Cascade is one of the many varieties of hops. Cascade hops are the most widely used hops by craft breweries in the USA.[1]
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Cascade is a variety of hop developed in the U.S.D.A. breeding program in Oregon at Oregon State University and released as a U.S. aroma variety in 1972. It originated from a cross between an American wind pollinated female Fuggles hop plant of English descent and a male Fuggles hop with Russian Serebrianker hop parentage.[2] 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 mountain range that runs through Washington State and Oregon.
A visual characteristic of the plant is its dark green elongated cones which contain moderate to somewhat high amounts of alpha acids compared to many other hop types. The plant is grown in various places around the United States of America and in Tasmania Australia
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 ales, and indeed is characteristic of American Pale Ales; used in some Lagers.[3]
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 more minor differences.[2]
| Property | Tasmanian Variety[2] | American Variety[1] |
|---|---|---|
| Yield (Kg/Ha) | 1700 – 2200 | 1792 – 2240 |
| 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 | |