Author: Marshall Schott
For the first foray into this project, I used a relatively new hop variety that, at the time of purchase was referred to as Experimental Pine Fruit, though recently adopted the name Eureka.
Alpha: 18.0 – 19.0 %
Beta: 5.0 – 6.0 %
CoH: 27 % of alpha acids
Oil: 3.10 ml/100g
Myrcene 43.00%
Humulene 29.80%
Caryophyllene 14.20%
Farnesene 0.20%
Linalool 0.40%
Parentage: Apollo, Merkur
I’d actually heard about before through Matt Humbard’s experimental hop series on his blog, Ph.D. In Beer. In that post, Matt commented on how aromatically pungent he perceived this hop to be:
The aroma is really forward… almost overwhelming. It is PINE NEEDLES (YES!!!) and grapefruit with a slight mild floral character and definitely some dankness/sulfur you can get from a few hops at times. Really prominent aroma, I can’t state that enough here… very aromatic.
I’ve been pining to play with this one for awhile and was excited by the prospect of using it in our THC Pale Ale recipe!
| MAKING THE BEER |
Being the first single-batch brew in months, this brew day was a piece of cake. I got a starter of WLP090 going a couple days ahead of time, overbuilding enough to harvest for future use.
I woke up early a couple days later and began heating the entire volume of brewing liquor for a no sparge mash. Once mashed in, I weighed out the hops.
While somewhat familiar, their aroma was far more pungent than I’m used to, even my daughter commented on it as she walked by the bench they were sitting on. Once the boil was finished, I chilled the wort to 175°F with my King Cobra IC, it took about 30 seconds, then added the huge hopstand addition and let it steep. The smell filled my entire garage, it was pretty remarkable. When the hopstand was complete, I cranked my water to full blast and finished chilling to my target fermentation temperature of 66°F. I filled the carboy, placed it in a fermentation chamber, then pitched the WLP090 starter. The beer fermented for a week before I added the dry hop charge, which sat in the beer for 3 days. After a hydrometer measurement confirmed the target FG had been reached, I crashed it, fined with gelatin, and racked it to a keg.
| RESULTS |
I invited 11 experienced craft beer drinkers to participate in this project including many certified and provisional BJCP judges. All tasters were informed of the general purpose of The Hop Chronicles, though the hop variety was not revealed. Participants were provided a sample of the beer then instructed to complete a survey asking them to rank the intensity of pre-determined aroma and flavor characteristics on a 0-4 Likert scale where higher ranks corresponded to stronger perceptions of a particular characteristic. The rankings for each descriptor were then averaged and plotted on a radar graph.
Average Ratings of Aroma and Flavor Perceptions
You may have noticed the mean differences between descriptors aren’t that huge (e.g., 1.09 between citrus and apple-pear on flavor), which is likely a function of the relatively small scale (this is something we’re changing). While we’ve no valid method to prove whether one characteristic is significantly more prominent than another, ordering the descriptors by their mean ratings gives some idea of what participants generally perceived from this hop, and hence what one might expect when using this hop.
The 3 aroma and flavor characteristics endorsed as being most prominent by the tasters were:
Citrus
Resinous
Tropical fruit
The 3 aroma and flavor characteristics endorsed as being least prominent by the tasters were:
Grassy (aroma)/Floral (flavor)
Berry
Apple-Pear
Tasters were also asked about the pungency/strength of the hop. A majority of 7 endorsed strong, 1 person thought it was extreme, and the other 3 felt it was moderately pungent. None of the participants perceived this hop as being mild.
Finally, we asked each taster to indicate the beer styles they think this hop would work best for. In resounding agreement, everyone selected hoppy styles including IPA, IIPA, and APA, with a few suggesting it’d work well in an American Red or Saison.
My Impressions: I took note of my impression prior to collecting data so as to avoid as much bias as possible. What I perceived the first time I sampled this beer did not change at all as the beer sat around. For me, the aroma was marked by an intense resinous character backed up by moderate citrus and tropical fruit (guava), which largely overwhelmed any malt or yeast contribution. Interestingly, the flavor came across to me as slightly more balanced, though still definitely hop forward, with stronger notes of pine and peach. I perceived the bitterness imparted by Eureka as being a tad sharp, though rather pleasing, similar to what I get from Northern Brewer and not quite as biting as Chinook. I’m in full agreement with the panelists in thinking this hop is perfect for hop forward beer styles.
| CONCLUSIONS |
Experimental Pine Fruit, which now goes by the name Eureka, is a hop that seems to impart rather pungent resinous, citrus, and tropical fruit character. One taster commented it was like Simcoe on steroids, though I personally get more resin from Eureka. On its own, this hop made a tasty and perfectly drinkable hoppy APA, though I have a feeling it’d work even better paired with complimentary hops that amplify citrus and/or tropical fruit qualities. Also, we chose to use a relatively clean fermenting strain for this project in order to let the hop character shine, I’d love to taste a Eureka hopped beer fermented with a more characterful yeast such as The Yeast Bay’s Vermont Ale. Mmm.
Recently, it seems Eureka has been getting a bit more attention from brewers, which I see as a testament to its radness. If you’ve ever used this hop, please don’t hesitate to share your experience in the comments section below. Cheers!
This issue of The Hop Chronicles is sponsored by Yakima Valley Hops, suppliers of over 40 varieties of hops ranging from classics like Saaz and Cascade to yet-to-be-named experimental options. Offering great prices with reasonable shipping, consider Yakima Valley Hops for your next hop purchase.
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24 thoughts on “The Hop Chronicles | Eureka (2014) Pale Ale”
Awesome post. I was tempted to try some of the new experimental varieties, but haven’t pulled the trigger yet. Nathan Smith has a few blogs and videos where he talks about brewing with new hops. Really love the site and i get a lot of compliments on the those who talk beer shirt!
Im in Orange county, perhaps i could venture into your area for one othese taste tests or maybe a brew collab!
Cheers!
Thanks! Definitely, if you’re ever in the Fresno/Clovis area, let me know and I’ll have you over to participate, I’ve always got something going.
So Eureka is a strain? I’ve also been seeing more blends of hops. I got 2 blends from YakimaValley TNT and Fantasia. Along with another new one called Pekko. Looking forward to seeing more in this series.
Yeah, Eureka is a single variety with Apollo and Merkur parentage; it is not a hop blend like Falconer’s Flight or 7C’s.
Intriguing information, as was the graphic to display perceived aroma and flavor. I’ve seen a similar looking graphic in my 99 Beers book, but it had to do with the flavors of a beer, not hops. Keep up the good work.
Great hop! I came in second place last year at Cambridge Brewing companies homebrew comp. Single hopped white IPA with oats:
https://www.facebook.com/CambridgeBrewing/posts/10152336145422508
I like the use of the spider graph for showcasing a hops characteristics. Some websites use a continuum between different aromas, but I don’t think different aromas are mutually exclusive. Consider perhaps adding an axis for “Total hop aroma” in order to gauge the overall aroma intensity of the hop.
I like this THC recipe and would like to try it with some of the hops I just won (Azacca, Calypso). One question though,15 grams of gypsum + chloride and lactic in the mash?
I’m assuming your source water alkalinity is pretty high? Or do you actually add all of that to the mash?
Longtime follower. Keep up the great work and reads.
Side note: I like your brew day log. Simple and thorough.
Is that something you fashioned in Excel or is that an output of Beersmith?
Would you mind sharing?
Thank you so much for the support! The recipe format actually a plugin Derek from FiveBladesBrewing.com created for WordPress.
Another side note question: I see you are racking through beer side dip tube but on your racking link you rack through the keg opening… which one do you like better?
I prefer the disconnected his only because it’s easier to keep flies out.
Thanks Marshall…love this site.
Cool recipe. TYPO EDIT – I think you meant to write: “Once the boil was finished, I chilled the wort to 75°F with my King Cobra IC, it took about 30 seconds, then added the huge hopstand addition and let it steep.”
Nope, the recipe calls for a hopstand, which involves chilling the wort to below 180°F, adding a large amount of hops, then letting it steep for some time before completing the chilling process.
I love it! I recently brewed a pale ale with this recipe I threw together. I get about 66% efficiency with my Breweasy:
6lbs 2-row
5lbs Vienna
8oz Golden Naked Oats
8oz Crystal 20
.75oz Galazy at 90min
.50oz Enigma and .50oz Vic Secret, both at 10min
Dry hopped with .50oz of both Enigma and Vic Secret for 6 days after primary fermentation
Imperial organic yeast – Flagship (similar to WLP001)
This was by far my favorite pale ale I’ve ever had. It’s a fruit/citrus bomb with enough malt to carry it through. I’m loving the Aussie hops!
How long did you hop stand this? I have never done this technique yet but wondering on how long a typical one is?
20 minutes.
I just did an IPA with 100% Eureka! for flavor. I bittered with Warrior actually. Anyway, I did 4 oz in hopstand for 30 minutes and then dry hopped on day 4-5 of fermentation with 6 oz. I just took a sample after 4 days on dry hops, and it is very intense!! I have to agree that there is a strong pine/resinous character. The flavor to me is pretty strong mango. I would describe it as the mango hop. Mangos have that mango flavor with a strong piney characteristic, especially the flesh that is really close to the seed. I would describe it as mainly mango with some other ripe fruit character maybe. I like it. I think you’re right that it would be good paired with other tropical hops. Have you had it or used it with other hops and had a good result? I definitely want to use it again!
I’ve had a beer from a pro brewery that used it in a blend, it was tasty.
I made a Smash Ale with these hops. I thought it was very good, everyone who had a glass (I keg) thought it was very good. Nice citrus, definitely resinous, but I will be buying more.
Have you had a chance to try the Vermont Ale yet? If so what were the results?
Also, do you know any commercial examples that use this hop? I had an experimental brew from Schlafly in St. Louis that used it, but other than that I haven’t seen it.
I’ve used Vermont Ale yeast a few times, but not with this hop. I’ve also had a couple commercial beers made with Eureka, similar character.
Hello and thanks for your blog……so great!!!!! How can i find the recipe?