Cascade 7.5% AA?

[DancingCamel]

We just got a shipment of Cascade hop pellets with an analysis indicating AA of 7.5% Could that be right? I thought Cascade only comes in at ~6%.

Thx.

David

[beertje46]

We just got a shipment of Cascade hop pellets with an analysis indicating AA of 7.5% Could that be right? I thought Cascade only comes in at ~6%.

Thx.

David

I have been receiving 7.5% since the new crop. Must have been a good year for cascades!

[rafters_brewer]

I received a couple of shipments at 7.5%AA but I was told by my supplier (Hopunion) that the next batch would be closer to 6%.

[tariq khan]

cascades

We're currently using 6.8% A.A. Cascades

T

[Michael Murphy]

yeah and my Hallertau northern brewer which is usually around 9.5-10% is 6.5% this year
Im switching to hop extract....

[DancingCamel]

Are you talking about using extract for bittering or aroma/flavor? How does the aroma/flavor profile compare to whole-leaf/pellets? Are there any disadvantages to using extracts vs. pellets? How does the pricing compare? I was just on the YC website yesterday and all these products caught my eye.

David

[Michael Murphy]

Are you talking about using extract for bittering or aroma/flavor? How does the aroma/flavor profile compare to whole-leaf/pellets? Are there any disadvantages to using extracts vs. pellets? How does the pricing compare? I was just on the YC website yesterday and all these products caught my eye.

David

just for bittering, aroma and flavor i will use pellets and whole flowers, Extract is about 48 % AA and Its advantage is minium loss in the trub + higher effeciency in isomerization.

example I make a pale ale with 5 kg of 10% AA pellets for bittering, now with the low AA yeild in Hallertau NB, I would have to use close to 9 KG which would make for a lousy trub pile at knock out. With extract i would use 100 or so grams and there wont be any trub from it.
As far as aroma and flavoring I havent tried it, perhaps i will experiment.

[ralpho123]

Cascade alpha acids

Dear Forum,

In Response to the alpha acids of Cascade or for that matter any hop, the variance can in some years vary quite widely from the norm. This is true both on the high and low side. Normally Cascades are from 5-6.5% but over the years I have seen them low as 2.5% and one time a high of 10, yes that is right 10%. This past year the average was a little on the higher side and a 7-7.5 does not surprise me in the least. Much of the alpha is due to favorable weather conditions and fertilization practices. Weather in this case was more the factor.

Conversely this year we are seeing some very low alphas for some European aromas. This was do to excess heat and lack of rainfall. Hops such as Saaz, Hallertauer and Spalt are about 1/2 their normal alpha. Yield was also affected therefore current pricing has gone up significantly.

In summary, remember numbers given for hop varieties such as we put into our "Hop Characteristic" booklet are typical numbers, but remember mother nature is the ultimate player. Few other factors are maturity and as mentioned fertilization factors. Hops picked under or over mature will not have optimum alpha and for example too much nitrogen given at the wrong time will create lots of growth with not much in the way of resins being produced.

thx


Ralph Olson
Hopunion LLC