Hops and nobility in your beer – What’s in a name?

November 17, 7:49 AMBeer ExaminerCharlie Papazian

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Picking hops can make you noble.

Accessed through the  Freshops  website, the U.S. Department of Agriculture classifies no less than   170 varieties of hops.    

HopUnion, one of the major suppliers of hops to craft brewers and homebrewers also lists no less than 50 of their most popular varieties on their website.   

Many of them have in part, the same name.  So, what’s the difference between Hallertauer Mittelfrueh, and Hallertauer Tettnang?  You might also ask, what’s the difference between German Tettnang, American Tettnang and Tettnanger Tettnang? 

Here in the United States, you can assume if there is the varietal description is only one word it’s grown here in the United States.  If the first of two words is an country or region then of course the hops should have been grown in that region.   In Germany they are very particular and take great pride in the differences between hops grown in different regions.   So a Hallertau hop grown in Hallertauer will be called Hallertauer Hallertau.  If it’s grown in the Spalt region it’ll be called Spalter Hallertau.  The first word is the region.  The second word is the variety of hops.

What are Noble Hops?   There are only 5 varieties of hops that are considered “noble.”  Furthermore these 5 hops are only “noble” if grown in their own region.  They are  Hallertauer Hallertau  ,  Spalter Spalt,   Tettnanger Tettnang,  Hersbrucker Hersbruck  and   (Czech) Saazer Saaz .   These 5 varieties are considered “original” breeds that have been grown for quite some time.   Most other varieties of German grown hops are either hybrids of German hops or hops of other national origins.  

All 5 noble hops are considered “flavor/aroma” hops.  They are relatively low in bitterness compared to hybrids that are grown for higher yields and higher bittering values.  Hops that are flavor/aroma or bittering varieties can be used in any manner the brewer chooses.   In other words a “flavor/aroma” hops can be used to bitter a beer and likewise a “bittering” hop can be used for flavor and/or aroma.  

Of course varieties of hops have their own unique characters.  Where hops are grown also has a huge impact on quality, flavor and aroma too.  The amount of sunlight, humidity, soil type, temperature, picking, drying, storage methods further impacts hop qualities.  All these variables offer distinctive choices to brewers worldwide.

The UK, France, Poland, Slovenia, Australia, New Zealand among a few other countries also supplies hybrid varieties of hops to American and the world’s brewers.  The goal of any brewer is to create beers with a desired balance of aroma/flavor/bitterness.  It doesn’t end there.  Brewers seek to use methods that will stabilize those qualities over time, temperature and handling.  It’s a long journey from hop to beer across your lips.