Cascade is one of the many cultivars of hops. Cascade hops are one of the most widely used hops by craft breweries in the United States.
History
Cascade is a cultivar of hops developed in the USDA breeding program at Oregon State University by Dr. Stanley Nelson Brooks and Jack Horner. Developed during the 1960s, it was released as an American aroma variety in 1971. It originated from an open seed collection in 1956, including English Fuggle, Russian Serebrianka, and an unspecified male hop variety.
In addition to appealing flavor qualities, researchers were looking for resistance to
downy mildew, a threat to hop yards. Cascade was named after the
Cascade Range that runs through the states of Washington, Oregon, California and the Canadian province of
British Columbia. The hop variety was first used commercially in 1975 by the Anchor Brewing Company, which established it as a signature hop for American pale ale. The plant is now grown in various places around the
United States;
British Columbia and
Alberta,
Canada;
Argentina; and in
Tasmania; Victoria and New South Wales,
Australia.
Characteristics
A visual characteristic of the plant is its dark green elongated cones which contain moderate to somewhat high amounts of
compared to many other hop types. The resultant aroma is of medium strength and very distinct. It has a pleasant, flowery and
spicy,
citrus-like quality with a slight
grapefruit characteristic. The hop is good for both flavor and aroma uses. It can also be used for bittering effectively, and can be used to make any
, and indeed is characteristic of American pale ales, such as the classic Sierra Nevada. It is also used in some
, for example Sam Adams '76.
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Australian/Tasmanian variety
A variety of Cascade has been propagated in
Tasmania, Australia. It has similar resultant characteristics to the US variety. The Tasmanian variety contains less
myrcene oil and more
humulene oil as well as other smaller differences.
New Zealand variety
A variety of Cascade is also bred in New Zealand. Similarities exist between the US and New Zealand varieties with the NZ version described as citrus moving more toward grapefruit characteristics.
Agronomic and
terroir impact has been described as positive for the New Zealand type.
As of August 2016 Cascade grown in New Zealand is now referred to as Taiheke.
Acid and oil breakdown
|
| Yield (kg/ha) | 1,700–2,200 | 1,792–2,240 |
| Alpha acids (%) | 4.5–7.0 |
| Beta acids (%) | 4.8–7.0 |
| Alpha/beta ratio | 0.9–1.0 |
| Cohumulone (% of alpha acids): | 33–40 |
| Total oils (Mls. per 100 grams dried hops) | 0.7–2.0 | 0.7–1.4 |
| Myrcene (as % of total oils) | 22–35 | 45–60 |
| Caryophyllene (as % of total oils) | 2.6–2.7 | 3.5–5.5 |
| Humulene (as % of total oils) | 21–24 | 8–13 |
| Farnesene (as % of total oils) | 7–9 | 3–7 |
| Storage (% alpha acids remaining after 6 months storage at 20 °C) | 48–52 |
| Possible substitutions | Centennial, Amarillo hops |
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