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Fuggle Hops

Ah, Fuggles!  According to me, the Fuggle hop variety has the funniest name in all of hopdom (Hersbrucker is a close second).  But seriously, it is a classic English aroma hop that is used in brewing for over 100 years. Interestingly, the use of the singular and the plural version of the name seem to be used interchangeably on the web and in texts.  Not sure how dual usage came about, but I think it make sense to use “Fuggle” when pairing it with the word “hops” and “Fuggles” when you do not.

Here’s some other things I dug up on the Fuggle hop variety.

Origin: The UK.  It was cultivated by a guy named Richard Fuggle.  His nickname was ‘Fuggly-Wuggly”.  Ok, I made that up.  There are a few dates attached to this hop.  One is 1861 and the other is 1875.  My guess is that the variety was first grown in 1861 and made available commercially in 1875.  Other things about the Fuggle hop: Styrian Goldings is Fuggles grown in Slovenia and they are a parent to Willamette, Cascade, and Glacier hops.

Aroma:  Woody, earthy, pleasant vegetal.

Alpha Acid: Ranges from 3.5 to 6% AAU.

Typical Usage:  Mostly flavor or aroma but I have seen Fuggles used in bittering too.

Beer Styles: English ales are a good fit for this hop variety:  Porters, Milds, and Bitters.   I like using Fuggles when I brew porters.   Fuggles are grown in the US too but they are less potent as the UK version.  If you can get UK Fuggles, get them.

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2 Comments

  1. Henrik

    I grow my own Fuggle(s) in Denmark on a basically sandy, but very rich, organically treated garden soil. I use it for bitterness as well as aroma in my own beers. It works wonderfully and it adds greatly to the joy of homebrewing to be able to produce your own hops.

  2. normR

    interesting, I just tasted an Oregon Microbrew that was made with Fuggles. It was quite different from the typical IPA made in these parts. I couldn’t put my finger on what was different until I read your page, then it became obvious to me that this IPA tasted distinctively more”British” than the very hoppy IPA’s of the local area that celebrate our great hops growing region. But these local IPA’s are made with cascade and WIllamete hops and taste, to me, much “brighter” than this brew made with Fuggles, which seems “darker” and more earthy.

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