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The aroma hop HS16660 now has a name, Erebus™ . Not the worst name around but I do not think that “the primordial deity of darkness in Greek mythology” would be into the aroma therapy of blueberry, citrus, candied fruit, and floral rose. But maybe Hopsteiner knows something about it that I do not.
Hopsteiner has added to their brand line with the new “Salvo™ is an aroma extract that delivers impactful variety-specific flavor. Bittering acids have been removed to explicitly enhance flavor and aroma with little to no added bitterness.”
This part may be too inside mash tun talk but when everything is costing more nowadays, it becomes a more salient point, “Salvo™ is best used as a late kettle/whirlpool addition to partially replace leaf or pellet hops, and since Salvo™ contains no vegetative matter, our flavor extract can help mitigate beer yield loss.”
I have seen the El Dorado hop advertised as “Salvo’d” but other fruit forward hops are sure to follow.
More hops are on the way! Next from the Hopsteiner breeding program is Helios™.
Here is a brief summary, “the next super high-alpha hop king. Helios™ is one of the most agronomically sustainable hop varieties grown today thanks to its unrivaled yield and powdery & downy mildew resistance genes.”
Yes, that is mostly ag talk but until we see how brewers use it and with what other hop combinations, we won’t really know if it will have a signature shorthand like Citra does with, well, citrus and Strata has a tea like note to me.
Looks like the folks at Hopsteiner have settled on a trade name for the experimental hop 01490. And Contessa is as good as any but I would say that the major flavor components are more the draw. Lemon and lemongrass can be found in other hops but the combo of pear and green tea is really intriguing and I think could really work in a lower alcohol hazy.
No, not the gum or the three-pronged spear. This is a new hop blend just released as of last week from Hopsteiner.
The blend is a mix of (3) Pacific NW hops. According to Hopsteiner, it “is a blend developed for those seeking a hop-forward punch to the nose – fruity, citrus, tropical, passion fruit combination to fit any beer style. Using Trident™ is sure to cast a much wider range of aroma and flavor characteristics than any single hop variety could generate on its own.”
That is not the most appealing image I have ever seen (why is there a tomato in the lower left corner?) but the point is strongly made that this will be a “fruit wave”. Now we wait to see how well this plays in the marketplace. Will it burst like Citra or have more of a slow boil like Strata?
The hop formerly known as #06277 now has a trademarked name Sultana™. It is a three-way split of 50% Nugget, 25% Zeus, and 25% USDA male (un-named? Or just agricultural science speak?) When you start seeing it in beers look for pine. According to Hopsteiner it is a big pineapple hop with pine notes in the background.
The hop formerly known as X06297 is now known as Lotus. Going back into the whole Biblical begat thing, Lotus has strains of Eastern Gold which is a Japanese variety of hop along with Apollo and Cascade and some Neomexicanus as well.
Per Hopsteiner, this variety boasts “waves of orange and vanilla followed by notes of candied grape and tropical fruit aromas.” I have not seen the hop promoted in any beers around Los Angeles but if I do, I will take a note and follow up on the blog. The fact that this hop got this far is an accomplishment, it remains to be seen if it will take off in the marketplace of IPAs.
I have subscribed to one of the e-mail newsletters from Hopsteiner and they recently sent out a sheet detailing a few, still experimental, still only numbered not named new hops.
The one that caught my eye was 06297 because of the first two descriptors: orange and vanilla. Now if that doesn’t scream perfect for a Milkshake IPA then I do not know what does. What is amazing is that along with that creamsicle combo, it imparts berry and tropical fruits as well. All from three hops that don’t get much press nowadays, Eastern Gold (50%), Apollo and Cascade (25% each).
If 06297 makes it through the gauntlet, I wonder what the marketing name will be.
I have vowed not to chase whales but when I saw this Hopsteiner ad on Facebook, literally right after watching a trailer for the new Doctor Who season, I almost broke the promise and became the War Doctor.
And even though, I am more looking forward to the first Moffat-less Doctor, I would have liked to have a can (or two) of this beer from Moustache Brewing with me as Peter Capaldi completes his run as the 12th.
There are some great websites with hop information on them but recently Hopsteiner the large hop grower/distributor has refreshed its website and added a really helpful snapshot of hop data.
The Hopsteiner’s Hop Varieties Grid has brand new hops photography which helps to visually differentiate the hops, multiple sort levels including by Experimental or Aroma and a handy sheet of information that to this beer blogger was just right without getting too overboard in technical terms. You get an aroma graph, genetic origin, similar hops and other facts. It is easy to use and share which is key.
I would have liked to see them add what blends are normally used with each hop so that you could gain a knowledge of what pairs well but that is a small quibble in what is an excellent website revamp.