We stopped at the Bell’s Genaral Store yesterday as we needed a break from driving. They had done their homebrew expo the day before - and we were not able to attend. On sale were quantities of an experiemental hop with the code X-369. It was called “Son of Simcoe” by the store manager.
Bells had a beer on tap at the Cafe called “Dear Liza”, termed an Experimental Pale on the chalkboard. I was told that this beer had been brewed with the X-369 as a whirlpool addition (the only addition - I have done this for one beers). We agreed that it was similar to Simcoe in flavors and aroma, but the pine was subdued, and the cat pee was absent. My wife liked it, as she does not like Simcoe due to the strong cat pee she gets from it. Some of this difference might be from the hopping technique, I don’t know yet.
I ended up with a pound of X-369. That will be used in the pale ale recipe that we evaluate a new hop with. If nobody has input on this, I will report back in a few months with what we think about X-369.
On a side note, the Quinannon Falls lager is Pilsner like, but at 6.5% ABV, and made with American hops, it would not be to style. I liked it a lot. The hops reminded me of Crystal or Mt. Hood.
I’ve only heard of X-369 in relation to another IPA Widmer is coming out with, I’d guess next in their rotator line. I think whoever is distribution the hops must be renaming them to be more interesting since usually the breeding programs have such a large number of trials that a 3 digit number just wouldn’t cut it. For example U9403-131 became Mt. Rainier in year 6 of field trials
IIRC, Centennial was originally CFJ69. There seem to be a LOT of new hop varieties under development at the moment. We’re planning a seminar on them at next summer’s NHC.
The 8 oz. package was $8. I bought 2 for the pound. It was a little more in the smaller size.
The “Dear Liza” has been on tap for a little while, I think. I would bet these were 2010, and they cleared out the remainders by selling to the homebrewers. If they were 2011, it would be tight timing to get the beer out. But then again, I didn’t ask.
These were sold vacuum packed. They should last a while.