Just got a shipment of ingredients for my Hefeweizen this week. I have brewed this recipe many times and have always had great success. I also always got an ounce of German Hallertau hops coming in at between 3.5-5% AA. This time, imagine my surprise when I opened up the box and pulled out a package of German Hallertau with a whopping 14.1% AA. Anyone else run into this? I can get the correct IBU in the beer by using a scant .22 oz, but this seems way out of profile for this hop type.
I’d check with the supply store and make sure they didn’t mislabel them (i.e. 4.1% vs 14.1%). Maybe they got their Magnum and Hallertau labeling backwards.
Was it Hallertau Taurus, by any chance? Different hop with high AA. Herkules is also sometimes called Hallertau Herkules. Same thing - different hop with high AA%.
I contacted Northern Brewer and they confirmed that their bulk supply of German Hallertau are listed at 4.7%. The number on the package is indeed a data-entry error.
My homegrown Hallertau has been as low as 3% and as high as 7% in different years. However the average has been closer to 4-5%. So, somewhat higher alpha is possible but rare. I don’t expect to ever see higher than 7% in a commercial vacuum pack. Mine were fresh off the bine (and dried).