Coming up this fall for the market. I saw a new
variety I was unfamiliar with anyone shed some info on this hop?
SaraBrianka… ???
Really? I dated her in high school!
OH man! I still got a freezer full from years ago. Been furiously brewing through that 2 pounds of Zeus I bought. That I didn’t like. At first. :
Of course I will be placing an order when the time is right! Thanks! Czech Saaz for the barrage Czech Pils I plan to make. And some low alpha varieties.
And what’s is with the SaraBrianka? Google search reveals little.
That is why I posted this Euge…exactly why…
I saw that too. I think someone is having a little fun with the emails.
Looking through the new Hopunion Hop Variety Handbook, I see that the father of Cascade was Serebrianka.
SarahBrianka might be another offspring?
Interesting perhaps the result of deplorable spelling or typing??
Serebrianka is a Russian hop, which is reputed as the father of Cascade. Cascade was released in 1972, in the early stages of detente between the Soviet Union and the USA. Whether the splicing relates to this is anyone’s guess.
Serebrianka as a name indicates the growing region (like Hallertauer), in Kursk Oblast in Southern Russia. Incidentally the name translates into Russian as ‘silvery’, or ‘smooth-tongue’.
I actually have some of these in my freezer, bought in Russia.
Many humble thanks. I wonder if you would mind sharing your 1st hand knowledge of these…like their flavor
profile and approximate AA %…???
Fascinating.
Also thanks for the info.
Some details that might be helpful.
The package in my freezer says that the AA is 5.7%.
The flavour profile - slightly floral, with a touch of citrus (I get lemon). Very clean aroma.
I asked a Russian brewer friend last night about these - he told me that the Russian’s consider them to be a noble variety (along with several other indigenous hops) and they are seen as dual purpose hops. Their usage in brewing was much higher prior to the end of WW2, when Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe led to many brewries to move towards using Saaz. He claimed that Stepan Razin Martovskoye (St Petersburg) still uses Serebrianka.
I’m actually toying with the idea of writing a history of Soviet beer and brewing. While we know about Russian Imperial Stout and Baltic Porters, there’s nothing much on post-1917. Time, and what I can find in Russian archives would be the major factor in this project (and finding a publisher).
I mentioned this to Dave Wills of Freshops last night and he was dumbstruck that Sarabrianka was available. He said that Cascade came from a cross of that Fuggle, and something else he couldn’t recall at the moment. Hey, we were at the Awards Banquet and there was some beer involved…
Supposedly a cross of Serebrianka, Fuggle and a Fuggle derivative…
It sounds like a story worth telling. You might pitch a magazine for an article first, then you could get paid to do the research. The magazine would depend on how you pitch the article.
I hadn’t thought about being paid to do the research, more that I would get a modest advance on a book. I’m a university professor in Russian History, so actually research these sorts of things for a living. Of course, most of my writing has been rather academic in nature, but I think this might have a broader appeal. While I know how to work the academic publishers, I’ve never played with the others…But, I think I’m going to write a proposal.
You might also investigate some of the more obscure traditional Eastern European beers, especially if you have access to foreign language sources or regularly travel to Russia and surrounding countries. There might be some interest in the variations on Kvass. I’m also intrigued by an obscure Ukrainian beer (or beer brand) called “Bile” - which, despite the horrible name, is a tasty light-bodied slightly sour wheat beer which splits the difference between an American wheat and a Berlinerweisse…
AFAIK, nobody’s written anything in English on the history of brewing of brewing in the X-USSR/CIS or the former Warsaw Pact nations. Even after the Berlin Wall fell, Michael Jackson didn’t venture that far into Eastern Europe. Currently, the only book in English I know of on brewing or the beer scene in Eastern Europe is the CAMRA Good Beer Guide to Prague, which obviously doesn’t cover the entire country.
So, the story of Communist era brewing has probably yet to be told. A potential place to start is Ron Pattinson’s “European Beer Guide” (http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/). He’s an amateur historian, but he’s done a lot of work into primary sources, especially historical foreign language sources.
Where is the announcement for this year’s crop? I can’t find it anywhere.
It was an email. I can’t find it on the site either. Here’s some of the text:
Summertime in the Yakima Valley is typically a very hot and dry season, making the valley an exceptional area for growing hops. Growing season is primetime to witness the payoff of your hard work; however, you must be aware of the possibility of aphid infestation in your crops. To help eliminate this frequent issue, we use a specialty pesticide on our farm. Pay close attention to your crops as aphids are extremely common.
Also during this time, you can assist the plants to reach their full potential in many ways. Make sure that the soil surrounding the hop plant is moist, but do not drown the plant by overwatering, as this will cause root rot. After the plants are really growing, (about two months) you should fertilize them with any balanced potted plant fertilizer, such as Miracle-Gro®. Hops also benefit from applications of a garden fertilizer, such as Mega Green, in spring and summer during growth season.
Varieties Growing on Puterbaugh Farms
The 2011 varieties of hop varieties that we are growing this summer and will be selling includes:
Cascade Centennial
Chinook Cluster
Columbus Galena
Magnum Mt. Hood
No. Brewer Nugget
Tettnanger Willamette
Our new varieties that we will also offer but will not be available until the end of September include:
Calypso Newport
Pilot* SaraBrianka
Ultra
- Unavailable until the end of the year, imported from UK
I’m still amused by the thoughts of hops from Kursk. Instead of type T-90, they are type T-34. Aroma of cordite and diesel.
That was a thought that hadn’t occurred to me.
Put’s a whole new meaning on the notion of of hop-bombs.
(for those confused here, Kursk was a battle on the Eastern Front in the summer of 1943. It remains the largest tank battle in history. The T-34 was a Soviet Tank.)