Garden route hop growers develop a new variety

01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author

Yolande Stander

Micro-brewers are raising a glass to George hop growers, who after more than a decade's research and trials developed a brand new variety which has led to much excitement in South Africa's craft beer sector.

Yet to be officially named and known only as J17 for now, the new hop variety was developed by a team from the South African Breweries Hop Farms near George in the Southern Cape, led by hop breeder Beverly Joseph.

"To breed and develop a new hop variety takes anything between 12 and 15 years and in the case of J17, it took the team about 12 years," SAB Hop Farms general manager Laurie Conway said.
Conway said although there were no immediate plans to use the new variety in a SAB product, it had been released to a few micro-brewers around the country with surprising feedback.
"Certain micro brewers have used J17 and they are very pleased with it. The new craze in micro-brewing is for 'flavoured' beers using flavoured hops so it is the micro brewers who are very keen on it.

"SAB does not have a plan to use J17 yet as we are still evaluating the possibilities regarding current brand impact versus new brand. No doubt it is and will be popular with micro-brewers as the alpha [acid] is high which gives good quality bitterness, and it also has good aroma or flavour - unusual to get all that in one variety."
Hops give beer its characteristic bitter taste - which depends on the levels of alpha acid in the hop - as well as its flavour, which depends on the levels of beta acid.

Owner of Drayman's Brewery in Pretoria - one of South Africa's leading microbrewers - Moritz Kallmeyer was one of the first to get his hands on the new variety.
"It is fantastic. After launching the beer [brewed with the new hop], without any advertising, demand for it more than doubled within the first month," Kallmeyer said.

He added that South African beer enthusiasts were "hungry for something new" and that the new hop variety provided them with just that. "The taste profile is unique. You never want one aroma to 'scream' above the rest and the new hop has a very good balance between a fruity taste and the traditional bitterness of a lager."
Conway pinpointed the flavour profile to "gooseberries and fruit salad" which he said was why it was so suited to craft beer as the aromatics like passionfruit, granadilla and gooseberries were too heavy for non-niche brands.

Joseph said the the typical profile of J17 was very fruity, specifically gooseberries, cassis, gazpacho with a hint of chilli.
Conway said J17 will most likely been given a name come July and officially join the other six South African varieties - the Southern Brewer, Southern Star, Southern Promise, Southern Dawn, Southern Passion and Southern Aroma.

Prior to 1975 South Africa was growing an international variety called Golden Cluster - which yields fluctuated between 600 and 1000kg per hectare. In 1975 the country's first locally bred hop variety, Southern Brewer, was launched and it thrived in South Africa's warmer winters. Local varieties have the potential to produce more than 2000kg per hectare - a massive improvement on the international varieties.

The hop plant is a perennial creeper called Humulus Lupulus which cones are harvested from mid February to the end March every year. The hop cone is the fruit of the female plant and contains the lupulin glands. These glands are filled with alpha and beta acids which ultimately provide beer with it's characteristic bitter and aromatic taste.