Beer Brewing

Tettnang is one of the four classic German noble hops and the one I associate most strongly with the spice and complexity dimension of German lager brewing.

Galena is one of the American bittering hops I use when I need high alpha acid for a big beer without the dank earthiness of Columbus or the premium price of Apollo.

Cashmere is a hop I started using after a homebrew club member brought a cream ale dry hopped with it and I couldn’t identify the melon-coconut character as coming from hops.

Magnum is the clean bittering hop I reach for first when a recipe needs neutral IBUs. It’s a German variety developed at the Hop Research Center Hüll in Bavaria, and it became one of the most popular bittering hops worldwide …

Azacca is the hop that replaced Amarillo in my session IPA recipe after I found a supplier had it in stock at a reasonable price and tried it on a whim.

Summit is a hop variety I treat with specific caution — it’s one of the most alpha-acid-efficient American varieties available, but it has a known tendency to produce onion and garlic flavors at late addition rates that can ruin an …

Warrior is my go-to clean bittering hop for any recipe where I want neutral, smooth IBUs without any flavor contribution from the bittering addition.

Nugget is the reliable bittering hop I’ve kept in my hop freezer for years because it’s nearly always available, relatively inexpensive, and produces consistent smooth bittering with a mild herbal character that works in a surprisingly wide range of

Hüll Melon is the German hop variety I reach for when I want intense melon character in a beer that still feels European rather than American craft.

Mandarina Bavaria is the German hop that changed how I think about using continental varieties in modern craft beer.