For many craft beer drinkers, the hoppier the better. That love of all things hops has made the India Pale Ale (IPA) and its U.S. cousin, the American IPA, the most popular beer styles among craft beer enthusiasts today. One in every five craft beers sold in 2014 was an IPA.
But what does it mean to say you like hops? Hops are a perennial vine with the scientific name Humulus lupulus, which means “small wolf,” a reference to its aggressive climbing nature and tendency to take over other nearby plants.
There are more than 120 different hop varieties used today. To be a true fan, the appeal of hops has to be more than just bitterness. Hops offer a range of flavors and aromas that resemble herbs, pine, tropical fruits like grapefruit and tangerine and more. How can you distinguish one hop from another? Hop aroma and flavor can be subtle. And year to year, growing conditions can also affect hop aroma and flavor within a variety.
Begin by trying to discern hop flavors when you drink your next hoppy beer. Here’s a guide to help you pick out a few common hop varieties.
Amarillo hops
It has a fruity-citrus aroma, with assertive flavors of resiny orange-citrus to stone fruits. You’ll notice it in Ale Asylum’s Ballistic.
Cascade hops
Its name comes from the Cascade mountain range in the northwest U.S., where the majority of these hops are grown. They have flowery, spicy and citrus aromas. But it’s the strong grapefruit flavor that stands out. It’s found in Ale Asylum’s Hopalicious, which is made with 11 separate additions of Cascades, as well as in Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.
Centennial hops
This one’s named after the Washington state festival and is sometimes referred to as “super Cascades.” Centennial hops offer candy-like tangerine, lemon, citrus and light pine aroma and flavor. Discover this one in Festiv Ale from the Hop Garden, or in Founders Brewing Company’s Centennial IPA.
Citra hops
The name says it all. This hop’s strong aroma and flavor of tropical fruits like mango, passion fruit, and pineapple come out in Karben4’s Fantasy Factory.
Columbus hops
This hop is sometimes referred to as CTZ, a reference to the multiple names it’s known by — Columbus, Tomahawk and Zeus. More commonly used as a bittering hop, it’s often used in conjunction with other varieties. It lends pungent, dank, floral notes and a mild citrus aroma to a beer. You may detect a slight earthiness and woodiness, and onion and garlic flavors. O’so Brewing’s August 2015 version of Hop Whoopin features Columbus.
Chinook hops
These are the most pine-like hops and can overwhelm other, less assertive, hops. They’re more common as bittering hops in big beers like barleywines. They have a spicy, piney aroma with aggressive spicy pine, spruce and citrus flavors. New Glarus uses these in its Black Top black IPA, blended with Amarillo and Citra.
Mosaic hops
A new hop found in robust IPAs and imperial IPAs. It offers strong citrus qualities of tangerine and pineapple. Some brewers say it lends a light blueberry aroma, too. Taste it in House of Brews’ Mausoleum Black IPA.
Nugget hops
After Cascade hops, this is the second-most-widely-grown hop. Look for herbal to piney aromas and flavors in the Hop Garden’s Nuggetopia and Toppling Goliath’s Golden Nugget.
Note, this is just a primer of commonly used hops in American beers. European hops offer more unique aromas and flavors. Noble hops (European hops usually low in bitterness but high in aroma) include Hallertau, Tettnanger, Spalt and Saaz, named for the specific region or city in which they were first found and cultivated. Hallertau Mittelfrüh is perhaps the most famous of these, and you’ll find it in Two Women Lager from New Glarus, for instance. Czech Saaz are equally distinctive for the spicy tones, pepper-dryness and light pine-cedar accents. They are often found in traditional pilsners and are also used as a primary hop, with others, in New Glarus’ Spotted Cow.
English hops like Fuggles and Goldings provide herbal, woody and grassy aroma and flavor. Some brewers describe English hops as having an underlying metallic flavor. They’re commonly used to make English bitters and ESBs, which are less assertive cousins of the IPA and American IPA. Grainne’s ESB from the Parched Eagle in Westport is made with Goldings, within an overall blend of European hops.
Keep in mind that most beers contain a blend of hops. New Glarus’ Scream IIPA is made with 10 different varieties in six separate additions. Your education is just beginning.
