New hops varieties are always hitting the market and becoming available to all types of brewers. Knowing that homebrewers are at the very bottom of the hop buying food chain, it is nice to see some of the new types of hops can be bought by people who brew their own at home.
One of the varieties that is getting some attention lately is Legacy hops.
The variety is not really new. It is new to us but it has been grown at Puterbaugh Farms since 1963. It has just been registered, branded, and trademarked by Hops Direct, LLC.
I find it fascinating that public tastes dictate what hops become available commercially. If this variety has been around for 50 years, has it just now been deemed “good enough” for sale? For instance, only noble hops (and noble-ish hops) were thought to be of a quality for beer brewing. Other hops had too many wild flavors. As opinions change, so does the varieties that we can purchase. The widening of the palate and the acceptance of different flavors is a great thing.
Here are the specifications for this hop’s profile:
Origin: USA – Yakima Valley – Washington State
Aroma/Flavor: Grapefruit, black currant, spicy, floral. Also, blackberry, orange, grassy.
Alpha Acid: 7.8 – 8.4%
Typical Usage: The specifications state that Legacy hops are a dual purpose hop.
Beer Styles: American pale ales and IPAs. American stouts. Beer where a bit of a wild note would be welcomed.
Although I don’t know what the heritage of Legacy is, some substitutions that have been listed are Cluster, Galena, and Northern Brewer. I wonder if they are a cross between one of these named varieties with a wild Pacific Northwest hop. With the grapefruit and the black currant flavors, I wonder if it shares a parent with Cascade hops.
If anyone has any more information, please leave a comment.
ksdflsjdfl
They were black currant and roses bomb in my usage of them. I can’t say they were bad just very distinct. I could see them working very well if done right in a porter/stout.
John
Interesting. I like these new hops with berry flavors. Check out our Mosaic hop profile – it has strong blueberry notes: https://www.brew-dudes.com/mosaic-hops/4258
Paul Brownlee
After homebrewing extensively, started when I was 17 before the carter amendment, I’ve used cluster, dominion, and early fuggle. I tried over the last few years to develope a California Cream Ale similar to the post prohibition California Beers & Ales, some were good others not so. What I found was there is a market, though small right now, for a golden high head cream ale or beer, light on the rice products but with a high hop flavour. Cluster seems to be the base or bittering and Cascade and Chinook and No. Brewer seem to complete it from todays available varieties.
John
Thanks Paul. For a traditional cream ale, I would go with Cluster too.