I was reading a great article in All About Beer Magazine about breeding new hops. One of the varieties that was mentioned in the article was one that we hadn’t covered yet. This variety is named Sovereign hops.
So using the article as a starting point, I gathered the information I found online and married it with what was explained in the magazine to put together as comprehensive a post I could muster.
It was bred at Wye College, which is a well known entity for English hop breeding. We’ve covered a few different hops bred there. It started off known as TA200 and is a descendant of the Pioneer hop variety.
The year of origin was 1995 from an open pollination. It is a dwarf or hedgerow variety, which means its bines don’t grow that tall. Dr. Peter Darby has the EU Plant Variety Rights for Sovereign hops.
Ok, let’s break it down.
Origin: UK (see above)
Aroma/Flavor: Soft, earthy, and slightly floral, similar to Fuggles with a bit of tropical fruit
Alpha Acid: 4.5 – 6.5%
Typical Usage: Aroma
Beer Styles: Extra Special Bitters, other English ales
Mike
I am becoming more and more drawn to the passion fruit notes in some of these newer hop varieties. What’s the current availability of these hops??
John
Rebel Brewer had them while I was writing the post. You should buy some before the rush is on.