Hops - כישות
Price / 28 g
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
Variety
Cascade
Goldings
Fuggle
Saaz
Perle
Vanguard
Centennial
Sterling
Williamette
Hallertaeu
Northern Brewer
% AAU
6.7
4.2
3.9
4.2
7.5
4.5
9.5
4.7
5.0
4.7
10.5
Comments
Very popular American all-purpose bittering and aroma hop. Floral and citrusy character.
Character varies greatly depending on where it is grown. UK: East Kent grown considered premium pale ale hop—hearth and very desirable contribution to light ale character. USA: Earthy overtones are largely absent, but a good mellow all-around hop.
Excellant, traditional English Ale hop. Great for aroma and flavor. Woody-Fruity.
Flavor and aroma commonly referred to as “herbal/spicy.” It is a great “soft” bittering hop, with excellent flavor and aroma character for classic Pilsners Lager.
Versatile as high alpha flavor hop, similar to Northern Brewer.Mid range alpha acid.
Good all around hop. Similar to US Hallertauer.
"Supercharged" Cascade-type. Fine aroma hop. Popular in American Pale Ale, especially IPA. Floral-Citrus.
Combination of Saaz and Mount Hood character. Excellant flavor and aroma. Herbal/Spicy with hint of citrus.
Hybrid of Fuggle, but more floral and citrus-like. Good for ale or lager.
Wonderful earthy tones. Mild/Floral/Spicy. Great for wheat beer.
Good hop for ales and lagers. Generally a bittering hop.
HOPS
Hops (Humulus Lupulus) are green, cone-like flowers that have been used in beer making for over two hundred years. Their primary purpose in beer is to provide bitterness, flavor, and aroma to balance the sweetness of the malted barley or wheat. They also help to prevent beer spoilage and contribute significantly to head retention.
The hop’s bittering capability is derived from little sacks of resin within the flower called “Lupulin”. To extract the bitterness from the resin, the hops must be boiled with the wort for a minimum of 45 minutes. Flavor and aroma comes from boiling the hops for 10 and 2 minutes respectively.
Hops come in several forms with the most common being “Pellets”. Pellet hops take up less space, resist spoilage, and are easy to measure. Other forms include: Whole leaf, hop oil, hop extract, and hop plugs (large, 14g pellets).
There are several varieties of hops, and frequently the hop name is derived from where it was originally grown. For example: “Czech Saaz” was first grown in the Czech Republic. “Kent Goldings” are grown in Kent, England. Certain styles of beer will often call for a particular variety. Lagers typically call for “Noble” hops like Hallertau or Tattanang, while British Ales use varieties like Fuggles, Willamette, or Goldings.
Hops also come in different bitterness strengths that are measured in Alpha Acid Units (AAUs). The AAU rating is determined by measuring the weight of the lupulin oils versus the total weight of the hop flower. For example: If a hop flower weighs 1.0 gram, and the oil within weighs 0.035 gram, it would have an AAU rating of 3.5%.
Beer recipes usually call for hop additions in one ounce (28 grams) portions. A one ounce addition of a 3.5% AAU hop would provide mild bitterness. A hop addition of 6% would provide mild - medium bitterness, and a 9% AAU addition would provide medium - strong bitterness. You get the idea.
While traditional beer styles commonly recommend a certain hop variety, there are no set rules. One of the great pleasures of homebrewing is the ability to customize your own beer and select the bitterness, flavor, and aroma that you yourself want. So, “Hop to it”, make your own beer today.
Informative websites: www.hopunion.com, www.yakimachief.com, www.freshops.com.
The following chart lists the available hops at “The Winemaker” along with their AAU rating and description.
