Hop Varieties: From Noble Hops to Citra and Beyond
Hops are the spice rack of brewing. A brewer choosing between Saaz and Simcoe is making the same kind of fundamental flavor decision as a cook choosing between caraway and jalapeño — the categories overlap (both are hops, both add bitterness and aroma) but the results in the glass are worlds apart. Learning the major hop families is one of the most useful things a beer drinker or aspiring brewer can do.
Noble Hops: The European Originals
The noble hops are a group of four traditional European varieties associated with the great lager-producing regions: Saaz (Bohemia), Hallertauer Mittelfrüh (Bavaria), Tettnanger (Baden-Württemberg), and Spalt (Franconia). The term "noble" has no technical definition but captures shared characteristics: low alpha acid content (roughly 3–6%), a low share of cohumulone that is associated with soft rather than harsh bitterness, and an oil profile rich in humulene that yields floral, herbal, woody, and lightly spicy notes without the citrus or tropical fruit associated with American varieties.
Saaz is the defining hop of Czech pilsner. Pilsner Urquell uses Saaz almost exclusively, and the hop's spicy, chamomile-like character is what gives Czech pilsner its distinctive aromatic identity. The Saaz growing region around Žatec (German: Saaz) has been protected as a geographic indication, and locally grown Saaz commands a significant premium over Saaz-type hops grown elsewhere. Bavarian breweries likewise emphasize the terroir argument for Hallertauer Mittelfrüh: the specific combination of soil, climate, and elevation in the Hallertau region produces a hop with a gentler floral character than Hallertauer varieties grown in Oregon or New Zealand.
American C-Hops
The American craft beer revolution was built largely on the "C-hops" — a group of American varieties beginning with the letter C that were developed partly as higher-yielding, disease-resistant alternatives to European nobles and partly as distinct flavor profiles for a market that was not bound by tradition. The group includes Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Columbus (also known as Tomahawk or Zeus, hence CTZ), and Cluster.
Cascade, a USDA–Oregon State variety released in the early 1970s, is the hop most directly associated with the birth of American craft beer. Anchor's Liberty Ale put it front and center in 1975, and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, first brewed in late 1980 and sold from 1981, made its grapefruit and floral character the template for American pale ales for a generation. Chinook brought the pine-resin intensity that later defined West Coast bitterness, most famously in Stone's Arrogant Bastard Ale. Centennial, which shares Cascade's grapefruit character with more floral lift and higher alpha acids, became a mainstay of IPAs such as Bear Republic's Racer 5 — a brand now brewed by Drake's Brewing, which bought Bear Republic in 2023 and closed its Cloverdale brewery.
The New Generation: Citra, Mosaic, Simcoe
Around the turn of the millennium, private breeding programs in Washington State — above all the Hop Breeding Company, a joint venture of John I. Haas and Select Botanicals Group, and Select Botanicals' own Yakima Chief Ranches — began releasing varieties with aromatic profiles dramatically different from the established C-hops. Citra (HBC 394, released in 2007–08 after years of trials) has become arguably the most commercially important aroma hop since Cascade. Its essential oil profile is dominated by linalool (floral), geraniol (citrus, rose), and myrcene in a combination that produces an intensely tropical and citrusy aroma — passion fruit, lime, lychee — that has become the default language of American IPA.
Mosaic (released 2012) adds blueberry, earthiness, and tropical complexity alongside the citrus that makes it a natural companion to Citra. The combination of Citra and Mosaic has become so ubiquitous in hazy IPAs that some drinkers and critics have debated whether it constitutes a genuine style marker or simply a marketing reflex. Simcoe (released 2000) carries pine, catty/dank, and passion fruit character with high alpha acids, making it a workhorse for bittering and a contributor of resinous complexity in West Coast IPAs. Russian River's Pliny the Elder uses Simcoe alongside Amarillo, Centennial, and CTZ to build its benchmark double IPA.
New Zealand Hops
New Zealand's hop industry developed largely apart from European and American programs. The country's isolation left it virtually free of hop pests and diseases, so breeders could select for aroma rather than fight agronomic problems, crossing imported European and American stock into varieties with unusual flavor profiles. Nelson Sauvin (released in 2000), named for the Sauvignon Blanc-like white wine character its essential oils produce, is the variety that put New Zealand on the global hop map. Beers made with Nelson Sauvin — particularly pale ales and IPAs from New Zealand breweries like Yeastie Boys and Garage Project — have a white wine, gooseberry, and tropical character that is immediately identifiable and unlike any American or European variety.
Motueka (derived partly from Saaz) produces lemon and tropical lime character. Waimea is a high-alpha hop with lemon and tangerine notes. Wakatu (formerly Hallertau Aroma) provides a floral, citrus-forward character useful for late additions. Riwaka, grown in small volumes and rarely available abroad, gives an intense grapefruit character and is eagerly sought by importers.
Australian Hops
Australian breeding programs, centered in Tasmania, have produced Galaxy and Vic Secret as the most internationally significant varieties. Galaxy (released 2009 for commercial use, though developed through the 1990s) is extraordinary in the intensity and diversity of its tropical fruit character: passionfruit, mango, peach, and citrus in concentrations that dominate a beer even at modest dry-hop rates. It has become a key component of Australian craft beers from breweries like Stone & Wood and Balter, and is increasingly used by American craft breweries either alone or alongside Citra.
Vic Secret (released 2013) provides pineapple, passionfruit, and a pine-herb character that complements Galaxy when the two are dry-hopped together. Ella (formerly Stella) has distinctive anise and floral character. Topaz provides strong tropical and citrus notes at high oil content.
Sabro and the Latest Generation
Sabro (HBC 438, released 2018 by the Hop Breeding Company) represents a newer generation of American breeding, deriving partly from a wild neomexicanus hop parent — a native American species distinct from the European-derived varieties that form most commercial breeding stock. Sabro's aroma profile is unusual: coconut, cedar, tropical fruit, and a creamy richness that makes it unlike any other commercial hop. It has been used in limited-release beers by Odell Brewing, Dogfish Head, and many others as a novelty that can also serve as a complex supporting hop in hazies.
The Hop Breeding Company, public programs such as Washington State University and the USDA–Oregon State partnership, and other private breeders continue to release new varieties at a fast clip, driven by craft brewers' appetite for novel aromatics and the commercial incentive of exclusive licensing. Cashmere (Washington State, 2013), Idaho 7 (2015), and Oregon's Strata (2018) are among the varieties that have generated the most interest in recent years. If you want to see how these aromas get coaxed out in the brewhouse, our guide to dry-hopping techniques picks up where this one leaves off.
Where will you go first?
Many of the breweries that first brought specific hop varieties to prominence are on the interactive map — Sierra Nevada in Chico and Russian River in Santa Rosa both helped define what American hops can do, and you can browse the United States or head south to New Zealand, whose brewers are profiled in our top New Zealand breweries guide. Open the map to explore the breweries and regions that shaped modern hop-forward beer.