Our audience likes to send us hops. My brother likes to grow hops. These two truths converged when we were sent Cascade hops grown in Canada and my sibling’s Cascade plant produced a substantial harvest of cones. We brewed two SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hops) beer – one for each type of Cascade. See how this Cascade Vs. Cascade comparison went down in this video!

Cascade Vs. Cascade Tasting Notes

When it comes to classic American hop varieties, Cascade is one of, if not the, best known. It’s been showcased in Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and as American beer drinkers, Mike and I know the hop quite well.

That’s what made this comparison so interesting. The Cascade we know is grown in the Pacific Northwest of the USA. Beyond just comparing these two examples of the variety against each other, we were examining if they would be different from the classic version of the hop.

Here’s what we thought of each variety from the different grow locations.

Canadian Cascade: We thought this version had aroma and flavor notes very much like Juicy Fruit gum with a bit of floral essence mixed in there.

Homegrown Massachusetts Cascade: When we tasted the beer brewed with this version, we got more of a Froot Loops cereal aroma with a strong geranium note in the flavor.

As you can see, the traditional grapefruit descriptors were not detected in these beers. They were more fruit forward – and artificial fruit at that.

Although we have tested it before, it’s still fascinating that a well-known variety grown in a different part of the world can impart different aromas and flavors in a beer. These examples of Cascade are remarkably different from the Pacific Northwest grown version.

We did like the Canadian Cascade SMaSH beer better, which is promising since I have more of those hops to use in an upcoming pale ale.

BREW ON!