Beer Hops

Petals from the cone flower of the hop plant, or Humulus Lupulus, have been used as a main beer ingredient and for medicinal purposes for hundreds of years. In addition to acting as a preservative, hops lend three qualities to beer: bitterness, flavor, and aroma. How much of each quality a hop contributes to the final beer depends on how long the hop spends in the boil, as well as the variety of hop used.

Name Country Bittering Finishing Aroma Alpha
Acid
Description
Liberty United States 3-5 American cross between Hallertauer Mittlefrüh and downy mildew resistant male, developed in 1983.
Lublin Poland 3-5 Polish grown Saaz, used in Polish lagers. Slightly woody and spicy.
Magnum Germany 10-13 A bittering/aroma type cultivar, bred in 1980 at Hull, the German Hop Research Institute
Millennium United States 15-16 Bittering variety, bred from Nugget and with similar characteristics.
Newport United States 10-17 Recently developed American high-alpha bittering hop.
Northdown United Kingdom 7-9 Dual purpose hop in England developed in 1970s. Relative of Challenger and Target.
Nugget United States 12-14 Floral, resiny aroma and flavor. Primarily a bittering hop.
Palisade United States 6-10 Fairly recent American cross of Tettnager and open pollination resulting in a moderate alpha hop.
Perle Germany 7-10 German dual-purpose hop. Often used in combination with other hops.
Phoenix 9-13 Dual-purpose English hop, mild aroma and slightly spicy flavor.
Pilot 9-12 Previously known as S24 (nicknamed Ros) this UK hedgerow variety was officially named as 'Pilot' in May 2002 by Charles Faram & Co Ltd.
Pioneer United Kingdom 8-10 English hop; a sister of Herald.
Progress 5-7 Higher alpha English hop developed in the 1960s as a replacement for Fuggles.
Santiam United States 5-7 American floral aroma hop with mid-range alpha acid.
Saphir Germany 2-5 A new breed of hop that is starting to replace the Hallertauer Mittlefruh variety, which has become more and more susceptible to disease and pests.
Satus 12-14 A bittering-type cultivar of recent origin.
Select Germany 4-6 German disease-resistant Hallertauer and Spalt pale lager variety
Sterling United States 6-9 American floral hop released in 1998.
Summit United States 17-19 Very high alpha acid hop.
Target United Kingdom 9-13 English mid-to-high alpha hop bred from Kent Goldings.
Tomahawk United States 14-18 Trade name for Columbus.
Tradition 5-7 Bred in 1991 from Hallertau Mittlefruh by the Hull Hop Research Institute in Germany for resistance to disease.
Ultra United States 4-5 A triploid aroma-type cultivar, originated in 1983 from a cross between the colchicine-induced tetraploid Hallertau mf (USDA 21397) and the diploid Saazer-derived male genotype (USDA 21237m).
Vanguard 5-6 American aroma cross developed from Hallertau in 1982.
Warrior United States 15-17 New American bittering hop, popular with growers and brewers.
Willamette United States 4-6 Popular American development in 1976 of the English Fuggle. Named for the Willamette Valley, an important hop-growing area.
Zeus United States 14-16 American aromatic high-alpha hop.
Admiral United Kingdom 14-16 An English bittering hop used in some English ales.
Ahtanum United States 4-7 Ahtanum is an aroma-flavoring hop variety that is similar to Cascade or Amarillo. It has a citrus and floral character much like cascade with the addition of some piney or earth notes. Grapefruit quality is more forward in than in cascade as well. Alpha acids are lower than cascade making Ahtanum a good choice for a flavor addition when you do not want to impart quite the bitterness of cascade or amarillo.
Amarillo United States 8-11 Popular American mid-range alpha variety developed by Virgil Gamache Farms in late 20th century. Also known as VGX001, its strain number.
Apollo United States 20-21 Characterized by its exceptional high percentage of alpha acids, excellent storage stability of alpha acids, low CoH value for an alpha variety, and resistance to hop powdery mildew strains found in Washington. The new variety was cultivated as a result of a cross in 2000 at Golden Gate Roza Hop Ranches in Prosser, Washington, and has been asexually reproduced there.
Athanum United Kingdom 5-6 Floral, citrusy, and piney, similar to Cascade.
Bramling Cross United Kingdom 5-7 The variety has a very distinctive American aroma. Often used as a general- purpose kettle hop for a smallish proportion of the hop grist. However, the variety has also of late been used to provide special fruity, blackcurrant and lemon notes in traditional brews, especially in Christmas ales.
Brewer's Gold United Kingdom 7-11 British bittering hop developed in 1919. Both Brewer's Gold and Bullion are seedlings of BB1 (found wild in Manitoba). Many modern high alpha hops were developed from Brewer's Gold. Has a resiny, spicy aroma/flavor with hints of black currant.
Bullion United Kingdom 7-9 Bittering hop. One of the earliest high alpha hops in the world. Raised in 1919 in England from a wild Manitoban female crossed with an English male hop. Mainly used in bittering Stouts and Dark ales. This hop has a resiny/earthy aroma/flavor and can be a bit rough.
Cascade United States 5-6 Very successful and well-established American aroma hop developed by Oregon State University's breeding program in 1956 from Fuggle and Serebrianker (a Russian variety), but not released for cultivation until 1972. Gives strong piney, fragrant, floral, spicy, and citrusy (especially grapefruit) aroma distinct citrus/grapefruit aroma. One of the "Three Cs" along with Centennial and Columbus.
Centennial United States 10-12 American aroma-type variety bred in 1974 and released in 1990. This hop has a clean aroma with floral notes, similar to Cascade, but stronger.
Challenger United Kingdom 7-9 English hop. Introduced in 1972. Very popular dual-purpose hop in English ales.Some pine notes with spicy and fruity aromas. Good multi-purpose hop for aroma, bittering, or finishing. Blends well with other hops.
Chinook United States 12-14 Chinook hops were developed in the early 1980s in Washington state by the USDA as a variant of the Goldings Hop. Typically used for bittering, Chinook imparts a rich, pronounced aroma with a citrus component.
Citra United States 10-12 This newer American variety is a cross of Hallertauer Mittelfruh, U.S. Tettnanger, East Kent Golding, Bavarian, Brewers Gold and other unknown hops. It has a heavy citrus aroma and flavor. Still very new, it is gaining favor as an all purpose hop.
Cluster United States 6-9 Originated from mass selection of the Cluster hop, which is an old American cultivar. It is suggested that they arose from hybridization of varieties, imported by Dutch and English settlers and indigenous male hops. Also known as Golden Cluster. Can give a black currant aroma/flavor.
Columbus United States 14-18 A high yielding, high alpha acid American bittering hop. Also known by the trade name Tomahawk. One of the "Three Cs" along with Cascade and Centennial. Like the others it is citrusy and slightly woody.
Crystal United States 4-6 An American triploid variety developed in 1993 from Hallertau, Cascade, Brewer's Gold and Early Green. It is spicier than Hallertau (cinnamon, black pepper, and nutmeg).
Eroica United States 9-12 A strongly flavored bittering hop used in wheat beers
First Gold United Kingdom 7-9 English dwarf hop. A cross-pollination of Whitbread Golding variety and a dwarf male.
Fuggles United Kingdom 4-6 Main English hop developed late 19th century. More earthy and less sweet than Kent Goldings.
Galaxy Australia 15-15 New (2008) Australian high alpha dual purpose triploid cultivar with a marked and unique hop aroma, described as a combination of citrus and passionfruit.
Galena United States 12-14 American bittering hop developed from Brewer's Gold by open pollination in the state of Idaho
Glacier United States 6-6 Low-cohumulone American Fuggle descendant.
Goldings United Kingdom 4-6 The traditional and very popular English aroma hop. Developed prior to 1790. Widely cultivated. Called East Kent Goldings if grown in East Kent, Kent Goldings if grown in mid-Kent, and Goldings if grown elsewhere. Tend to have a smooth, sweet flavor.
Greenburg United States 5-5 American Hop found in southern Idaho
Hallertau Germany 4-6 Hallertauer Mittelfruh. The original German lager hop; named after Hallertau or Holledau region in central Bavaria. Due to susceptibility to crop disease, it was largely replaced by Hersbrucker in the 1970s and 1980s.
Herald United Kingdom 11-13 An English aroma and bittering hop; sister of Pioneer.
Hersbrucker Germany 3-6 Noble hop used in German pale lagers.
Horizon United States 11-13 American high alpha cross made in Oregon in 1970. Horizon and Nugget share a common parent
Motueka 7-8 A triploid aroma type developed by New Zealand’s HortResearch. Motueka hop was bred by crossing a New Zealand breeding selection (2/3) with Saazer parentage (1/3). First selected by a notable Belgian brewery lead to this variety being called Belgian Saaz and later shortened to B-Saaz so as not confuse country of origin.

First impressions are a very lively and lifted lemon and lime followed by a background of tropical fruit. Motueka imparts a balanced bitterness as well as a desirable new world noble type aroma.
Mount Hood United States 5-8 Soft American variety developed from Hallertau.
Mount Rainier United States 5-7 Originally cultivated in Oregon. Mt. Rainier has a complex parentage, including Hallertau, Galena, Fuggles and other hops.
Nelson Sauvin New Zealand 12-13 Nelson Sauvin has the unique ability to impart a distinctive cool climate white wine fruitiness. The complexity of the oils profile has seen selectors stretched looking for descriptors to document this unique new world variety.
Northern Brewer United Kingdom 8-10 Developed in England in 1934 from a cross between a Canterbury Golding female plant and the male plant OB21
Polnischer Lublin Poland 3-5 Finishing hop. Another source of the classical noble-aroma type hop with long and strong traditions.
Poperinge hops Belgium 3-8 Poperinge is known as the 'Hop Capital' of Belgium and you will see 275 hectares of hops in the surrounding countryside. The region is famous for growing hops. Poperinge is home to the national hop museum.
Saaz Czech Republic 3-5 Named after the czech city of Saaz (in the Czech Republic). Saaz hops accounted for more than half of total hop production in the Czech Republic. Noble hop used extensively in Bohemia to flavor pale Czech lagers such as Pilsner Urquell. Cinnamon-spicy, earthy. Substitutes: Tettnanger, Ultra, Crystal.
Simcoe United States 12-14 Simcoe is a unique American hybrid. Although it is primarily a bittering hop, it's clean, pine-like aroma and a taste with a slight hint of citrus. It is less astringent than other pine-like hops and has been highly sought after to make distinctive and unique Pale Ales and American Ales. Simcoe's flavor is believed superior due to low cohumulone levels.
Spalt 4-5 Traditional German noble hop from the Spalter region south of Nuremberg.
Strisselspalt France 3-5 French aroma hop from Alsace, used mostly in pale lagers.
Styrian Goldings Slovenia 5-6 Slovenian variant of Fuggles, but are similar to East Kent Goldings. Used in English ales and Belgian strong ales amongst others. Substitutes: East Kent Goldings.
Tardif de Bourgogne France 3-5 French hop, used as an aromatic in continental lagers.

Brugse Zot blond from Brewery De Halve Maan is available in the Beer Store