March 27th, 2008

Simcoe Hops

Posted by John in Hops

Lately, it’s all about collecting data on the new hops. Shortage or no shortage, here’s another variety that was worth the half hour I took to research it. Let’s learn about Simcoe Hops, AKA Cascade on steroids*.

Origin: America (Pacific Northwest) - It was released by the Yakima Chief Ranches in the year 2000.

Aroma: Not that I know what a passionfruit smells like, but apparently Simcoe hops have a passionfruit aroma and flavor. Some sources claimed their aroma is fruity reminiscent of apricots while others stated they have a pronounced pine or woodsy aroma. Seems like there is a complexity here. Maybe the aroma swings from fruity to piney from year to year or maybe where the hops are added to the boil changes the aroma.

Alpha Acid: 12-14%

Typical Usage: Because of the high alpha acid, Simcoe works well for bittering. It can be used as an aroma hop too.

Beer Styles: IPA, Double IPA, American-style ale.

*They are mentioned in Canseco’s new book.

2 Responses to ' Simcoe Hops '

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  1. hoptical_allusions said,

    on April 10th, 2008 at 10:08 pm

    I didn’t realize Simcoes and Cascades were related, but I made a wickedly good Tripel-esque beer with them. I’m a big fan! I used 4 oz in semi-continuous hopping towards the last ~45 minutes of the boil, and it turned out less fruity and more herbal. Nonetheless, if I ever grow hops, those will be among the first planted.

  2. John said,

    on April 11th, 2008 at 9:11 am

    Not sure if they are technically related to Cascade hops…I tried looking for sources of what Simcoe is a hybrid of, but I could not find any.

    From my research, their flavor profile is similar to Cascade.

    Anyone else brew with this hop variety?

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