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Unbeknownst to most of us, small farmers throughout pockets of the world (though principally in the Pacific Northwest here in the U.S.) are toiling away day after day, year after year, growing hops so that you and I may enjoy our next pint of IPA.
New hops are created and grown in large numbers every year. Because of the sheer numbers of new hops that don’t work out, at first they’re given simply a number. If you’ve ever had test beers made with numbered hops, you’ll understand why they do this. While a few work out, most are not especially good. Once a hop has proven itself viable, it finally gets a name.
A group of three hop farmers in Washington state’s Yakima Valley banded together in 2003 as the "American Dwarf Hop Association (ADHA)" to create, promote and conduct research on new dwarf hop varieties. Dwarf hops are so-named because the cones grow all the way down to the ground and can be grown on a low-trellis system. Mechanical pickers can be used to harvesting costs and tunnel sprayers can be used to reduce or even eliminate pollution.
The first hop to be realized from the ADHA’s efforts is known as Summit Hop. For the technically minded, the new hop has alpha acid levels between 17-19 percent and relatively low Cohumulone levels at 25-28 percent of alpha. To give that some perspective, Cascade hops, one of the most famous hop varieties from the Pacific Northwest (which was popularized by Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale) is 4.5-7% alpha acid and has Cohumulone of 35-40 percent of alpha. Another bittering hop, Columbus, has 14-16 percent alpha acid and Cohumulone 30-35 percent of alpha. Generally speaking, low alpha acids (along with other factors) provide bigger aromas when added late in the boil and Cohumulone, one of the three sub-alpha acid compounds, produces the harshness to the bittering.
More simply, it’s a big bittering hop with orange and tangerine citrus notes that many believe ideal for IPAs and Imperial IPAs. To test that, Sierra Nevada’s brewmaster Steve Dresler brewed four test batches with different single hop varieties (Magnum, Warrior and another in addition to Summit) and presented the results to a packed house of brewers at Rock Bottom in Seattle during Craft Brewers Conference held earlier this year. Each had very different characteristics and showed what each hop brought to the table — or glass.
Interesting, to be sure, but not when compared to an idea hatched in the deliciously twisted mind of Rodger Davis, head brewer of Drake’s Brewing in San Leandro, CA. We tried a fifth beer that drizzly day in Seattle: Rodger’s harsh Imperial IPA using Summit hops. But in that beer an idea had taken root.
Davis challenged his fellow brewers to brew an India Pale Ale using only Summit hops. He gave each interested party the recipe and free reign as to malt, water and yeast. On July 8, 19 IPAs using only Summit hops were unveiled at Drake’s 1st annual Beer Festival & Washoes Tournament.
Single hop varietal beers have been around for some time but are generally less common. That’s because most hops are either great for bittering or provide big aromas. There are a few that can do both (called dual-purpose hops) but even they are used only as one or the other. As a result, most beer recipes call for at least two hops and often many more. Used in concert, multiple hops give beer a limitless symphony of taste possibilities. Single hops, on the other hand, run the risk of being one-note beers and are trickier to work with.
Judging the results was no easy task as many factors were nearly indistinguishable — color, head retention and many of the base aromas, which were often oniony, vegetal and catty. So what stood out became largely a matter of differences and balance. The difficulty in using one hop became apparent in many beers’ depth along with integrating the bitter flavors into a whole with the other ingredients.
There seemed to be essentially two valid approaches to this problem. IPAs, of course, are beers in which the hops are meant to shine and most took that approach. A few others decided instead to mute the hop intensity and create a more balanced synergy of flavors. Ultimately a beer that took this approach, Bison Brewing’s Summit IPA, was declared the winner. Our final three — four, really — each had much going for them and it was a very difficult and contentious decision. What swayed the judges was a comment made by Schooner’s head brewer Craig Cauwels who asked the simple question, "when we leave here, which beer do you want to drink?"
It was Daniel Del Grande’s ability (he’s the owner and brewer of Berkeley’s Bison Brewing) to overcome the limitations of a single hop and craft a beer that was perfectly balanced and a pleasure to drink. That’s the one we wanted to drink more of.
Perhaps not coincidentally, Bison Brewing is planning on brewing each successive batch of its IPA in 22 oz. bottles using a different single hop variety. The neck labels will be changed to reflect each hop variety and the first will be his winning Summit IPA, with perhaps Crystal, Cascade and Glacier to follow. It will be equally fascinating to save several months worth of these and sample them side-by-side. As Del Grande told me, "there is a small niche market for these kinds of beer." Amen.
This is a great trend for brewers to open their labs and research projects to the general beer-drinking public. They get to learn how to create better beers and find out what consumers like, as well. And we get an irresistible panoply of taste sensations to try. Some we’ll love, some we may even hate, but what a great journey to the summit.
ADHA hops are currently sold exclusively through the Brewers Supply Group.
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