Beer is traditionally made with just four simple ingredients; malt, yeast, hops, and water. Each one of those four elements adds something to the taste of the finished beer, and the brewer decides how to combine them. It's pretty common to hear people talking about how they prefer the taste of "hoppy beers," but sometimes it isn't clear exactly what they mean. Let's look in more detail at what flavors hops add to craft beers and how they are used by breweries in Seattle.
What Does a "Hoppy Beer" Taste Like?
History of the Hop
The hop plant is believed to have originated in Ancient Egypt and was used as a salad plant. It is thought to have first been used to flavor a fermented beverage in medieval Germany, from where its cultivation spread across Europe. Ale - an un-hopped beer - declined in popularity as the use of hops grew more widespread.
Hops can be added to beer during or after fermentation. Their primary purpose is to add bitterness to the brew, but they can also add a range of other flavor characteristics.
Bittering Hops
Hops are added to the wort when it enters the boiling stage of the brewing process. The high temperatures that the plant is exposed to causes the release of Isohumulone, which adds a bitter flavor to the hot wort.
Certain varieties of hop are preferred by brewers to use for this purpose. They tend to be high in Alpha acids, which are broken down by the boil to produce Isohumulone. Chinook, Galena, Summit, and Centennial are all good examples of hops that are selected specifically for their bitterness.
Chinook
Chinook adds a medium bitterness and gives notes of grapefruit, pine resin, and sometimes a little spice. This is an American hop that was originally developed in 1974 as a cross of Petham Golding and another un-named hop that is known only by the reference number USDA 63102M. Most Chinook is grown in Washington, with a small amount being produced in Oregon.
Galena
Galena is a medium-bitterness hop that adds elements of citrus. It is high in Alpha acids and was developed in Idaho from Brewer's Gold in 1968. It gives a pleasant, mellow bitterness to the finished beer.
Summit
This is a hop with a very high Alpha acid content so it imparts a fantastic bitterness to a beer. It also gives off a certain earthy quality to the finished beer along with incense and anise. It is a semi-dwarf variety that was developed in the United States.
Centennial
Centennial is a flowery hop that adds a lot of perfume as well as a medium hoppy bitterness. Expect pine and floral notes from this hop. It is a more recently developed hop that was a cornerstone of the revolution in American craft brewing.
Aroma Hops
As the name suggests, aroma hops impart complex aromas and flavors to a beer. They have a lower level of Alpha acids than bittering hops. As they contain delicate essential oils, these hops are added later in the brewing process so that they aren't exposed to high temperatures that could damage or destroy them.
In a process called "dry-hopping", hops are added late in the beer's final fermentation, when most of the carbon dioxide bubbles have already stopped and the beer is conditioning. This helps to preserve the aromatic oils. Aroma hop varieties include Cascade, Czech Saaz, and Fuggles.
Cascade
This was the first hop to come from the USDA breeding program and is the foundation of the flavor profile of most West Coast IPAs. It is known for adding a delicious grapefruit note, but also gives layers of spice and some floral notes.
Czech Saaz
This is considered one of the "Noble" hop varieties because it has been grown in Europe for hundreds of years and is one of the things that gives classic lagers in Europe their distinctive taste. It is a little bit spicy and adds interesting herbal qualities to the beer.
Fuggles
This is the classic hop used for aroma in England. It gives floral, minty, and earthy notes to a beer.
Flavoring Hops
Sometimes hops are added to a brew mid-way through the boil to achieve a sort of compromise. Usually, a lower Alpha acid hop is chosen. Some bitterness is released and not all the delicate aromatic oils are destroyed, so lower levels of both bitterness and flavor are attained.
Finishing hops are similar, being added just before the end of a boil to add a touch of bitterness and leave stronger aromatic qualities. As with all brewing, the key to success is balance.
Simcoe
A hop that is perfect for use as a flavoring and finishing hop is Simcoe. It can be detected in a beer where you can taste bubblegum or perhaps berries and passionfruit. Sometimes it can even lend a more resinous pine flavor. Combining fruity and earthy characteristics is quite unusual and probably explains why this hop has become so widely used. It is popular with craft brewers and homebrewers alike.
What Styles of Beers Use the Most Hops?
The beers that are most likely to be described as "hoppy" are the ones with the most bitter flavor or the ones that have fruity, floral aromas. Dark beers, like porters and stouts, are dominated by the taste of the malt component, so they would never be described as "hoppy". However, a West Coast IPA, for example, is likely to have a very high level of bitterness coupled with citrus flavors. Both of these tastes come from the hops.
New England IPA
This style of IPA features very intense grapefruit and tropical fruit elements. It has usually been dry-hopped so heavily that it will have a slightly hazy appearance. As NEIPA's are a little fuller in body, their bitterness is often a little lighter on the palate, making them very smooth to drink.
Pale Ale
This golden hop-forward beer is different from a lager because it is brewed with ale yeast. British hops like Fuggles and Goldings were traditionally used to produce an ale with a light malt character, balanced with delicate floral, earthy, and spicy hop notes.
West Coast IPA
Brewed with a lot of hops in the boil, West Coast IPA's are known for their high levels of bitterness. Dry-hopping adds flavors of grapefruit and orange. Brewers of West Coast IPA's will often brew with hop varieties that add piney notes to their beers.
New varieties of hops are always being developed, so the kaleidoscope of flavors they can offer continues to grow and expand. However, as a rule, hops add bitter flavors to beer along with a whole spectrum of aromatic notes that can range from woody, spicy, and earthy to floral, citrus, and fruity.
Hops are used in different parts of the brewing process to manage how you enjoy the balance of aroma in the beer you drink in breweries in Seattle. Visit Lowercase Brewing to taste some of our beers, and we'll be happy to point out the very hoppiest for you to enjoy!
Follow our Beer Blog for more posts like this!