For this week’s The Hop Chronicles, we focused on a relatively new hop bred by Hopsteiner called Delta, a cross between Fuggles and Cascade that hit the scene in 2009. Samples of our single hop THC Pale Ale were served to a panel of blind tasters for evaluation. Results are in!
It an interesting combination from fuggles and cascade. EXP 4190 is also a child of fuggles and cascade and definitely tastes like it. That’s probably a good reason why delta became a regularly sold hop and EXP 4190 hasn’t.
Marshall, you enjoy Fuggles? Oh, the humanity! 
Hey, I don’t mind Fuggles, that Nelson Sauvin hop makes me gag.
We are all different in our tastes.
Which is great! Except for those people that like pumpkin beers…they’re just wrong…
Interesting how your descriptors seem far off from the typical descriptions for this hop. I have found that in several of my single-hopped trial beers as well. I think growing and harvest conditions make a much bigger difference in hops than we give credit for. As homebrewers we have no input in the selection process, and the hops we get can vary substantially from supplier to supplier and year to year.
I also think that hopping rates make a big difference in how a hop is perceived. If a hop was intended for use in lagers, then it may never have been trialed in large amounts as a late hop. Sterling is a good example of this. In low amounts it is very noble-ish. But if you push the hopping rates you can get a nice citrusy/lemonade note from it.
All of this^. Makes me think of Equinox, for example - I’ve used it several times and one of the descriptors put out there on the net is for a ‘green bell pepper’ character among many others. I doubt no more than one person listed this character in the initial trials but it’s made its way all over the net, into most all the retailers descriptions. I get none of that (nor any of the brewers I know). Not saying others might not. I take hop descriptions with a grain of salt until I try them.
Hop quality can be all over in a season depending on the farm, and the field for the same variety. The breweries come and select the hops that they want. The leftovers are often blends from different lots for a variety. That way you don’t get something really poor, but it doesn’t stand out either.