New UK varieties (Jester, Olicana et al) - what does everyone think of them?

[darlacat]

I brewed predominantly with US hops for years, but now am trying to only use the most local ingredients where possible - for both sustainability reasons*, and due to the economic impact of covid on British hop farms, etc.

I tried Olicana in a single hop pale ale recently - quite good, slightly fruity/tropical, but with the floral/earthy quality of English hops; although I found the more 'new world' elements to fade quickly. However, last week I brewed an IPA that was late hopped with Minstrel and Godiva. I tasted a sample yesterday and was really impressed with the flavour and aroma - spicy, pithy orange, definitely tasted like a real hybrid between English and American hops. Godiva in particular smelled incredible when brewing. I also have some Jester, which I'm yet to try.

Anyone else tried any of the new UK varieties? Any recommendations for combinations, styles, etc?

*I wonder what the carbon footprint of the NEIPA craze is, given that the hops are being shipped from the US, Australia, NZ...

 

[Sandimas]

I haven't yet, but Jester looks interesting.

Charles Faram (commercial hop producer) was at one of the Malvern Shows last year just up the road from me, Jester looked the most interesting and smelled great, I would have bought some but they were only selling 1kg bags and I was trying to run down my current stocks.

 

[MmmBeer]

I've tried Olicana on its own, in a pale and found the only tropical fruit flavour to come out was that of melon, a touch underwhelming. I have been told it mixes well with Jester though.

 

[An Ankoù]

I've used Jester and I'm quite impressed with it. While it doesn't carry the weight of, say Citra or Idaho 7, it has a really nice flavour which you won't find in any of the trad English hops. I used it in a pale ale and it really is quite good. Another hop I hadn't used before was Phoenix. I used it in the Forum Christmas Brew instead of adding chocolate nibs and it tastes every bit as chocolaty as some commercial chocolate beers. I don't knoungw how much the Phoenix contributed to this as there was chocolate malt as well, but the contribution is certainly significant. I don't like chocolate beers, in fact, but I prefer mine to Youngs D C and certainly to the horror that Sam Smiths makes.
I've got a few more of the new hops- some still with experimental numbers- which I've yet to try out. I'll post results as soon as I get round to trying them. I keep getting distracted and I've just read an article on Irish stout which claims they used pale and black malt, but the irish black malt is lighter than the English and the pale malt is nearly amber. I can feel a bit of a trial recipe coming on with Crisp's mild malt (which they call Vienna) and Caraf #2. So many recipes and so little time.

 

[alefric LeHendz]

I made an IPA type using Jester and Olicana earlier this year, I used late addition and hop stand and it turned out to be a pretty nice beer. Fruity but not overpowering if I remember.

 

[MmmBeer]

Phoenix was once grown exclusively for Tetley's, but when they changed their recipe, it was mostly pulled up. It has now been re-introduced and is aimed at the stouts and dark ales market. I have also tried it in a bitter, the flovour of which reminded me of the 1980's.

 

[jceg316]

I've found Jester to have an amazing aroma of lychee but the flavour to be very earthy. I've found Olicana to be really woody. I've really enjoyed Boadicea - really nice and floral and goes well in a British or Belgian blonde ale. The flavour is a bit on the subtle side so I think having a flavourful yeast or malt character for added dimension does help.

 

[An Ankoù]

Phoenix was once grown exclusively for Tetley's, but when they changed their recipe, it was mostly pulled up. It has now been re-introduced and is aimed at the stouts and dark ales market. I have also tried it in a bitter, the flovour of which reminded me of the 1980's.

That's interesting. Yet another distraction. I've got some left so I'll try it in a bitter as I've been trying to recapture that 80s taste. Perhaps I'll mix it with target. But then again, if it was their hop, perhaps they used it straight.

 

[Hanglow]

As long as you don't expect the real in your face character of some US and new world hops, there are quite a lot of interesting UK and european new hops imo. I like the newer slovenian hops

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Jester and Olicana were the Big White Hopes a few years ago, I think it's fair to say that Olicana has never really lived up to that billing and I suspect will fall by the wayside as newer varieties come on stream.

Jester's a funny one, the first beer I had with it was one of the early Faram test brews and it was great, full of mango character that I've never experienced since. I've had it in quite a few commercial beers and it seems quite variable - probably a combination of vintage variation and sensitivity to picking time. Personally I think it's much better blended than on its own - Romney Marsh used to do a great beer with Jester and EKG, it would also work with some of the milder New World hops like Cascade or Motueka or something.

Godiva in contrast seems to have enough to it that it works on its own, you don't often see it though.

There's a lot of buzz about Mystic which is one of the newest ones off the Faram production line, but I've not had it.

OTOH I'm not a big fan of Boadicea - there's a funny earthy taste to it that I don't much care for, IIRC there's a "flavour" gene (I want to say something to do with farnesene??) that's pretty tightly linked to the dwarfing gene that they've only recently managed to unlink. M&S do a Boadicea in their single-hop range (along with Jester), so you could try that before brewing with it.

Flyer was meant to be the next big bittering hop but didn't work out, it's nice as a late hop in dark beers.

Ernest is pretty nice, and as an old hop that's been rediscovered it's not protected so you can buy rhizomes if you can find it.

Stock's Farm work with Farams and often have experimental varieties available like GP75: "Aromas – very pungent grapefruit, lime & citrus Aroma score – at least 9/10"

Conversely, Bushel of Hops have a bunch of old varieties that you may not have come across (plus a few newer ones like Ernest).

If you're worried about transport, then buying in bulk reduces the number of journeys - Brook House in theory only sell to breweries but I'm sure that this year in particular they'll sell you 5kg if you want it.

Hukins will sell 250g upwards and invite you to ask them about experimental varieties they are growing.

It's also worth thinking about old favourites in new ways eg :

Steve Dunkley of Beer Nouveau and Temperance Street Brewery in Manchester has experimented with larger volumes of Fuggle hops and reports incredible results. Beer Nouveau specialises in brewing historic and heritage beers, rebrewing recipes from as far back as Ancient Egypt and the time of the Vikings. Steve tells me that he used Fuggles in the recreation of a recipe from the 1800s. “The sheer volumes of hops that they used meant that the essential oils that carry the aromas couldn’t escape in steam during the boil, they recirculated back into the bulk of the wort and isomerised there” he explains. “Beers we’ve brewed like this have smelled as fresh 18 months later as they did when we first brewed them.” He goes on to explain that Fuggle is a great hop for understanding the impact of this effect. “When you use it in small quantities, like it has been done recently, it’s pretty average. But when you use a lot of it, you get wonderful mango/stone fruit aromas and flavours.” Steve tells me that the difference is so pronounced that the profile has confused many who have taken a sip. “Drinkers trying it without knowing the hops have guessed that it’s an NZ hop.”

Be aware of vintage variation though, I suspect the heatwave of 2018 would have been a great year to get the best out of Fuggles, 2019 less so.

 

[An Ankoù]

That's an amazing report, Northern Brewer. Thank you. I've tried one brew with Jester, didn't like it much, put it to one side and tried it again a couple of months later and it was much improved- I've ordered some more Jester. I agree with you about Boadicea, it's disappointing and I'll use the rest for bittering. I've got Olicana and Mystic, but haven't tried them yet. It's about time I got round to it. Stocks Farm are great, if a tad pricey. I had a couple of 100s of Phoenix off them recently, for the Xmas chocolate ale, in fact. I think they're well worth a go.
Also did a SMaSH with Archer, which I'm trying again right now. I can't say I'm blown away with it. This is what Charles Faram says:
It combines classic British aroma with a citrus twist. Useful as copper and dry hop additions.
Substitutions: None
Well I'm getting the grapefruit, but it's also very earthy and, while I'm OK with earthy, I don't think the two go together well. Certainly not in a Pale Malt and Archer SMaSH, anyway.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Archer's one of the ones that was launched alongside Jester but seems to be dying a death, I suspect she'll soon go the way of her fellow Sovereign daughter Minstrel, which they've now given up on.

The other new Faram one that's not been mentioned is Harlequin, a Godiva daughter that again they're getting all excited about, it's meant to be much more tropical than the others but I've not had it.

Looking through the official BHA list, don't forget the blackcurrant twins of Bullion and Bramling Cross - although the expression of their blackcurrantness does vary a lot with vintage.

Beata is a dwarf hop launched around the same time as First Gold, it was bred for high beta but I've never seen it offered to homebrewers, there's obviously a little bit still grown as it appears in the odd commercial beer still, Pictish did one.

I've had Epic as a green hop beer which was nice, a hint of lime and peach but probably not something to get too excited about.

Keyworth Early's probably worth keeping an eye out for, I think Bushel have some. Ah, here we go - and they have Midseason too.

Sussex is a curiosity that IME is a "farmer's" hop more than a "brewer's hop" - Harvey's use it in their Wild hop beer but add UK Cascade.

 

[darlacat]

Archer's one of the ones that was launched alongside Jester but seems to be dying a death, I suspect she'll soon go the way of her fellow Sovereign daughter Minstrel, which they've now given up on.

I made a beer with Minstrel and Godiva at the end of last year - first samples were quite promising, although I ended up finding those hops to be quite unpleasant, to be honest!

I currently have a pale ale hopped with Jester fermenting; first time brewing with Jester, and the aroma from the airlock is promising - so far...

 

[Jim Brewster]

I had the Jester from M&S brewed by Adnams and thought it was good and quite unique and something I'd try using. Tasted like it would work with lighter ales and possibly lagers, maybe even a Saison rather than something like a NEIPA although maybe not completely out of the question as mentioned with Fuggles above and it would be an interesting curiosity to taste it in a dry hopped beer.

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

I made a beer with Minstrel and Godiva at the end of last year - first samples were quite promising, although I ended up finding those hops to be quite unpleasant, to be honest!

I currently have a pale ale hopped with Jester fermenting; first time brewing with Jester, and the aroma from the airlock is promising - so far...

I currently have a Pale Ale made with Jester hops in the FV too. Couldn’t tell you what it smells like yet. I have become very patient and haven’t opened the door to the brew fridge since I shut it in there 11 days ago. You have intrigued me now though. Might need a quick peek and sniff

 

[darlacat]

I had the Jester from M&S brewed by Adnams and thought it was good and quite unique and something I'd try using. Tasted like it would work with lighter ales and possibly lagers, maybe even a Saison rather than something like a NEIPA although maybe not completely out of the question as mentioned with Fuggles above and it would be an interesting curiosity to taste it in a dry hopped beer.

I'm dry hopping my pale, so will report back in about two weeks...

 

[nickjdavis]

I've got a Japanese Rice lager currently fermenting that uses Godiva as a single hop....all the additions were in the last 15 mins of the boil/whirlpool or dry hop additions.

Samples taste nice....will be bottled in a couple of weeks or so.

Theres a whole bunch of us brewing a myriad of different styles using Godiva exclusively in our brewing club....will be interesting when we get to do tastings of all the beers.

 

[nickjdavis]

I currently have a Pale Ale made with Jester hops in the FV too. Couldn’t tell you what it smells like yet. I have become very patient and haven’t opened the door to the brew fridge since I shut it in there 11 days ago. You have intrigued me now though. Might need a quick peek and sniff

dont breathe in too deeply/sharply if you do....you will effectively be snorting almost pure CO2....its not the most pleasant thing to do!!!!