
I've brewed with all of them but as late additions, I don't think I would ever use any for bittering. Same goes for your high alpha ones. Probably the highest I've used was Apollo @ 19.5% (forgot about that earlier) I absolutely loved it.
Its just as well, we small producers of fine beers, have the opportunity to experiment and don't just want a hop to make unpalatable, internationally branded, so called lager! Most notably Carlsberg, Fosters and Heineken. Ergh!

Now my next side by side trial will be Bullion. A local farmer gave me some last harvest and they are amazing. How they differ to the American one will be interesting indeed. Looking forward to this years harvest as he's planted up an acre over the winter. And with all the good comments on Cluster that has to be near the top of my to do list now. And very true about Northern Brewer, my last lot was from Germany, used it for bittering though.

[oz11]

While we're on the subject of English hops, what can you tell me about "Epic", young Scupps? Do you still use in Rustic (of which I had a fab pint or 3 this afternoon )

[beer gut]

I have never had the pleasure to brew with Epic it must be a new one. Dave Amen Brother about WGV that shit is just plain nasty.

[scuppeteer]

While we're on the subject of English hops, what can you tell me about "Epic", young Scupps? Do you still use in Rustic (of which I had a fab pint or 3 this afternoon )

As this is Seymour's thread about American hops, it is only polite to post additionally about Epic. See next topic!

[YeastWhisperer]

And with all the good comments on Cluster that has to be near the top of my to do list now.

One needs to be careful when purchasing Cluster. It's a terroir-dependent hop. Cluster can be a "catty" hop if grown in the wrong place.

With that said, I have never received any "catty" smelling Cascade. Although, I have received Cascade that was well past its prime.

Cascade is one of the most mispropagated hop cultivars in the world. My propagator of choice has four cultivars that are labeled Cascade, only one of which is true Cascade. I can tell you with a high degree of certainty that the cultivar grown in the UK as Cascade is not true Cascade. The cone shape and structure are wrong, and the climate in the UK is too cool for the real thing. Cascade does not come alive in the US until the season warms to the point where English cultivars start to suffer heat stress. It's kind of like the hop with no name that was sold to me as Wye Challenger. I knew something was wrong when it did not suffer heat stress like every other British cultivar that I have grown. I am still trying to determine if the cultivar has a name.

[scuppeteer]

We could really turn up a whole can of worms here. I guess its a lot like East Kent Goldings, all labelled and marketed as one hop but, as you know, 10 different cultivars. The problem I believe lies with the farmers, propagators and merchants. I know first hand that certain varieties are sold here as one type when they are clearly another. I guess it may be down to what is in demand the most and if they are similar in oil compound.
We use Belgian Challenger at work and in my opinion they are inferior to the English ones, French Fuggle on the other hand is on a par. I would love to compare a true Cascade to the English one and I would be surprised if American brewers don't insist on the true cultivar and export the rest, I know I would, hence why I've only experienced catty hops. Although I have had New Zealand Cascade in the past and no cattiness at all but loads of wonderful aroma, maybe they have the true version there as well.

[beer gut]

So where would you say yeast whisper that the prime cluster is grown comes from? I have always tried to make sure that my English hops come from England.

[YeastWhisperer]

So where would you say yeast whisper that the prime cluster is grown comes from? I have always tried to make sure that my English hops come from England.

The only hop farm/broker that I trust when it comes to Cluster is Peterbaugh Farms/Hops Direct. Their Cluster is consistently high quality. That situation may change in the coming years. Hop production is returning to upstate New York, which is was the center of hop production in the United States before the 20th century. Cluster was developed on the East Coast of the United States.

As I mentioned earlier, I planted Early Cluster in my hop yard last fall. I am hoping that my soil produces good Cluster.

[YeastWhisperer]

The problem I believe lies with the farmers, propagators and merchants.

In my humble opinion, all three parties are guilty in one way or another. Columbus was being sold as part of a blend referred to as Centennial Type. Columbus tastes and smells nothing like Centennial.

[6470zzy]

Columbus was being sold as part of a blend referred to as Centennial Type. Columbus tastes and smells nothing like Centennial.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/connect/2 ... -shortage/

I never bothered with the blend of Cascade and Columbus, I am more partial to Summit and Columbus or simply Columbus by itself

Cheers

[wally]

Chinook, Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe and Citra in small doses.

The US Cascade is far and away better than the Cascade we grow locally, however the Chinook I have grown is pretty good. It must like the conditions here.