The next "it" hop?

Just dropping by to praise the Azacca hop. I had Founders Azacca IPA last night and I love it. It might be second favorite hop just behind Mosaic. I was able to determine that that's the hop in Stone Ruination 2.0 as well that gives off that sweet apricot/cantaloupe/mango/papaya aroma and flavor. It's so good.

 

I have to agree with @Catchy_Name. No hop should have the title of it hop... hops are used for aroma and bittering, thats it. Style depending different hops should take a different place. Thats it thats all...

 

Why? IPAs tend to be brewed with such a high turnover because they're quick to brew. Seems to me that most breweries have a few staples and experiment with whatever is new these days. Kinda lends itself to trends

 

Whatever the industry wants. Honestly it's a darn shame the hop industry is so crazy about marketing new hops. All the hybridizing and names. It's kind of like tomatoes, there are lots of greats. Many cross bred varieties are just re-named for the new season.

So if one new hop tastes sort of like another hop...it's probably either the same or a close genetic inbred cousin

 

What's this "hop industry" you mention and how do they control popular tastes among beer drinkers?

 

As with everything else things progress. IPA's are a big deal right now and new hops offer new taste profiles, I personally like it. But it carries over into other styles as well. I had a saison brewed with Mandarina Bavaria and thought the hop profile pretty much made that beer. I am all for some strange

 

Simple matter of marketing really...

Hop growers can't keep selling the same product. So they market new varieties and they hope the breweries will contract big purchases. The breweries compete to get a piece of "the next big hop."

Both the hop industry and craft beer industry are all hoping to cash in on the next big hop. Is it a coincidence that every year a new hop variety comes out, when in fact it is more than likely a hybridization of last years product...re-name the package and you get a new hop. Hybridizing of hops takes time to develop.

How do they control popular tastes among beer drinkers? We'll ask the folks at Segal Ranch what is so great about their hops and you'll get the answer to that question.

 

azacca, enigma, or ella are my guesses.

but that being said, i too hate that phrase "it-hop". a lot, actually, now that I say it to myself more and more.

 

There are the growers, the hop breeding companies, and the hop brokers. Some of the last 2 categories are owned by the growers, but not all are.

It takes 10-12 years to develope a hop, and 8-10 million dollars. Some hops with different flavors and aromas come out of crosses between classic varieties. There are new hops that have some different characters, as they were crossed with a Neo-Mexicanus hop, which are the wild hops indigenous to the western US. New hops are breed for better agronomics, higher yeild and better disease resistance are at the top of the list. A while back breeding was done for higher Alpha Acid, the demand for Brewers is now for aroma hops, and that is what is being breed.

A critical step is getting through brewing trials with the Craft Brewers. When you see beers that have codes like HBC-xxx, or experimental hop xxx in the description. Some become a big hit with the Brewers, others are duds (I had one last summer that was like raw onions, a real dud). Cascade did not catch on for years, then Coors placed orders. Simcoe was going to be ripped out of its plots as no orders came in for a few years, then orders were placed by Russian River and Weyerbacher, and it took off.

 

Thanks. Helpful review.

Makes me doubt even more that that "industry" has any direct control over popular tastes among consumers. It seems that things are much more of a crap shoot for the developers/growers in deciding what to develop and plan for when it comes to new hop varieties. Its kind of similar to the three tier system in that it is a multi-stage process. The brewers are deciding what they think works for what they want to brew, including paying some attention to what they think the public wants/will buy and trying find it and the growers are responding to the brewers in large extent.

 

I heard one grower say that the family farm had a hop back in the 70s or 80s that never caught on, but due to its fruity character, would sell like crazy today. No one wanted fruity back then,but the beer drinking public's tastes changed.

 

Might seem stupid to you, but that's the way it often is with popular tastes. Seems like the same holds true for lots of the big stouts and "trendy" IPAs that some people are so busy seeking out and trading for on sites like this one.

 

So are we still discussing actual hop varieties or has it come down to arguing semantics? Came here to say that I recently brewed a single hop IPA with El Dorado, and it was awesome. I think El Dorado has been around for a little while and has gotten some attention, but man, I could see it becoming a very popular strain.

For full disclosure, the beer was from a kit from Midwest Supplies called 'Gold Dust IPA'.

 

Just looking at the Beer Releases forum, I'd say Mosaic is both making a comeback and here to stay. Lots of single hop variations coming out with this hop. Off the top of my head, Founders and Longtrail recently with the single hop IPA and SMASH series respectively.

 

Amarillo forever.

 

I'd argue that what you don't like is "hype" not trends. Trends are great; it's what drives creativity and novelty.

However, maybe you just enjoy sipping on a Pliny or Hopslam week in and week out. Nothing wrong with that; definitely not stupid. Also nothing wrong with wanting something new and exciting; definitely not stupid.

 

If there were not changes in taste and agronomic pressure, we would all be drinking beers hoped with Cluster, and a little bit of noble hops.

Edit - not so long ago, 80% of the hop crop in the US was one variation or another of Cluster. Some noble type hops were grown or imported.

 

Had "Lemon Drop" hops for the first time in 2015's Chasin' Freshies by Deschutes. It was fantastic. Lemon meringue pie. Hoping to see more of that.

 

Been noticing a lot of good beers lately with Mosaic included in it (and promoted on the labels). Is that the "hot hop" right now (and Galaxy and Citra are soooo 2014?), or am I just really behind on current hop fashion trends?

Zoolander hops is the next big hybrid!

 

Huge fan of Oxbow's Azacca Grissete, but I also enjoyed an El Dorado single-hop brewed by Maine Beer Co..The El Dorado seemed very citrus forward, but also held a dank spiciness to it as well. Delicious & well-rounded.