I placed an order with Hop Heaven for 8 ounces of Edelweiss hops. The package arrived today and in the envelope there was a gift of 8 ounces of ‘experimental’ C148 hops which was very nice of Ted and his team. I found very few Google results about this but what I got suggests that they’re ‘dank and citrusy’. They’re 10.7%. I might just open the vac-sealed bags, give them a sniff and vac them back up again. I found an old post from 2016 HERE on AHA where erockrph was brewing with experimental hops and mentioned C148 being another one that was coming up. Has anyone brewed with these? Any thoughts?
ne experience with C148 but his edelweiss blend is divine. I’ve won two BOS with those hops. I am about to order my 2020 hops from him.
Shoot Ted an email and ask him
Good idea. I just shot him an email. I’m excited to brew with the Edelweiss hops… sounds like my kinda hop.
He sent some to me as well and I used them in a hoppy APA, but I can’t remember anything in particular about that beer.
Okay, my curiosity got the best of me so I opened them. First off, they were vac-sealed in a bag and then that bag was in another vac-sealed bag. I’m not an expert on ‘dank and citrusy’ hops but these seem very fresh and aromatic and they seem very much like Citra with maybe some Simcoe thrown in. They also were like a giant mass of hops. They were pelletized but it was like a block of soft pellets all stuck together. Interesting. I put them in a new vac-sealed bag. I’ll probably make an APA with them and probably do a DH on it. I did not open the Edelweiss but might do that later. Not sure what to do with the Edelweiss but a Blonde Ale comes to mind. Maybe some kind of “American Wheat” with Edelweiss to bitter and then again late.
Edelweiss works in anything you want a noble hop aroma in, its very versatile. Saisons, lagers, pilsners, stouts, blondes, its a great blend.
Your comments just made me go open the Edelweiss. Intoxicating. Fresh. Again, stuck together. Aromatic and vibrant. I have some older-school hops in the house like Glacier, Ultra and Santiam. I had a blonde ale in mind originally with Ultra. Then I re-wrote the recipe with Santiam. Now I want to make it with Edelweiss. :D The other option is to just make a non-descript gold lager with Bayern yeast and add some Edelweiss late so it shines. Looking forward to this. Cheers.
Any info about where the C148 came from ? Farm or wholesaler?
No info on that. And that brings me to another question for whoever knows…
Is Edelweiss a specific hop variety or does Ted just throw six different hop varieties (Liberty, Santiam, Crystal, Mt. Hood, whatever) into a machine and pelletize them? The answer might explain C148… maybe it really IS Citra and Simcoe mixed together. I assumed that these were bred varieties all along.
Edelweiss is a blend of various domestic hops. I dont think he’s public about which hops, but whatever they are, they work wonderfully.
Unfortunately, I never did get around to brewing with that sample of C148. I got them from Pat from the Oregon Hophouse right before my wife got a really bad Crohn’s flare that kept me from doing much brewing for a few years. When I got them I was brewing 5-10 single-hop batches a year and posting my tasting notes here and on my blog. Pat had sent me a sample of X-17 the year before, and they were phenomenal. I’m due for a freezer cleanout, so if I find my sample in there I will definitely give it a go this spring.
Ted does not make any blends. He buys them that way.
I believe he advertises edelweiss as his own proprietary blend.
It’s interesting because I have never seen this type of hop blending… taking multiple hops and blending them to make a “new hop”. I have heard of breeding new hops with characteristics from other hops but not this. I also thought I saw something on his site or eBay page that said something about “Ted Hausotter - Hop Breeder”… something like that. Anyway, I drew up a recipe for a gold lager where I will use Edelweiss exclusively. About 20 IBUs to bitter and then two ounces late for about 26 IBUs total. It should give the hops a chance to stand on their own.
YCH, in particular, has been pushing forward with hop blends as an interesting way to generate new flavor profiles without the 10 year breeding process. You’ll see from things like - 7C’s, ClusterFugget, Falconer’s Flight, Pacific Crest, Pink Boots, Veteran’s Blend, Zythos, etc.
Really? Obviously news to me.
And the blends for Falconer, VB, and Pink Boots varies from year to year.
Interesting. I hear some brewers mention that if you can’t get the freshest hop for your style (say, SAAZ for a Czech Pils) then get an alternative that is very fresh like Sterling or Santiam or whatever. Edelweiss could be that hop… noble in character and lineage and fresher than something grown in Europe. I know that some people order ultra-fresh hops directly from farms in Europe but for the rest of us this could be a nice alternative. Really looking forward to using both the C148 and Edelweiss.
This is also what I heard, I think from Ted.