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Kazbek Hops

The Czech Republic has been breeding and releasing new hop varieties over the past 20 years. No longer is Saaz the only variety cultivated in the country. In 1994, new varieties have been made available and many of them were derived from the Saaz hop.

One of those varieties is Kazbek hops. The heritage of Kazbek includes Saaz and wild hops from the Caucasus Mountains. Some sources said they were related to Cascade hops but I couldn’t find anything conclusive to support that notion.

Here are more details of Kazbek hops:

Origin: Czech Republic – Registered in 2008 and released in 2009

Aroma: Spicy like Saaz but more so. Also earthy and wild. Saaz with a little more kick?

Alpha Acid: 5.0 – 8.0%

Typical Usage: Flavor / Aroma hop

Beer Styles: Pilsners, Lagers, Belgian Ales

There are a few other Czech varieties that I would like to check out for their spiciness. This summer, I think there is going to be a Saison throwdown of some sort and I am looking for varieties that will add to the spiciness of the beer. You get a lot of spicy flavors from the yeast especially with the warm fermentation temperatures. Rather than add black pepper or other spices to the recipe, I want to get as much flavor as I can out of the typical beer ingredients. New hop varieties can help in this quest.

If you are looking to buy these hops, there are a few homebrew shops that have them available at posting. There are commercial beers being brewed with these hops as well. Seek them out to get a sense of how they will perform in your beer.

Kasbek Hops

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1 Comment

  1. I like the idea of a Saison Throwdown! And why didn’t they call them Kaazbek hops just to keep the pronunciation confusion alive.

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