Sierra Nevada Harvest Wild Hop IPA - Neomexicanus Varietal

Been looking forward to this because it's Sierra Nevada but even more so because of the hop from New Mexico.

 

Far out. Every brew in this series has been well worth the money.

(Though opinion on this point varies. Heh.)

 

When you say variation in terms of quality, what do you mean? There I those that I have preferred over others, but I haven't found any that I viewed as a low quality product. Taste is subjective, quality is a bit more objective. Not being a dick, just wasn't sure if there was a beer that I missed that was bad.

 

Wet and wild, just how I like my... Hops. Yeah, hops.

 

So is this out today, or in 2+ weeks?

 

I liked this a lot when I tried it at the brewery in Chico a couple weeks ago.

 

Looking forward to this one.

 

All of these beers have been awesome in my opinion. The single hop being the best. Pulled a lot of berry from that one. Very unique hop.

 

It's available at the brewery in California and at the Torpedo Room in Berkeley, but should be working its way onto store shelves within the next two weeks. So, I guess the answer to your question is Yes.

 

Is this the "Wet & Wild IPA" at the taproom?

 

Can't wait to try this. Been pretty happy with this series overall, and was very impressed with the the wet hop #4. I especially can't complain on any of these at 4.99 a bottle.

 

Wow, I just had a chance to try this beer and really liked it! Not being big on descriptors, the first thing that came to mind when I swirled the glass was the memory of an aroma from a beer I had back in the early 80's. Can't remember which one, but the aroma brought back some wonderful but forgotten memories. Really crisp and cleansing unlike beers that utilize Euro hops. Well done SN and hats off to Todd for developing another tool for the brewing industry!

 

I want this!!!

 

Bill - just tried this on tap the other night - phenomenal stuff. As a matter of fact, it was so good that I persuaded three of my friends with me to order it as well, and we all had multiple glasses.

Thank you for the innovative and delicious brew.

cheers

 

Wow! Thanks for the feedback.
The Neomexicanus varietal(s) have really knocked my socks off from a flavor perspective. I can't think of another similar hop and with such a cool back story, how can you not love it? As these hops mature a bit (from a growing perspective) I hope we'll see this grow in scale and popularity. I also hope in future years they growers can get the alpha up, because it takes a LOT of hops to get a great aroma with this year's crop at 2.4% alpha acid!

We're already brewing with the first experimental hop for 2015. I'm really looking forward to this next one as well. I think this will be the first commercial use, so I have high hopes.

I appreciate the kind words (and I love seeing you on the boards)

Cheers!

-Bill

 

“…because it takes a LOT of hops to get a great aroma with this year's crop at 2.4% alpha acid!”

Bill, I know that it takes a lot of low alpha acid hops to achieve IPA bitterness levels. Is there a correlation between alpha acid level and aromatics (i.e., essential oil amounts)? Do you need to add more low alpha acid hops for the end of boil/dry hop addtions?

Cheers!

Jack

 

tried my first bottle the other night and it tastes great. I can't imagine how the hops will be if growers can get aa up

 

Has anyone seen this one show up in central or eastern (south shore) MA?

 

Will be on the look out for this one. Sounds like a very promising varietal and hopefully it can make the rounds for us home brewers in the future. And for the beer and skulls set, who can't love a hop named Medusa?

 

Still on the look out for this one in MD.

 

Will it be available in ohio ?

 

Oil content is the biggest determining factor for finished hop aroma. Typically (but not always) alpha acid % and oil content share a similar arc, with higher alpha (usually) pointing to higher oil.
Hops are typically assigned a "brewing value" based on alpha levels and oil content. 2.4% A.A. is very low for a bittering range and the oild content is considered "moderate" for the potency, so right now, the most recent crop of NeoMex would be said to have very little brewing value. However, the oil it has is so interesting, it's worth the extra additions to get enough of it to shine through. With low alpha/oil hops you simply need to add more volume into the the late stages of boil/whirpool/hop back/dry hop to get as much aroma as possible. (this can be risky too, because too much plant matter can shift the hop flavor toward vegetal very quickly...nobody likes a super vegetal IPA.)
In essence, what I'm getting at is the NeoMex is an atypical hop to use in an IPA style beer because of low potency. The NeoMex is an odd one. Low potency, but man, what a flavor. It practically screams for a big-ass IPA. If it had a little more oomph it would be the new citra/simcoe/mosaic hop du jour across the world.
Alpha Acid can also vary quite a bit from year-to-year (due to growing conditions, seasonality...etc.) and as the agronomics improve it might boost the alpha and oil. We can only wait and see. Nevertheless, I love this hop and can't wait to use it again.

-Bill

 

Grower. There's only one commercial grower on the planet, but man they do a great job. This hops is still too new to say for sure what it will end up as, but a lot of people are betting that it's going to be a big hit.

-Bill

 

Bill (@sierranevadabill ), thanks for your thoughtful post.

Cheers!

Jack

 

Bill,

When I purchase hops there is a value for the AA%, Have there ever been any discussion to quantify the essential oil content of hops and provide that information on hop packages? If quantification is not viable, has there ever been discussion to provide qualitative information (e.g., low, medium, high aromatic capability)?

Cheers!

Jack

 

For commercial hops, this information is qualified... The amounts can vary from grower to grower and even from lot to lot. Often times, the hops homebrewers buy are the last of that specific varietal and the information isn't provided on the package, but somewhere the information IS available from the growers. If you peruse hop growers fact sheets about specific varietals, you can get a good idea of what a typical oil content and range might look like for that varietal. Maybe not the specific lot you have as a home brewer, but overall for the varietal.

Commercially, we get information on each lot provided as such (note--I just made up these numbers, but they're in the ballpark):

Varietal: Cascade
Alpha Acid: 6.2%
Beta Acid: 5.8%
Cohumulone: 34% of Alpha Acid
Total Oil: 1.1 mL/100g
Myrcene: 65% of total oil
Humulene: 9% of total oil
Caryophyllene: 4% of total oil
Farnesene: 5% of total oil

The last parts will tell you what percentage of the oil is made up of what compound (in the case of the Cascade above most is Myrcene) looking at this, you can garner a pretty good idea of what the hop will smell like, how ripe it is (myrcene rises with hop maturity) and which are more stable oils.

Side note: "American" hops made famous in beers such as Pale Ale and Liberty...et. al. Have high Myrcene levels which gives them notably "hoppy" aromas. Myrcene is very volatile but aroma creates interesting grapefruit, floral aromas as it presents in the finished beer, though most of the flavor is lost in boiling so high myrcene hops are a great candidate for late or dry hopping.

 

Bill,

Thanks again for taking the time to respond to my query.

I took note your ‘made up number’ for Cascade of: “Total Oil: 1.1 mL/100g”

Is there a rule of thumb on what the value should be for an American aroma hop? For example, should the total oil value be > 0.x mL/100g for it to be considered a ‘good’ aroma hop?

Would you happen to know what the total oil value is for the Neomexicanus Medusa hop?

Cheers!

Jack

 

I need this in my life!!

 

Off the top of my head, I don't know what NeoMex Medusa was. I'm sure we have it, I just don't know it.
As to your other question... There isn't a magic number for oil. It can range from about 0.2 up to 4 mL/100g. It depends on what you want to brew and how you want it to taste.

Hops with oils in the 2's and 3's are really popular now: Equinox 3.3 Citra 2.8, Simcoe 2.5...etc. These are moderate high alpha hops with very high oils meaning they offer a pungent hit of aroma in a beer without adding a lot of vegetal matter. These are also newish varietals. Newer hops are being bred for high oil due to the popularity of "American" style beers. (Read IPAs)

The classic German aroma hop, Hallertau Mittelfruh has Alpha Acids at around 4.5% with an oil content around 0.9. Not very high alpha nor high oil. H. Mittelfruh is an incredible hop with an incredible aroma, but I wouldn't use it for an American IPA. It's all in intent. Using the best hop for the job., We used it in an IPA which worked, but was tough (needed lots to get the aromas up.) That hop in a Yankee/German helles hybrid might be incredible as-is with a easier to handle volume.

 

Bill, once again for your efforts here!

I did a bit of web research and found a great manual from Yakima Chief which has lots of information. Others may find this worthwhile: http://www.usahops.org/userfiles/fi...ety Manual - English (updated March 2011).pdf

I took note of your discussion concerning Hallertau Mittelfruh. That is my preferred flavor/aroma hop for homebrewing my Classic American Pilsners. Your observation of not very high alpha nor high oil is poignant. When I homebrew my CAP beers I use a lot of Hallertau Mittelfruh hops: 1 ounce for the last 10 minutes of boil, 1 ounce for end of boil/hopstand, and1.5 ounces for dry hopping. Even with this amount the hop aroma is noticeable but by no means does it ‘jump out’ at you. I personally would not use this hop for an American hoppy beer style. Having stated that, in the Sam Adams Latitude Deconstructed IPA variety pack one of the beers was a Hallertau Mittelfruh hopped Latitude IPA. All that I could think when drinking that particular beer was: this beer tastes very similar to Boston Lager.

Cheers!

 

Has anyone in Indiana (or more specifically central Indiana) seen this on shelves yet? Sierra Nevada distro in Bloomington is absolute shit.

 

Just caught up with this and would rate it as outstanding. The hop character is extremely good, it isn't quite of the "C" hop type and the newer hops (Amarillo, Summit, etc) but has some tropical and orchard fruit notes. It seemed partly English too, as if you mixed Goldings and Cluster maybe. I hope this will be a regular issue by SN, of all the limited or special editions this one stands out as truly special. Keep it going SN even though the AA level is very low.

 

Can't wait to try this one! A buddy and I had a SN tasting last nite that included Terra Incognita,a 2014 and 2015 Rye IPA [completely different] and that wonderful new Hop Hunter IPA...now how about some more stouts and porters??Please??

 

One of my favorites of the series.

 

I am a bit surprised that this year is featuring Neomexicanus again. I assumed that each year would be different, like the Newly Developed Harvest. Still look forward to it, was excellent last year.

 

can't wait I LOVE neo-Mexicanos hops

 

It's back again? I missed out last year. Gotta get my hands on this while its fresh.