The Hop Chronicles | Harlequin (2023) Pale Ale

Author: Will Lovell

Developed in 2015 by Charles Faram’s Hop Development Programme in the United Kingdom and commercially released in 2019, Harlequin is considered a dual-purpose variety that’s said to rival modern New World hops in its ability to contribute pungent fruity characteristics to beer.

Alpha: 9 – 12%
Beta: 7 – 9%
Cohumulone: ​​27 – 31% of alpha acids
Total Oil: 1.0 – 1.8 mL/100g
Myrcene: 55 – 65%
Humulene: 0 – 10%
Caryophyllene: unknown
Farnesene: 5 – 15%
Linalool: unknown
Geraniol: unknown
ß-Pinene: unknown
Parentage: daughter of Godiva; granddaughter of Jester

With descriptors like peach, passion fruit, and pineapple, I was excited to get my hands on some Harlequin after learning about this new variety, and what better way to test it out than in a Hop Chronicles Pale Ale that would be served to blind tasters?

| 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.

Harlequin Pale Ale

I started this brew day by collecting the full volume of water, which I adjusted to my desired profile before weighing out and milling the grains.

When the water was properly heated the next morning, I incorporated the grains then checked to ensure the mash was at my desired temperature.

During the mash rest, I prepared the kettle hop additions.

Once the 60 minute mash 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 quickly chilled the wort then transferred it to a sanitized Delta Brewing FermTank.

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

After transferring the wort to a sanitized fermented, I direct pitched a single pouch of Imperial Yeast A07 Flagship.

The beer was left to ferment at 66°F/19°C for a few days before I added the dry hop addition, after which I waited another 4 days before taking a hydrometer measurement confirming FG was reached.

With fermentation complete, I cold crashed the beer then pressure-transferred it to a CO2 purged keg, which was placed in my kegerator and burst carbonated overnight before the gas was reduced to serving pressure. After a couple weeks of conditioning, it was ready to serve 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 11 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:

Next, participants were asked to rate the pungency/strength of the hop.

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 0 to 10 scale.

My Impressions: When lifting the glass toward my face, the first thing that hit me was the smell of stone fruit, namely peaches; however, once in my mouth, I picked up more lemon along with some non-descript tropical fruit flavors. All in all, I enjoyed this beer and thought the Harlequin hops contributed really interesting characteristics.

| CONCLUSION |

Traditional UK hop varieties tend to be associated with earthy, woody, and tea-like characteristics, which contributes the tell-tale qualities expected in classic styles like Mild and Bitter. However, Harlequin is a sort of black sheep, as it’s said to impart pungent fruity notes to beer, making it more at home in modern hop-forward styles.

The most prominent aroma and flavor characteristics noted by people who evaluated a Pale Ale made solely with Harlequin were citrus and tropical fruit, while onion/garlic, dank/catty, and earthy/woody were among the least endorsed characteristics. While this aligns fairly well with existing descriptors for Harlequin, a majority of tasters felt the overall pungency was moderate to mild.

I love trying new hops and was excited to get my hands on some Harlequin, as what I’d read about seemed very promising. While I was pleased with how this single-hop Harlequin Pale Ale turned out overall, I expected it to be more pungently fruity that I perceived it to be. Oddly enough, this is a hop I feel would work pretty well in modernized versions of classic British ales, though I also look forward to seeing how it pairs with more delicate lager styles.

Harlequin 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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