Interesting. I hear some brewers mention that if you can't get the freshest hop for your style (say, SAAZ for a Czech Pils) then get an alternative that is very fresh like Sterling or Santiam or whatever. Edelweiss could be that hop... noble in character and lineage and fresher than something grown in Europe. I know that some people order ultra-fresh hops directly from farms in Europe but for the rest of us this could be a nice alternative. Really looking forward to using both the C148 and Edelweiss.
Sorry to be late to the conversation, I wanted to give clarity on both C148 and Edelweiss
C148 as mentioned is from farms around Oregon Hop House. Since Yakima Chief and Hop Union merged it created a monopoly for the farmers to sell hops to and are concerned for long term. They are banding together to break out of the YCH strangle hold and have a breeding program, pushing hard for low to no chemicals on the hops due by selective breeding. They have reduced the amount of chemicals required. Citra, Mosaic and other proprietary hops are putting pressure on the farmers to find alternatives and they are breeding them for just that. These and others breed by the group group that controls Citra, Mosaic, Sabro etc account for most IPA brewed in America. As a brewer, this means we are loosing acreage for almost all hop varieties as they are pulled for their hops. Many are down to a few token acres. As noted in the posts, C148 is citrus, restrained resinous and dankness, moderate tropical fruit, peach and white grapes. Make a fun IPA, I have not experimented with it beyond that. I pelletized the first batch for these farmers. It was picked up this year by Hop Steiner and limited released. It is renamed, not sure yet of the new name
Edelweiss, it is my personnel blend of hops. As a lager brewer, we get crapped on. We have no political pull compared to IPA brewers, so I offered my blend to home and pro brewers. It has 6 different lager hops in it. This gives the brewer the advantage of complexity and depth of character with out sourcing and opening 6 different bags of hops. From the pro side a 7 barrel batch would take 14-21 pounds of hop, most order hops in 11 lb bags and the extra hops would end up in the trash from lack of proper storage and too long of time between lager batches. From a cost stand point it is prohibitive to brew with this many hops in traditional lagers.
My hop blend includes 6 lager hops both US and european grown. Some are imported from Europe such as the Hallertauer Mittelfruh and Saaz. Some are grown in the US. They are all current crop year and noted on the label. As Village Taphouse noted, freshness from Europe is an issue, but their abuse of the hops give us the fun spicy notes such as black pepper. This is an age issue that is desired by many. The US portion will be fresher, more vibrant giving the blend bright clean floral notes. I have gotten Lilac, similar to Tremmer Pils, from the blend. The 2019 had a light but noticeable level of black pepper at 2 months that faded at the 3rd month. I have had some brewers use it like an pale ale hop and with heavy use lemon comes out. It can make a fun "lemon shandy" type beer with out the shandy. I like my Pilsners at the 3rd month and usually try to keep a few kegs around so they age to that point. I have used it in Munich Dunkel, Dark International lagers, Bo Pilsner, German Pilsners, marzens, bocks to name a few. It works well in all of them and is not limited to this small group of lagers. 2 years ago an brewer got gold at GABF in a wheat beer. Best description is easy drinking
The boat from Europe is on the way and will be here mid month. We will have the Edelweiss ready about 2/1
Topic: C148 hops? (Read 3317 times)
