Choosing Your Hop Variety

The type of hop you decide to grow can depend on many factors, including the hardiness zone you are located in.

Now that you have a general idea of what hops are, it’s time to decide what varieties you are interested in planting.  Of course some hops  Different hops grow better depending on your location, altitude and a few other factors, but with the proper care, you should see great growth from just about any variety if you are between the 30th and 50th parallels, thriving especially in hardiness zones 4 to 8.

Although most varieties will thrive if you are in a temporate region, there are a few variables you should consider when deciding on a variety of hops.  If you are planting your hops simply for their aesthetic value, then you are really free to choose any variety you please.  I would suggest deciding on a variety that will produce large yields and flourish well in your zone.  If you are in an area that sees a shorter growing period, you may want to plant a vine that will develop more quickly, allowing you to enjoy your plants for the longest possible period. Check the variety profiles at the bottom of this post to find the fastest growing varieties.

If you are like me, and are a homebrewing activist who plans on using hops in a homebrew, what you grow will be associated with what kind of beer you plan to brew, and what flavoring roles these hops will play in that brew.  Different varieties will produce cones with very different flavor profiles, as well as alpha and beta acid contents.

Your recipe may call for a specific variety, but you can substitute hops for those with similar AA percentages, so don’t feel entirely restricted to only use the hops specified in your recipe. There are times when specific rhizomes will be unavailable, so you may have to reach a compromise in terms of the variety you plant. Just remember that although using a different variety of hop with similar acid contents will create a slightly different flavor profile, you will maintain the overall structure of your beer. Below is a chart that lists the average AA content of the most common hop varieties.  This should be used as a general guide in deciding what varieties to utilize, should your decision be dependent upon AA content:

Hops	Average Alpha Acids
Amarillo	9.5
Aquila	7
B. C. Goldings	5
Banner	10
Bramling Cross	6.5
Brewer’s Gold	9
Bullion	7.5
Cascade	6
Centennial	10.5
Challenger	8.5
Chinook	13
Cluster	6.5
Columbus	15
Comet	10
Crystal	3
Domesic Hallertau	3.9
East Kent Goldings	5
Eroica	12
First Gold	7.5
Fuggles	4.8
Galena	13
Glacier	5.5
Goldings	5
Hallertau Mittelfruh	3.75
Hallertau Hersbrucker	4
Herald	12
Hersbrucker	4
Horizon	12.5
Huller Bitterer	5.75
Kent Goldings	5
Liberty	4
Lublin	4.5
Magnum	14
Millenium	15.5
Mount Hood	5
Newport	15.5
Northdown	8.6
Northern Brewer	8.5
Nugget	13
Olympic	12
Omega	10
Orion	7
Pacific Gem	15
Perle	9
Phoenix	10
Pioneer	9
Pride of Ringwood	10
Progress	6.25
Record	6.5
Saaz	3.8
Santiam	6.5
Satus	13
Simcoe	13
Spalt*	4.5
Sterling	5.5
Sticklebract	11.5
Strisselspalt	3.5
Styrian Goldings	5.5
Super Alpha	13
Super Styrians	9
Talisman	8
Target	11.5
Tettnanger	4.5
Tomahawk	15
Ultra	4.5
Vanguard	5
Warrior	16
Whitbread Golding	6
Willamette	5.5
Wye Target	10
Yamhill Goldings	4
Yakima Cluster	7
Yeoman	7.25
Zenith	9
Zeus	15

Source: http://www.brewersfriend.com/2008/09/14/hops-alpha-acid-table/

I have also found a great hop comparison chart that can give you an idea of how to substitute hops for one another. That chart can be found here.

Because there isn’t a whole lot of information regarding the success of some varieties in my area (Zone 5), I’m going to conduct a bit of an experiment and see what varieties favor this climate.  I purchased 8 varieties, some of which I know should grow very well, and a few others whose success is somewhat unpredictable. I decided on: Fuggle, Williamette, Zeus, Cascade, Centennial, Nugget, Mt. Hood, and Newport. I picked up these varieties for $4.50 each from Freshops.com.

Freshops.com has provided a wealth of information regarding the known varieties of hops, as classified by the USDA. Click on a variety for a hop profile that can help you decide on which hops are best for your needs.

Ahil 21050 Alliance 66050 AlphAroma 21406 Apolon 21051 Aquila 21222 Atlas 21052 Aurora 21053 Backa 56002 Backa 21080 Banner 21287 Bianca 21698 Blato 21527 Blisk 21238 Blue Northern Brewer 21079 Bobek 21239 BOR 704 21285 Bramling 21284 Bramling Cross 68051 Brewer’s Gold 19001 Brewer’s Gold vf 21116 Buket 21240	Bullion 64100 Bullion 10A, vf 21056 Bullion 6A 21196 Calicross 66054 Canadian Redvine 21679 Canterbury Golding 21681 Cascade 56013 Cascade, vf 21092 Cekin 21613 Celeia 21611 Centennial 21507 Cerera 21612 Chelan (no USDA Nr.) Chinook 21226 Cicero 21614 Columbus (no USDA Nr.) Columbia 21040 Comet 62013 Crystal 21490 Defender 62053 Density 62052	Dunav 21081 Early Cluster 65103 Early Prolific 21276 Early Promise 21277 Eastern Gold 21678 Eastern Green 21700 East Kent Golding 21680 Eastwell Golding 21669 Elsaesser 21170 Eroica 21183 Eroica, vf 21220 F-10 (no USDA Nr.) First Choice 66055 Fuggle 19209 Fuggle H 48209 Fuggle H, v.f. 21650 Fuggle N 21016 Fuggle tetraploid 21003 Furano Ace 21701
Galena 21182 Galena v.f. 21699 Golden Star 21039 Green Bullet 21404 Groene Bel 21216 Hallertauer Gold 21671 Hallertauer Tradition 21672 Hallertauer Magnum 21670 Hallertauer mf 56001 Hallertauer mf 21014 Hallert. mf tetraploid 21397 N.Zealand Hallertauer 21610 Herbrucker 6 21514 Herbrucker 8 21515 Hersbrucker 9 21516 Hersbrucker alpha 21518 Hersbrucker E 21179 Hersbrucker G 21185 Hersbrucker Pure 21673 Hersbrucker red-stem 21517 Horizon 21373 Hueller Bitter 21097	Hybrid-2 21167 Janus 62051 Kent Golding 21680 Keyworth’s Early 21278 Keyworth’s Mid-season 21279 Kirin II 21286 Kitamidori 21677 Landhopfen 21172 Late Cluster, L16 21011 Late Cluster, L8 65104 Liberty 21457 Lubelski-Pulawy 21113 Lubelski-Pulawy,vf 21523 Lucan 21528 Mt.Hood 21455 Nadwislanska 21114 Nadwislanska,vf 21524 Neoplanta 21082 Nordgaard 1478 21215 Northern Brewer 64107 Northern Brewer, vf 21093 Nugget 21193	Olympic 21225 Omega 21667 Orion 21675 Pacific Gem 21609 Perle 21227 Petham Golding 68052 Pocket Talisman 21115 Precoce d’Bourgogne 21168 Pride of Kent 21280 Pride of Ringwood 66052 Progress 66051 Record 21078 Saazer 21077 Saazer 36 vf 21521 Saazer 38 vf 21522 Saazer tetraploid 21534 Saazer Osvald 72C 21532 Saazer Osvald 72C,vf 21538 Saazer Osvald 72Y 21525 Saazer Osvald 72Y, vf 21535
Santiam 21664 Savinja Golding 61020 Saxon 21282 Serebrianka 21045 Shinshuwase 60042 Sirem 21214 SmoothCone 66056 Sorachi Ace 21702 Southern Brewer 21187 Southern Cross 21703 Spalter 21186 Spalter Select 21674 Star 21217 Sterling 21689 Sticklebract 21403 Strisselspalter 21173 Styrian 21049	Sun (no USDA Nr.) Sunbeam 21697 Sunshine 21281 SuperAlpha 21405 Symphony (no USDA Nr.) Talisman 65101 Tardif d’Bourgogne 21169 Tettnanger 21015 Tettnanger (Swiss) 61021 Tetnanger A 21496 Tettnanger B 21497 Tillicum (no USDA Nr.) Tolhurst 21396 Toyomidori 21676 Ultra 21484 Universal 21531 US Tettnanger 21197	Vanguard Sel.Nr. 8251-167 (no USDA Nr.) Viking 21283 Wye Viking 21283 Vojvodina 21083 Whitbread’s Golding 21668 Willamette 21041 Wuerttemberger 21682 Wye Challenger 21043 Wye Saxon 21282 Wye Target, vf 21112 Yakima Cluster, L 1 65102 Yeoman 21498 Yugoslavia Golding 61019 Zenith 21499 Zeus (no USDA Nr.) Zlatan 21533

Source: Oregon State University High Alpha Acid Breeding Program