The Hop Chronicles | Idaho Gem (2020) Pale Ale

Author: Paul Amico

As a hop that was found rather than being intentionally bred, the genetics for Idaho Gem are unknown, though it’s a variety that has received rather positive reviews since it was released by Gooding Farms in the mid-2010s. Taking its name from the state in which it was discovered and is currently grown, Idaho Gem is described as imparting candy-like red berry and cherry notes along with dank, floral, and citrus characteristics.

Alpha: 11 – 14%
Beta: 5 – 7%
Cohumulone: ​​40 – 45% of alpha acids
Total Oil: 1.3 – 2 mL/100g
Myrcene: unknown
Humulene: unknown
Caryophyllene: unknown
Farnesene: unknown
Linalool: unknown
Geraniol: unknown
ß-Pinene: unknown
Parentage: unknown

With its high alpha acid and oil content, Idaho Gem seems an ideal variety for the hopped-up styles popular these days. While I’d yet to use this relatively novel variety in my own brewing, I had heard good things about it and was excited to see what blind tasters would think of a Pale Ale made solely with Idaho Gem.

| MAKING THE BEER |

I went with our standard Hop Chronicles Pale Ale recipe for this batch, making small adjustments to the kettle hop additions to keep the bitterness in check.

Idaho Gem Pale Ale

I started off my brew day by flipping the switch on my controller to heat up the RO water I’d previously adjusted to my desired profile before weighing out and milling the grain.

When the water was properly heated, I incorporated the grains and set the controller to maintain my desired mash temperature of 152 °F/ 67°C before preparing the kettle hop additions.

Once the 60 minute mash rest was complete, I removed the grains and proceeded to boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at the times stated in the recipe. When the boil was complete, I used my CFC to chill the wort during transfer to a sanitized fermenter.

A refractometer reading showed the wort was at my target OG.

Next, I direct pitched a single pouch of Imperial Yeast A07 Flagship into the wort.

The beer was left to ferment at 66°F/19°C for 2 weeks before I took a hydrometer measurement confirming FG was reached.

With fermentation complete, I transferred the beer to a CO2 purged keg.

The filled keg was placed in my keezer and burst carbonated overnight before I reduced the gas to serving pressure. After a week of conditioning, I began serving it to blind tasters.

| METHOD |

Participants were instructed to focus only on the aromatic qualities of the beer before evaluating the flavor. For each aroma and flavor descriptor, tasters were asked to write-in the perceived strength of that particular characteristic on a 0-9 scale where a rating of 0 meant they did not perceive the character at all and a 9 rating meant the character was extremely strong. Once the data was collected, the average rating of each aroma and flavor descriptor was compiled and analyzed.

| RESULTS |

A total of 24 people participated in the evaluation of this beer, all blind to the hop variety used until after they completed the survey. The average aroma and flavor ratings for each descriptor were plotted on a radar graph.

Average Ratings of Aroma and Flavor Perceptions

The 3 characteristics endorsed as being most prominent by participants:

The 3 characteristics endorsed as being least prominent by participants:

When asked to rate the pungency/strength of the hop, most tasters perceived it as being mildly to moderately pungent.

Tasters were then instructed to identify beer styles they thought the hop would work well in.

Finally, participants were asked to rate how much they enjoyed the hop character on a 1 to 10 scale.

My Impressions: The first thing I got off of this Idaho Gem Pale Ale was melon and floral with apple/pear and tropical fruit off in the distance. Interestingly, the aroma was most pungent while pouring the beer, but it seemed to fade a bit once in the glass. The flavor was very similar to the aroma, though I got a bit more floral on the tongue than I did in the nose.

| CONCLUSION |

In the advanced world of today, most new hop varieties are intentionally bred by scientists who, given its progeny, have at least some idea of what characteristics it may possess. However, there was a time when all hops used in the brewing process were discovered “in the wild” before being cultivated, something Idaho Gem shares with other age-old varieties. And the fact such a new hop whose genetics are unknown possesses the juicy fruit characteristics desired by modern beer drinkers makes Idaho Gem all the more interesting.

The most prominent aroma and flavor characteristics noted by people who evaluated a Pale Ale made solely with Idaho Gem were tropical fruit and citrus, while onion/garlic, resinous, grassy, and berry were the least endorsed characteristics. While this goes against the existing description of Idaho Gem as imparting strong notes of red berry, the high tropical fruit and citrus ratings suggest this hop would fit nicely in modern Pale Ale and IPA, which were the styles endorsed by most tasters.

Based on the existing descriptors for Idaho Gem, I expected it to be quite pungent, but its character in this single-hop Pale Ale was somewhat mild. To me, this was actually a good thing, as so many new varieties are bred to be used in hop-bombs, though Idaho Gem was found in the wild and has characteristics I feel would work beautifully in less aggressive styles like American Wheat Beer or even a modern Kölsch. That’s not to say it wouldn’t pair well with other varieties in IPA, I’m sure it would, but I’m looking forward to seeing how it does when smaller doses are used in more delicates styles.

Idaho Gem hops are available now at Yakima Valley Hops, get some while you can! If you have any thoughts on this variety, please feel free to share them in the comments section below.

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