I’ve been feeling pretty “meh” about most of the newest round of hops. I experimented with El Dorado, Vinnie’s Special, Ekuanot, Calypso, and a few others. They all struck me as “not hoppy” and unbalanced. I even had a not-easy time blending them. Nbd, I stuck with simcoe, cascade, mosaic, citra, galaxy, and other pre-2012 hops. But 2016 eureka was on sale at yvh when I was already buying other stuff, so I tried a pound. Score.
This is the best new hop I’ve tried in a long while.
So you are saying that Eureka hops made you say “Eureka?”. Couldn’t resist that temptation.
I might have to get some based on that.
What do you like about them? Can you give us some descriptors?
I would describe is as having a nice balance of piney, dank, resinous, and fruity. The fruit character is more “tropical” than “citrus,” but it’s balanced, not just fruity and otherwise dull. I guess I would say it’s somewhere between Galaxy and Simcoe in flavor/aroma.
Do you think it would be a great single-hop showcase, or would benefit from some additional character provided by other hops? Also, what styles of beer have you been throwing it at?
I used it in three beers so far (one is still fermenting). One beer was an IPA with a blend of a few different hops, and I liked the beer, but didn’t really know what Eureka contributed. The beer that made me realize how much I liked it was:
10# pale malt
2# wheat malt
7 oz acid malt
3 mL hopshot 60 mins
1 oz Cascade 10 mins
2 oz Eureka Whirlpool (~170F)
3 oz Eureka Dry
West Coast water profile (~200 ppm sulfate, ~60ppm Chloride)
Mash at 152F
1.060 og
WYeast 1318
saying it’s the best new hop since Mosaic is not a selling point for me! 
Fair enough. I’ll say that I generally agree with you about this newest round of hops - I call them “candy hops.” But I do love mosaic because I perceive it as fruity and resinous/dank, not just pure hard candy/pasteurized fruit juice.
FWIW, my favorite hops in hoppy American beers are (in no particular order): simcoe, cascade, citra, mosaic, ctz, Amarillo, galaxy, Nelson sauvin, and Chinook. I also like Apollo and summit, which many people don’t like, but I don’t usually like fuggles, el dorado, azacca, calypso, lemon drop, or sorachi ace in high quantities.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this hops, and a sample recipe. I’m going to pick up some of these and give a recipe similar to yours a shot. Cheers!
I’m with you. Tookl me a minute to get my pallet around mosaic but I like it.Looking for ard to checking out Eureka!
Great to hear – I received about 10 1 oz samples this past weekend, and Eureka was one that I was intrigued by, along with a few experimentals from Hopsteiner. Now I know to keep and not give away in our club’s “trash or treasure” monthly raffle!
I have only used eureka one time and it was with mosaic so I do not have much feedback. If you are going for juicy hop though, I think it works well in late hop additions and dry hopping.
I have gotten away from IPAs but some of the new, new world hops tend to be my favorite in terms of aromatics. Have you tried motueka? That gives a nice stoney fruit.
I haven’t brewed with motueka because it is hard to get and expensive (I usually experiment with discounted/free hops). But I’ve drunk beer made with motueka and I like it all right. Nelson Sauvin and galaxy are two of my favorites, so I’m always interested in newer Oceanic varieties when they’re easily available.
Galaxy is nice but I digress, I am not trying to spend most my money on hops. Luckily I work at a brewery and we experiment with dry hopping regularly.
We did an IPA hop program at my club last fall. 30 IPAs, all of the same recipe, each with a different single hop. The two revelations for me were Denali and Michigan Copper. In a vote among attendees, Michigan Copper was the overall favorite. Eureka was not very favored, though I don’t remember the vote tally.
Details on Michigan Copper please?
Here is what I found on the interwebs
Michigan Copper
A Great Lakes Hops proprietary Hop. Michigan Copper won the 2013 Michigan beer trials. This variety shows great promise with its amazing aromatic capabilities. Great for aroma and post boil additions!! Substitutes: Good Luck………
Alpha Acids: 9-13%
Beta: 2-3%
Hop Essential Oils: 1.9-2.7 mL/100g
Aroma: Hawaiian fruit punch, Black Cherry, Hard red candy, Hibiscus resin
Beer Styles: Big Juicy IPAs, Pale Ales, Wheats, Belgians, Lagers, Stouts
Did you have a chance to try any of GLH exclusive varieties? I saw Michigan Copper is not available to homebrewers, but there were a few others. A little pricey at $14.99 a crown, but it is a more mature plant.
Regarding Michigan Copper, my LHBS (Listermann) has had it in stock for at least the last 6 months. It’s clearly available to homebrewers.
The various varieties we did were all donated, and all were commercially available with one exception. Thanks to YCH Hops, LD Carlson, Hopsteiner, Hops Direct, and several local breweries for their donations!